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E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: IS KMDR MEDIA REACTION REPORT
SUBJECT: ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION 
 
 
-------------------------------- 
SUBJECTS COVERED IN THIS REPORT: 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶1.  Mideast 
 
¶2.  Iran: Nuclear Program 
 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
All media led with PM Sharon's surprise victory at the 
Likud Central Committee last night.  The proposal to 
move up the party primaries was rejected, 1433 votes to 
1329 (51.4-47.6 percent).  Blank slips represented 0.9 
percent of the total.  The turnout was 90 percent. 
Above pictures of Sharon, Yediot and Maariv bannered: 
"The Winner" (as opposed to Knesset Member Binyamin 
Netanyahu, "The Loser").  Leading media quoted 
Netanyahu as saying that his camp would win the crucial 
battle -- the primaries slated to take place in April 
¶2006.  Commentators say that Sharon's options -- 
including leaving the Likud -- are open. 
 
Ha'aretz quoted State Department spokesperson Sean 
McCormack as saying that Hamas launched attacks on 
Israel after it issued its statement that it would no 
longer do so.  Saying that McCormack "clearly" doubted 
the promise and denounced Hamas as a terrorist group, 
the newspaper quoted him as saying: "We understand the 
situation in which Israel finds itself and we fully 
understand Israel's right to defend itself."  The media 
reported that on Monday, the IAF continued with its 
strikes in the Gaza Strip as more Qassam rockets fell 
in Israeli territory.  Jerusalem Post quoted Islamic 
Jihad as saying on Monday that it was "unhappy" with 
Hamas's decision to stop firing rockets at Israel.  The 
newspaper noted this was the first criticism of its 
kind. 
 
Ha'aretz, Maariv, Hatzofe, and Jerusalem Post printed 
pictures of new U.S. Ambassador to Israel Richard H. 
Jones, as he presented his credentials to President 
Moshe Katsav on Monday. 
 
Yediot reported that the U.S. administration has 
decided to donate USD 750,000 to the production of an 
Israeli-Palestinian television drama series that will 
be called 'Open the Hearts,' with the goal of 
encouraging co-existence, peace, mutual respect and 
tolerance between the two peoples.  The series will be 
produced by a non-profit organization of bereaved 
Israeli and Palestinian parents in cooperation with 
Channel 2-TV and Palestinian Television. Yediot writes 
that the producers are still looking for financing 
before getting down to work, but have already received 
significant support from the U.S. administration, by 
means of USAID in the American Embassy Tel Aviv. 
Yediot cited USAID as saying on Monday that the drama 
series is meant to generate changes in each of the 
peoples' beliefs and attitudes toward the other. 
 
All media cited the police as saying on Monday that 
Sasson Nuriel, a Jerusalem resident, was allegedly 
kidnapped by Hamas on Wednesday, and that his body was 
found near Ramallah on Monday.  In an unrelated 
development, major media reported that on Monday, 
security forces arrested two Arab terror suspects -- 
according to Ha'aretz and Yediot, a man in his 30s and 
a woman in her 60s or 70s -- after a massive terror 
alert.  Israel Radio and the leading Internet news 
service Ynet reported that IDF forces uncovered and 
detonated an explosives lab in Qabatiya, south of 
Jenin, and that 94 Hamas and Islamic Jihad operatives 
were arrested in the West Bank overnight. 
 
Jerusalem Post reported that violence in Gaza and chaos 
in the Likud have led to the postponement of Sharon's 
scheduled meetings with Jordan's King Abdullah II and 
PA Chairman [President] Mahmoud Abbas.  Israel Radio 
quoted Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak as saying that 
Sharon is thwarting the peace process and expanding 
settlements.  The radio reported that Abbas will travel 
to Cairo today for a meeting with Mubarak. 
 
Citing AP, Ha'aretz quoted John Dugard, UN Special 
Rapporteur on Human Rights in the Palestinian 
Territories, as saying on Monday that the disengagement 
from the Gaza Strip has allowed Israel to divert 
attention from its further expansion into East 
Jerusalem and other Palestinian territories.  Jerusalem 
Post reported that the Public Committee Against Torture 
in Israel announced on Monday that it was renewing its 
petition against targeted killings in the wake of 
Sunday's GOI announcement that it was resuming its 
policy of assassinating terrorist leaders.  Jerusalem 
Post reported that on Monday, the organization 
Physicians For Human Rights protested against the 
closure of the Gaza Strip, which it says has hampered 
medical treatment of Palestinians in Israel, the West 
Bank, or Egypt. 
 
Leading media quoted British Chancellor of the 
Exchequer (Finance Minister) Gordon Brown as saying on 
Monday he would visit the Middle East next month to 
look at ways to rebuild Palestinian infrastructure. 
 
