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180754Z Nov 05

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 08 TEL AVIV 006545 
 
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: 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶1.  Labor vs. Likud 
 
¶2.  Gaza: Management of Border Crossings 
 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
All media led with PM Sharon's announcement, expected 
during the weekend, as to whether he will remain in the 
Likud or form a new party.  Both Yediot and The 
Jerusalem Post reported that Sharon's advisers are 
recommending that he leave the Likud.   Israel Radio 
quoted FM Silvan Shalom as saying in Tunisia that, were 
Sharon to quit the Likud, there would be more than two 
candidates for Likud leadership.  The radio said that 
Shalom was hinting he would vie for party chairmanship. 
The Jerusalem Post quoted Labor Knesset Member Yuli 
Tamir, a key political ally of Labor Party Chairman 
Amir Peretz, as saying on Thursday that there "isn't 
much of a difference" between the Likud and the Labor 
parties when it comes to the peace process and the 
Palestinians. 
 
Yediot reported that Communications Minister Dalia 
Itzik (Labor) held a one-on-one meeting with PA 
Chairman [President] Mahmoud Abbas in Tunis on 
Thursday.  Palestinian Deputy Prime Minister and 
Information Minister Nabil Shaath and the PA 
Communications Minister reportedly attended the first 
part of the meeting.  Yediot reported that Abbas asked 
Itzik for an update of the political situation in 
Israel, and that Abbas informed her about the 
Palestinian elections campaign.  The newspaper reported 
that Abbas told Itzik: "We need your help.  And the 
best help is for you not to intervene."  Yediot 
reported that the two discussed the fight against anti- 
Israel incitement in the PA.  Abbas was quoted as 
saying that it had totally ceased, to which Itzik 
allegedly replied: "This only goes to prove that if you 
want, you can." 
 
Ha'aretz quoted sources affiliated with the liberal 
wing of the New York Jewish community as saying that 
leaders of the community encouraged Secretary of State 
Condoleezza Rice to intervene aggressively in the 
Israeli-Palestinian dispute over the Gaza border 
crossings.  The leaders reportedly also urged her to 
press the PA to meet its commitments to fight terror. 
Ha'aretz reported that among others, Rice met in 
Washington earlier this month with the heads of the 
left-wing Israel Policy Forum, who expressed their 
views on various aspects of the Israeli-Palestinian 
conflict.  The newspaper reported that following the 
meeting, the forum also sent Secretary Rice a policy 
paper in which it urged the U.S. to take "aggressive" 
action on three issues -- unambiguous efforts by the PA 
to control terror; an Israeli freeze on settlements and 
removal of illegal outposts; and efforts to help the 
Palestinian economy grow.  The position paper 
reportedly states that this effort would help 
strengthen the PA's position among the various 
Palestinian factions, including Hamas. 
 
Quartet Special Envoy James Wolfensohn was quoted as 
saying in an interview with Ha'aretz that there is a 
need to recognize the desire of the Palestinians to 
have hope and to have a life for themselves and their 
children.  Wolfensohn was quoted as saying that he was 
not suggesting that in order to achieve this, Israel 
has to give up its fundamental right to security and 
safety. 
 
The Jerusalem Post features an extensive interview with 
Dina Habib Powell, the highest-ranking Arab-American in 
the State Department, "and perhaps in the entire Bush 
administration." 
 
Leading media reported that two members of the Al-Aqsa 
Martyrs Brigades, Fatah's military wing, were killed on 
Thursday during an IDF operation near Jenin.  The clash 
reportedly erupted after IDF Special Forces set up a 
roadblock.  Israel Radio reported that the Erez 
crossing with the Gaza Strip was closed this morning, 
following an alert that terrorists intend to carry out 
an attack there. 
 
Israel Radio reported that the IDF has raised the alert 
level at its outposts along the Lebanese border, due to 
the possibility of an attack by Hizbullah. 
 
Ha'aretz wrote that Israel is continuing construction 
in the West Bank.  The newspaper reported that on 
Thursday, the Israel Lands Administration issued 
building tenders for 13 lots in Ma'aleh Adumim, while 
the Construction and Housing Ministry issued tenders 
for building infrastructure in Ariel, Ma'aleh Adumim, 
and Adam.  The Jerusalem Post and other media reported 
that in a gesture designed to heighten public awareness 
of the plight of the 80,000 Israelis living outside the 
security fence, Knesset Members Colette Avital (Labor) 
and Avshalom Vilan (Meretz-Yahad) plan to file a bill 
on Monday offering money to compensate those who want 
to move. 
 
The Jerusalem Post quoted Israeli officials as saying 
Thursday that "in another significant step forward in 
relations between Tunisia and Israel," Tunisia 
authorized a commercial flight between the two 
countries, which have no official diplomatic relations. 
Maariv reported that on Thursday, a senior Qatar 
Airways official denied that his company signed a 
special prorate agreement with the Israeli airline 
Arkia. 
 
