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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 07 TEL AVIV 006719 
 
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.  Israeli elections 
¶3.  Iran, nuclear program 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
 
All media report on Shimon Peres' quitting Labor and 
political activity and endorsing PM Sharon's Kadima. 
The Jerusalem Post reports that "former prime minister 
and Labor Party leader Shimon Peres ended weeks of 
speculation about his political future when he 
announced on Wednesday that he had decided to retire 
from the Knesset, endorse PM Sharon and join his 
attempt to bring about Middle East peace.  If Sharon is 
re-elected as prime minister, Peres is to serve as a 
senior minister in charge of peace talks with the 
Palestinians and developing the Galilee and Negev 
regions.  He does not intend to seek a Knesset seat 
with Sharon's new Kadima party, ending a record 46 
years in the Knesset."  According to a Ha'aretz-Dialog 
poll published Thursday, some 30% of Israelis say the 
move would increase the chances they would vote for 
Sharon's party, while 15% said it would decrease those 
chances.  The poll shows that 47% of those polled said 
Sharon is their favorite candidate for prime minister, 
with Labor's Amir Peretz coming in a "distant second" 
with some 18%. 
 
The media carry a host of reactions to Peres' move. 
Ha'aretz reports that Labor Chairman Peretz has not 
commented yet, but Labor MK Ofir Pines said Peres' 
"attempt to excuse the fact he abandoned ship for the 
sake of peace is pathetic."  Likud's Netanyahu said the 
move "proves Kadima is headed leftward" and that "Labor 
II has been established."  Meretz' Yosi Beilin said 
Peres "made a grave mistake" when he decided to join 
"Sharon's supermarket, whose few products have all 
expired."  The Jerusalem Post reports that, in the wake 
of the Peres move, the Likud announced its new election 
slogan: "Vote Sharon, get Peres." 
 
Yediot Aharonot reports that after 32 years in the 
Knesset, Meretz Chairman Yosi Sarid "made a final 
decision" to quit the party and politics.  He will 
announce it officially tomorrow. 
Ha'aretz reports that Moshe Feiglin, a Likud right-wing 
member, officially announced he is running for party 
leader and its candidate for prime minister yesterday. 
He presented a family-oriented social agenda, saying 
Israel should quit the Oslo process and annex all the 
land in Israel's hands at this time. 
Ha'aretz reports that Justice Minister Tzipi Livni has 
stated publicly that the separation fence will serve as 
"the future border of the state of Israel" and that, 
"the High Court of Justice, in its rulings over the 
fence, is drawing the country's borders."  Livni's 
remarks are in contradiction to the position of the 
state prosecution, which she oversees as justice 
minister.  The prosecution has many times stated in 
court, when petitions against the separation fence were 
being heard, that the barrier is a "security" rather 
than a "political" fence, and that it is a temporary 
measure.  "Just as the fence has been built, so it can 
be taken down or moved," the prosecution has oft 
stated.  Speaking a few days ago at a legal conference 
in Caesarea, Livni said: "One does not have to be a 
genius to see that the fence will have implications for 
the future border.  This is not the reason for its 
establishment, but it could have political 
implications." 
 
Ha'aretz follows-up on a report on Military 
Intelligence chief Major General Aharon Ze'evi's 
(Farkash) remarks Wednesday before the Knesset Foreign 
Affairs and Defense Committee, where he said Hizballah 
had planned to unleash a massive barrage of rocket 
attacks on civilian targets in the north, encouraging 
an Israel Defense Forces reaction, in response to which 
the Lebanon-based organization had planned to launch 
rockets, including long-range Katyushas, at Israel's 
northern border last week.  Referring to the Iranian 
issue, Ze'evi said that if by the end of March 2006, 
the international community does not manage to use 
diplomatic means to block Iran's effort to produce a 
nuclear bomb, "there will no longer be any reason to 
continue diplomatic activity in this field, and it will 
be possible to say that the international attempts to 
thwart [Iran's efforts] have failed." Several MKs, 
including the committee chairman, said they thought 
Ze'evi was saying military efforts would become 
necessary by April. 
 
