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

061139Z Mar 06

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 09 TEL AVIV 000903 
 
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.  US-Israel Relations 
 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
The concept of a new disengagement from the West Bank 
was headlined in the weekend's media.  On Sunday, 
Ha'aretz reported that Acting PM Ehud Olmert is 
planning to enlist international support for a 
unilateral Israeli withdrawal from parts of the West 
Bank, if he wins the elections.  The newspaper wrote 
that Olmert believes that the first objective of the 
next government will be to create a supportive 
international environment for implementing Israel's 
national goals: setting its borders and ensuring a 
Jewish majority.  Ha'aretz reported that Olmert will 
try to persuade the US administration and the players 
in the international community that unless Hamas alters 
its positions, they must support a unilateral Israeli 
move to determine its border in the West Bank. 
Ha'aretz reported that Israel would begin to promote 
the unilateral initiative only after the Israeli 
elections.  On Sunday, Yediot reported that former Shin 
Bet head Avi Dichter, who may become defense minister 
if Kadima wins the Knesset elections, detailed in a 
public forum in Holon, near Tel Aviv, on Saturday which 
settlements would be evacuated: Yitzhar, Tapuah, Eli, 
Nokdim, and Tekoa.  According to Dichter, Kiryat Arba 
and Ofra would not be evacuated.  Ha'aretz, Maariv, and 
Israel Radio said that Shimon Peres, number two on 
Kadima's Knesset list, criticized Olmert's reported 
intentions, saying that Israel should not hasten to 
proclaim a new withdrawal.  The radio reported that 
several Kadima members insist that Israel not abandon 
the Roadmap. 
 
The Jerusalem Post quoted the US Embassy Spokesman as 
saying that the US position remains unchanged that "all 
final-status issues should be agreed to between the 
parties."  However, The Jerusalem Post quoted American 
officials as saying in private that the US would not 
oppose Israeli decisions to cede territory that it no 
longer felt was strategically necessary to control. 
Today, Ha'aretz reported that the Israeli defense 
establishment is proposing that Israel withdraw to new 
defensive lines in the West Bank, which would include 
the Jordan Valley and key points along the central 
mountain ridge: Ariel, Ba'al Hatzor, Gush Etzion, and 
Jerusalem.  The proposed policy also calls for 
international border points at the Erez and Karni 
crossings.  According to Maariv, the Israeli defense 
establishment will recommend that the GOI cut off all 
contacts with the PA, though Israel would continue to 
provide the Palestinians with water and electricity, 
but not with fuel.  Maariv reported that the defense 
establishment raised as an alternative the possibility 
that Jordan would be involved in the West Bank -- an 
option that had actually disappeared during the 
previous decade. 
 
In its lead story, Yediot reported on an almost 
complete severance of relations between Jordan and 
Israel, as Jordan insists that O/C Central Command Maj. 
Gen. Yair Naveh be relieved of duty.  Yediot quoted a 
senior Jordanian official as saying that the anger in 
Amman's royal palace is even greater than following the 
1997 assassination attempt on Hamas leader Khaled 
Mashal.  Yediot reported that Jordan froze security 
meetings with Israeli security officials and canceled 
meetings with senior Israeli political officials. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that the majority of Israel's defense 
establishment officials are skeptical of the compromise 
proposal that Russia has presented concerning Iran's 
nuclear program.  The newspaper reported that the 
Chairman of Israel's National Security Council, Giora 
Eiland, has recently changed his views on the subject 
and now believes that while any Iranian maneuver should 
be viewed with skepticism, that does not diminish the 
value of the Russian proposal. 
 
All media echoed revelations made by Channel 10-TV 
regarding the extensive involvement of previous MK Omri 
Sharon in political appointments during the premiership 
of his father and Kadima founder, Ariel Sharon. 
 
Leading media quoted Acting PM Ehud Olmert as saying 
Sunday during a videoconference with the AIPAC 
conference in Washington that Iran constitutes a 
serious threat to the entire world and that Israel 
cannot curb the Iranian nuclear threat on its own. 
Israel Radio and other media quoted the US 
Representative to the UN, Ambassador John Bolton, as 
saying at the conference that Iran "must be made aware 
that if it continues down the path of international 
isolation, there will be tangible and painful 
consequences."  Ha'aretz reported that Bolton told the 
AIPAC delegates that the US commitment to Israel was 
unshakeable. 
 