The Jerusalem Post, Maariv, and Israel Radio reported 
that Pope Benedict XVI responded positively to an 
invitation from President Moshe Katsav to visit Israel 
when the two met in the Vatican on Thursday.  The media 
reported that Katsav told reporters that the papal 
visit may take place as early as next year.  Ha'aretz 
reported on the acceleration of Israel-Vatican talks on 
the status of Catholic Church properties in Israel, 
driven by President Bush's intervention.  Ha'aretz 
notes that Bush told Sharon recently that he must end 
the stalemate over the issue of special tax exemptions 
to the Vatican, after which Sharon ordered that the 
issue be handled urgently.  The Jerusalem Post notes 
that Israel and the Vatican have resolved most of the 
issues under dispute. 
 
Leading media quoted Knesset Member Talab El-Sana 
(United Arab List) as saying Thursday that he returned 
from a visit to Syria with a message of peace.  El-Sana 
traveled to Damascus against the instructions of 
Israel's Interior Minister Ophir Pines-Paz, and 
delivered a speech to the Syrian Parliament. 
 
Maariv quoted experts from Israel's Antiquities 
Authority as saying that the walls of the Old City of 
Jerusalem are in danger of collapsing. 
 
The Jerusalem Post quoted Yiftah Shapir, editor of the 
Middle East Military Balance at Tel Aviv University's 
Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies, as saying on 
Thursday that the Iranian satellite Sina-1 was too 
small to be effective as a spying device. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that Raed Salah, the 
firebrand leader of the northern branch of Israel's 
Islamic Movement, has decided not to visit the Al-Aqsa 
Mosque today, but at a later date. 
 
Yediot reported that the U.S. administration is 
pressing Britain to amend its legislation that allows 
arrests of IDF officers.  The newspaper says that the 
U.S. fears similar steps against senior Americans 
involved in the Afghanistan and Iraq operations. 
Yediot also reported that a delegation of Israeli 
Justice Ministry officials is secretly visiting the UK 
to reach an understanding on the issue. 
 
Yediot reported that over 100 Israelis receive organs 
from transplants in China annually.  The newspaper 
notes that China uses organs removed from the bodies of 
executed prisoners. 
 
Ha'aretz (English Edition) reported that the format of 
the Graduate Record Examination, the standardized 
entrance test for U.S. graduate schools, is to change 
drastically from October 2006.  The newspaper wrote 
that the test will no longer include analogies and will 
involve more reading comprehension. 
 
A Yediot/Mina Zemach (Dahaf Institute) poll: 
-"Were elections for the Knesset held today, with 
Sharon running in an independent party and Netanyahu 
heading the Likud, for whom would you vote?"  (Results 
in Knesset seats -- in brackets, seats in the current 
Knesset.) 
-Sharon's party 28; Labor Party 28 (22); Likud 18 (40); 
Shas 7 (11); Shinui 6-7 (14); United Torah Judaism 6 
(5); Meretz 5-6 (6); Yisrael Beiteinu 5 (3); National 
Union 4 (4); National Religious Party 3 (6); Arab 
parties 9. 
-If Sharon continues to head the Likud, that party 
would get 38 seats and the Labor Party 28 seats. 
Maariv printed the results of a TNS/Teleseker Polling 
Institute survey: 
-"Were elections for the Knesset held today, for whom 
would you vote?"  (Results in Knesset seats.) 
(With a Sharon-led Likud): Likud 38; Labor 27; Shinui 
10; Shas 10; National Union 7; Meretz 6; United Torah 
Judaism 5; Yisrael Beiteinu 5; National Religious Party 
4; Arab parties 8. 
(With a Netanyahu-led Likud): Likud 33; Labor 33; 
Shinui 12; Shas 10; National Union 6; Meretz 6; United 
Torah Judaism 5; Yisrael Beiteinu 5; National Religious 
Party 4; Arab parties 7. 
-"Should [Israel] return to the Oslo course and start 
negotiating over a final-status [agreement] with the 
Palestinians?"  Opposed: 53 percent; in favor: 43 
percent. 
 
-------------------- 
¶1.  Labor vs. Likud: 
-------------------- 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Liberal columnist Gideon Samet wrote in independent, 
left-leaning Ha'aretz: "Remaining in the Likud would 
force Sharon to be hawkish up to the elections, and 
handcuffed by the rebels who will pull out their knives 
after he wins for them." 
 
