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

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 07 TEL AVIV 006641 
 
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.  Mideast 
 
¶2.  Lebanese-Syrian Track 
 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
Maariv, Yediot, and The Jerusalem Post, published the 
results of three polls that show improvement in the 
rating of PM Sharon's party Kadima (Forward).  Were 
elections held today, Kadima would lead with 32-34 
Knesset mandates; the Labor Party would get 26-28 
Knesset seats; and Likud would get 12-13 mandates. 
Some media raise the possibility of a Kadima-Labor 
Party coalition after the elections.  In the polls, 
Shinui is plummeting to 5-6 mandates.  Ha'aretz and 
other media reported that the Likud has embarked on a 
drive to prevent key activists from following Sharon 
out of the party.  The media reported that about 1,000 
out of the 3,000 members of the Likud's Central 
Committee attended Thursday's committee session in Tel 
Aviv, the first since Sharon quit.  The Likud primaries 
will be held on December 19.  Israel Radio cited the 
Arabic-language newspaper Kul Al-Arab, as saying, 
quoting Sharon associates, that Sharon intends to 
include senior Israeli-Arab figures in his party, and 
to name a member of that community in the government he 
would form. 
 
All media (banner in Yediot) cited a vaguely worded 
travel advisory made public by the GOI's anti-terror 
HQ, which warns that Israelis could be kidnapped all 
over the world.  Yediot quoted an Israeli source as 
saying that Israel is concerned about a new Elchanan 
Tenenbaum affair.  Some commentators said that 
Hizbullah is the group behind the threat.  Yediot 
reported that Hizbullah planned to open a luxury 
restaurant in the Haifa area in partnership with an 
Israeli Arab it enlisted (he was arrested on November 
7), in order to obtain information from senior Israeli 
security personnel and IDF officers regarding IDF 
offensive plans in Lebanon. 
 
On Thursday, leading media reported that, following 
intense U.S. pressure, the UN Security Council on 
Wednesday issued an unprecedented condemnation of 
Hizbullah's attacks on northern Israel Monday.  Israel 
Radio reported that this morning, Israel returned to 
Lebanon the bodies of three Hizbullah militants killed 
by IDF fire on Monday.  The media reported that Israel 
made the decision on Thursday, following an official 
request by the Lebanese government.  On Thursday, all 
media reported that an Israeli paraglider was blown 
down into Lebanese territory on Wednesday, sparking 
exchanges of gunfire between the IDF and Hizbullah 
until he managed to return safely to Israel. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that PA Chairman 
[President] Mahmoud Abbas will officially open the 
Rafah crossing today.  The newspaper reported that no 
Israeli representative is expected to attend the 
ceremony.  The Jerusalem Post also reported that on 
Wednesday night, Rafik al-Hasanat, a senior member of 
Hamas who has been wanted by Israel for over a decade, 
returned to the Gaza Strip through the crossing, which 
was opened for a few hours on Wednesday to allow 
hundreds of Palestinians stranded on the Egyptian side 
to return to the Gaza Strip. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that the U.S. Congress is 
working on a resolution that will ban Hamas from taking 
part in the election process and threatens relations 
between the PA and the U.S. should the PA fail to 
disarm Hamas.  The newspaper wrote that House 
Resolution 575 was introduced last Friday by a group of 
Republican and Democratic congressmen and that it was 
referred to the House International Relations 
committee.  The Jerusalem Post reported that a similar 
letter is now circulating in the U.S. Senate. 
 
Leading media reported that Iyad Abu Rob, the commander 
of Islamic Jihad in Jenin, surrendered to IDF troops 
early Thursday morning, after a day-long siege.  Abu 
Rob is suspected of involvement in the October 26 
suicide bombing in Hadera that killed six Israelis. 
Ha'aretz reported that Zacharia Zubeidi, the head of 
the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades in the city, tried to 
mediate between the sides. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that the High Court of Justice told 
Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz on Thursday to report 
within 10 days on preparations to demolish illegal 
structures at the Amona outpost near the West Bank 
settlements of Ofra. 
On Thursday, The Jerusalem Post reported that the U.S. 
was willing to give Russian diplomacy another chance 
and that it would not insist on referring the Iranian 
nuclear issue to the UN Security Council in the meeting 
of the International Atomic Energy board of governors 
that was slated to take place Thursday. 
 
