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

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 09 TEL AVIV 000448 
 
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.  Iran: Nuclear Program 
 
¶3.  Israel-U.S. Relations 
 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
Israel Radio reported that on Monday, the five 
permanent members of the UN Security Council (UNSC) and 
UNSC member Germany decided to transfer the issue of 
Iran's nuclear program to the UNSC. 
 
Major media reported that on Monday, senior Quartet 
representatives met at the residence of British Foreign 
Secretary Jack Straw in London.  Ha'aretz, Israel 
 
SIPDIS 
Radio, and other media cited a statement read by 
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice after the meeting, 
 
SIPDIS 
which warned that "all members of the future 
Palestinian government must be committed to non- 
violence, recognition of Israel and acceptance of 
previous agreements and obligations, including the 
Roadmap." 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that PA Chairman 
[President] Mahmoud Abbas is expected to hold talks in 
Cairo later this week with Hamas leader Khaled Mashal 
about the formation of a new PA cabinet.  The newspaper 
quoted Abbas as saying Monday that he would meet with 
Hamas leaders within two weeks to ask them to form a 
new government.  In its lead story, Maariv quoted Abbas 
as saying in private meetings and conversations with 
his associates that he is determined to remain in 
office and stabilize the PA.  Maariv quoted him as 
saying: "Israelis have nothing to panic about.  The 
Palestinian people has not changed.  We want peace and 
believe in an arrangement with Israel.  This is the 
mandate I received from the Palestinian people and I 
intend to implement it.  Negotiations should be 
resumed; the contacts should not be interrupted -- this 
would be a surrender to the extremists and terrorism." 
 
Leading media cited relatively moderate statements made 
by various Hamas spokesmen over the last few days. 
Maariv wrote that it would be hard to ignore those 
utterances, even if they are meant for American and 
European ears. 
 
The Jerusalem Post quoted senior Israeli officials as 
saying this week that internal strife and in-house 
fighting between Fatah and Hamas has created a "terror 
vacuum" among the various Palestinian groups that 
Islamic Jihad is trying to fill. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that a top official of The 
Third Way Party led by former PA finance minister Salam 
Fayed told the newspaper Monday that the party will not 
join a coalition government led by Hamas.  The 
Jerusalem Post said that the official's clarification 
puts an end to speculation that Fayed could become the 
next Palestinian PM.  The newspaper noted that it was 
previously thought that the popular Fayed, who, like 
Hamas, ran on an anticorruption platform, could serve 
as premier to provide experience and a moderate face 
for the new PA government.  However, the newspaper 
quoted Hanan Ashrawi, the No. 2 on the party's list as 
saying that the similarities between The Third Way and 
Hamas, ended with a desire to eliminate corruption in 
the PA, and that her party could not join a government 
led by Hamas. 
 
Except Maariv and The Jerusalem Post, all major dailies 
bannered the issue of the illegal Amona settler 
outpost.  The media reported that the IDF and police 
are proceeding with their preparations to demolish nine 
permanent houses in Amona tomorrow.  Some 6,000 
security troops will take part in the operation. 
Ha'aretz reported that on Monday, Acting PM Ehud Olmert 
met with leaders of the Yesha Council of Jewish 
Settlements in the Territories and informed them that 
the evacuation would be carried out as planned.  The 
media reported that several hundred activists 
(according to some newspapers, up to 1,500) have 
managed to reach Amona despite the army's efforts. 
Ha'aretz cited the belief of Amona's action committee 
chair Avihai Baron that some 10,000 people would help 
the resistance.  All media cited a statement issued by 
the Justice Ministry, according to which A-G Menachem 
Mazuz denied that an agreement had been reached with 
Hebron settlers that the state would consider a legal 
arrangement that would enable Jews to return to live in 
the city's wholesale marketplace within a short time. 
Yediot and Israel Radio repotted that last night, the 
Hebron settlers voluntarily vacated the market. 
 