Senior columnist Dan Margalit wrote in popular, 
pluralist Maariv: "What is more important than the 
number of lists that will compete in the upcoming 
elections is the fact that they must ascend the stage 
without masks, make-up, or pretenses." 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
¶I.  "Thanks For the Longest Week in Years" 
 
Liberal columnist Gideon Samet wrote in independent, 
left-leaning Ha'aretz (November 18): "When did we ever 
have anything like it? Within one week, a new Labor 
Party chairman has changed the entire political menu. 
In his first days in office, he decided the fate of the 
unity government, and thus the early elections.... [A 
few days later,] the Likud ... hurried to pour water on 
the internal fires that threatened to destroy it.  And 
on Thursday, Peretz finished a week of squeezing the 
Prime Minister Arik, King of Israel, after forcing him 
to advance the elections.... Remaining in the Likud 
would force Sharon to be hawkish up to the elections, 
and handcuffed by the rebels who will pull out their 
knives after he wins for them.  Nearly half the sample 
in one of this week's polls wanted Sharon to leave the 
Likud and form a new party. They are for him, against 
his home party.  Nonetheless, there's always a long 
fuse between the awakening of the Israeli awareness for 
a necessary change and the beginning of translating it 
into votes at the ballot box.  It is very possible that 
this process won't have enough time to ripen in the 
three to four months until elections.  By accelerating 
the timetable, Peretz also managed in effect to make it 
difficult for Sharon to quit the Likud and run against 
him.  A new party can't be established in a month.  The 
rest is a matter of guesswork and polls that sometimes 
aren't much better than guessing.  Meanwhile, what's 
just begun is quite enough.  Amir Peretz is already 
deserving of thanks for the longest week in recent 
years." 
 
II.  "Take Off the Masks" 
 
Senior columnist Dan Margalit wrote in popular, 
pluralist Maariv (November 18): "The [Israeli] voter is 
entitled to know ... whether the Likud could support a 
unilateral withdrawal to the separation barrier as 
Israel's final border, with or without American 
agreement, and whether the Roadmap leads to the 
establishment of a Palestinian state.... The Labor 
Party, too, must be faithful to reality.  Amir Peretz 
supports the Geneva Accord?  If so, he must fight for 
it and try to convince the public to accept it 
unambiguously.... What is more important than the 
number of lists that will compete in the upcoming 
elections is the fact that they must ascend the stage 
without masks, make-up, or pretenses." 
 
----------------------------------------- 
¶2.  Gaza: Management of Border Crossings: 
----------------------------------------- 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
Washington correspondent Nathan Guttman wrote in the 
conservative, independent Jerusalem Post: "This week, 
at least, the [Israeli-Palestinian] conflict was ... 
the only source of positive news concerning American 
foreign policy -- something that may just make the 
hands-on approach an attractive option for the 
administration." 
 
Senior columnist Nahum Barnea wrote in mass- 
circulation, independent Yediot Aharonot: "[Quartet 
Special Envoy James Wolfensohn] didn't understand ... 
the difficulty that his Israeli interlocutors had in 
grasping the fact that the occupation of Gaza is over." 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
¶I.  "Condi's Coup" 
 
Washington correspondent Nathan Guttman wrote in the 
conservative, independent Jerusalem Post (November 18): 
"The driving force behind Rice's decision to take the 
risk and stay in Israel to close the border deal was 
Quartet Special Envoy James Wolfensohn.  The former 
head of the World Bank had reached the point where he 
could no longer put up with the closure of the Gaza 
Strip that threatened to undermine all his efforts to 
rebuild the Palestinian economy and give hope to the 
residents of Gaza.... The problem is that secretaries 
of state who are willing to 'push it over the edge' are 
hard to come by.  The Rice involvement in brokering one 
deal in the Middle East does not necessarily mean that 
the Bush administration is changing its policy and will 
now adopt the practice of mediating international 
crises.... In a strange way, the Israeli-Palestinian 
conflict might turn out to be the best place for Bush 
to invest his capital.  It is true that this conflict 
has been a source of anguish to most of those who ever 
tried to deal with it, but this week, at least, the 
conflict was also the only source of positive news 
concerning American foreign policy -- something that 
may just make the hands-on approach an attractive 
option for the administration." 
 
II.  "Cries and Whispers" 
 
Senior columnist Nahum Barnea wrote in mass- 
circulation, independent Yediot Aharonot (November 18): 
"Quartet Envoy James Wolfensohn started the 
negotiations as a warm Jew, an Israel-lover, and a 
peace-seeker, and concluded them as someone who is fed 
up with both sides.  He was mainly angry with the 
Palestinians, for not arranging their security 
affairs.... He didn't understand the Israelis' lack of 
concern for the human distress in Gaza and the 
possibility that Hamas might win the elections ... and 
the difficulty that his Israeli interlocutors had in 
grasping the fact that the occupation of Gaza is 
over.... When he threatened to resign for the first 
time, Sharon was startled and called up.  He feared 
that Wolfensohn would enlist the Bush administration 
against him.  A few days ago, when Wolfensohn again 
threatened to resign, Sharon contented himself with 
waving at him in a conciliatory gesture.... 
Wolfensohn's cries of despair jolted the U.S. 
administration.  Weisglass was dispatched to calm 
Washington.  He promised Rice that she would get the 
yearned-for agreement from Israel." 
 
JONES