On Sunday, The Jerusalem Post cited an AP dispatch 
quoting A/S David Welch as saying over the weekend that 
Palestinian leaders have returned most of the money the 
US donated directly to the PA government and that they 
will return the rest when Hamas takes over the 
government. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that the central question under 
debate among American decision makers regarding this 
region is how one continues helping the Palestinian 
population without helping the Hamas-controlled PA. 
The newspaper quoted a senior Israeli official as 
saying:" It is largely a technical matter, but it is 
the main issue right now in talks with the Americans." 
 
The Jerusalem Post reported that the PA Security forces 
are investigating whether Iran, Hizbullah, or Al Qaida 
are behind the Higher Shi'ite Council, a new Shi'ite 
group that has been operating in the West Bank and Gaza 
Strip over the past few days.  Major media reported 
that in a video broadcast Sunday on Al Jazeera-TV, 
Ayman al-Zawahri, Al-Qaida's number two leader, express 
support for Hamas and its refusal to recognize Israel. 
 
Ha'aretz cited a World Bank report due to be published 
today, according to which the Rafah crossing agreement, 
which was supposed to facilitate the movement of goods 
into and out of the Gaza Strip and thereby enable the 
rehabilitation of Gaza's economy following the 
disengagement, has still not been implemented.  The 
principal failure, the report reportedly says, is at 
the Karni cargo terminal on the border between Israel 
and Gaza, through which all of Gaza's imports and 
exports must pass. 
 
Leading media reported that Olmert called Russian 
President Vladimir Putin on Sunday and told him that 
the visit of the Hamas delegation to Moscow was 
harmful.  The media continued to cite contradictory 
statements by Hamas leaders.  Israel Radio quoted Hamas 
leader Khaled Mashal as saying that Hamas's military 
branch, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam, will continue its 
armed struggle.  This morning, Israel Radio reported 
that the IDF responded with artillery fire to the 
firing of Qassam rockets into the western Negev.  On 
Sunday, Hatzofe cited the Palestinian press agency 
Dunia al-Watan as reporting that over the past several 
months, Hamas has been working hard to establish the al- 
Qassam Brigades as a regular army. 
 
Leading media reported that during Sunday's cabinet 
meeting, Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz quoted Jordanian 
intelligence sources as saying that a suicide attack in 
Jordan, planned by a group associated with Al-Qaida, 
was recently foiled. 
 
On Sunday, Maariv reported that for the first time, a 
team of settlers from the Binyamin Regional Council in 
the Samaria region (northern West Bank) is discussing 
the possibility of disengaging from Israel after a 
further Israeli withdrawal from the territories.  Major 
media reported that Ehud Olmert has reached an 
understanding with the religious group within Kadima 
and with Rabbi Yoel Bin-Nun, who had been a leading 
figure in the settler movement. 
 
During the weekend, all media prominently reported that 
thousands of people marched through Nazareth on 
Saturday afternoon to protest Friday night's incident 
during which Haim Habibi, a Jewish man from Jerusalem, 
detonated firecrackers in the Basilica of the 
Annunciation in an act that his daughter said was 
motivated by "economic distress."  The media reported 
that Israel apologized to the Vatican over the 
incident.  Leading media reported that on Sunday, 
Olmert accused Israeli Muslim leaders of exploiting the 
incident for political purposes.  During the Intifada, 
Habibi and his family sought refuge in Chairman 
[President] Yasser Arafat's Muqata'a compound, saying 
he was the only one who agreed to help them with their 
financial problems. 
 
Yediot reported that the UK has informed Israel that it 
is close to finding a solution that will allow IDF 
officers to visit Britain without fearing arrest over 
war crimes. 
 