Jerusalem Post named the AmCit whom Israel is planning 
to deport, reportedly on suspicion that he intended to 
assassinate Sharon, as Zalman Hatzkolevitch, a Bratslav 
hassid from New York.  The newspaper quoted Rabbi Natan 
Harush, spiritual head of a Jerusalem-based Bratslav 
yeshiva, as confirming that Hatzkolevitch speaks Arabic 
and has visited Muslim countries including Iraq and 
Lebanon.  The newspaper quoted Population Registry 
spokeswoman Sabine Haddad as saying that the incident 
was the first time in memory that Israel would be 
deporting a Jew out of concern over possible security 
violations. 
 
Hatzofe reported that Sharon has agreed with 
Infrastructure Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer to create 
the conditions necessary for allowing British Gas to 
supply Palestinian natural gas to Israel.  The 
newspaper notes that Israel ceded gas fields to the 
Palestinians following the Oslo Accords. 
 
------------ 
¶1.  Mideast: 
------------ 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Chief Economic Editor and senior columnist Sever 
Plotker wrote in the editorial of mass-circulation, 
pluralist Yediot Aharonot: "Between 'primary now' and 
'peace now,' it was 'peace now' that won in the Likud 
Central Committee.... It is on this that Prime Minister 
Sharon needs to base his leadership in his party." 
 
Independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized: 
"Creating a border between Israel and Gaza obligates 
the Palestinians not to launch Qassams and obligates 
Israel not to carry out superfluous military operations 
that harm Palestinian sovereignty." 
 
Senior columnist Dan Margalit wrote in popular, 
pluralist Maariv: "Hamas's participation in the PA 
elections is not irrational.... Israel has no interest 
in talking with a Palestinian leadership that only 
represents one part of its nation." 
 
Senior columnist and longtime dove Yoel Marcus wrote in 
Ha'aretz: "What is needed more than anything is a 
leader on the other side who is no less forceful than 
Sharon -- a man who is prepared to fight against the 
extremists and the enemies of peace, and be more than a 
partner on paper." 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
¶I.  "'Peace Now' Defeated 'Primary Now'" 
 
Chief Economic Editor and senior columnist Sever 
Plotker wrote in the editorial of mass-circulation, 
pluralist Yediot Aharonot (September 27): "The Likud 
party primary will not be moved up.  The Party's 
Central Committee rejected the motion to hold the 
primary earlier than scheduled by a small majority.... 
A party whose ideological platform is so blurred, so 
confused, so replete with zigzags and which 
nevertheless is so close to the center of the Israeli 
political map, was obliged last night to decide between 
two opposing political world views: the dovish world 
view of Prime Minister Sharon as opposed to the hawkish 
view of former Finance Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.... 
[Despite the basically in-house characteristic of 
Monday's vote], Sharon's clear victory over his 
opponents was also of a clear ideological nature.... 
Between 'primary now' and 'peace now,' it was 'peace 
now' that won in the Likud Central Committee.  That is 
the truth, and it is on this that Prime Minister Sharon 
needs to base his leadership in his party and to pass 
this essential ideological message down through the 
party ranks.  But this will not be the same Likud 
movement that Sharon formed with his own two hands a 
generation ago; Sharon has clearly divorced himself 
from that party.  This will be a new movement, one that 
is liberated from the tradition of the entire greater 
Land of Israel, and even a partial greater Land of 
Israel.  This will be a movement that appeals to the 
center of Israeli society, a movement that has 
absolutely nothing to do with the tradition of 'two 
banks to the River Jordan,' and a lot to do with the 
tradition of 'the occupation is bad for Israel,' as 
Sharon himself put it." 
 
II.  "The Escalation Temptation" 
 
Independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized 
(September 27): "In the case of the separation fence, 
Israel misuses the perfectly legitimate pretext of 
security concerns to illicitly expand its territory, 
and there is a similar concern regarding the renewal of 
targeted assassinations.  The massive firing of Qassam 
rockets at Sderot justifies immediate military action, 
but it is not grounds for the wholesale abuse of 
military means in order to launch a general offensive 
against terrorist organizations.... The unilateral 
withdrawal from the Gaza Strip is an opportunity for 
the Palestinian Authority to prove it is capable of 
reining in the terrorist organizations.  Mahmoud Abbas 
failed the first test when he failed to keep the border 
quiet, and the Qassam attacks justify a military 
response.  That is not to say, however, that Israel 
should become entangled in an extended operation. 
Creating a border between Israel and Gaza obligates the 
Palestinians not to launch Qassams and obligates Israel 
not to carry out superfluous military operations that 
harm Palestinian sovereignty.... The Palestinian 
Legislative Council elections will not be determined by 
assassinations or by arresting Hamas candidates.... The 
launching of Qassam rockets at Sderot is a very grave 
matter. That said, Hamas has undertaken to stop the 
attacks.  The list of potential targets should now be 
put back in the drawer, and the planned meeting between 
Abbas and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon should go ahead - 
- to demonstrate that Israel and the PA have a shared 
interest in putting an end to terrorism." 
 
