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

301205Z Dec 05

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 07 TEL AVIV 007098 
 
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.  Syria 
 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
All media, except Maariv, led with Wednesday's suicide 
bombing near Tulkarm, in which IDF officer Uri Binamo 
and two Palestinians were killed.  Three soldiers and 
seven Palestinians were also wounded in the blast.  The 
media quoted army sources as saying that the suicide 
bomber was apparently planning to blow himself up at 
one of many children's events taking place in Tel Aviv 
during this week's Hanukkah holiday.  Leading media 
cited the IDF's belief that Binamo was Islamic Jihad's 
24th victim this year.  Israel Radio reported that 
security forces found and detonated an explosives 
charge southwest of Hebron. 
 
In its lead story, Maariv reported that former Shin Bet 
chief Avi Dichter, who is expected to take up a key 
security portfolio if PM Sharon forms the new 
government, said in private meetings that a further 
disengagement would put Israel's security at risk.  He 
was quoted as saying that the Palestinians should not 
be rewarded for thwarting the Roadmap. 
 
Maariv reported that in recent days, Israel decided to 
reexamine its firm opposition to holding the PA 
elections in East Jerusalem.   Maariv wrote that one of 
the explanations for the change in the political 
echelon's firm stance is that Israel does not want PA 
Chairman [President] Mahmoud Abbas to use its refusal 
to permit elections in East Jerusalem as an excuse for 
postponing them.   Maariv reported that a senior 
Israeli political source told the newspaper yesterday: 
"We are opposed in principle to holding elections in 
East Jerusalem in which Hamas will participate, but we 
will examine our position according to developments." 
 
Israel Radio reported that the security forces and the 
Civil Administration dismantled three illegal, 
uninhabited settler outposts in the northern West Bank 
-- Shvut Rachel, Beit El (next to the settlement of 
Beit El), and Horesh Yaron. 
 
Leading media reported that Defense Minster Shaul Mofaz 
has decided to set up an investigative team comprised 
of IDF, police, and Shin Bet personnel, to elucidate 
the destruction of Palestinian olive groves in the West 
Bank.  The media reported that Mofaz termed the 
phenomenon a "scandal" and quoted him as saying that it 
is inconceivable that Israel should accept it. 
 
IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz was quoted as saying on 
Thursday in an interview with IDF Radio that he does 
not think the IDF will act against the Iranian nuclear 
program.  Halutz was also quoted as saying that because 
Iran does not yet have a nuclear bomb, it does not 
constitute an existential threat to Israel. 
 
IDF Intelligence chief Maj. Gen Aharon Zeevi-Farkash 
was quoted as saying in a farewell interview with 
Yediot that Hamas will get 35 percent or even 50 
percent of the votes in the Palestinian legislative 
elections.  Zeevi-Farkash was also quoted as saying 
that Tanzim leader Marwan Barghouti should not be 
released from jail, because this would strengthen 
terror and definitely eliminate Abbas.  Zeevi-Farkash 
did not rule out a military operation against Iran's 
nuclear program. 
 
All media reported that on Thursday, the Labor Party 
kicked off a new campaign aimed at stopping its slide 
in recent public opinion polls, which will run under 
the slogan "Labor - The Time Has Come."  The media 
reported on a Geocartographia survey released by IDF 
Radio on Thursday that found the Shinui party failing 
to gain any seats in the next Knesset.  Israel Radio 
reported that Likud Chairman Knesset Member Binyamin 
Netanyahu is playing down his efforts to ban Moshe 
Feiglin, the head of the party's Jewish Leadership far- 
right faction, from presenting his candidacy in the 
Likud's list for the Knesset. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that the whereabouts of three Britons 
kidnapped in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday afternoon were 
still unknown last night, as were the identities of the 
kidnappers and their demands.  The newspaper reported 
on the huge deployment of Palestinian security forces 
in Rafah.  Israel Radio reported that this morning, "in 
an embarrassing development for the PA," Palestinian 
policemen angry over the killing of a fellow police 
officer stormed the Gaza-Egypt crossing, firing in the 
air and forcing European monitors to close the border 
and flee.   Maariv reported that at the beginning of 
the week, East Jerusalem "turned into Ramallah" for a 
few minutes.  The daily wrote: "The displays of anarchy 
that are so familiar from the Palestinian cities, 
reached the Dahiat el-Barid neighborhood of East 
Jerusalem.  Dozens of Fatah operatives, some armed, 
surrounded the building of the Palestinian Central 
Elections Committee, and lay siege to the site.  They 
sprayed the word "Closed" on the door, and to make the 
point clear -- fired shots in the air." 
 
