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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 07 TEL AVIV 000576 
 
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: 
-------------------------------- 
 
Mideast 
 
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Key stories in the media: 
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All media (banners in all media, except Yediot) quoted 
comments made by Acting PM Ehud Olmert in an interview 
with Channel 2-TV last night that Israel "will separate 
from the majority of the Palestinian population that 
lives in Judea and Samaria [i.e. the West Bank], and 
this will obligate us to leave territories where Israel 
is today."  Olmert said that Israel would retain Ariel, 
the Jordan Valley, Ma'aleh Adumim, Gush Etzion, and 
"united Jerusalem" within its permanent borders. 
Israel Radio reported that politicians from the right 
and left criticized Olmert's remarks. 
 
Israel Radio quoted FM Tzipi Livni as saying in 
Washington on Tuesday that Israel has no interest in 
the collapse of the PA.  Ha'aretz reported that Livni 
is expected to ask Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice 
to continue its pressure on the PA's leadership. 
Ha'aretz and Maariv quoted Minister Livni as saying 
during her meeting Tuesday with King Abdullah of 
Jordan: "As far as we are concerned, the outcome of the 
elections in the PA is very problematic.  It is 
important for us to bolster awareness of this in the 
international community and we need to talk about it 
loud and clear, and not start backing down from the 
demand to dismantle the terror organizations.   A 
demand should continue to be posed to Abu Mazen to meet 
the commitment he made before the elections."  Livni 
stated that Israel would not engage in any contact with 
the new Palestinian government if Hamas is a member of 
it.  She posed three conditions for holding talks with 
the organization nonetheless: "Only if Hamas abandons 
the path of terror, recognizes the State of Israel and 
honors all the agreements that were signed until today 
between Israel and the Palestinians."  Maariv wrote 
that King Abdullah did not agree with this position, 
and asked Livni not to rule out at the present stage 
talks with the new Palestinian government: "It is 
important not to ignore the new Palestinian government 
even before it has announced its agenda.  It is 
necessary to deal with the new reality that has been 
created after Hamas's victory in the elections, and to 
work to renew the peace process."  Maariv reported that 
Abdullah also warned of the collapse of the Palestinian 
Authority, and urged the international community to 
continue to transfer funds to it.   Maariv reported 
that responding to a reporter's question, Livni 
addressed the issue of the Palestinians' welfare: 
"Israel is aware of the need to care for the 
Palestinians.  We have no interest in making them live 
under conditions of poverty.  Therefore we have tried 
to make a distinction between the policy of Israel's 
security needs and the need to enable the Palestinians 
to lead a normal life." 
 
Israel Radio reported that Egypt and Saudi Arabia are 
trying to convince Hamas to accept the Saudi peace 
initiative, which calls for Israeli withdrawal from all 
territories occupied since 1967 in return for 
recognition of Israel and normal relations.  The radio 
reported that Khaled Mashal, the head of Hamas's 
political bureau, does not rule out such a possibility. 
The Jerusalem Post reported that Sheikh Yasser Mansour, 
No. 5 on the Hamas national list told the newspaper 
that if Olmert "wants to find a solution [to the Israel- 
Palestinian conflict] he must accept less than he 
wants."  The Jerusalem Post quoted Musa Abu-Marzouk, 
the deputy head of Hamas's political bureau as saying 
in an interview with AP: "When historic Palestine is 
reinstated, they [the Jews] can come and live among us. 
They will have a Palestinian nationality."  Ha'aretz 
reported that Hamas is demanding that PA Chairman 
[President] Mahmoud Abbas give it control of three 
Palestinian security services as part of a transfer of 
authority to the new government that Hamas will form in 
the wake of its parliamentary victory last month.  The 
newspaper wrote that Abbas is thought to view the 
request unfavorably.  Ha'aretz reported that in talks 
over the last few days with Egyptian intelligence chief 
Omar Suleiman, Hamas decided to extend the period of 
"calm," during which it agrees not to attack Israeli 
targets. 
 
