This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 09 TEL AVIV 006530 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA, NEA/IPA, NEA/PPD 
 
WHITE HOUSE FOR PRESS OFFICE, SIT ROOM 
NSC FOR NEA STAFF 
 
SECDEF WASHDC FOR USDP/ASD-PA/ASD-ISA 
HQ USAF FOR XOXX 
DA WASHDC FOR SASA 
JOINT STAFF WASHDC FOR PA 
USCINCCENT MACDILL AFB FL FOR POLAD/USIA ADVISOR 
COMSOCEUR VAIHINGEN GE FOR PAO/POLAD 
COMSIXTHFLT FOR 019 
 
JERUSALEM ALSO FOR ICD 
LONDON ALSO FOR HKANONA AND POL 
PARIS ALSO FOR POL 
ROME FOR MFO 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: IS KMDR MEDIA REACTION REPORT
SUBJECT: ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION 
 
-------------------------------- 
SUBJECTS COVERED IN THIS REPORT: 
-------------------------------- 
 
Mideast 
 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
All major newspapers, except The Jerusalem Post, led 
with the likelihood of early elections, possibly as 
soon as February.  The media highlighted PM Sharon's 
statement on Wednesday that he wants new elections to 
be held as soon as possible, since he does not want "to 
waste time on a lengthy election campaign."  Leading 
media reported that Sharon met with Labor Party 
Chairman MK Amir Peretz this morning.  Israel Radio 
quoted Peretz as saying after the meeting that he 
agreed with Sharon that the elections should be held 
between late February and late March, and that Sharon 
will set the final date.  The radio reported that 
Sharon will also meet Shinui party leader Yosef (Tommy) 
Lapid, the head of the opposition in the Knesset.  The 
media reported that during the weekend, Sharon is 
expected to decide whether he will found a new party or 
remain in the Likud.  Ha'aretz and The Jerusalem Post 
reported that the Yesha Council of Jewish Settlements 
in the Territories has begun collecting signatures from 
settlement mayors urging all right-wing parties to form 
a joint list in the next elections. 
 
All media reported on, and The Jerusalem Post bannered, 
meetings of senior Israeli officials with Arab leaders 
in Tunis.  Israel Radio reported that FM Silvan Shalom 
declared at the World Summit on the Information Society 
that if the PA adopts a strategic decision to fight 
terror, Israel will resume the dialogue with the PA and 
return to the Roadmap.  Shalom cited Hamas's use of the 
Internet to harm Israel.  The radio quoted PA Chairman 
[President] Mahmoud Abbas as saying in his speech to 
the conference that Israel continues to use collective 
punishment against the Palestinians.  The radio further 
reported that Abbas urged Israel to return to the 
negotiating table soon and to achieve President Bush's 
vision -- a Palestinian state with territorial 
contiguity that would be at peace with Israel.  The 
media reported that Shalom and Abbas also held two 
bilateral meetings on Wednesday, constituting the 
highest-level Israeli-Palestinian contacts in the past 
several months.  The Jerusalem Post front-paged a 
picture of Communications Minister Dalia Itzik shaking 
hands with her Iraqi counterpart, Dr. Jowan Fuad Masum. 
The newspaper reported that the two exchanged 
invitations to visit each other's countries.  Yediot 
reported that Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben 
Ali told Shalom that he welcomes Israeli tourists to 
visit his country. 
 
Ha'aretz and other media reported that Israel, the 
Palestinian Authority, and the EU decided on Wednesday 
that the 50 to 70 European monitors set to inspect the 
Rafah border crossing will have the authority to ensure 
that the PA complies with all agreements relating to 
the terminal, but not to enforce Israeli or Palestinian 
law.  Israel Radio reported that the PA has requested 
that the EU begin posting monitors at the Rafah border 
crossing on Monday.  The radio also reported on 
Palestinian allegations that Deputy U.S. National 
Security Advisor Elliott Abrams attempted to 
surreptitiously introduce amendments in Israel's favor 
during the negotiations on the Agreement on Movement 
and Access.  The radio reported that most amendments 
proposed by the Palestinians were eventually adopted. 
Israel Radio also reported on Palestinian claims, which 
were also recognized by Israeli and U.S. sources, that 
Amos Gilad, head of the Defense Ministry's political 
bureau, and military secretary Nathan Dangott (phon.), 
dragged their feet during the negotiations, thereby 
endangering their success.  Maariv quoted Quartet 
Special Envoy James Wolfensohn as saying that during 
diplomatic meetings, senior Israelis tend to focus on 
security matters and to neglect other important issues. 
Marc Otte, the EU's Special Envoy to the Middle East, 
was quoted as saying in an interview with Ha'aretz that 
the crossings agreement may be technical, but that its 
success can shed light on the entire region. 
 
