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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 08 TEL AVIV 001017 
 
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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This morning, the electronic media reported that the 
IDF Special Forces surrounded the Jericho jail in which 
Palestinians responsible for the assassination of 
Israeli cabinet minister Rehavam Zeevi, including PFLP 
leader Ahmed Saadat, are being held.  The media quoted 
Palestinian sources as saying that two Palestinians 
were killed in the operation.  Maariv reported that in 
recent days, US sources have conveyed a message that 
the US will not be able to ensure that the Palestinians 
will not release the murderers.  The newspaper wrote 
that the UK would not be able to give Israel assurances 
on the matter either.  Israel Radio reported that the 
GOI took the initiative of blockading the prison after 
it learned that the US and UK monitors left it without 
informing Israel. 
 
All media (lead story in Ha'aretz) reported that Acting 
PM Ehud Olmert is expected to declare Ariel a part of 
Israel when he visits the city today,  Ha'aretz quoted 
official sources as saying that he will bring a 
"message of conciliation" to the settlers, and a 
commitment to the settlement blocs.  The newspaper 
reported that Olmert will also call on West Bank 
settlers to join his "internal dialogue" on 
establishing a permanent border between Israel and the 
Palestinians.  All media echoed a Channel 2-TV report 
broadcast last night that construction work had begun 
on the new police HQ in the controversial E1 zone 
between Jerusalem and Ma'aleh Adumim.  PM Sharon 
approved building the HQ in E1 last August.  Ha'aretz 
wrote that the US did not voice an objection to the 
construction.  Maariv reported that the headquarters' 
construction started despite the United States' 
opposition. 
 
Major media reported that Shimon Peres, number two in 
Kadima, met with PA Chairman [President] Mahmoud Abbas 
in Jordan on Sunday.  Olmert and the defense and 
foreign ministers were briefed ahead of the meeting, 
and Peres also briefed Olmert afterwards.  Leading 
media reported that Labor Party Chairman Amir Peretz 
persuaded Olmert to let Peres hold the meeting. 
Similar to reports in other media, Ha'aretz reported 
that Jerusalem sources played down the importance of 
the meeting, saying it lasted only 20 minutes and 
focused on "projects."  The sources were quoted as 
saying that Olmert was not thrilled about the meeting, 
but that he had difficulty preventing Peres from 
conducting it.  Ha'aretz further quoted its sources as 
saying: "Peres did not convey any messages.  It was 
made clear to him that this was not a political talk, 
and that this is not a new venue to the Palestinians." 
Maariv reported that Peres and Abbas discussed 
political issues. 
 
Israel Radio reported that Egyptian intelligence chief 
Omar Suleiman will arrive in Israel on Wednesday and 
meet with Olmert, FM Tzipi Livni, and Defense Minister 
Shaul Mofaz.  The radio quoted senior GOI sources as 
saying that Egypt is interested in keeping gates to 
Hamas.  Israel Radio reported that Egypt is also 
pressuring the Palestinians. 
 
The Jerusalem Post and Israel Radio reported that the 
Pentagon has been evaluating the possibility of Israel 
launching an independent strike to thwart Iranian 
attempts to develop nuclear weapons.  The Jerusalem 
Post and Israel Radio reported that one of the main 
questions raised during discussions at the US Defense 
Department was whether Israel would inform the US in 
advance of such an attack and how much advance notice 
would be given.  The Jerusalem Post reported that US 
administration sources pointed out that Israel would 
obviously have to coordinate with the US, whose forces 
would control any attempt to fly over Iraq on the way 
to Iran if the IAF chose to attack using the shortest 
route.  The Jerusalem Post quoted the sources as saying 
that former IDF Chief of Staff Moshe Ya'alon's remarks 
last week on Israel's striking capability were not the 
trigger for the Pentagon consultations.  The newspaper 
quoted the sources as saying that there was a sense in 
the US administration that the Iranian issue was 
gaining urgency.  The Jerusalem Post and Israel Radio 
cited The Washington Post as saying Monday that the 
Bush administration has made Iran a top priority issue. 
Yediot reported that a "well-known Iranian academic" 
told a senior Israeli diplomat several days ago that 
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is a weak 
president despised by the most influential members of 
the Tehran regime because they view him as incompetent. 
 
Yediot reported that the diplomatic section of the 
Likud's platform disappeared from the party's web site. 
Yediot found that Likud Knesset Members Michael Eitan 
and Uzi Landau have decided to present a more 
optimistic version of the party's platform, leaving an 
opening for peace with the Palestinians.  Maariv 
reported that the Likud secretly proposed cooperation 
to the Labor Party, which declined.  Maariv reported 
that Shas and Yisrael Beiteinu declined similar Likud 
offers. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that Israel is preventing some 2,000 
Palestinians who have left the Jordan Valley from 
returning to the area, in an effort to keep them from 
demanding their land back. 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that a high-ranking Israeli 
security official told the newspaper on Monday that 
global Jihad terror cells affiliated with Al Qaida, 
operating in the Sinai desert and stationed 30 km from 
Israel's border, have drawn up plans to abduct IDF 
troops, border policemen, and civilians. 
 
