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

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 07 TEL AVIV 000045 
 
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.  Prime Minister Sharon's Health: 
 
¶2.  Mideast 
 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
All media reported that PM Sharon is fighting for his 
life after suffering a significant stroke with massive 
bleeding in his brain last night.  He was rushed from 
his Negev ranch to Jerusalem's Hadassah University 
Hospital, Ein Karem, where he has been undergoing 
surgery since midnight.  The electronic media and the 
Israeli Internet news sites reported that at 9:30 a.m. 
(2:30 a.m. EST), Sharon was transferred to neurological 
intensive care following a second operation that 
succeeded in halting cerebral bleeding.   The media 
said that Sharon's vital signs are stable.  The media 
quoted hospital director Prof. Shlomo Mor-Yosef as 
saying earlier that Sharon's condition is serious. 
Ha'aretz cited Sharon's bureau as saying during the 
night that it "was hoping for a miracle."  At 11:15 
p.m. (4:15 p.m. EST) on Wednesday, Vice PM and Finance 
Minister Ehud Olmert assumed the functions of Acting 
PM.  The media reported that politicians from all over 
Israel's political spectrum have expressed their hope 
that Sharon will recover.  All media wrote that 
Sharon's condition threw his party, Kadima, in a state 
of uncertainty.  This morning, Israel Radio quoted 
Likud Chair Knesset Member Binyamin Netanyahu as saying 
that the Likud has decided to postpone its decision to 
quit the government. 
 
Leading media reported that President Bush was among 
the public figures from Israel and abroad who responded 
Wednesday night to the dramatic news.  The media quoted 
Bush as saying in a written statement: "Laura and I 
share the concerns of the Israeli people about Prime 
Minister Ariel Sharon's health, and we are praying for 
his recovery."  Bush added: "Prime Minister Sharon is a 
man of courage and peace.  On behalf of all Americans, 
we send our best wishes and hopes to the prime minister 
and his family."  Leading media reported that earlier, 
U.S. National Security Council Spokesman Frederick 
Jones said on behalf of the White House that "our 
thoughts and prayers are with the prime minister and 
his family."  Jones also said Bush had been briefed on 
Sharon's condition "and we will continue to monitor the 
situation."  The media quoted Secretary of State 
Condoleezza Rice as saying in a separate statement: 
"Our thoughts and prayers are with Prime Minister 
Sharon, his family, and the Israeli people. We wish the 
Prime Minister a full recovery."  Israel Radio reported 
that U.S. envoys Elliott Abrams and David Welch have 
canceled their scheduled visit to Israel.  The media 
reported that Japanese PM Junichiro Koizumi has 
canceled his visit to Israel and the PA.  The media 
reported on various responses in the Arab world to the 
news from Israel.  Israel Radio reported that senior PA 
officials are monitoring Sharon's condition with 
considerable interest. 
 
Cyril Kern, a close South African friend of Sharon 
whose name was mentioned in possibly shady financial 
affairs involving Sharon, was quoted as saying 
Wednesday in an interview with The Jerusalem Post that 
he rejects police declarations from a day earlier that 
money he had transferred to Sharon was provided by 
Austrian-Jewish businessman Martin Schlaff.  Ha'aretz 
reported that Martin Schlaff's brother, James Schlaff, 
is considering not showing up in Israel to face more 
questions from National Fraud Squad investigators. 
Ha'aretz cited the assessment of police sources 
Wednesday that the investigation of a possible USD 3- 
million bribe to Sharon's family will take months to 
complete, and will not be completed before the 
elections. 
 
All media reported that on Wednesday, armed Palestinian 
militants shot and killed two Egyptian security troops 
and wounded 30 after breaking through the Gaza border 
crossing.  The Jerusalem Post reported that on 
Wednesday, Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz warned that 
Israel would be forced to shut down the Rafah border 
crossing if the PA failed to restore law and order. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that on Wednesday morning, 
two Palestinians opted not to kidnap the U.S. couple 
Craig and Cindy Corrie from the home of pharmacist 
Samir Nasrallah in Rafah refugee camp upon learning 
that their daughter Rachel was killed in 2003 as she 
tried to stop an IDF bulldozer from razing Nasrallah's 
home. 
 