Ha'aretz cited an AP story that President Moshe Katsav, 
who is on an official visit to Italy, told reporters on 
Wednesday that he has reservations about the Gaza 
crossings agreement, which he believes may worsen 
Israel's security situation. 
 
Leading media reported that on Wednesday, Sharon 
launched a 17-billion shekel (around USD 3.6 billion) 
plan for developing the Negev.  The Jerusalem Post and 
Ha'aretz reported that Foreign Ministry officials 
confirmed Wednesday that contacts with the U.S. had 
resumed over negotiating terms for an estimated USD 1.2 
billion Israeli aid request for Negev and Galilee 
development. 
 
Leading media quoted Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz as 
saying Wednesday at a meeting with heads of local 
settlement councils from the West Bank: "I intend to 
continue to promote construction of the fence, to give 
maximum security to the citizens and also to strengthen 
the settlement blocs, because I believe that the 
settlement blocs have to be strong.... Together with 
the Jordan Valley, they will constitute the eastern 
border of the State of Israel, also in the future." 
Mofaz was quoted as saying that a decision will be made 
before the elections on the building plans for the E-1 
neighborhood, which is intended to create a link 
between Ma'aleh Adumim and Jerusalem. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that commanders of air 
forces from NATO nations and senior officers from North 
African countries -- including some without diplomatic 
relations with Israel -- have wrapped up a visit to 
Israel, where they learned how to fight terrorism from 
the air.  Beside NATO, participants included officers 
from Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Tunisia, and Morocco. 
 
Leading media reported that soldiers manning the Hawara 
checkpoint outside of Nablus prevented a suicide 
bombing when they nabbed a Palestinian carrying an 
explosives belt on Wednesday afternoon. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that the deaths of two senior 
Palestinian security officials --  Bashir Nafeh and 
Abed Allun -- who were rivals of PA National Security 
Adviser Jibril Rajoub in the bombing of Amman's Grand 
Hyatt Hotel may bring about more quiet in the 
territories. 
 
Ha'aretz, Yediot, and Maariv quoted Ahmad Talebzadeh, 
the head of Iran's space agency, as saying on Wednesday 
that Sina-1, Iran's first satellite, which was launched 
from Russia about a month ago, can spy on Israel.  The 
newspapers said that Iranian officials had claimed that 
the satellite was purely scientific. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that, ignoring Israeli 
opposition, the Greek Orthodox Church will proceed with 
plans for the coronation of the new Patriarch of 
Jerusalem, Theophilos III.  He will replace the ousted 
Irineos I. 
 
Maariv reported that a first draft of a proposed 
constitution for Israel will be presented to the 
Knesset in three months. 
 
Ha'aretz compared Egypt, which views the Muslim 
Brotherhood as a threat, with Jordan, where the 
movement has placed itself squarely with King Abdullah 
II in his war on Islamic terror. 
 
Leading media quoted senior PA official Ahmad Abdul 
Rahman as saying, in an interview that appeared 
Wednesday in the London-based newspaper Al-Quds Al- 
Arabi, that the late PA Chairman Yasser Arafat died 
after a poison was injected into his ear at the end of 
September 2003. 
 
Ha'aretz and Maariv reported that Israel will sign the 
International Treaty Against Corruption despite a 
dispute over the matter between the Foreign and Defense 
ministries. 
 