Maariv reported that on Monday the White House brought 
the U.S. administration's foreign aid appropriations 
bill to the U.S. Congress, which provides for USD 2.56 
billion in aid to Israel -- including USD 2.28 billion 
in military aid, USD 240 million in civilian aid, and 
USD 40 million designated for a fund to help relocating 
refugees.  The newspaper said that U.S. aid to Israel 
increased by USD 60 million compared to the previous 
year and that the bill states that Israel is a vital 
ally of the United States and a partner in the war on 
terror, and in the struggle for achieving peace in the 
Middle East.  Maariv also reported that Egypt will 
receive USD 1.3 billion in military aid and USD 495 
million in civilian aid.  Maariv wrote that Washington 
conditioned its aid to Cairo on the allotment of at 
least USD 50 million to institutions promoting 
democracy and human rights.  The newspaper reported 
that Jordan will receive around USD 450 million in 
civilian and military aid, and the PA will receive USD 
150 million through USAID. 
 
All media reported that on Tuesday, two Fatah (Al-Aqsa 
Martyrs Brigades) operatives were killed in an IAF 
strike in the Gaza Strip.  Maariv and Israel Radio 
quoted UN Secretary-General as saying that while Israel 
has the right to defend its citizens, targeted killings 
are akin to "executions without trial."  Annan also 
criticized Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel.  The 
media reported that four Qassam rockets were fired at 
Israel on Tuesday, and that the numbers were similar in 
previous days.  This morning, Israel Radio reported 
that the IDF killed an armed Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades 
activist who was trying to get close to the Israel-Gaza 
border and wounded two others. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that an investigation it conducted 
revealed that the deal Israel reached with the PA and 
Egypt on operating the Rafah border terminal does not 
allow Israel to prevent the entrance of terrorists from 
Egypt into the Gaza Strip. 
 
Ha'aretz and The Jerusalem Post reported that on 
Monday, the Anglican Church's General Synod decided to 
divest from companies whose products are used by Israel 
in the territories.  The Jerusalem Post reported that 
the former archbishop of Canterbury, Lord George Carey, 
told the newspaper that he was "ashamed to be an 
Anglican" following the vote. 
 
In its lead story, Yediot reported that Israel's 
National Insurance Institute (the equivalent of the 
U.S. Social Security Administration) distributes 
allowances to hundreds of Hamas activists, including 
Muhammad Abu-Tir, the movement's No. 2.  Yediot cited 
the National Insurance Institute as saying that the 
situation can only be changed by amending the existing 
legislation. 
 
Last night, Channel 10-TV continued to reveal comments 
made by Shin Bet head Yuval Diskin more than a month 
ago.  He was quoted as saying that the late PA Chairman 
[President] Yasser Arafat had been surprised by the Al- 
Aqsa Intifada and only followed suit.  Channel 10-TV's 
Washington correspondent Gil Tamari said that the U.S. 
administration was angered by comments made by Diskin: 
"When one dismantles a regime in a state ruled by a 
strong tyrant you get chaos, as was the case in Iraq. 
I am not sure I don't miss Saddam [Hussein]." 
 
Israel Radio reported that the Danish observers in 
Hebron left the city for Tel Aviv because of the risk 
posed to them in the wake of the Muhammad cartoon 
controversy.  The station quoted State Department 
spokesman Sean McCormack that the contest of Holocaust- 
related cartoons announced by the largest-circulation 
Iranian newspaper Hamshahri is "outrageous."  Major 
media quoted Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei as 
saying on Tuesday that the publication in Western 
countries of the Muhammad cartoons is an Israeli plot 
deriving from Israel's anger at Hamas's election 
victory in the PA. 
 
Yediot reported that for the first time, a delegation 
of Pakistani businessmen will come to Israel in May to 
visit the "Agritech 2006" exhibition.  The newspaper 
quoted the members of the delegation as saying that 
they intend to explore the possibility of purchasing 
advanced mechanical agricultural equipment and new 
technologies for raising crops in desert and 
mountainous areas. 
 
Yediot advised Israelis wishing to visit the U.S. 
during the Passover holiday (in April) to request a 
U.S. visa interview now. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that last week the Zionist 
Organization of America warned of the "hateful nature" 
of an upcoming conference at Georgetown University in 
Washington -- the Palestine Solidarity Movement 
conference slated to take place February 17-19 -- whose 
organizers say boycotting Israel is: "a moral 
imperative ... and a declaration to defend human 
life.... Israel must be characterized as a pariah 
state." 
 
Maariv reported that the Foreign Ministry has taken 
under its wings an Israeli rock band, "Orphaned Land," 
which has thousands of fans in the Arab countries. 
 
