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

121208Z Jan 06

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 08 TEL AVIV 000177 
 
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STATE FOR NEA, NEA/IPA, NEA/PPD 
 
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LONDON ALSO FOR HKANONA AND POL 
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E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: IS KMDR MEDIA REACTION REPORT
SUBJECT: ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION 
 
 
-------------------------------- 
SUBJECTS COVERED IN THIS REPORT: 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶1.  Mideast 
 
¶2.  Iran: Nuclear Program 
 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
Ha'aretz and Israel Radio reported that the U.S. 
administration intends to invite Acting PM Ehud Olmert 
to Washington before the elections in Israel.  The 
radio reported that on Wednesday, Secretary of State 
Condoleezza Rice praised Olmert's decision to allow 
East Jerusalem residents to vote in the Palestinian 
legislative elections.  Ha'aretz's Internet site cited 
the satisfaction of diplomatic sources in Jerusalem 
regarding remarks made by Secretary Rice on Wednesday: 
"There should be no place in the political process for 
groups or individuals who refuse to renounce terror and 
violence."  The Ha'aretz web site reported that this 
morning, during a meeting with U.S. envoys A/S David 
Welch and Deputy U.S. National Security Advisor Elliott 
Abrams, Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz clarified that PA 
Chairman [President] Mahmoud Abbas will be required to 
present a detailed plan, comprising a schedule, to 
dismantle the terrorist organizations.  The web site 
quoted Mofaz as saying that Israel will not engage in a 
dialogue with Hamas if it enters the Palestinian 
government.  Mofaz was also quoted as saying that the 
PA has lost its control of the Gaza Strip, and that, 
because of attempts to transfer knowledge and materials 
for the manufacturing of Qassam rockets in the West 
Bank.  It is impossible at this stage to implement the 
convoy plan between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. 
 
Leading media (banner in Maariv) reported that on 
Wednesday, PM Sharon's doctors discovered a 
complication in his heartbeat that could cause a new 
stroke.  Israel Radio cited a clarification by 
Jerusalem's Hadassah Hospital, Ein Karem, that Sharon's 
heartbeat is normal. 
 
Leading media reported that security forces and 
settlers are gearing up for an expected confrontation 
toward the end of the next week, when the IDF and 
police plan to tear down nine homes at the Amona 
outpost in the West Bank.  Ha'aretz quoted a senior GOI 
official as saying that the evacuation will go ahead 
"come hell or water" and that the police have received 
full backing from the government.  Major media reported 
that after a day of violent clashes between security 
forces and settlers, the illegal structures located at 
the unauthorized Neve Daniel North outpost in Gush 
Etzion were finally demolished on Wednesday. 
 
Major media reported that the four Likud cabinet 
ministers (FM Silvan Shalom, Health Minister Danny 
Naveh, Education Minister Limor Livnat, and Agriculture 
Minister Yisrael Katz) were declining to abide by the 
demand that Likud Chairman MK Binyamin Netanyahu made 
on Wednesday that they present their resignation from 
the government.  (This morning, Israel Radio reported 
that Netanyahu had set an ultimatum for 10:00 a.m. 
today.)  Leading media talked of a "revolt of Likud 
ministers."  Israel Radio reported that Shalom has not 
canceled scheduled meetings in Switzerland, Washington, 
and New York.  This morning, the radio reported that 
the four Likud ministers agreed to submit their 
resignations on Sunday, ending a crisis that threatened 
to overshadow the Likud primaries, which are being held 
today.  However, The Jerusalem Post's web site reported 
that Shalom had not offered his letter of resignation. 
The Internet site quoted a source close to Shalom as 
saying that he "believes that leaving the government is 
a mistake, and that it would weaken the Likud,". 
 
Ha'aretz reported that Olmert has rejected the idea of 
placing Sharon at the top of Kadima's list for the 
Knesset.  The idea was raised on Wednesday by Reuven 
Adler, a close associate of Sharon, and provoked 
controversy among Israel's politicians.  The Jerusalem 
Post reported that Vice Premier Shimon Peres views the 
proposal as appropriate. 
 
Israel Radio reported that last night, the IDF fired 
artillery rounds at the northern Gaza Strip in response 
to the firing of a rocket at Israel.  The Jerusalem 
Post reported that the Israeli defense establishment is 
bracing for an upturn in Hamas terrorism if anarchy 
prevents the planned January 25 elections from being 
completed. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that six Palestinians were arrested 
on Wednesday for hanging campaign posters on billboards 
in East Jerusalem for the Palestinian parliamentary 
elections.  The newspaper noted that the police and GOI 
officials have yet to reach an agreement with the PA 
over the issue of voting in East Jerusalem, although 
the Palestinian election campaign already started on 
January 2. 
 