Ha'aretz quoted Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz as saying 
that Hamas's election victory gives Israel an incentive 
to decide in favor of a unilateral withdrawal from the 
West Bank.  The newspaper cited his belief that such a 
decision will be made within a year, and that the 
diplomatic picture will become clear by the end of the 
year.  Ha'aretz cited Mofaz's view that if it seems 
certain that there is no Palestinian negotiating 
partner, then Israel would have to set new, defensible 
borders for itself.  Ha'aretz wrote that these 
positions, which have not been made public, bring Mofaz 
closer to the line taken by Kadima, his party. 
 
All media reported that Olmert intends to kick off 
Kadima's election campaign tonight in Jerusalem, when 
he will present the party's 50 Knesset candidates. 
Leading media wrote that the list reflects a balance 
among the sectors of Israeli society. 
 
The Jerusalem Post quoted Meretz-Yahad party head Yossi 
Beilin as saying Monday: "Nobody will talk with them 
[Hamas] until they meet two conditions: renunciation of 
terrorism and recognition of Israel."  The newspaper 
reported that other Meretz politicians, as well as 
members of the Labor Party and independent left-wing 
politicians all said that Hamas, in its present state, 
was not a partner for peace.  The newspaper also quoted 
Beilin as saying, "A unilateral withdrawal from the 
West Bank would be like wrapping a present for Hamas." 
 
Ha'aretz and The Jerusalem Post featured an interview 
with Iranian emigre Hossein Derakhshan, who lives in 
Canada and is currently visiting Israel in order to 
present Israel to his Iranian readers through his 
moderate eyes.  Ha'aretz reported that Derakhshan's 
Internet blogs in English and Farsi are read by 11,000 
people. 
 
Yediot reported that the Israel Electric Corporation 
(IEC) might shut off the PA's electricity supply, as 
the PA's outstanding debt to the IEC has reached a 
record high of 220 million shekels (around USD 47.5 
million), out of which 50 million shekels alone comes 
from the Gaza Strip. The newspaper reported that the 
IEC recently asked the Finance Ministry to intervene. 
The Jerusalem Post quoted MK Yuri Shtern (Yisrael 
Beiteinu), the head of the Knesset's Christian Allies 
Caucus, as saying on Monday at the group's monthly 
meeting that Hamas's victory is a declaration of holy 
war against both Judaism and Christianity. 
 
Leading media reported that left-wing activist Haim 
Hanegbi claimed on Monday that he is the rightful owner 
of the land on which the Hebron Municipality built its 
wholesale market.  In a letter to A-G Mazuz, Hanegbi 
said he must be consulted on any future decision 
regarding whether to stop leasing the land to the 
Hebron Municipality and rent it out to Israeli 
settlers, and that he wants Palestinians to occupy the 
market compound. 
 
Citing news agencies, Yediot reported that a federal 
court in Chicago will decide this week whether to allow 
Shin Bet agents to testify behind closed doors and 
under an assumed identity against three Hamas activists 
accused of money-laundering for the organization. 
 
Israel Radio cited the results of a poll published in 
the Palestinian newspaper Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, according 
to which 75 percent of Palestinians who voted for Hamas 
in the January 25 elections oppose calls to destroy 
Israel; 84 percent of Palestinians support a peace 
agreement with Israel; and more than three quarters of 
Palestinians who support peace with Israel voted for 
Hamas in the elections. 
 
Erratum: A sentence in Monday's morning media review 
should have read: "On Sunday, Maariv chose to highlight 
remarks by Hamas's political leader Khaled Mashal that 
Palestine extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the 
Jordan River, while Ha'aretz cited Mashal's comment 
that Hamas will treat the existing agreements 
practically." 
 
------------ 
¶1.  Mideast: 
------------ 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Senior columnist and longtime dove Yoel Marcus wrote in 
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "We will go on 
living and flourishing even without the recognition of 
Hamas.  We don't need any favors." 
 
Veteran columnist Yaron London wrote in the lead 
editorial of mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot 
Aharonot: "We would do well ... to listen attentively 
to ... words ... uttered by Khaled Mashal, the most 
important Hamas leader ... 'Resistance is a strategic 
option, until the last inch of Palestine is liberated 
and the last of the refugees returns.'" 
 