Yediot reported that Martin Luther King, III, the son 
of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., wants to visit Israel 
to promote a dialogue between Jews and Palestinians. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that officials from the Simon 
Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles, which is behind the 
founding of the Museum of Tolerance in Jerusalem, have 
been studying a plan to relocate the Muslim graves that 
were uncovered at the planned building site. Under the 
plan, the museum would bear the costs of refurbishing 
the run-down graveyard and moving the graves to a 
nearby Muslim cemetery. 
 
Yediot reported on a new dispute between Israel's 
Ambassador to Washington Danny Ayalon and the Israeli 
Foreign Ministry -- this time over a secretary. 
 
Maariv reported that in recent days, a 50-year-old 
Israeli was apprehended over suspicions of attempting 
to break into the US Embassy Chancery in Tel Aviv and 
the Ambassador's Residence in Herzliya. 
 
Erratum: Actual election results in development towns, 
as mentioned in the Maariv poll cited in Friday's Media 
Reaction report, date from 2003, not from 1993. 
 
------------ 
¶1.  Mideast: 
------------ 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Chief Economic Editor Sever Plotker wrote in the 
editorial of mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot 
Aharonot: "After Hamas's takeover of the Palestinian 
government, there is no political point in further 
withdrawals or disengagements.... Kadima is 
increasingly being perceived as a party that has lost 
its way, in a labyrinth of its own making." 
 
Independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized: 
"[Ehud Olmert's] proposal to exchange the Roadmap for a 
unilateral plan with international backing is 
encouraging, and makes more sense than plans that 
aspire to topple Hamas.  But so far, the plan he has 
proposed is insufficient." 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post 
editorialized: "The Russian invitation to Hamas and the 
latter's intransigence underscore the emerging clash 
between two distinctly contradictory approaches to the 
current situation." 
 
Contributor Michael Shafran wrote in conservative, 
Russian-language Vesty: "If the 'Abu Mazen factor' is 
neutralized, the Hamas leadership ... will be the only 
official PA representatives, which would be extremely 
undesirable for them at this juncture." 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
¶I.  "The Kadima Government in a Self-Made Labyrinth" 
 
Chief Economic Editor Sever Plotker wrote in the 
editorial of mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot 
Aharonot (March 6): After Prime Minister Ariel Sharon 
lost consciousness, Kadima also lost its collective 
consciousness as a political party.... In the months 
that have elapsed since Sharon's illness it has made a 
series of blunders, which have begun to take their 
toll.  The first blunder was the consent for Hamas to 
participate in the elections, before the organization 
canceled its anti-Semitic charter, which negates 
Israel's existence.  A party with a platform such as 
Hamas's platform could not take part in an election 
campaign in any European country, no matter how 
democratic.  The second blunder was the multiplicity of 
reactions to the election results, with one off-the- 
cuff statement following another, contradictory off-the- 
cuff statement.  The third blunder lay in the excessive 
self-confidence.  A week after the elections, the 
Israeli government stated decisively that it had 
succeeded in forming an international anti-Hamas 
coalition and that the world, including the Arab world, 
would boycott Hamas 'until it recognizes Israel.'  All 
this, however, did not happen.  Within a short time, 
Hamas succeeded in making a deep impression on Middle 
Eastern diplomacy, and upgraded its status to that of a 
respectable partner.... The fourth blunder was the lack 
of initiative.... And the latest blunders are being 
made now, under the verbal umbrella of new plans for 
'unilateral disengagement' in parts of the West Bank. 
These are meaningless plans: after Hamas's takeover of 
the Palestinian government, there is no political point 
in further withdrawals or disengagements, military or 
civilian, and they do not serve Israel's interests. 
Such disengagements will be interpreted -- and are 
already being interpreted -- as a reward for Hamas.... 
The fog is thickening, and Kadima is increasingly being 
perceived as a party that has lost its way, in a 
labyrinth of its own making." 
 