Israel Radio reported that in two weeks, a ceremony 
will be held in Egypt to commemorate the 32nd 
anniversary of the Chinese Farm Battle during the Yom 
Kippur War, which took place on October 15-17, 1973. 
The radio reported that more than 120 Israelis who 
fought in the battle will participate in the ceremony, 
including those who were injured, as well as families 
of the fallen.  The station said that recently secret 
talks took place between senior officials in the 
security establishment and figures in the Egyptian 
government about holding the ceremony. 
 
Yediot cited allegations made by members of the Civil 
Service Commission that Danny Ayalon, Israel's 
Ambassador to the U.S., attempted to obstruct the 
investigation against him. 
 
Yediot reported that an El Al plane has been equipped 
with Flight Guard protection against shoulder-fired 
missiles, which is made by the Israeli manufacturer 
Elta.  Additional planes will be outfitted with the 
system in the coming months.  The decision to protect 
the airliners was made three years ago.  Maariv and 
Hatzofe reported that the Saudi newspaper Al-Watan's 
Cairo correspondent wrote that Egypt's air defense 
almost downed an Israeli Chieftain plane that had 
strayed from its scheduled Tel Aviv-Cairo route. 
 
A Yediot/Mina Zemach (Dahaf Institute) poll found that 
the Labor Party lost the equivalent of 7 Knesset seats 
in the paper's public opinion polls between November 18 
(28 seats) and the end of December (21 seats).  Kadima 
remained stable at 39 Knesset seats, while Likud gained 
2 Knesset seats (12 to 14) since last week. 
Maariv printed the results of a TNS/Teleseker Polling 
Institute survey, which found that Kadima would garner 
40 Knesset seats, the Labor Party 19, and Likud 16. 
 
The Jerusalem Post cited the results of a survey on 
territorial concessions, security, and the peace 
process, conducted by Dr. Mina Zemach and commissioned 
by the Jerusalem Center For Public Affairs' Defensive 
Borders Project, which indicated that a majority of 
Israelis believe that the pullout from Gaza was the 
"right step," but that less than one out of five 
support a policy of unilateral disengagements. 
-Almost 80 percent of those surveyed said that they 
opposed "conceding the Jordan Valley" -- an area viewed 
as a buffer zone between Israel and Jordan -- as part 
of a peace agreement with the Palestinians. 
-Similarly, 93 percent of respondents said: "In the 
context of a peace agreement, Israel must not give the 
Palestinians the territories that topographically 
dominate Ben-Gurion Airport." 
-In contrast, a slim majority, 53 percent to 47 
percent, responded that as part of a peace agreement 
with the Palestinians, they would be willing to pass 
the Temple Mount to international control, as long as 
Israel maintained control of the Western Wall. 
 
------------ 
¶1.  Mideast: 
------------ 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Senior columnist and chief defense commentator Zeev 
Schiff wrote in independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: 
"The forecast on the matter of the Qassam rockets is 
not good.... In such a situation, escalation will be 
inevitable." 
 