The media reported on, and Maariv highlighted, the rise 
of the USD's representative rate to 4.719 shekels on 
Tuesday. 
 
-------- 
Mideast: 
-------- 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Political parties correspondent Yossi Verter wrote on 
page one of independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: 
"Whoever wanted to believe [Acting PM Ehud Olmert] 
believed him.  Election-eve statements have a very 
limited value." 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote in Ha'aretz: 
"The American umbrella will have value only after its 
details are hammered in terms of joint operational 
planning.... Otherwise it will remain up in the air, as 
an expression of support by the U.S. administration for 
its favorite candidate, Olmert." 
 
Nationalist writer Uri Dan commented in the 
conservative, independent Jerusalem Post: "Now that 
Hamas has come out of the Palestinian closet in all its 
murderous glory, most Jews realize that this is the 
true face of the Palestinian people." 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
¶I.  "Vague Sentences, Liberally Scattered" 
 
Political parties correspondent Yossi Verter wrote on 
page one of independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz 
(February 8): "The clearest statement Olmert made [in 
the interview he granted Israel's Channel 2-TV on 
Tuesday] related to Israel's final borders, which will 
be determined, he said, after the elections. 
Settlement blocs, a united Jerusalem, the Jordan 
Valley, Gush Etzion and Ariel will be under Israeli 
control.  And of course, the Roadmap.  Whoever wanted 
to believe him believed him.  Election-eve statements 
have a very limited value.  It's enough to recall the 
interviews Ariel Sharon gave on the eve of the 2003 
elections -- interviews in which the sole accurate 
detail is the date of their publication.  This 
interview, and additional interviews Olmert plans to 
give in the weeks remaining until the elections, are 
intended to remove him from the beneficent shadow of 
Sharon (whose name, by the way, was mentioned only a 
few times last night, and only toward the end of the 
interview).  If it were up to Olmert, he would remain 
in Sharon's shadow until the elections, but that is not 
the way leadership is built." 
 
II.  "The Umbrella and its Circumstances" 
 
Diplomatic correspondent Aluf Benn wrote in Ha'aretz 
(February 8): "The declaration by President George W. 
Bush that the United States will protect Israel from 
Iranian attack, even militarily, is a milestone in the 
relationship between Washington and Jerusalem, and a 
step on the road to formalizing a defense pact between 
the two countries.... Bringing Israel in under the 
American umbrella constitutes a change in the 
administration's stance, which over the past year 
backed up Israeli hints of a possible attack on 
Iran.... [However,] Bush's declaration relates to a 
specific enemy, Iran, and not to other threats that 
Israel will deal with by itself.  Important as it is, 
the Bush declaration is still far from being a formal 
defense pact, anchored in a written agreement and 
approved by the Senate.  The American umbrella will 
have value only after its details are hammered in terms 
of joint operational planning, and with an 
understanding of the circumstances in which the U.S. 
will offer its assistance to Israel.  Otherwise it will 
remain up in the air, as an expression of support by 
the U.S. administration for its favorite candidate, 
Olmert." 
 
III.  "Hamas Saved Israel" 
 
Nationalist writer Uri Dan commented in the 
conservative, independent Jerusalem Post (February 8): 
"The Hamas victory in the Palestinian Authority will 
save the Jews from themselves.  Allah, not just the 
generals, works overtime for the Jews in order to 
rescue them from their politicians' chronic 
blindness.... Arafat's salami plan for Israel's 
destruction was a great success.  Most of our 
politicians and media were willing to join Arafat's 
dance of death as they turned a blind eye when he 
fostered not only Fatah and the Al-Aqsa Brigades, but 
also Hamas....  Now that Hamas has come out of the 
Palestinian closet in all its murderous glory, most 
Jews realize that this is the true face of the 
Palestinian people.  The Palestinian people are proud 
of their 'democratic' choice of a movement that turned 
suicide bombers into their only industrial product, 
dedicated to their dream of eradicating the Jewish 
state.... And just as Arafat woke the Jews up with his 
human bombs to the cruel reality of their lives in 
their wonderful country, so will Hamas, which has 
stockpiled a huge arsenal of weapons and explosives -- 
exactly for this purpose.  The awakening of the Jews 
will once again cost many lives, and will come only 
after they are roused once again from the powerful 
brainwashing of Jewish politicians and journalists. 
But it will come thanks to Hamas." 
 
JONES