Reporting on President Bush's hardships in Congress, 
Ha'aretz Washington correspondent Shmuel Rosner wrote, 
"The war in the U.S. is already almost as tough as in 
Iraq." 
 
Yediot reported that an Israeli woman was hospitalized 
in Thailand.  She is allegedly suspected of being ill 
with avian influenza. 
 
Maariv reported that Israel has warned Ukraine that it 
would damage bilateral relations if Ukraine does not 
take legal steps to close the "anti-Semitic" university 
MAUP, which supported Iran's call to wipe Israel off 
the map. 
 
Maariv printed the results of a recent TNS/Teleseker 
Polling Institute survey conducted this week: 
-Were the Likud to be led by Sharon, it would beat the 
Labor Party in the next elections by 38 to 27 Knesset 
seats.  (In the current Knesset, Likud has 40 seats and 
Labor 22.) 
-Were the Likud to be led by Binyamin Netanyahu, Likud 
and Labor would obtain 33 seats each. 
 
Maariv cited the results of a poll conducted among the 
residents of the settlement of Beit Arye, east of Ben- 
Gurion Airport: 85 percent favor leaving their 
community or having it relocate.  The Jerusalem Post 
also reported on the poll. 
 
-------- 
Mideast: 
-------- 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized: "The 
border crossing agreement ... reflects growing 
involvement by outside parties in the conduct of day-to- 
day negotiations between Israel and the PA, as well as 
a growing American role in this involvement, in which 
Europe and Egypt also have a share." 
 
Veteran op-ed writer and assistant to the late prime 
minister Yitzhak Rabin Eytan Haber opined in the lead 
editorial of mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot 
Aharonot: "The Palestinians will look for any way, any 
opportunity, and any 'hole in the net,' in order to 
breach agreements and score gains on the ground." 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post 
editorialized: "If the Palestinian leadership truly 
decides to confront and expunge the terrorists, this 
agreement will prove largely redundant and will be 
easily implemented.  Absent such a decision, this 
agreement will be added to the heap of previously 
signed dead letters." 
 
Very liberal columnist Meron Benvenisti wrote in 
Ha'aretz: "If massive pressure and personal 
intervention by Rice were necessary to achieve a meager 
technical agreement, what are the chances of real 
progress in the peace process?" 
 
Middle East affairs commentator Guy Bechor, a lecturer 
at the Interdisciplinary Center, wrote in mass- 
circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot: "Working 
relations are the most that Israel can get from the 
Arab world today, certainly after five years of 
Intifada that have poisoned the region." 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
¶I.  "The Third Party and the Next Step" 
 
Independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized 
(November 17): "Had it not been for the pressure 
exerted by Rice, with the clear backing of President 
George Bush, the Agreement [on Movement and Access] 
would not have been reached.  The Israelis and 
Palestinians failed in their efforts to compromise, as 
did Israel's two cabinet ministers, Shimon Peres and 
Shaul Mofaz.  Only the understanding that it would be 
better not to ignore Rice's insistent demands caused 
Sharon to impose his will on the security 
establishment.  The border crossing agreement thus 
reflects growing involvement by outside parties in the 
conduct of day-to-day negotiations between Israel and 
the PA, as well as a growing American role in this 
involvement, in which Europe and Egypt also have a 
share.  General Keith Dayton, who was appointed 
yesterday as America's security coordinator in the 
region following William Ward's transfer to another 
military posting, will be umpiring not the internal 
Palestinian game -- the merger of its security services 
-- but the competition between Israel and the PA.  The 
organization under his command will determine whether 
Israel's demands to deny entry to specific individuals 
who 'arouse concern,' in the agreement's words, are 
justified.  He will also decide whether the 
Palestinians' behavior at the border terminals accords 
with the agreement.... The third party ... must move on 
without delay to the next step: pressuring the 
Palestinians to disarm the terrorist organizations and 
Israel to dismantle the West Bank outposts." 
 
