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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 08 TEL AVIV 000344 
 
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.  Israel-U.S. Relations 
 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
All media reported on the elections for the Palestinian 
Legislative Council (PLC), which are scheduled to take 
place today.  Banners in Maariv and Hatzofe: "Fatah or 
Hamas"; Yediot: "Elections in the Shadow of the 
Kalashnikov"; Ha'aretz: "Hamas and Fatah in Tight Race 
as Voters Head to Polls"; and Hatzofe: "Hamas or 
Fatah."  Ha'aretz quoted former U.S. President Jimmy 
Carter, who is leading a team of international 
observers for the elections, as saying on Tuesday that 
if Hamas wants to win international recognition, it 
will have to become more moderate.  The media reported 
that the Israeli security forces are in a state of high 
alert.  Israel Radio reported that over 13,000 
Palestinian police will secure the elections and that 
Israel has allowed them to carry weapons in Area "A" 
and part of Area "B," which is under Israeli security 
control.  Ha'aretz reported that on Tuesday, the 
Jerusalem Municipality slapped a 500,000-shekel (around 
USD 108,000) fine on Hamas, Fatah, and the PFLP for 
hanging campaign posters in East Jerusalem in violation 
of city bylaws.  Israel Radio reported that the police 
are bracing to prevent right-wing protesters from 
disturbing the elections in the city.  The Jerusalem 
Post reported that 31 Palestinians imprisoned in Israel 
are running for PLC seats. 
 
All media cited the speech Acting PM Ehud Olmert 
delivered last night at the Herzliya Conference, in 
which he stated that Israel will insist that the 
Roadmap be implemented, and urged the Palestinians not 
to leave their fate in the hands of the extremists. 
The media stressed Olmert's stated goal of borders that 
would ensure a Jewish majority in Israel.  Media noted 
that Olmert did not rule out a further disengagement. 
Major media quoted Olmert as saying Israel supported 
the establishment "of a modern, democratic Palestinian 
state," and that he said of the Palestinians: "Their 
welfare is our welfare.  Their well-being is our well- 
being."  The Jerusalem Post and other media noted that 
Olmert tacitly acknowledged, for the first time in 
public, that PM Sharon would not be returning to 
office. 
 
Maariv cited the Yesha Council of Jewish Settlements in 
the Territories as saying that it evacuated the Amona 
outpost in the West Bank last night.  The newspaper 
reported that the purpose of the move was to petition 
the High Court of Justice and to prevent the demolition 
of the houses in Amona.  The media had quoted IDF C-o-S 
Dan Halutz as saying Tuesday that Amona would be 
evacuated by the end of next week, and the Hebron 
wholesale market by February 15. 
 
Ha'aretz and Hatzofe reported that on Tuesday, Knesset 
members from across the political spectrum accused 
Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz of misleading the 
Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee over 
the Rafah border crossing agreement. 
 
Ha'aretz quoted senior physicians not connected to 
Sharon's treatment as saying that his condition can now 
be defined as a "vegetative state" as opposed to a 
"deep coma."  Yediot, Maariv, and Israel Radio note 
that the Likud's official web site omits any reference 
to Sharon.  The radio cited Likud spokespeople as 
saying that this will be rectified in two days. 
 
Leading media reported that Munadel Abu Aalia, a 13- 
year-old Palestinian boy, was killed Monday night when 
he was shot by IDF soldiers near the access road to his 
village, Al-Mughar, near Ramallah.  The soldiers 
suspected him of laying a bomb. 
 
Major media reported that in late December, the Shin 
Bet and police arrested 23-year-old Jamal Abu-Salah, a 
Druze who allegedly entered Lebanon and provided 
Hizbullah with intelligence about his village Ain el- 
Assad (in Israel) and IDF bases. 
 
The Jerusalem Post quoted former U.S. Middle East envoy 
Dennis Ross as saying at the Herzliya Conference that 
the model of unilateralism allows Israel to "shape its 
own future." 
 
Yediot reported that a brochure distributed by the 
World Economic Forum at its Davos, Switzerland, meeting 
calls for a boycott of Israel. 
Ha'aretz New York correspondent Shlomo Shamir reported 
that German Chancellor Angela Merkel officially agreed 
on Tuesday to support an innovative World Jewish 
Congress program involving the establishment of an 
international body to work on improving relations 
between Western countries and the Muslim world.  The 
initiative was developed in light of the Iran nuclear 
crisis and the statements made by Iranian President 
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in which he has called for the 
destruction of Israel and questioned the Holocaust. 
 
Leading media reported that John Demjanjuk, who lost 
his U.S. citizenship based on evidence he used to be a 
Nazi death camp guard, has appealed a federal judge's 
order that he be deported from the U.S. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that the American biotechnology 
company Genzyme -- the fourth largest in the world -- 
is in talks over investing in two Israeli biotechnology 
companies. 
 
