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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 08 TEL AVIV 000997 
 
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 
 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
On Sunday, Ha'aretz reported that Acting PM Ehud Olmert 
briefed the US administration last week on the main 
thrust of his political plan before he delivered it to 
the local media in interviews this past weekend.  The 
newspaper quoted GOI sources as saying that Olmert 
wanted to avoid surprising the Americans with his 
statements on the future of the political process. 
Ha'aretz wrote that the Americans understood the 
message and refrained from public comment.  Internal 
Security Minister Gideon Ezra was quoted as saying on 
Sunday in an interview with The Jerusalem Post that in 
the absence of an agreement with the Palestinians, 
Olmert intends to keep the West Bank under IDF control 
even after all the settlements beyond the security 
fence are evacuated. 
 
Major media (banner in Yediot) reported that Secretary 
of State Condoleezza Rice announced on Sunday on her 
way to Indonesia that the US is considering increasing 
humanitarian aid to the Palestinians.  She also urged 
Hamas to choose a peaceful path to government.  On 
Sunday, Hatzofe cited the British daily The Financial 
Times as saying that the US is pressuring moderate 
elements in the PA not to join the Ismail Haniyeh 
government.  On Sunday, The Jerusalem Post quoted 
sources close to Hamas as saying that PA Chairman 
[President] Mahmoud Abbas has warned Hamas that he will 
not approve its new cabinet unless it recognizes all 
agreements signed with Israel. 
 
Israel Radio and other media reported that two 
Palestinian youths were caught with 15 to 20 kg of 
explosives at the Beit Iba checkpoint west of Nablus. 
The radio cited the defense establishment as saying 
that the explosives were probably meant to be used in a 
bombing in central Israel during the Purim holiday. 
 
Major media reported that the IDF went on high alert on 
Sunday along the northern border with Lebanon due to 
warnings of a possible Hizbullah attack.  Ha'aretz 
reported that Usbat-al-Ansar, the Lebanon-based 
Palestinian organization that maintains close ties with 
some of the al-Qaida networks, has a front line 
relatively close to the border with Israel, in the Ain 
el Helweh refugee camp.  Over the weekend, all media 
cited the Lebanese daily As-Safir as saying that 
Lebanese authorities have arrested an al-Qaida- 
affiliated terror cell. 
 
Ha'aretz quoted Israeli intelligence sources as saying 
that Iran continues to urge Islamic Jihad to carry out 
terror attacks against Israel ahead of the Knesset 
elections, and that the Iranian pressure on Islamic 
Jihad comes despite Tehran's declared support for Hamas 
and the fact that senior Hamas officials were invited 
to Tehran to celebrate the organization's victory in 
the elections to the Palestinian Legislative Council. 
During the weekend, all media reported an announcement 
made by Hamas on Sunday that armed resistance is a 
legal right and method of achieving Palestinian rights. 
Hatzofe cited Hamas as saying that Saudi Arabia has 
decided to increase its financial aid to the 
Palestinians. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that a senior US official told the 
newspaper last week that "if the Syrians think they've 
managed to get off the hook because there are other 
things on the agenda, they are mistaken.  The Syrians 
have not been punished yet for their actions and we are 
continuing to study their conduct. Their luck will run 
out eventually."  Ha'aretz quoted another senior US 
official as saying that Syria will "soon" receive extra 
attention when new measures against it are unveiled. 
Ha'aretz wrote that several senior US administration 
officials have stressed to Ha'aretz in recent days that 
"we have not forgotten about Syria" and that "several 
hinted in recent weeks in conversations with colleagues 
that further plans might soon be implemented with the 
aim of increasing pressure on Syria."  Ha'aretz quoted 
sources at the US Department of Defense and at 
intelligence agencies as saying that Syria is 
continuing to allow terrorists to use it as a conduit 
to Iraq and to support terrorist organizations that 
undermine American policy in the Middle East.  Ha'aretz 
quoted a diplomatic official as saying this weekend 
that the Syrian issue is bound up with the Iranian 
situation, as Tehran's apparent objective is to 
destabilize the entire region. The fact that Syria has 
"a weak leadership," the source was quoted as saying, 
gives the Iranians an advantage they never had before. 
"[Former president] Hafez Assad always held the 
Iranians as a card in his pocket, but in the case of 
[current President] Bashar Assad, the Iranians are the 
ones holding him as a card in their pocket."  Ha'aretz 
reported that last Thursday, the US Treasury Department 
instructed American financial institutions to sever all 
links with the Commercial Bank of Syria and its 
subsidiary, the Syrian Lebanese Commercial Bank, which 
the administration says have been used to launder 
terror funds.  The treasury announcement also stated 
that the Syrian government itself made use of the bank 
to facilitate "international terrorist activity." 
 