Citing Reuters, Ha'aretz quoted Western diplomatic 
sources as saying Monday that Washington plans to 
curtail contacts with Abbas's Fatah faction and other 
parties if they join a Palestinian government led by 
Hamas. 
 
Yediot reported that the GOI has conveyed a warning to 
the Lebanese government, demanding that it restrain 
Hizbullah.  Yediot wrote that Israel's message is that 
it views Lebanon as responsible for any escalation at 
its border with Israel, and that Lebanon should know 
that Israel's response will be tough.  Maariv reported 
that Israel asked UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to 
warn the leaders of the Syrian and Lebanese 
administrations against escalation in the region. 
 
On Monday and today, major media reported that 
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and National 
 
SIPDIS 
Security Advisor Stephen Hadley are among the witnesses 
whom defense lawyers want to subpoena in the case of 
Steve Rosen and Keith Weissman, two pro-Israel 
lobbyists accused of receiving classified information. 
The media said that there is no indication whether the 
judge in the case has considered the subpoena requests. 
 
Yediot reported that Peter Costello, the Treasurer of 
the Commonwealth of Australia, told Bank of Israel 
Governor Stanley Fischer and Israel Finance Ministry DG 
Yossi Bachar several days ago in Australia that France 
will oppose Israel's entrance into the Organization for 
Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).  Costello 
was quoted as saying that Australia will push for 
Israel's entry to the OECD.  Yediot cited the French 
Embassy in Israel as saying that it cannot respond at 
this time and that it is unaware of France's opposition 
to Israel joining the OECD. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that voting in the Knesset elections 
will kick off on Wednesday at midnight, when the 
polling station at the Israeli Embassy in Canberra 
opens.  Over the course of nearly 25 hours, almost 
4,000 potential voters at nearly 100 Israeli embassies 
and other entities can exercise their democratic 
rights.  Only official emissaries can vote abroad. 
 
Israel Radio and major news web sites reported that 
this morning, the Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court sentenced 
Likud MK Naomi Blumenthal to eight months in jail, a 
month after she was found guilty of bribery and 
obstruction of justice.  Blumenthal, who is in the 18th 
slot on the Likud list of Knesset candidates, was also 
given 10 months probation, and fined 70,000 shekels 
(around USD 14,800). 
 
-------- 
Mideast: 
-------- 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Columnist Ari Shavit wrote in independent, left-leaning 
Ha'aretz: "[Ehud Olmert's] radical unilateral process 
will disrupt the American strategy in the area and will 
bury U.S. President George W. Bush's dream of stability 
and democracy in the Middle East." 
 
Senior columnist Dan Margalit wrote in popular, 
pluralist Maariv: "An opportunity is arising now, 
almost of its own accord, to coordinate a two-phase 
initiative with the US and Europe, first giving a 
chance to the road map, and then a unilateral 
convergence into expanded settlement blocs.... Let us 
not waste time." 
 
Yossi Ben-Aharon, who was director-general of the Prime 
Minister's Office under former prime minister Yitzhak 
Shamir, argued in Maariv: "Olmert doesn't understand 
that instead of eroding the motivation of Palestinian 
terrorism, he is eroding Israel's independence and 
sovereignty." 
 
Nationalist, Orthodox Hatzofe editorialized: "American 
aid, if even it were purely humanitarian, might 
eventually indirectly assist terrorist bodies." 
 
Liberal op-ed writer Ofer Shelach commented in the 
editorial of mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot 
Aharonot: "When there's no identification, there's no 
emotional anchor to connect to.  When there isn't such 
an anchor, it's no wonder that everything is floating." 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
¶I.  "Olmert's Arrogance" 
 
Columnist Ari Shavit wrote in independent, left-leaning 
Ha'aretz (March 14): "At first glance, Olmert's 
[emerging new disengagement] plan appears enchanting -- 
no fear, no hesitation, and very Israeli.  Here, we'll 
take our destiny in our own hands.  Within three years 
we'll evacuate some 80,000 settlers.  Within less than 
five years, we will undergo a final disengagement from 
the Palestinians and converge within the borders of a 
flourishing lowlands country.... And so, in one term, 
we would isolate ourselves from all the sickness and 
terrors of the Middle East.  So simple.  So clear.... 
However, on second glance it becomes clear that the 
Olmert plan has a small flaw: it has no Palestinians. 
This is a plan whose logic is simplistic and 
patronizing.... Via the nearly complete withdrawal, 
Olmert will promise Hamas almost total control in the 
Palestinian state for generations.  The Palestine of 
Olmert will be hostile, dissatisfied and violent.... 
But it is not just the stability of Israel that Olmert 
is endangering.  He is also endangering the regional 
stability.  A Hamas state will accelerate Jordan's 
collapse.  There is no chance that the Hashemite rule 
will stand up against a Palestinian state on its 
doorstep whose religious fervor has just subdued the 
Zionists.  Egypt will also be threatened.... And Olmert 
will be supporting not only anti-Israeli terror, but 
also the anti-Western revolutionary movement.  His 
radical unilateral process will disrupt the American 
strategy in the area and will bury U.S. President 
George W. Bush's dream of stability and democracy in 
the Middle East.  The Land of Israel must be divided. 
The occupation must end.  A two-state solution is 
necessary.  But the Hamas victory has made a two-state 
solution more distant and more complicated." 
 