Leading media reported that on Thursday, Jordan's King 
Abdullah II named Dr. Marouf al-Bakhit prime minister. 
Al-Bakhit was ambassador to Israel until a few weeks 
ago.  Yediot notes that he speaks Hebrew. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that a delegation of four 
Israeli Arabs headed by Knesset Member Talab El-Sana 
from the Arab Democratic Party left Thursday for Qatar 
to meet with Qatari leaders.  The newspaper quoted El- 
Sana as saying he would meet with Qatari leader Sheik 
Hamad Bin Khalifa to discuss the situation of Israeli 
Arabs in Israel and the effects of the recent political 
developments on the peace process.   The Jerusalem Post 
also reported that El-Sana told the newspaper: "We will 
also visit the offices of Al Jazeera-TV, which 
President George Bush wanted to bomb, and we will thank 
the emir for his support for projects in Palestine." 
 
All media reported that India has expressed concern 
over the high crash rate of its Israeli-made spy 
drones, having taken up the issue with Israeli 
officials. 
 
On Thursday and Friday, all media reported on 
controversy sparked by anti-Semitic comments that the 
American singer Michael Jackson allegedly made in a 
phone conversation with one of his former advisers two 
months ago.  Israel Radio quoted media sources in 
Bahrain as saying that Jackson plans to convert to 
Islam or that that he has already done so. 
 
Leading media reported that the Health Ministry 
announced on Thursday that a man who worked with 
migratory birds in the Hula Lake in northern Israel 
might have been infected with the dangerous genus of 
the avian influenza. 
 
------------ 
¶1.  Mideast: 
------------ 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Ben Caspit wrote in popular, 
pluralist Maariv: "Should there be no partner for 
Roadmap -- which is plausible -- Israel, on its own 
initiative, will leave expansive parts of Judea and 
Samaria [i.e. the West Bank], [and] obtain (advance) 
American recognition of, (and silent European assent) 
to the new line." 
 
Liberal op-ed writer Ofer Shelach opined in mass- 
circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot: "The American 
document par excellence ... mentioned things the 
Palestinians had never dared even ask for in the course 
of the negotiations." 
 
Washington correspondent Nathan Guttman wrote in the 
conservative, independent Jerusalem Post: "If President 
Bush is interested in helping Sharon before the 
elections, he can follow two avenues." 
 
 
 
 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
¶I.  "The Maps Are Ready" 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Ben Caspit wrote in popular, 
pluralist Maariv (November 25): "Sharon is this week's 
big winner... More than anything else, Sharon's move 
was courageous and fit for a leader.  In addition, it 
can be determined with certainty that Sharon wouldn't 
have gone for it had he not planned to take new bold 
diplomatic steps.  There is no doubt about it -- had he 
wanted to spend his time playing around with the 
Roadmap, he would have stayed in the Likud.  At this 
point, Sharon isn't talking about this and his advisers 
(Weisglass and Eival Giladi) have gone underground, but 
the maps have already been prepared.  The formula that 
worked in Gaza will also be implemented in the West 
Bank.  Should there be no partner for the Roadmap -- 
which is plausible -- Israel, on its own initiative, 
will leave expansive parts of Judea and Samaria [i.e. 
the West Bank], concentrate behind the [separation] 
barrier in many areas, obtain (advance) American 
recognition of, (and silent European assent) to the new 
line, and stabilize a new situation in the region.... 
What could save Netanyahu would be (as usual) terror. 
This is also what could ruin [Amir] Peretz.  On the 
other hand, there is no Shimon Peres on the other side 
... but Sharon, who, let's remove any doubt, will 
always be able to launch a short Arab-munching 
operation in the middle of the [elections] campaign." 
 