Maariv cited a poll conducted by the Mutagim Institute 
among Russian immigrants, which found a 40 percent 
decrease (from 30 percent to 22 percent) in their 
support for Kadima since Sharon's hospitalization in 
early January.  The poll found that support for the 
Likud and Avigdor Lieberman's Yisrael Beiteinu rose 
among Russian immigrants. 
 
------------ 
¶1.  Mideast: 
------------ 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Washington correspondent Shmuel Rosner wrote in 
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "[The U.S.] 
approach has pluses and minuses.  It prevents major 
failures but invites pressure to compromise on critical 
issues." 
 
Senior columnist Nahum Barnea wrote on page one of mass- 
circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot: "Even if the 
vote count gives Fatah ... a majority in the new 
parliament, Hamas will be the winner of the elections. 
It has already won." 
 
Eytan Haber, veteran op-ed writer and assistant to the 
late prime minister Yitzhak Rabin, commented in Yediot 
Aharonot's lead editorial: "The Palestinian voters have 
a tough choice, because they have to choose between 
bloodthirsty fanatics and corrupt moneygrubbers.  [But] 
tomorrow a 'new Middle East' era can begin for over a 
million Palestinians." 
 
Military correspondent Amos Harel wrote in Ha'aretz: 
"The big question will be whether Israel will continue 
to boycott Hamas even if it joins the PA government. 
The likely solution will be a 'don't ask don't tell' 
policy." 
 
Conservative columnist Yosef Harif wrote in popular, 
pluralist Maariv: "In light of [Abu Mazen's] behavior 
so far, one can't know whether his victory would 
suffice to turn him into an authoritative, reliable 
partner for peace negotiations." 
 
Palestinian affairs researcher Moshe Elad, a former 
senior IDF official in the West Bank and former head of 
Israel-PA coordination, wrote in Ha'aretz: "Would the 
U.S. have allowed such a democratic act that would have 
jeopardized its own security?" 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Shimon Shiffer wrote in Yediot 
Aharonot: "Olmert meant every word he said.  There are 
not going to be any more winks and promises to the 
Americans that, on the ground, are not kept." 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
¶I.  "Let's Get Through the Winter, Then We'll See" 
 
Washington correspondent Shmuel Rosner wrote in 
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (January 25): "The 
Americans don't know who Abbas will ask to form the new 
government, but some officials probably nodded in 
agreement when their guests said it was a mistake to 
press for holding the elections now.  They are 
switching from a long-term, strategic approach to a 
short-term, tactical, reactive one; they will wait for 
a coalition to be formed and then decide how to deal 
with its components.  This approach has pluses and 
minuses.  It prevents major failures but invites 
pressure to compromise on critical issues.  Israeli 
officials have been debating whether or not the 
Americans will stick to their decision not to deal with 
a Palestinian government that includes Hamas elements, 
and how much they will insist that Abbas disarm Hamas 
in the event that he tells them it would bring down his 
government." 
 
II.  "Abu Mazen's Voice" 
 
Senior columnist Nahum Barnea wrote on page one of mass- 
circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (January 25): 
"Even if the vote count gives Fatah, along with several 
small parties and independent candidates, a majority in 
the new parliament, Hamas will be the winner of the 
elections.  It has already won.  Its political wing has 
received legitimacy, while its military wing is 
preparing the next generation of Qassam rockets.  What 
is more serious is that in the new Palestinian 
parliament, a cohesive and disciplined Hamas faction 
will contend with a disintegrated and conflicted Fatah 
faction.  Our Likud split over 14 rebels.  In Fatah, 
everyone is rebelling against everyone else.... If Abu 
Mazen wishes to live, he must shake up his party from 
within, to the point of a split." 
 
III.  "Palestinian Day of Judgment" 
 
Eytan Haber, veteran op-ed writer and assistant to the 
late prime minister Yitzhak Rabin, commented in Yediot 
Aharonot's lead editorial (January 25): "The 
Palestinians are liable to bring a tragedy upon 
themselves today at midnight, when the results of the 
elections are made public: if Hamas wins, the 
Palestinians are assured a continuation of their 
hellish life.  Neither Israel nor other Arab and 
Western countries will applaud extremist Islam, and 
together they will all show the Palestinians who is the 
boss.  If the more moderate Fatah members win, it is 
possible -- not certain -- that a (nearly) new and 
idyllic era will begin.  But what can be done, when 
hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are angry at 
their Fatah representatives and wish to punish them. 
The Palestinian voters have a tough choice, because 
they have to choose between bloodthirsty fanatics and 
corrupt moneygrubbers.  Tomorrow a 'new Middle East' 
era can begin for over a million Palestinians, who have 
succeeded so far, historically, in missing every chance 
to turn over a new leaf in the book of their lives on 
this strip of land." 
 
IV.  "The Outcome?  We Don't Really Know" 
 
Military correspondent Amos Harel wrote in Ha'aretz 
(January 25): "Israel has made it clear that it is not 
interfering in the elections, but it is always in the 
picture, whether this means issuing travel permits to 
observers or permitting Marwan Barghouti to participate 
from prison.  The big question will be whether Israel 
will continue to boycott Hamas even if it joins the PA 
government.  The likely solution will be a 'don't ask 
don't tell' policy -- exactly what Israel did with the 
PLO during the Madrid Peace Conference of 1991." 
 