All media reported that on Wednesday, Sharon rejected a 
proposal to pull out of the Israeli section of the 
village of Ghajar, which is split between Israel and 
Lebanon, in the wake of a Hizbullah attack on IDF 
forces some six weeks ago. 
 
The media reported that a heavy barrage of Qassam 
rockets as fired on Wednesday afternoon from the Gaza 
Strip at the northern Negev. 
 
Ha'aretz wrote that Peace Now reported on Wednesday on 
intensive construction activity, including the digging 
of new foundations, in the West Bank settlement of 
Modi'in Illit. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that the Defense Ministry has 
terminated the lease with the Hebron Municipality that 
enabled the Palestinian merchants to work in the city's 
wholesale market.  The meaning of the decision is that 
the merchants from the wholesale market will not be 
able to return to their shops even if the IDF evicts 
the settlers squatting there. 
 
Leading media quoted Jordan's King Abdullah II as 
saying on Wednesday that Israel should not block 
Palestinians in East Jerusalem from voting in 
parliamentary elections scheduled for January 25.  The 
media reported that the King issued his statement after 
talks with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. 
 
Yediot reported that Russia's Auditing Chamber Chairman 
Sergey Stepashin announced on Wednesday that he will 
investigate the possible transfer to Hizbullah of 
weapons that Russia sold Syria.  The Jerusalem Post 
reported that on Wednesday, Stepashin and his Israeli 
counterpart, State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss, 
signed an agreement that could provide information on 
the source of the large sums of money that some 
immigrants from the Former Soviet Union have brought 
into Israel. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that Turkish FM Abdullah 
Gul signed a joint declaration in Ramallah Wednesday 
regarding Turkey's role in revitalizing the Erez 
industrial zone along the Israel-Gaza border, and that 
he pledged USD 5 million toward rebuilding the area. 
The newspaper wrote that Gul is slated to sign a joint 
declaration with Israel today regarding the project in 
Jerusalem. 
 
Maariv reported that India has recently hired former 
Mossad agents to help it fight terror. 
 
Maariv reported that Spain's national airline Iberia 
has decided to stop flying Israeli weapons consignments 
to Latin America. 
 
Maariv and The Jerusalem Post reported that Josef 
Bismuth, a Jewish member of the Tunisian Senate, 
arrived in Israel for a visit on Wednesday.  The 
Jerusalem Post quoted Bismuth as saying that there are 
many signals that Tunisian-Israeli relations will 
improve "very soon." 
 
Ha'aretz cited archives released this seek by the state 
-- ten years before the scheduled date -- according to 
which Levy Eshkol, who was Israel's PM in 1967, 
suggested at the time that Palestinian refugees be 
transferred to Iraq. 
 
Yediot and Maariv reported on the new official U.S. 
Visa Information Web Service. 
 
Maariv printed the results of a TNS/Teleseker Polling 
Institute survey conducted on Wednesday afternoon, 
before Sharon's hospitalization: Kadima under Shimon 
Peres's leadership would win 36 seats (as opposed to 41 
under Sharon, in that same poll).  In that scenario, 
the Labor Party wins 20 seats and the Likud wins 17. 
 
----------------------------------- 
¶1.  Prime Minister Sharon's Health: 
----------------------------------- 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote on page one of 
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "One can cautiously 
say that it appears that the era in which Sharon stood 
at Israel's helm came to a tragic end on Wednesday." 
 
Senior columnist Nahum Barnea wrote on page one of mass- 
circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot: "The shadow 
that was cast last night on Sharon's candidacy 
diametrically changes Kadima's situation at the ballot 
boxes." 
 
Editor-in-Chief Amnon Dankner wrote on page one of 
popular, pluralist Maariv: "True, there were many at 
various times who chose not to love Sharon, to levy 
stinging criticism on him from one side or another, but 
we always felt that Sharon was part of us, and reflects 
so much of our national character." 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
¶I.  "The End of an Era" 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote on page one of 
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (January 5): "The 
hospitalization of Ariel Sharon, this time because of a 
cerebral hemorrhage, will make it difficult for him to 
return to his job even if he survives.  Moreover he 
will have a hard time convincing the public of his 
ability to serve four more years, after undergoing two 
strokes in two and a half weeks.  One can cautiously 
say that it appears that the era in which Sharon stood 
at Israel's helm came to a tragic end on Wednesday.... 
The deterioration of Sharon's health leaves Israel in a 
strange situation: Ehud Olmert is heading a 
transitional government on the eve of elections.  The 
ruling party, Kadima, has no organizational structure, 
and it is not clear how a replacement for Sharon will 
be chosen. The race for prime minister, which until 
yesterday looked like Sharon's one-man show, is now 
open." 
 