II.  "What the Palestinians Never Dreamt of Getting" 
 
Liberal op-ed writer Ofer Shelach opined in mass- 
circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (November 24): 
"The security negotiations [over a Gaza crossings 
agreement] went on for months without getting 
anywhere.... While -- according to Shimon Peres -- the 
lack of agreement over the crossing points meant we had 
not yet left Gaza, the ticking bomb of the living 
conditions of the Gazans -- which are entirely 
dependent on the passage of people and goods from Egypt 
to Gaza, continued to tick away loudly.  In the end it 
was the danger presented by that bomb, which found 
expression in James Wolfensohn's threat to leave the 
region, which brought about Rice's intervention, and, 
with it, the American document par excellence that 
mentioned things the Palestinians had never dared even 
ask for in the course of the negotiations.   In the 
final agreement Israel has no real control over who 
comes into or goes out of the Gaza Strip.  This is not 
likely to endanger national security, as the 
establishment would like us to think, but it could have 
been prevented had the negotiations been properly 
conducted.  But ... this agreement will not last, 
because this very same attitude will cause the security 
establishment to behave in ways that will undermine 
it.... The vicious cycle will remain unbroken: Israel's 
security fixations will damage its ability to achieve 
things by negotiation, then immediately afterwards the 
security establishment will prove that the negotiations 
were unnecessary from the outset.  And so another prime 
minister will continue to back it up and the citizens 
of Israel will continue to believe it more than they 
believe anyone else, and nothing will ever change." 
III.  "Due Process" 
 
Washington correspondent Nathan Guttman wrote in the 
conservative, independent Jerusalem Post (November 25): 
"The fact that there is no pressing issue on the Middle 
East agenda -- and that any push forward in the peace 
process would have to wait in any case for the January 
Palestinian elections -- is helping the administration 
follow the upcoming Israeli elections from a distance. 
That is not to say that there is no interest in the 
dispute between Sharon and his former political 
home.... If President Bush is interested in helping 
Sharon before the elections, he can follow two avenues. 
The first would be to refrain from putting any pressure 
on Israel until the elections.  Bush is not known for 
pressuring Israel in any situation, so it is safe to 
speculate that he will be able to take this route in 
the next few months as well.  The second is by 
approving the special aid package of USD 1.2 billion 
for the development of the Negev and Galilee.  The 
approval of this sum can go a long way in Israeli 
politics and can be used by Sharon to show he voters 
how his good relations with the U.S. are essential for 
the future of Israel.  Israel and the U.S. recently 
resumed discussions on this special aid package, but it 
is not clear if it can move forward before the 
elections even if Bush gives it the green light." 
 
-------------------------- 
¶2.  Lebanese-Syrian Track: 
-------------------------- 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Senior columnist and chief defense commentator Zeev 
Schiff wrote in independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: 
"[Hizbullah] clearly understood that a kidnapping 
operation would foment a broad Israeli response.  This, 
in fact, was the aim: to divert attention from the 
results of the Hariri assassination investigation and 
ease the pressure on Syria." 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
"Hizbullah Rocks the Boat" 
 
Senior columnist and chief defense commentator Zeev 
Schiff wrote in independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz 
(November 25): "Since February, Hizbullah had refrained 
from firing Katyusha rockets into Israel and launching 
large-scale attacks on the Israel-Lebanon border.  The 
situation in Lebanon and in Syria was not suited for 
such actions.... At the beginning of this week, a shift 
occurred in Hizbullah's operational approach.  The 
organization launched a large-scale, well-planned 
operation that included the goal of kidnapping an 
Israeli soldier.  Even though it was warned not to 
expand its operation by firing Katyusha rockets deep 
into the Galilee, the organization clearly understood 
that a kidnapping operation would foment a broad 
Israeli response.  This, in fact, was the aim: to 
divert attention from the results of the Hariri 
assassination investigation and ease the pressure on 
Syria.  It is equally clear that an operation like this 
would not have been launched without approval by Syria 
and Iran.... Hizbullah suffered an ... operational 
failure.  It failed to achieve its goals, lost members, 
and left their bodies behind.  The Security Council 
accused the organization of initiating the incident.... 
Not even the clearest photographs of Israeli army 
equipment that was damaged can blur the failure.... 
This is a complex state of affairs, which is liable to 
deteriorate into a broad confrontation between Israel 
and Syria.  It is doubtful that Syrian President Bashar 
Assad can be relied upon to prevent such deterioration. 
Therefore, it is doubly important for Israel to keep 
its hands on the wheel, and take into account the need 
to avoid being dragged into the American-French 
confrontation with the Syrians and Hizbullah." 
 
JONES