In a related story, Ma'ariv cited an unnamed "security 
source" as saying that "Israel will apparently have to 
get used to living with the fact that Iran has nuclear 
capabilities."  The source said he sees "no power in 
the world that could change the situation at this 
time," saying that this would force Israel to think 
deeper about its strategic situation, while focusing on 
bolstering its conventional military capabilities.  The 
source added that Israel would not be dragged into 
skirmishes by Hizballah provocations. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that during a visit to the 
Kerem Shalom terminal crossing, Defense Minister Shaul 
Mofaz said Wednesday that Israel cannot accept a 
situation whereby "complete, accurate and real time 
information" on Palestinians traveling between Egypt 
and the Gaza Strip is withheld.  Mofaz warned that if 
the PA fails to live up to its commitments in 
accordance with the US-brokered agreement, Israel will 
shut down the Karni and Erez terminal crossings and 
later turn them into international border crossings 
between Israel and Gaza, a step that will have severe 
economic repercussions for the PA.  Mofaz intends to 
raise the issue in the coming week with European Union 
officials, and if the PA fails to amend the situation 
then conclusions will be drawn, security officials 
said.  Five days since the crossing was officially 
opened, several thousand Palestinians have passed 
through the terminal, which is yet to become fully 
operational and is currently open four to five hours 
each day. 
The Jerusalem Post reports that senior Fatah members 
are demanding that Marwan Barguti, the Fatah activist 
who scored a landslide victory in PA primaries last 
week from his Israeli prison, be appointed deputy PA 
chairman. 
The Jerusalem Post reports that 10 Palestinians were 
wounded in Nablus yesterday in clashes with IDF 
soldiers in pursuit of fugitives. 
 
Yediot Aharonot reports that dozens of Israeli veteran 
combat soldiers were sent to northern Iraq over the 
past 18 months to establish special Kurdish security 
and antiterror units, and mainly to help establish the 
Hawler International Airport.  They were sent there by 
Israeli commercial companies that produce military 
equipment and provided the Kurds with manpower and 
equipment to the tune of hundreds of millions of 
dollars.  The Defense Ministry stated in reaction to 
this report that "it has never allowed any Israelis to 
operate in Iraq, and that if any operations have been 
taken, they were done privately and without 
permission." 
 
¶1.  Mideast 
 
                        Summary 
                      ----------- 
Middle East affairs commentator Guy Bechor writes in 
mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot:  "Two 
large experiments in democracy have been held in the 
Arab world in recent years, and both ended with a grave 
democratic disappointment..  The Arab world wants to 
join the democratic world, but knows that the 
democratic tool would allow the rise to power of 
political Islam, which would cancel democracy.. 
Separating state from religion and banning religious 
parties from any political elections could solve the 
problem." 
 
                      Bloc quotes 
                    -------------- 
"God's Houses and Parliaments" 
 
Middle East affairs commentator Guy Bechor writes in 
mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot:  "Egypt 
and the Arab world were (once again) shocked -- the 
Muslim Brothers Party won 20% of the parliamentary 
seats in Egypt's democratic elections, and coupled with 
pro-Islamic parliamentarians, they hold 30% of the 
seats., which naturally came at the expense of 
President Mubarak's party.  Two large experiments in 
democracy have been held in the Arab world in recent 
years, and both ended with a grave democratic 
disappointment: In the 1992 Algerian elections, the 
Islamic Salvation Front won no less than 82% of the 
vote..  Last year, the Americans imposed a democracy in 
Iraq, but it is still disappointing, with religious and 
ethnic parties returning to the political ring and the 
raging civil war..  The Arab world wants to join the 
democratic world, but knows that the democratic tool 
would allow the rise to power of political Islam, which 
would cancel democracy.  How to solve this dilemma? 
Who could vouch that if elections are held in the PA, 
Hamas would not win and start ruling the same 
Palestinian Authority that Israel established to fight 
Hamas?.  Turkey offers a model: separating state from 
religion. which might prove to be the coveted answer: 
if - as part of a regional covenant, under the auspices 
of the world's superpowers - all the Arab parliaments 
should decide on banning religious parties from any 
political elections, it could solve the problem." 
 
¶2. Israeli elections 
 
                        Summary 
                      ----------- 
Veteran columnist Yaron London writes in the editorial 
of mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot:  "The 
instinct that drives people toward the 'strongman' 
while ignoring his other qualities, searching his past, 
or finding what goes on in his skull, are the same 
instincts that created Fascist mass-supported parties." 
 