Israel Radio cited the London-based daily Al-Hayat as 
saying that four Palestinians who were arrested in 
northern Lebanon five days ago have admitted to being 
members of Osbat al-Ansar, an extremist Muslim 
organization identified with Al-Qaida, and to planning 
terrorist attacks against Israeli targets.  Maariv 
reported that in recent days, Hizbullah has acted to 
prevent Katyusha rocket firing against communities in 
northern Israel.  Maariv wrote that Hizbullah's move 
was motivated by the tension between Hizbullah and Al- 
Qaida, which claimed responsibility for the latest 
Katyusha rocket attack against Israel. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that the U.S. is trying to 
convene an emergency meeting of the Board of the 
International Atomic Energy Committee to discuss the 
latest developments regarding the Iranian nuclear 
project and to demand an immediate referral of the 
issue to the UN Security Council.  Maariv reported that 
IDF Maj. Gen. Uzi Dayan (reserves), a former National 
Security Adviser of Israel and the leader of the new 
Tafnit party, recently met in Europe with Iranian 
representatives, who told him that the acquisition of a 
nuclear weapon is of utmost importance to Iran.  The 
newspaper quoted Dayan as saying that Israel should 
carry out military strikes on Iran if diplomatic 
efforts fail. 
 
All media highlighted an anti-Semitic attack in Moscow 
Wednesday, in which 11 men, including three Israelis, 
were stabbed in a synagogue when a man armed with a 
knife entered and began slashing worshipers. 
 
Yediot quoted former Coalition Provisional Authority 
Director Paul Bremer as saying in a new book, "My Year 
In Iraq," that Syrian President Bashar Assad secretly 
encouraged Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the most 
senior Shi'ite leader in Iraq, to fight against the 
Americans and British. 
------------ 
¶1.  Mideast: 
------------ 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Conservative columnist Yosef Harif wrote in popular, 
pluralist Maariv: "The question is about whether the 
Bush administration, which is interested in viewing 
Olmert as Sharon's successor, will try to reach new, 
more flexible understandings with him, in order to 
obtain a breakthrough toward the resumption of the 
negotiations." 
 
Very liberal columnist Meron Benvenisti wrote in 
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "Those who claim to 
be continuing Sharon's heritage should never forget 
that 'heritage' also means learning from his mistakes 
and avoiding them." 
 
Veteran columnist Yaron London wrote in the lead 
editorial of mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot 
Aharonot: "In another two weeks' time one-third of the 
residents of [Israel's] capital will vote to boost the 
strength of a political movement that preaches for 
Israel's annihilation." 
 
Middle East affairs commentator Guy Bechor, a lecturer 
at the Interdisciplinary Center, wrote in Yediot 
Aharonot: "Palestinian demographics have always been 
perceived by the Palestinians as a sword and a threat 
to Israel.  Why not turn that now into a sword on their 
necks?" 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
¶I.  "Olmert's Test" 
 
Conservative columnist Yosef Harif wrote in popular, 
pluralist Maariv (January 12): "We haven't clearly 
heard about Olmert's territorial conceptions.  What was 
stated in his name, on various occasions, was that he 
believes that Israel will have to concede, for 
demographic reasons, most of Judea and Samaria [i.e. 
the West Bank], and leave the large settlement blocs in 
its hands.  From that aspect, Sharon and Olmert's 
diplomatic view are very similar.  As they have been 
made public so far, Kadima's diplomatic principles 
don't appear to be a formula that will make it possible 
to reach peace with the Palestinians.  According to 
their declarations, the latter won't give up the 
division of Jerusalem; neither will they agree to leave 
large areas in Judea and Samaria in Israel's hands. 
The question is about whether the Bush administration, 
which is interested in viewing Olmert as Sharon's 
successor, will try to reach new, more flexible 
understandings with him, in order to obtain a 
breakthrough toward the resumption of the negotiations. 
Assuming that he wins the elections, this will be 
Olmert's big test, if he abides by the principles of 
peace as Sharon formulated them.  In this context, it 
is worthwhile remembering and recalling remarks that 
Sharon made time and again to President Bush:.... 'Mr. 
President, with all due respect to the United States, I 
wish to state that when concessions required of Israel 
come up for discussion, we and only we will determine 
what is a threat to Israel and what is not." 
 
II.  "Sharon's Second 'Big Plan'" 
 
Very liberal columnist Meron Benvenisti wrote in 
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (January 12): 
"[Sharon's] 'big plan,' which led to the war in 
Lebanon, attempted to solve the demographic problem by 
turning Jordan into Palestine, deporting the refugees 
from Lebanon, transferring them from the West Bank, and 
destroying the Hashemite kingdom.  After this plan 
failed disastrously, Sharon drafted his canton plan, 
and strove to implement it in every post he filled.... 
Becoming prime minister enabled him to pursue his plan 
to 'remove the demographic threat' -- thus pulling out 
of Gaza seemed to subtract a million Palestinians from 
the demographic balance sheet.  The 'separation fence' 
next created isolated cantons, paving the way to 
fictitiously 'losing' hundreds of thousands more.... 
Indeed, cruel fate has robbed Sharon of attaining his 
deepest aspiration, to eliminate, after 60 years of 
struggle, the Palestinian demographic threat.  However, 
there are signs that his illness has spared him the 
disappointment he would have suffered had he remained 
in power.  For the present 'big plan' -- as it was in 
the war in Lebanon -- is based on hasty, erroneous 
assumptions.... Like in the 'big plan' of 1981, the 
biggest mistake at present is the attempt to solve the 
problem unilaterally with dictates and excessive power. 
Ariel Sharon is no longer capable of changing his 
approach, and perhaps he never was.  But those who 
claim to be continuing Sharon's heritage should never 
forget that 'heritage' also means learning from his 
mistakes and avoiding them." 
 