II.  "A Heavy Shadow" 
 
Senior columnist Nahum Barnea wrote on page one of mass- 
circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (January 5): 
"Even if the Prime Minister emerges, miraculously, 
unscathed, his political situation will have 
changed.... The Kadima party, which was registered 
formally on Wednesday, was born as a one-man party. 
Sharon was the leader and the message.  The shadow that 
was cast last night on Sharon's candidacy diametrically 
changes Kadima's situation at the ballot boxes.  Even 
if Sharon continues to function, he is going to have to 
persuade the voters that his party is capable of 
leading the country in his absence.  Ariel Sharon's 
deputy, Ehud Olmert, is a worthy candidate.  At the 
upper tiers of Kadima there are other people who enjoy 
public recognition and are experienced in handling 
affairs of state, such as Tzipi Livni, Shimon Peres, 
Meir Sheetrit, Shaul Mofaz, Avi Dichter, and others. 
From today onward the public will examine them from a 
different perspective.... What can be said at this 
point [about Sharon's military and political career] is 
that very few of the country's leaders had the self- 
confidence, the nerves of steel and the courage that 
Sharon demonstrated in his two terms as prime minister. 
Throughout the length of his entire career, ever since 
he was a junior officer, he aspired to resemble the man 
he admired most, David Ben-Gurion.  In the last number 
of years he came to resemble him more and more.  Those 
who did not want Sharon as Menachem Begin's successor 
received him as Ben-Gurion's successor." 
 
III.  "The Country Crosses Its Fingers" 
 
Editor-in-Chief Amnon Dankner wrote on page one of 
popular, pluralist Maariv (January 5): "True, there 
were many at various times who chose not to love 
Sharon, to levy stinging criticism on him from one side 
or another, but we always felt that Sharon was part of 
us, and reflects so much of our national character. In 
the eyes of many he managed to be a hero and a crook, 
admired and despised, loved and rejected.  In the ups 
and downs of his career and the many turnabouts he 
made, he always left two trails behind him -- one of 
people cheering and the other of people booing, but 
both of these paled last night upon hearing the news of 
the serious stroke he suffered.... When a man who is 
one of the rocks of the earth, a part of the physical 
and emotional scenery, lies on his terrible and 
threatening sickbed, the stations of his life in which 
he did things that emphasized his impressive and awe 
inspiring qualities pass through the mind: the heroism 
and courage, the vision and daring, the ability to 
change and effect change, the quiet in the face of the 
storm and the composure under fire.  And we are 
becoming aware that these qualities will be greatly 
lacking and hope that he will recover, because for 
better or worse, we want him here with us." 
 
------------ 
¶2.  Mideast: 
------------ 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Settler leader Israel Harel wrote in independent, left- 
leaning Ha'aretz: "If Hamas gets into power ... it will 
perhaps be clear to everyone -- the United States, 
European Union, UN -- who is fighting against whom. 
And maybe, just maybe ... [Hamas] will be forced to 
change its ways." 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
"Maybe Hamas Is Preferable" 
 
Settler leader Israel Harel wrote in independent, left- 
leaning Ha'aretz (January 5): "If unilateral steps are 
necessary because there's no chance of reaching an 
arrangement even with Fatah, then perhaps a Hamas 
victory in the elections is actually preferable.  If 
Hamas gets into power, perhaps the self-delusion ... 
will stop, and it will be clear to everyone -- the 
United States, European Union, UN -- who is fighting 
against whom. And maybe, just maybe, when Hamas is 
forced to make decisions on a governmental level, and 
is required to feed, heal, and provide services to an 
entire population, it will be forced to change its 
ways.  This organization, in particular, which proves 
day after day that it controls its people, and 
primarily those on the Palestinian street, does have a 
chance of imposing the rule of one central authority 
that will be responsible, in the eyes of Israel and the 
rest of the world, for what happens within its 
territory." 
 
JONES