¶V.  "A Leader With a Question Mark" 
 
Conservative columnist Yosef Harif wrote in popular, 
pluralist Maariv (January 25): "This week, Abu Mazen 
declared that he would be able to hold discussions with 
candidates for [Israel's] premiership Ehud Olmert and 
Amir Peretz.  His comments can be construed as Abu 
Mazen's belief that those candidates may demonstrate 
more flexible positions than Prime Minister Sharon's. 
Isn't this a ridiculous statement?  Sharon was the man 
who initiated and carried out the withdrawal from Gush 
Katif and northern Samaria [i.e. the northern West 
Bank] without getting anything in exchange from the 
Palestinians.  Immediately after the evacuation, 
terrorist gangs took over the vacated land and Qassam 
rockets bombarded [Israeli] communities daily, while 
Abu Mazen and his forces stood by powerless.  It 
appears that his declaration had only one purpose -- to 
depict him as a man of peace.  According to the polls, 
Abu Mazen will win in the elections taking place today. 
In light of his behavior so far, one can't know whether 
his victory would suffice to turn him into an 
authoritative, reliable partner for peace 
negotiations." 
 
VI.  "American Duplicity" 
Palestinian affairs researcher Moshe Elad, a former 
senior IDF official in the West Bank and former head of 
Israel-PA coordination, wrote in Ha'aretz (January 23): 
"The United States' aspiration to promote democracies 
in Arab states is understandable, but should this be 
done at any cost, especially at Israel's expense? 
Would the U.S. have allowed such a democratic act that 
would have jeopardized its own security?.... The U.S., 
which responds toughly to every expression of political 
subversion, wouldn't have allowed a man convicted for 
25 murders, such as Marwan Barghouti, to be a candidate 
in elections in Detroit or Virginia.  The U.S., which 
hunted Abu Abbas for almost 14 years until it captured 
him over the killing of a single American, would never 
have allowed his terrorist legacy to take over in San 
Francisco.... The U.S. apparently believes that Israel 
is strong enough to cope with any American whim." 
 
VII.  "I, the Leader" 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Shimon Shiffer wrote in Yediot 
Aharonot (January 25): "As opposed to Amir Peretz, who 
rushed to offer the Palestinians to begin final status 
arrangement negotiations or, alternatively, to evacuate 
the settlements on the West Bank unilaterally, Olmert 
last night placed his full support on the course of 
action laid out by the road map.  To wit: Israel and 
the Palestinians will honor their commitments as 
specified by the road map, which will lead to the 
establishment of a temporary Palestinian state and 
further negotiations over the permanent borders.  The 
speech last night was bad news both for Abu Mazen and 
the settler leadership. Olmert sent Abu Mazen a clear 
message: he has no intention of letting him evade his 
commitment to disarm the terror organizations and to 
execute governmental reforms as a precondition for 
progress in negotiations with Israel.  Olmert also 
faced off against the settlers without stammering: he 
instructed the leaders of the security establishment to 
deal with the law-breakers in Hebron and to dismantle 
the illegal settlement outposts.  Herein, perhaps, lies 
one of the differences between Sharon and his 
successor: Olmert meant every word he said.  There are 
not going to be any more winks and promises to the 
Americans that, on the ground, are not kept.  Olmert 
considers his first test of leadership to be his 
ability to impose and to enforce cabinet decisions in 
the West Bank." 
-------------------------- 
¶2.  Israel-U.S. Relations: 
-------------------------- 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Eytan Haber, veteran op-ed writer and assistant to the 
late prime minister Yitzhak Rabin, commented in an 
editorial of mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot 
Aharonot: "It remains only to reach the conclusion that 
someone is 'looking' for Jews in the U.S. and Israel. 
It seems that these 'someones' include CIA and FBI 
officials." 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
"We Are All Franklin" 
 
Eytan Haber, veteran op-ed writer and assistant to the 
late prime minister Yitzhak Rabin, commented in an 
editorial of mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot 
Aharonot (January 25): "For decades AIPAC members have 
been briefing administration officials, and for the 
same period, administration officials have been 
briefing AIPAC leaders, with not a single hair falling 
from their heads -- in either group.  It remains only 
to reach the conclusion that someone is 'looking' for 
Jews in the U.S. and Israel.  It seems that these 
'someones' include CIA and FBI officials.  From our 
perspective, as Israelis, it is a warning sign, a 
bright red neon light about the 'most friendly 
president and administration to the State of Israel.' 
This is a lesson, not the first, about what the 
Americans are capable of thinking, saying and doing, if 
sometime, in the future, we 'don't get the hint.'   And 
in the meanwhile, we are all [former Pentagon analyst 
Larry] Franklin." 
 
JONES