Columnist Shaul Schiff wrote in nationalist, Orthodox 
Hatzofe: "Those who pushed for democratic elections in 
the territories cannot now elude the consequences." 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post 
editorialized: "The genocidal threats from Iran and 
Hamas can be met, provided the West stops trying to let 
its sworn enemies off the hook." 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
¶I.  "We Don't Need Any Favors" 
 
Senior columnist and longtime dove Yoel Marcus wrote in 
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (January 31): 
"Hamas's surprise electoral victory is a kick in the 
teeth to all who were hoping for a peace agreement.... 
The very idea that the whole world is down on its 
knees, begging a Koran-centric organization whose goals 
are achieved by murdering Jews to recognize Israel's 
right to exist, is insulting.... The victory of Hamas 
is, first and foremost, the problem of the Palestinians 
themselves.  Precisely now, when a political system is 
taking shape in Israel that has enough electoral clout 
to reach an agreement, it would be foolish for the 
Palestinians to wreck their chances again because of 
the rise of some fanatic party that is not prepared to 
accept Israel's existence, let alone speak to it. 
Swayed by fundamentalism in one guise or another, the 
Palestinians have been paying for their obstinacy, 
their extremist policies and their mistakes for many 
decades.  We will go on living and flourishing even 
without the recognition of Hamas.  We don't need any 
favors." 
 
II.  "The Truth in Their Hearts" 
 
Veteran columnist Yaron London wrote in the lead 
editorial of mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot 
Aharonot (January 31): "Arab leaders are perceived as 
sworn deceivers, but the years we have spent in the 
midst of Ishmael should have taught us that they are 
tactical liars and strategic truth-tellers.  This 
refers to when they present to their peoples a distant 
goal that is based on a fundamental premise that does 
not change with time: Israel is a foreign body and it 
is destined to be destroyed.  Until that day arrives 
and in order to hasten it they allow themselves the 
liberty of saying things that can be understood in a 
few ways, they wink to deceive us into believing that 
there is a difference between fulminating platforms and 
practical politics.  Alternatively, we are strategic 
liars and tactical truth-tellers.  We have never set 
ourselves an agreed-upon vision, but we do tend to 
enslave ourselves to paradigms that are shattered to 
pieces after a short number of years.... We would do 
well were we to listen attentively to the words being 
spoken, such as those uttered by Khaled Mashal, the 
most important Hamas leader, at a rally marking the 
anniversary of Hamas's establishment: 'Resistance is a 
strategic option, until the last inch of Palestine is 
liberated and the last of the refugees returns.'  Those 
are not mere tactics that are geared to enflame the 
passions of Hamas's ardent followers, but a strategy in 
light of which we need to weigh our course of action. 
Mashal speaks the voice of truth." 
 
III.  "America's Erroneous Forecasts" 
 
Columnist Shaul Schiff wrote in nationalist, Orthodox 
Hatzofe (January 31): "The United States pushed for 
democratic elections in Judea and Samaria and in the 
Gaza Strip [i.e. the territories].  The U.S. was told 
time and again of the perils inherent in public support 
for Hamas.  But Bush apparently believed that the 
Palestinians are alumni of the U.S. constitutional 
system.  Those who pushed for democratic elections in 
the territories cannot now elude the consequences. 
Indeed, in a short while, the Jewish liberals in the 
U.S. will demand to talk with Hamas -- especially when 
in Israel proper there already are politicians who 
claim, 'As we talked with Fatah we must talk with 
Hamas, which will eventually become moderate as Abu 
Mazen has.'  The U.S. is good at manufacturing Cruise 
missiles but very far from understanding the mentality 
of its Muslim enemies." 
 