II.  "The Palestinians Will Look For a Hole in the Net" 
 
Veteran op-ed writer and assistant to the late prime 
minister Yitzhak Rabin Eytan Haber opined in the lead 
editorial of mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot 
Aharonot (November 17): "Let there be no 
understandings: the crossings agreement for 
Palestinians and their vehicles from Gaza to Jerusalem 
and vice-versa, the construction of a port, and the 
passage of goods to Israel will cause a great security 
headache and perhaps big trouble to Israel.  The 
Palestinians will look for any way, any opportunity, 
and any 'hole in the net,' in order to breach 
agreements and score gains on the ground." 
 
III.  "The Rafah Deal" 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post 
editorialized (November 17): "So now the deal to open 
up the Rafah crossing is done.  That was the easy part, 
even though it took months of wrangling.  The hard part 
will be for the Palestinian leadership to summon the 
determination to confront terrorism, without which no 
such agreement can work.... Only Israeli military 
actions against terrorism, and not signed documents, 
have ever consistently provided a disincentive for the 
PA's cooperation with, and tolerance of, terrorist 
groups.   Among the lessons from the failure of the 
Oslo Accords is that, no matter how detailed an 
agreement is, it is worthless if it not backed by 
international support for holding the parties 
accountable.  In simple terms: a deal without 
consequences is an inconsequential deal.  If the 
Palestinian leadership truly decides to confront and 
expunge the terrorists, this agreement will prove 
largely redundant and will be easily implemented. 
Absent such a decision, this agreement will be added to 
the heap of previously signed dead letters." 
 
IV.  "The Rafah Precedent" 
 
Very liberal columnist Meron Benvenisti wrote in 
Ha'aretz (November 17): "Now that Condoleezza Rice 
decided to show [Israeli Defense Minister Shaul] Mofaz 
who the real boss is, he has capitulated, but he is 
trying to explain his capitulation as a concession to 
America's need for an achievement.  The Palestinians do 
not interest him.  After all, if he wanted a confidence- 
building relationship with them, he would have agreed 
long ago to the arrangements laid out in the Rafah 
Agreement, without massive American pressure.  The 
Palestinians also do not interest the Americans, and 
were it not for Rice's desperate need for some kind of 
achievement for public relations purposes, this 
agreement would never have been reached.  The last 
thing that the President of the U.S. wants is to 
nurture the illusion that in the wake of the Rafah 
precedent, other American initiatives to advance the 
process will be forthcoming.  And the Israeli public is 
already being reassured that the Rafah agreement is 
'the last move' before the start of a lengthy campaign 
season.... Indeed, one can be pleased that American 
pressure led to an agreement that is significant on the 
level of principle.  But one could also ask the 
following question: if massive pressure and personal 
intervention by Rice were necessary to achieve a meager 
technical agreement, what are the chances of real 
progress in the peace process?" 
 
¶V.  "Less Is More" 
 
Middle East affairs commentator Guy Bechor, a lecturer 
at the Interdisciplinary Center, wrote in mass- 
circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (November 17): 
"Disengagement from the Gaza Strip undoubtedly brought 
with it the first contacts and signals in years from 
Arab and Islamic countries towards Israel.  As of now, 
this is at a level of quiet meetings and cooperative 
ventures.  These contacts can be characterized as 
practical activity, though without the official- 
diplomatic seal of approval.... Working relations are 
the most that Israel can get from the Arab world today, 
certainly after five years of Intifada that have 
poisoned the region.  Unfortunately, Israel's 
reputation in Arab and Muslim public opinion is worse 
today than ever before.... Perhaps it is time to learn 
from the failed 1990s and to understand that in our 
region it is necessary to conduct oneself modestly, 
without any declarations, Nobel Prizes, vision or 
festive promises.  The greater the public Israeli 
aspiration, the greater the resistance in the Arab 
public will be, accordingly.... The rule with regard to 
the highly fragile relations that are currently being 
renewed with the Arab and Islamic world should 
therefore be: without arrogance, brass bands, fanfares 
or festive summits; without ceremonies and formalism, 
undue statements or provocations; but with quiet and 
productive economic, commercial and diplomatic work on 
the ground.  We should not perceive this practical work 
as a prelude to the main thing.  It is the main thing 
in and of itself." 
 
JONES