II.  "Convergence -- The Proper Plan" 
 
Senior columnist Dan Margalit wrote in popular, 
pluralist Maariv (March 14): "Ehud Olmert's convergence 
plan is the right move, in the face of a bloodthirsty 
and Intifada-seeking Palestinian regime.  Yasser Arafat 
was opposed to peace, Abu Mazen is unable, and Khaled 
Mashal and Ismail Haniyeh are terrible in their own 
right.  In the foreseeable future, there is no one to 
talk to in Ramallah....  An opportunity is arising now, 
almost of its own accord, to coordinate a two-phase 
initiative with the US and Europe, first giving a 
chance to the road map, and then a unilateral 
convergence into expanded settlement blocs.  A window 
of opportunity has opened, and it could close.  Let us 
not waste time.  It seems to me that Olmert's 
convergence is the most effective integrative plan for 
the foreseeable future, and he did well not to behave 
as his predecessor Ariel Sharon and deceive the 
electorate, but rather to present his opinion with 
maximum transparency.  The power of this opinion is 
demonstrated by the two types of responses that it 
received.  One belongs to the confused camp of the 
Labor Party, in its former and current makeup.  Shimon 
Peres is already in Kadima, but has not yet accepted 
the construction of the separation fence, which is 
increasingly proving to be a unique strategic asset. 
Everyone already gets it, just not him.  Therefore, he 
cannot bring himself to support the plan, although he 
is the candidate immediately after Olmert.  Similar to 
him is Amir Peretz, who says 'no, but yes' and 'yes, 
but no'....  The other response came from Binyamin 
Netanyahu.  The Likud is proposing the alternative of 
focusing on the battle against Hamas.   Not to talk 
about concessions or contingency plans, but to fight 
against Hamas and nothing else.  This is a misguided 
approach -- important but narrow." 
 
III.  "Convergence Means Capitulation" 
 
Yossi Ben-Aharon, who was director-general of the Prime 
Minister's Office under former prime minister Yitzhak 
Shamir, argued in Maariv (March 14): "It is ... amazing 
that none of [the Israeli leaders] who led [peace] 
initiatives have learned anything from their 
predecessors' initiatives.... Instead of investing 
efforts to 'erode the motivation' of the Palestinians 
and to strengthen the security of Israel's citizens, 
Olmert and [his top aide Dov] Weisglass rush to 
Washington to get its blessing for the implementation 
of a further withdrawal that would benefit Palestinian 
terror.... Olmert doesn't understand that instead of 
eroding the motivation of Palestinian terrorism, he is 
eroding Israel's independence and sovereignty." 
 
IV.  "US Will Indirectly Assist Hamas" 
 
Nationalist, Orthodox Hatzofe editorialized (March 14): 
"It is difficult to explain the sudden change in the 
United States' Mideast policy.  It is doubtful whether 
it will lead to the advancement of peace in the region. 
American aid, if even it were purely humanitarian, 
might eventually indirectly assist terrorist bodies 
yearning to introduce a Khomeinist regime ... in the 
region.  They don't even deny it." 
 
¶V.  "Everything Is Floating" 
 
Liberal op-ed writer Ofer Shelach commented in the 
editorial of mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot 
Aharonot (March 14): "At this time, the polls define 
around twenty percent of the public as floating 
votes.... What is orchestrating these elections, the 
very reason for holding them in the first place -- 
Ariel Sharon's huge popularity, which crossed borders 
and parties -- has disappeared from the scene.... 
[Olmert] said in an interview that during his term, 
Israel would be a country whose residents are pleased 
to live in.  His campaign and that of his competitors 
haven't outlined such a country.  [Those campaigns] 
haven't produced new hopes, proposed changes in our 
lives, or explained why it would be better to live 
here.  They didn't create identifications with figures, 
parties, plans, or platforms.  People like Ben-Gurion, 
Begin, Rabin, or Sharon, who can be relied upon, 
haven't come into view.  Neither have inspirational 
ideas.  When there's no identification, there's no 
emotional anchor to connect to.  When there isn't such 
an anchor, it's no wonder that everything is floating." 
 
JONES