III.  "The Hamas Dilemma" 
 
Senior columnist Dan Margalit wrote in popular, 
pluralist Maariv (September 27): "Ariel Sharon and Dr. 
Yossi Beilin hold views that aren't far from each 
other: an avowed terrorist organization can't 
participate in elections.  Both men favor Abu-Mazen.... 
It is worthwhile to fight Hamas with all the might, 
because Hamas committed to the Cairo agreement and it 
is now violating it; it shouldn't be allowed to fire 
from the Gaza Strip each time it feels like bombarding 
Sderot with Qassam rockets.  Hamas has no grounds for 
doing this, despite claims its chiefs advance such as 
the lie that Israel caused the rocket accident at 
Hamas's parade, or that the Negev attacks came in 
response to IDF strikes against terror in the West 
Bank.... What's more, Abu Mazen's and the IDF's 
responses made Hamas chief Mahmoud Zahar proclaim the 
cessation of rocket fire.  He shouldn't be believed.... 
[However], Hamas's participation in the PA elections is 
not irrational.... Israel has no interest in talking 
with a Palestinian leadership that only represents one 
part of its nation.  If the Palestinians have become 
extremist to the point of supporting the terrorist 
organizations so strongly, it is important for Israel 
that the diplomatic process should include Hamas as 
well.  This might well postpone a final-status 
agreement between the two nations.  [But] it is clear 
that, should Hamas representatives come to the 
negotiating table with Israel, they would be made to 
recognize its right to exist.... Preventing the 
election of Hamas representatives to the PA's 
institutions would be turning a blind eye to an 
emergent reality.  It is important for Israel to 
dialogue with existing Palestinians -- not with the 
Palestinians it would have liked to see." 
 
IV.  "If You Lie Down With Missiles" 
 
Senior columnist and longtime dove Yoel Marcus wrote in 
Ha'aretz (September 27): "The Palestinians haven't 
learned a damn thing.  They have a morbid knack for 
making the biggest, most stupid mistakes whenever the 
door opens a crack and a chance comes their way to 
establish a state alongside Israel.... What is the 
sense in holding a victory parade in Gaza and then 
firing a massive volley of Qassam rockets into 
territories that Israel left of its own will?  What is 
the logic in choosing a critical time, when Sharon is 
fighting for his political life against rebels in his 
own party, to bombard Israel with 40 Qassams in one 
night? What do they want? An Israel led by Bibi and Uzi 
Landau?.... He who goes to bed with Qassams should not 
be surprised if he wakes up with a boom.... For Israel 
to make more painful concessions for the sake of an 
agreement, it will take more than the shameful goings- 
on at the convention of the Likud Central Committee, 
and more than last night's vote and its consequences. 
What is needed more than anything is a leader on the 
other side who is no less forceful than Sharon -- a man 
who is prepared to fight against the extremists and the 
enemies of peace, and be more than a partner on paper." 
 
-------------------------- 
¶2.  Iran: Nuclear Program: 
-------------------------- 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote in 
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "The good news is 
that despite the chaos in Iraq and the destruction in 
New Orleans, America has not retreated into its shell." 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
"Ahmadinejad's Smile" 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote in 
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (September 27): 
"[Iranian President Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad came to the UN 
to examine the limits of his power versus America and 
its European partners.... The result was not in 
Ahmadinejad's favor.  The Europeans kept their promise 
to Israel, and last Saturday achieved a small majority 
for a resolution against Iran in the International 
Atomic Energy Agency.... Israel commended the 'step in 
the right direction' and senior officials predicted 
that in the next round in November, the decisions will 
have teeth.  The Iranian response sounded, how 
embarrassing, like Israel's responses to the 
resolutions against it in the UN and the International 
Court of Justice.  The nuclear confrontation is not 
over and it is not clear whether Iran will get the bomb 
before it caves in to the pressures.  Russia and China 
are supporting it and the world oil market will have 
difficulty coping with another price rise because of 
sanctions on Iran.  Meanwhile, Ahmadinejad can smile. 
The good news is that despite the chaos in Iraq and the 
destruction in New Orleans, America has not retreated 
into its shell but is still dictating the international 
and regional agenda.  This raises the hope that the 
West will succeed in stopping the threatening Iranian 
project after all." 
 
JONES