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E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: IS KMDR MEDIA REACTION REPORT
SUBJECT: ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION 
 
 
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SUBJECTS COVERED IN THIS REPORT: 
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Mideast 
 
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Key stories in the media: 
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In their lead stories, all media reported that the 
doctors treating PM Sharon plan to try to rouse him 
from his induced coma today.  To do so, they will 
gradually reduce the intravenous doses of sedatives 
that Sharon is receiving.  Once he is awake, the 
doctors will examine his responses to light, sound, and 
pain, and try to determine the amount of damage he 
suffered as a result of his cerebral hemorrhage.  This 
morning, the media reported that Sharon appears to be 
able to breathe independently even before he is 
awakened.  Ha'aretz and other media quoted Dr. Jose 
Cohen, one of the neurosurgeons who operated on Sharon, 
as saying on Sunday: "His chances of survival are very 
high, but his ability to think and draw conclusion will 
be impaired."  Ha'aretz and other media cited criticism 
by senior physicians on the treatment received by 
Sharon. 
 
On Sunday, Yediot quoted White House officials as 
saying that President Bush would prefer Ehud Olmert to 
be the prime minister of Israel in the post-Sharon 
period because he is the only one of the candidates who 
is committed to Sharon's legacy and to making progress 
on the Roadmap.  On Sunday, Yediot reported that Bush 
is among the world leaders who have made plans to come 
to Israel in an emergency. 
 
Leading media reported that Vice Premier Shimon Peres 
will not run for the leadership of Kadima, but that he 
plans to present himself in Kadima's Knesset list. 
Ha'aretz reported that Kadima officials predicted last 
night that Justice Minister Tzipi Livni will win the 
No.2 spot on the party's list.  The officials also 
predicted that Peres will not be appointed foreign 
minister in the next government. 
 
Hatzofe quoted FM Silvan Shalom as saying Sunday at the 
weekly cabinet meeting that East Jerusalem residents 
will be allowed to vote in the Palestinian legislative 
elections, but that they will have to do so outside the 
city limits, probably in Abu Dis.  Israel Radio quoted 
Internal Security Minister Gideon Ezra as saying that 
police will allow limited propaganda for the elections 
to be conducted in East Jerusalem.  Ha'aretz reported 
that on Sunday, Hamas signed an accord together with 
all Palestinian factions that will serve as a code of 
conduct in the period leading up to the elections. 
Israel Radio cited the Jordanian newspaper Al-Dustour 
as saying that PA Chairman [President] Mahmoud Abbas is 
considering resigning if Fatah loses the elections. 
 
Ha'aretz quoted a senior Israeli security official as 
saying on Sunday that weapons experts in Palestinian 
terror groups who have received underground training in 
Lebanon, Syria, and possibly Iran have recently 
infiltrated the Gaza Strip. 
 
On Sunday, leading media reported that Jirias Jirias, a 
former local council head of the Western Galilee Arab 
village of Fassuta, was to be indicted today on 
espionage charges.  Jirias was arrested last month. 
Citing the German press agency DPA, Ha'aretz reported 
today on the Iranian Foreign Ministry's denial on 
Sunday that it had an agent in Israel who aimed to 
infiltrate the Israeli political system.  This morning, 
Israel Radio cited the Iranian daily Jomhuri Islami as 
saying that an Israeli spy was arrested in Iran. 
 
Yediot quoted FM Silvan Shalom as saying Sunday at the 
weekly cabinet meeting that the U.S. Congress has 
approved USD 2.28 billion in military assistance and 
USD 240 million in civilian aid to Israel in FY 2006 -- 
as well as USD 40 million in assistance for immigrant 
absorption.  Shalom was also quoted as saying that the 
U.S. Congress will maintain its budget for joint 
security projects, which will amount to USD 600 million 
this year (in addition to security assistance). 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that the periodic meeting 
of the U.S.-Israeli strategic cooperation forum, the 
Joint Political Military Group (JPMG), will convene in 
Tel Aviv Wednesday, for the first time since the two 
countries resolved their crisis in defense relations 
over arms sales to China.  The newspaper quoted 
security officials as saying that the two-day, 
intensive sessions are expected to focus on strategic 
regional and global issues, as well as bilateral 
topics, and that Iran's effort to acquire nuclear 
weapons and the future of Syria are likely topics.  The 
talks will take place in Tel Aviv and will be co- 
chaired by Defense Ministry Director-General Jacob 
Toren and A/S for Political-Military Affairs John 
Hillen.  IDF brass and senior defense officials are 
expected to attend. In a related development, The 
Jerusalem Post reported that Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kohler, 
head of the Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation 
Agency, is visiting the Defense Ministry for a first- 
hand look at Israeli defense projects. 
 
Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi was quoted as saying in a 
special article published by Ha'aretz on Sunday that 
Sharon recognized the best path for this country. 
 
Leading media reported that AG Menachem Mazuz told the 
cabinet on Sunday that the state should pay financial 
compensation to Palestinians whose olive trees have 
been cut down, and then sue the vandals to recoup the 
costs.  Acting PM Ehud Olmert called the destruction of 
the trees a "criminal act" that needed to be treated 
with "full force." 
 
On Sunday, Yediot quoted a Sharon associate as saying 
that by attacking Sharon in a media interview on the 
evening before his planned angioplasty and demanding 
investigation of his role in his possible receipt of 
USD 3 million from Austrian businessman Martin Schlaff, 
Education Minister Limor Livnat (Likud) served as an 
"accessory to murder" ... "in the metaphorical sense." 
 
On Sunday, leading media reported that Norwegian 
Finance Minister Kristin Halvorsen, who is also the 
leader of Norway's Socialist Left Party, apologized to 
her prime minister and foreign minister over having 
publicly backed a consumer boycott of Israel in 
solidarity with the Palestinians. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that on Sunday, police raided the 
offices of the extreme right-wing organization known as 
the Jewish Battalion, in the settlement of Tapuah and 
in Jerusalem. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that the High Court of 
Justice is due to hand down on Monday its ruling on the 
Defense Ministry's proposal for the route of the 
security fence in the area separating Maccabim-Reut 
from the Palestinian village of Beit Sira. 
During the weekend, media reported that a lawsuit has 
been filed in New York's Federal Court by a group of 
American victims of Palestinian terror against National 
Westminster Bank, a major British bank accused of 
permitting a recognized Hamas charity fund to open 
accounts and transfer funds. 
 
Yediot reported that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak 
and Saudi Arabian King Abdullah have clarified to 
Syrian President Bashar Assad that if he does not 
cooperate with the UN on the matter of the 
investigation of the assassination of former Lebanese 
PM Rafiq Hariri, they would stop supporting him, thus 
causing his regime to collapse.  The newspaper also 
quoted former Syrian Vice-President Abdul-Halim Khaddam 
as saying in an interview with the influential Saudi 
web site Ilaf that he has further revelations to make 
about Assad. 
 
Ha'aretz quoted a Mekorot Water Company official as 
saying that the company has stopped injecting chlorine 
gas at a facility near Ashkelon for fear that 
Palestinian-fired rockets will hit tanks holding the 
potentially deadly chemical. 
 
Leading media quoted Afghan President Hamid Karzai as 
saying that his government would forge diplomatic ties 
with Israel if the Palestinians can form a state of 
their own.  Karzai was also quoted as saying: "May God 
give [PM Sharon] a longer life." 
 
Hatzofe quoted German Chancellor Angela Merkel as 
saying that she will not postpone her visit to Israel. 
She is expected to come to the country at the end of 
this month. 
 
On Sunday, Maariv and The Jerusalem Post quoted U.S. 
televangelist Pat Robertson as saying in his 700 Club 
program on Thursday that Sharon's stroke was a 
punishment from heaven for the disengagement.  The 
Jerusalem Post reported that the White House and major 
Jewish organizations condemned Robertson over his 
remarks. 
 
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Mideast: 
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                       Summary: 
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Independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized: 
"[Acting Prime Minister Ehud] Olmert must carry out 
Sharon's promise and meet with Abbas.  That would 
impart a positive dimension to his newly acquired 
leadership among many sectors of the Israeli public, as 
well as among the U.S. administration and international 
public opinion." 
 
Washington correspondent Nathan Guttman wrote in the 
conservative, independent Jerusalem Post: "The U.S. is 
left without a practical strategy for the Middle East 
and needs to redefine its priorities." 
 