Political commentator Evelyn Gordon writes in 
conservative, independent Jerusalem Post: Sharon "is 
winking at the voters and saying: Vote for me because 
you know that I am lying..  For now, it looks as if the 
upcoming election will primarily be a referendum on 
Sharon's performance as prime minister.  Thus voters 
are faced with a simple choice: They can say, loudly 
and clearly, that they are tired of being fed lies; 
that they want politicians to tell the truth about 
their intentions and thereby allow them to make a real 
choice about the country's future.  Or, by reelecting 
Sharon, they can declare that not only is being lied to 
perfectly fine, but they actually prefer it to being 
told the truth." 
 
                      Bloc quotes 
                    -------------- 
 
¶I.  "The Smell of Fascism is in the Air" 
 
Veteran columnist Yaron London writes in the editorial 
of mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot: 
"Strange is the public's belief in a man who only 
yesterday was perceived as a corrupt warmonger.  Scary 
is the race of notables to join the party that was born 
at his whim and totally depends on him.  The instinct 
that drives people toward the 'strongman' while 
ignoring his other qualities, searching his past, or 
finding what goes on in his skull, are the same 
instincts that created Fascist mass-supported parties. 
We may find comfort in ignoring certain historical 
chapters and drawing hope from others:  In many 
respects, PM Sharon is like French President Charles de 
Gaulle, who was deposed after changing his country's 
constitution, established a ruling party that was based 
on his big name, and pulled France out of Algeria." 
 
II.  "The Fruit of Mendacity" 
 
Political commentator Evelyn Gordon writes in 
conservative, independent Jerusalem Post: "As Ha'aretz 
columnist Akiva Eldar aptly noted on Monday, Ariel 
Sharon currently appears poised to become the first 
person ever elected precisely because nobody believes a 
word he says..  Lying to the electorate has been the 
Israeli political norm for the last 13 years, ever 
since Yitzhak Rabin's victory in 1992..  Sharon's 
broken promises over disengagement inevitably 
undermined his credibility.  But now, in a display of 
true political genius, he is trying to turn this lack 
of credibility from a liability into an asset. 
Essentially, he is winking at the voters and saying: 
Vote for me because you know that I am lying..  for 
now, it looks as if the upcoming election will 
primarily be a referendum on Sharon's performance as 
prime minister.  Thus voters are faced with a simple 
choice: They can say, loudly and clearly, that they are 
tired of being fed lies; that they want politicians to 
tell the truth about their intentions and thereby allow 
them to make a real choice about the country's future. 
Or, by reelecting Sharon, they can declare that not 
only is being lied to perfectly fine, but they actually 
prefer it to being told the truth.  In that case, two 
things are certain.  First, no Israeli politician will 
ever again consider honesty a viable policy; anyone who 
values integrity will understand that he does not 
belong in politics and quit.  As a result, Israeli 
politics will become even more dishonest, corrupt, and 
debased than they already are.  And second, Israelis 
will deserve every bit of it." 
 
¶3. Iran, nuclear program 
                        Summary 
                      ----------- 
Military correspondent Amir Rapoport writes in 
pluralist, popular Ma'ariv:  "Sadly, there exists no 
military option to destroy the Iranian nuclear project. 
Europe (Russia excluded) and the United States are 
currently united in their willingness to threaten Iran 
with grave international sanctions if it does not stop 
its nuclear project., and should they fail, we will be 
left with the military option, but it is hard to 
believe that the [American] public would allow the 
administration to launch another military adventure 
whose end no one knows." 
 
                      Bloc quotes 
                    -------------- 
"There is No Military Option" 
 
Military correspondent Amir Rapoport writes in 
pluralist, popular Ma'ariv:  "Sadly, there exists no 
military option to destroy the Iranian nuclear project 
in an instant..  It is impossible because instead of 
running their nuclear project from a single facility, 
they dispersed its components all over Iran.  There is 
no single site there that, if destroyed, would stop the 
project..  But there are ways to stop the nightmare of 
a nuclear bomb in the hands of an extremist ayatollahs 
regime..  Europe (Russia excluded) and the United 
States are currently united in their willingness to 
threaten Iran with grave international sanctions if it 
does not stop its nuclear project., and should they 
fail, we will be left with the military option., but 
when we remember the mud the Americans have sunken into 
in Iraq, it is hard to believe that the public there 
would allow the administration to launch another 
military adventure whose end no one knows.  Given this 
complex reality, the conflicting remarks that senior 
Israeli security officials have been making regarding 
the Iranian bomb reflect an Israeli incompetence, more 
than confusion." 
Jones