II.  "Not Good Enough" 
 
Independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized (March 
6): "The unilateral approach is not unreasonable in the 
absence of a Palestinian partner for an agreement, but 
anyone who proposes withdrawing to defensible borders, 
getting out of the Palestinians' lives, liberating them 
from the regime of checkpoints and apartheid in the 
territories, and returning most of the settlers to 
Israel within its pre-1967 borders must propose a plan 
that has geographic and demographic logic -- not a 
temporary political compromise that leaves the problem 
burning on a steady flame.  If Israel believes that 
what is best for it is to draw its own borders, with 
the support of the international community, it must 
aspire to viable ones.... The claim that Kadima has no 
platform and no plan, and is no more than a random 
collection of people seeking a safe Knesset seat, is 
unfair.  Ehud Olmert is apparently determined to carry 
out another withdrawal.  His proposal to exchange the 
Roadmap for a unilateral plan with international 
backing is encouraging, and makes more sense than plans 
that aspire to topple Hamas.  But so far, the plan he 
has proposed is insufficient." 
 
III.  "Engagement Folly" 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post 
editorialized (March 5): "The Russian invitation to 
Hamas and the latter's intransigence underscore the 
emerging clash between two distinctly contradictory 
approaches to the current situation.  One approach -- 
advocated by the US and Israel and, at least formally 
by the Quartet as a whole -- is isolation.  Russia, 
though a member of the Quartet, surprised the 
international community by proposing the other: 
engagement.... If the international community gives up 
on its demands and accepts Hamas as it is, it will be 
giving up on peace.... It is precisely those who 
believe in the inherent moderation of the Palestinian 
people who should most strongly back a policy of 
isolating Hamas.... Even if Hamas had not risen to 
power, the policy of refusing to hold Palestinians 
accountable had gone bankrupt and had to be changed to 
revive any hope for peace.  In this context, the rise 
of Hamas is actually an opportunity to correct past 
mistakes.  If the Palestinian people are indeed ready 
to abandon terrorism and draw a peaceful border with 
Israel -- as their previous choice of Mahmoud Abbas 
could be seen to indicate -- forcing Hamas to accept 
that policy is to take the Palestinian people's side. 
Such an approach may not hold the promise of quick 
results, but it is the only one with a chance of 
working." 
 
IV.  "Hamas Is Standing on Its Own" 
 
Contributor Michael Shafran wrote in conservative, 
Russian-language Vesty (March 5): "The threat of PA 
Chairman Abu Mazen's ... resignation is Hamas's main 
problem.  Abu Mazen's remaining in his position until 
the new regime is at least partially legitimized ... is 
extremely important for [Hamas] as an organization that 
hasn't yet formed the cabinet.  Should he resign ... 
all the international relations of the Palestinians 
would be endangered.  Performing [international] 
relations through the Muqata'a is very convenient.  If 
the 'Abu Mazen factor' is neutralized, the Hamas 
leadership ... will be the only official PA 
representatives, which would be extremely undesirable 
for them at this juncture.  Therefore, [Hamas] reviews 
any mediation proposals, including the one made by the 
Russian Mufti Council Chairman Ravil Gainutdin, with a 
great interest." 
 
------------------------ 
¶2.  US-Israel Relations: 
------------------------ 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Washington correspondent Shmuel Rosner wrote in 
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "Once a year 
[during the AIPAC convention], we can ... say 'thank 
you' to the tens of thousands of Americans -- 
Americans! -- who devote their time and their money to 
do what they believe is best.  The best possible thing 
for Israel." 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
"Thanking Israel's Powerful Friend" 
 
Washington correspondent Shmuel Rosner wrote in 
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (March 6): "How 
fortunate Israel is, that this organization [AIPAC] is 
on its side.  In a city that understands mainly power, 
one can be disgusted by it, be ashamed of it, make 
derogatory noises occasionally -- but one cannot make 
light of it.  The activists of this organization, large 
numbers of Jews who really want to be of use, deserve 
recognition by Israel.  It is true that not every gift 
gives pleasure to its recipients -- and it is possible, 
and even desirable, to debate AIPAC's goals, its 
politics, its policy.  One can hope that its leadership 
will be replaced, that its direction will change, that 
it will become more moderate.  Of course, there are 
also those who want a change in the opposite direction. 
But once a year [during the AIPAC convention], we can 
take a time out from all that.  To say 'thank you' to 
the tens of thousands of Americans -- Americans! -- who 
devote their time and their money to do what they 
believe is best.  The best possible thing for Israel." 
 
JONES