On Sunday, Ha'aretz reported that James Wolfensohn, the 
Quartet's special envoy on the disengagement, has 
announced that he will be stepping down in April and 
closing his office unless his mandate is revised. 
Today, The Jerusalem Post wrote that Wolfensohn's 
"threat" came against a background of uncertainty 
inside the Quartet over how to deal with a Hamas-led PA 
government once it is formed. 
 
The Jerusalem Post quoted a GOI official as saying that 
Israel will not make an issue over British Foreign 
Secretary Jack Straw's statement last week that after 
 
SIPDIS 
the world deals with Iran's nuclear "threat," it will 
deal with Israel's.  On Sunday, Ha'aretz quoted Defense 
Minister Shaul Mofaz as saying that former IDF Chief of 
Staff Moshe Ya'alon's comments on the Israeli 
capability of striking Iran's nuclear installations 
were uncalled for.  On Sunday, Yediot reported that a 
delegation from the anti-Zionist Ultra-Orthodox Jewish 
group Neturei Karta visited Iran to express their 
identification with Iranian President Mahmoud 
Ahmadinejad's call for the elimination of Israel. . 
 
The Jerusalem Post quoted PA officials as saying on 
Sunday that a number of Arab countries have agreed to 
hand over to the PA top Palestinian officials suspected 
of involvement in financial corruption, and that some 
of the suspects have already arrived in the Gaza Strip 
from Egypt. 
Major media reported that the state prosecutor's office 
has instructed the police to open an investigation 
against former Knesset Speaker Avraham Burg over 
alleged wrongdoing in the sale of a factory to a 
consortium of which Burg is a member. 
 
During the weekend, the media extensively reported on 
the death of former Yugoslav and Serbian President 
Slobodan Milosevic in his prison cell in The Hague. 
 
On Sunday, The Jerusalem Post reported that in a speech 
Friday to the National Newspaper Association 
conference, President Bush tied the Dubai ports deal to 
the war on terror and warned that the collapse of the 
deal might hurt the United States' effort to recruit 
Middle Eastern countries to support the campaign 
against terrorism. 
 
On Sunday, Ha'aretz cited AP that two militants were 
executed by hanging Saturday for the killing of US 
diplomat Lawrence Foley in Amman. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that the Labor Party aims to be a 
major force in Olmert's post-election government.  On 
Sunday, Yediot reported that the Likud's platform has 
no "political horizon," but three tough principles: no 
to a Palestinian state, to transfer of money to a Hamas 
government, and no employment of Palestinian workers in 
Israel.  Leading media quoted Likud Chairman Binyamin 
Netanyahu as saying that his party will not join a 
Kadima-led government. 
 
Yediot reported that The New York Times has lodged a 
complaint with the Israel Police, saying that an 
unknown body is conducting a public opinion poll about 
the elections without its knowledge.  Yediot quoted 
Steven Erlanger, The New York Times' correspondent in 
Israel, as saying that his newspaper is not holding any 
elections-related poll in Israel. 
 
All media reported that on Sunday, the government 
announced a plan to promote affirmative action for 
Arabs, Ethiopian immigrants, and the disabled.  The 
media cited opposition arguments that the plan smacks 
of election propaganda. 
 
Yediot and Maariv reported that parts of cars stolen in 
Israel are popular in Iraq. 
Maariv reported that "like in the White House," Olmert 
will name a chief of staff in the Prime Minister's 
Office.  Maariv wrote that former Restraint of Trade 
Commissioner Dr. Yoram Turbovitz is the leading 
candidate for the post. 
 
------------ 
¶1.  Mideast: 
------------ 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized: 
"[Ehud Olmert's] generates hope that Israel's 
initiation of a unilateral process will cause the 
Palestinians to recognize the major change that is 
under way here: instead of the trend of expansion that 
has characterized Israel until recently, it is moving 
toward convergence." 
 
Chief Economic Editor Sever Plotker wrote in the 
editorial of mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot 
Aharonot: "Those who draw maps are like those who trade 
in dreams: they are trying to sell us hopes that have 
already expired." 
 