III.  "Jerusalemites for Israel's Destruction" 
 
Veteran columnist Yaron London wrote in the lead 
editorial of mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot 
Aharonot (November 13): "In another two weeks' time one- 
third of the residents of [Israel's] capital will vote 
to boost the strength of a political movement that 
preaches for Israel's annihilation.  With that ends the 
twisting game that we have been playing these past few 
months with Abu Mazen.... Every course of action taken 
and every flawed decision will only result in Hamas 
gaining strength.  [Israel and the Palestinian 
Authority] wished to delay the elections in order to 
curb that process, but they were unable to act openly 
to achieve that goal, and each expected the other to do 
what it felt it was unable to do.  Israel hoped that 
Abu Mazen would seize upon the state of anarchy in the 
Palestinian Authority territories as an excuse for 
delaying the elections, while Abu Mazen hoped that 
Israel would hamper the electoral process in Jerusalem 
and provide him with a more convenient excuse. 
Ultimately, the decision was made by the American 
patron, who believes that a democracy that results in 
the enemies of democracy gaining strength is still 
better than the complete absence of democracy.  Taking 
a broader view of things, one learns from this entire 
affair about Israel's inability to achieve the 
unification of Jerusalem under its hegemony.... One- 
third of the residents of the city, whose relative 
number in the general population of Jerusalem is on the 
rise, are a thorn in our side.  And yet, even Amir 
Peretz, whose positions on the issue of the future 
borders are open and courageous, dares not say simply: 
'Yes, we will divide Jerusalem!'" 
 
IV.  "Disengagement in Jerusalem" 
 
Middle East affairs commentator Guy Bechor, a lecturer 
at the Interdisciplinary Center, wrote in Yediot 
Aharonot (January 12): "An anomaly like this probably 
exists nowhere else in the world: the residents of East 
Jerusalem enjoy the status of Israeli residents, with 
all the benefits that go hand in hand with that ... but 
they vote for the Palestinian Authority....  It seems 
that they are the only people in the world who live in 
two countries: they are both Israelis and Palestinians. 
It is not the residents of East Jerusalem who are 
responsible for this anomaly, but Israel, which has 
allowed such an odd situation to exist.  It is 
incumbent upon the policy decision makers in Israel to 
be courageous enough to put an end to this anomaly: 
either turn them into full citizens, since it is 
inconceivable that the residents of the capital city 
should vote in another country's elections, or strip 
them of their Israeli residents' rights by virtue of 
the fact that they are Palestinians.... Palestinian 
demographics have always been perceived by the 
Palestinians as a sword and a threat to Israel.  Why 
not turn that now into a sword on their necks?  By so 
doing the residents of East Jerusalem will stop being 
the 'Palestinian problem' that serves as a challenge to 
Israel, but the 'Palestinians' problem,' for the 
Palestinian Authority, which will now have to assume 
responsibility for education, welfare and social 
services for the residents.  Let them shoulder than 
burden instead of Israel.  If the Israeli decision 
makers are even craftier than that, they will cast this 
step as an Israeli concession to the Palestinians (for 
which compensation is due), while, in truth, we will 
know that it is an Israeli achievement through and 
through." 
 
-------------------------- 
¶2.  Iran: Nuclear Program: 
-------------------------- 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Yacov Shaus wrote in 
conservative, Russian-language Vesty: "At this time, 
Israel trusts the U.S. to protect its interests 
regarding the Iranian nuclear project." 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
"Iran Is Heading Toward an Escalation of the Nuclear 
Crisis" 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Yacov Shaus wrote in 
conservative, Russian-language Vesty (January 12): 
"Being busy with Prime Minister Sharon's physical 
condition and its implications on Israeli internal 
politics, the government of Israel and Acting Prime 
Minister Ehud Olmert are ... almost inactive on the 
international arena [regarding the issue of] the 
significant escalation of the current Iranian 
crisis.... There has been practically no reaction to 
Tehran's provocative moves.  At present, Israel trusts 
the U.S. to protect its interests regarding the Iranian 
nuclear project.  The U.S. has succeeded in reaching a 
mutual understanding with the EU on this issue. 
Unwillingly, the EU countries have accepted the US 
stance to shift the [Iran nuclear] issue to the UN 
Security Council.... The Western countries [the U.S. 
and European Union] ... can assume that a diplomatic 
isolation of Iran could have an actual impact on the 
Iranian government.  Should the UN Security Council 
hearings come to a dead end, the U.S. and most probably 
the EU would take unilateral sanctions -- economic and 
maybe also military on a later stage -- against Iran". 
 
JONES