IV.  "Iran and Hamas Can Be Checked" 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post 
editorialized (January 31): "With regard to Iran and 
'Hamastan,' the U.S. and Europe are facing a classic 
choice between confrontation and appeasement.  Neither 
is a case where radical tactics and objectives -- such 
as racing to obtain nuclear weapons, support for 
terrorism, and seeking the destruction of Israel and 
the proliferation of Islamist regimes -- can be 
negotiated away or assuaged through partial 
fulfillment.  The wider jihad against the West, of 
which the war against Israel is a part, will either 
gather momentum and succeed, or it will be confronted 
and defeated.... The genocidal threats from Iran and 
Hamas can be met, provided the West stops trying to let 
its sworn enemies off the hook." 
 
 
 
 
 
-------------------------- 
¶2.  Iran: Nuclear Program: 
-------------------------- 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Senior columnist Dan Margalit wrote in popular, 
pluralist Maariv: "There is cause for concern that a 
Nazi regime has been growing in the east ever since 
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's election as the president of 
Iran.... We should all contemplate again to what extent 
the flames of hatred would have been lowered had Hitler 
been assassinated before the fall of the Nazi regime a 
few years later." 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
"Hitler to the East" 
 
Senior columnist Dan Margalit wrote in popular, 
pluralist Maariv (January 31): "I have never drawn a 
comparison between even the worst of Israel's enemies 
in the Middle East and the Nazis.... [But] there is 
cause for concern that a Nazi regime has been growing 
in the east ever since Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's election 
as the president of Iran -- against the democratic 
world, and principally against Judaism.... Senior 
[American] officials, such as Senator John McCain and 
other conservatives say that the situation reminds them 
of Nazi Germany in 1933....   The problem is that, just 
like in the 1930s, there is always someone who will say 
that things are not as bad as they look.  One important 
American columnist, William Pfaff, who never misses an 
opportunity to take an anti-Israel position, said that 
everything would be resolved were Israel to end its 
conflict with the Palestinians.  Moreover, he says, if 
America and Israel are allowed to possess weapons of 
mass destruction -- why isn't Iran?  Like Pfaff, there 
were people who wrote similar things when Hitler put 
troops in the demilitarized Rhineland in April 1936.... 
Ahmadinejad, like Hitler, is not alone.  He is planted 
in a dangerous fundamentalist quagmire, just as his 
German precursor was wrapped in the armor of evil 
Nazis.  The West -- and Israel as a part of it -- must 
ask itself if ousting him from the presidential palace 
might alleviate the distress of Jews and humanity at 
large.  As the West devotes itself to that question we 
should all contemplate again to what extent the flames 
of hatred would have been lowered had Hitler been 
assassinated before the fall of the Nazi regime a few 
years later." 
 
-------------------------- 
¶3.  Israel-U.S. Relations: 
-------------------------- 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Deputy Managing Editor and right-wing columnist 
Caroline B. Glick wrote in the conservative, 
independent Jerusalem Post: "If the American Jewish 
community wishes to mitigate the damage this episode 
has already done to its good name and reputation, it 
must unify behind [former AIPAC officials Steven] Rosen 
and [Keith] Weissman and insist that the charges 
against them be dropped." 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
"The Trial of American Jewry" 
 
Deputy Managing Editor and right-wing columnist 
Caroline B. Glick wrote in the conservative, 
independent Jerusalem Post (January 31): "Whether it 
realizes it or not, American Jewry today stands before 
a precipice.... It is unclear what motivated the FBI to 
pursue the AIPAC officials.  What is clear enough, 
however, is that [the] effect of the prosecution has 
not only weakened AIPAC but has made all American Jews 
who lobby the U.S. Congress and executive branch on 
behalf of Israel the objects of suspicion and has 
empowered the anti-Semitic forces in the U.S. 
government who insist that all Jewish activists are 
somehow stained with questionable patriotism.  If the 
American Jewish community wishes to mitigate the damage 
this episode has already done to its good name and 
reputation, it must unify behind [former AIPAC 
officials Steven] Rosen and [Keith] Weissman and insist 
that the charges against them be dropped.  And if AIPAC 
wishes to continue to be viewed as the main American 
Jewish lobbying organization in the U.S. capital, it 
should be advised by its members and by its colleagues 
to lead the charge." 
 
JONES