Senior columnist and longtime dove Yoel Marcus wrote in 
Ha'aretz: "If [Amir Peretz] succeeds in coming up with 
a political program for demarcating permanent borders, 
dismantling settlements, ending the occupation and 
stopping the bloodshed, he may soar again.  Poverty is 
not going to run away." 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
¶I.  "Escalation Is Inevitable" 
 
Senior columnist and chief defense commentator Zeev 
Schiff wrote in independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz 
(December 30): "The firing of the Katyusha rockets on 
Kiryat Shmona this week, as the launching of Qassam 
rockets on Ashkelon and the Negev continues, testifies 
to a failure of Israeli deterrence.... The forecast on 
the matter of the Qassam rockets is not good.  Sooner 
or later the Palestinians will improve their range, or 
will succeed in smuggling long-range Katyusha rockets 
from Sinai.  At that point we will see that Ashdod, 
too, is within the range of the rockets.  There is also 
the possibility that they will succeed in smuggling 
similar weapons into the West Bank territories.  In 
such a situation, escalation will be inevitable.  The 
way to deal with it will not be another unilateral 
withdrawal. In the unilateral move Israel in effect 
caused the elimination of the disarmament by agreement 
of the Gaza Strip." 
 
 
 
 
II.  "Can Peretz Soar Once More?" 
 
Senior columnist and longtime dove Yoel Marcus wrote in 
Ha'aretz (December 30): "Amir Peretz is one of the best 
things that has happened to Israeli politics -- young, 
Moroccan, sharp of mind and sharp of tongue, and most 
of all, full of self-confidence.  Even those who are 
not fans of his socio-economic views will find it hard 
not to admire how passionately he embraces them. Shimon 
Peres's defeat by someone from outside the tribe has 
been a great political catalyst and done wonders for 
[Israel's] political metabolism.... [But] Peretz has 
erred in not separating himself from his decades as a 
trade unionist.  Not that poverty and the social agenda 
don't require serious attention, but the main concern 
of most Israelis today is the need for a political 
solution that will put an end to the Qassam rockets and 
terror before the whole region is dragged into all-out 
war.... Like the conductor of an orchestra, a person 
who aspires to become a national leader must be 
familiar with all the instruments.  Peretz is too busy 
in his own narrow niche as a trade union boss.  This 
doesn't mean that he's crash-landed.  He still enjoys 
the intriguing status of a promising leader with 
extraordinary talent.  If he succeeds in coming up with 
a political program for demarcating permanent borders, 
dismantling settlements, ending the occupation and 
stopping the bloodshed, he may soar again.  Poverty is 
not going to run away." 
 
---------- 
¶2.  Syria: 
---------- 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Washington correspondent Nathan Guttman wrote in the 
conservative, independent Jerusalem Post: "The current 
standstill may indicate that Assad is much more 
difficult to deal with than any other leader." 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
"From Flames to Embers" 
 
Washington correspondent Nathan Guttman wrote in the 
conservative, independent Jerusalem Post (December 30): 
"While the international community is putting pressure 
on Syria to cooperate with the Hariri investigation -- 
something that could endanger high-ranking officials in 
the regime -- heating up the Israeli-Lebanese border 
puts Assad in a bargaining position.  He can tell the 
world, in effect, 'Ease the pressure and I'll restrain 
Hizbullah.  U.S. officials dealing with Syria have 
acknowledged that 'things have slowed down' where 
pressure on Syria is concerned.  But they are concerned 
this is only a temporary hiatus.... Some sources in 
Washington believe Syria will eventually follow 
suit.... On the other hand, the current standstill may 
indicate that Assad is much more difficult to deal with 
than any other leader.  Evidence of this lies in the 
fact that both the U.S. and Europe have exhausted 
practically all their options with him.  Military 
action is not feasible at the moment; nor are economic 
and diplomatic sanctions against Syria considered to be 
effective.  The only thing left is isolating the 
country and hoping Assad really cares.... Such a lack 
of options where Assad is concerned is another reason 
for putting Syria on the back burner with the conflict- 
management approach: putting out fires when they erupt; 
applying a degree of constant pressure; and hoping for 
better days." 
 
CRETZ