Nationalist, Orthodox Hatzofe editorialized: "Olmert is 
acting in accordance with Hamas's interests." 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
¶I.  "Convergence With Hope" 
 
Independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized (March 
13): "It is clear that a withdrawal that takes place 
with the agreement of the opposite side is preferable 
to a unilateral pullout, which will not lead to the end 
of the conflict.  However, from the perspective of 
nearly 40 years of occupation, it is appropriate to 
look at the overall picture created by Olmert's plan -- 
and it generates hope that Israel's initiation of a 
unilateral process will cause the Palestinians to 
recognize the major change that is under way here: 
instead of the trend of expansion that has 
characterized Israel until recently, it is moving 
toward convergence.  Instead of adding settlements and 
enlarging them, it is limiting the number of 
settlements as well as the area they cover.  When this 
happens, the Palestinians will understand that Israel's 
line of thought has indeed changed.  The line that 
began in the Gaza evacuation, continued in Amona and 
will keep going during evacuation of West Bank 
settlements will then be clear to them as well.  When 
this happens, the Palestinians will conclude that it is 
not worth it to let the Israelis set the border 
unilaterally, because then they will not be able to 
influence their own border.  Thus, there is hope that 
beginning the process of unilateral convergence will 
serve as a catalyst that will lead both sides to 
negotiate a final-status agreement that is of benefit 
to them both." 
 
II.  "Those Who Draw the Borders" 
 
Chief Economic Editor Sever Plotker wrote in the 
editorial of mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot 
Aharonot (March 13): "A groundless and ridiculous idea 
has been making the rounds in the Israeli political 
establishment, and has even made its way into the 
American political establishment: the idea that the 
Israeli government will be able to unilaterally 
determine our border with the Palestinian Authority. 
This idea has recently been adopted by Kadima, and 
acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has expressed it 
eloquently in his many media interviews.... [Israeli 
history shows that] there is no final border without a 
final status arrangement, and therefore Israel has no 
chance of unilaterally establishing its border with the 
Palestinian Authority.  For such a border to receive 
minimal international recognition, its route will have 
to take into account the needs and national aspirations 
of the Palestinians, and to be acceptable to them as 
well -- no matter who their elected leaders are at the 
time.  It is also ridiculous to assume that the talk of 
'determining a final border' is in any way threatening 
to the Palestinian administration.  Especially not now: 
any Israeli plan for an unilateral evacuation of 
territories, even a partial evacuation, serves and 
strengthens the rule of Hamas and its hold on the 
Palestinian public.  As for President Bush, his 
popularity is so low and his Middle East policy so 
deeply mired in the mud, that there is no positive 
diplomatic value to coordinating ideas and interviews 
with him....  No, we are not a victorious empire that 
will be able to draw its borders at will on the sand of 
the Middle Eastern desert.  We have not received 
permission for this in the past, and will not be given 
such permission in the future.  Those who draw maps are 
like those who trade in dreams: they are trying to sell 
us hopes that have already expired." 
 
III.  "Olmert is Hamas's Darling" 
 
Nationalist, Orthodox Hatzofe editorialized (March 12): 
"Information that has reached Jerusalem showed that the 
Hamas leaders fear that they will be required to 
recognize Israel in exchange for withdrawals that would 
bring about a Palestinian state.  Olmert's policy 
spares them that dilemma.  Unlike Fatah, which signed 
diplomatic agreements with Israel, Hamas ... is not 
obligated to recognize Israel.  A unilateral Israeli 
withdrawal would allow Hamas to proclaim a Palestinian 
state without recognition from Israel.  Hamas couldn't 
expect a better gift from Israel.... Thus, Olmert is 
acting in accordance with Hamas's interests.  One day, 
he will receive the 'Hamas's Darling' prize.  He 
deserves it." 
 
 
-------------------------- 
¶2.  Iran: Nuclear Program: 
-------------------------- 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post 
editorialized: "If America or NATO were to 
automatically exclude Israel from participation in a 
military operation against Iran's nuclear program, they 
would be subtly separating out a close Western ally and 
thereby subtly playing into Islamist demonization of 
Israel that is essentially no different from the 
demonization of the West itself." 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
"Ya'alon's Sensible 'Gaffe'" 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post 
editorialized (March 13): "Last week, former IDF chief 
of General Staff Moshe Ya'alon caused a ruckus here 
with a speech he gave in Washington, where he said 
Israel was militarily capable of dealing a devastating 
blow to Iran's nuclear program.  This week, Acting 
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert joined Ya'alon's critics, 
calling his remarks 'irresponsible'.... In the eyes of 
militant Islamists, certainly the regime in Tehran, 
there is no difference between the 'Crusaders' and the 
Jews -- or as that regime puts it, the 'Great Satan' 
(America) and the 'Little Satan' (Israel).  If America 
or NATO were to automatically exclude Israel from 
participation in a military operation against Iran's 
nuclear program, they would be subtly separating out a 
close Western ally and thereby subtly playing into 
Islamist demonization of Israel that is essentially no 
different from the demonization of the West itself. 
Rather than criticizing Ya'alon for essentially saying 
as much, Olmert should, albeit delicately and in the 
appropriate context, be saying it himself." 
 
JONES