The Director of the Interdisciplinary Center's Global 
Research in International Affairs Center, columnist 
Barry Rubin, wrote in the Jerusalem Post: "Sharon moved 
Israel even further toward moderation ... while the 
Palestinians have gone in the opposite direction.... 
The two sides are going to continue moving further 
apart in future." 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post 
editorialized: "We see this Hajj season as a good time 
to remind ourselves of the need to welcome voices of 
reason and encourage Muslim theologians willing to 
engage Westerners in a spirit of mutual respect." 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
¶I.  "Meeting Abbas" 
 
Independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized 
(January 9): "In the months before Prime Minister Ariel 
Sharon fell ill, his spokesmen said that he intended to 
meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (Abu 
Mazen).  In practice, however, nothing came of these 
pronouncements.  Abbas met with U.S. President George 
Bush, but did not manage to meet with the Prime 
Minister of Israel.... [Acting Prime Minister Ehud] 
Olmert must carry out Sharon's promise and meet with 
Abbas.  That would impart a positive dimension to his 
newly acquired leadership among many sectors of the 
Israeli public, as well as among the U.S. 
administration and international public opinion.  Such 
a meeting should not be viewed as an occasion for 
negotiations between the two peoples.  Not every 
meeting must yield immediate fruit or major positive 
results.  What is important here is personal contact 
between the two leaders -- a human 'hotline' that is 
liable to contribute to the development of mutual 
understanding, even if it does not immediately bridge 
the deep gaps between Israel and the Palestinians. 
Such a meeting has become even more important in light 
of the wave of Palestinian violence and terror, and 
Israel's prompt responses.... There are those who fear 
that a meeting between Olmert and Abbas would play into 
the hands of Hamas, which would try to claim that Abbas 
is a captive of the new Zionist leader.  But it seems 
that the benefits likely to ensue from such a meeting 
immeasurably outweigh the harm, which, it must be 
hoped, will not ensue at all." 
 
II.  "The Unites States' Sharon-Focused Mideast 
Strategy Needs To Be Redefined" 
 
Washington correspondent Nathan Guttman wrote in the 
conservative, independent Jerusalem Post (January 8): 
"What Sharon's plans really were is now a guessing 
matter.  The U.S. is left without a practical strategy 
for the Middle East and needs to redefine its 
priorities.  On the Israeli side, the U.S. 
administration will have to forge a meaningful 
relationship with Olmert and the new Israeli 
leadership, trying on the one hand to lend them support 
and backing, but at the same time ensuring that 
Sharon's legacy, which in American eyes meant moving 
forward to a two-state solution, will continue.  On the 
Palestinian side things are even more delicate.  The 
U.S. would like to help Abbas in light of the upcoming 
elections, but cannot put any pressure on Israel.... 
This balancing act is now in the hands of Rice and 
Bush.  In the coming weeks and months it is likely they 
will try to gently embrace Olmert without harming 
Abbas's standing, and at the same time will try to 
support the Palestinian leadership without putting 
Olmert in a difficult political situation.  For the 
Bush administration, which isn't known for mastering 
the skill of subtle diplomacy, the near future poses a 
great challenge.  Not only will they have to work hard 
to preserve Sharon's legacy, they will have to first 
ensure that all sides agree on what this legacy really 
was." 
 
III.  "Moving Apart" 
 
The Director of the Interdisciplinary Center's Global 
Research in International Affairs Center, columnist 
Barry Rubin, wrote in the Jerusalem Post (January 9): 
"The world is about to rethink its views of the whole 
Arab-Israeli conflict, due to Prime Minister Ariel 
Sharon's past policy shift, his evident departure from 
politics, and Palestinian developments.  The critical 
variable here is not what has happened to Sharon but a 
Palestinian political situation which makes any 
progress toward peace impossible for years to come. 
Sharon's illness may be distracting attention from the 
Palestinian crisis, but it is ultimately much less 
important in shaping the region's future.... There is 
no group or leader on the [Palestinian] horizon who 
could impose order; at any rate, doing so would require 
an even higher level of violence.... It is getting time 
to face the facts.  Sharon moved Israel even further 
toward moderation and a readiness for compromise while 
the Palestinians have gone in the opposite direction, 
increasing hatred of Israel, intransigence, terrorism 
and the goal of total victory.  The two sides are going 
to continue moving further apart in the future." 
 
IV.  "Message of the Hajj" 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post 
editorialized (January 8): "The West's war against 
'terrorism' is really a war against Muslim extremism 
and not against Islam. With every violent outrage -- 
from New York and London to Baghdad and Jerusalem -- 
the Islamists are struggling not just to defeat Judeo- 
Christian civilization but to determine which of 
Islam's multitude of beliefs emerges paramount.  It is 
for Muslims themselves to determine whether their 
faith, in this century, will be shaped by the likes of 
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and al-Qaida's 
fanaticism, or whether moderate views gain a 
hearing.... Such voices may still be faint and their 
influence limited, but we ignore their positive 
potential to our own detriment.... Which is why we see 
this Hajj season as a good time to remind ourselves of 
the need to welcome voices of reason and encourage 
Muslim theologians willing to engage Westerners in a 
spirit of mutual respect." 
 
JONES