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

011250Z May 06

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 10 TEL AVIV 001692 
 
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 
 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
On Sunday, Yediot reported that James Wolfensohn, the 
special Quartet envoy, has decided to discontinue his 
service after 11 months, and not to extend his term, 
which is due to expire at the end of April. 
 
All media reported that on Sunday, Shas and Kadima 
signed a coalition agreement, after Interim PM Ehud 
Olmert decided to let Shas join the coalition without 
agreeing to the evacuation of settlements, even though 
this is one of the government guidelines.  Major media 
reported that Olmert told Shas Chairman Eli Yishai that 
Shas would be allowed to decide on the evacuation if 
and when the issue becomes an item on the government's 
agenda.  The caveat was included in a letter attached 
to the coalition agreement.  Yishai was quoted as 
saying that the letter commits his party to the 
government guidelines "in the framework of Olmert's 
victory speech only," which did not mention his 
"convergence plan" or the evacuation of settlements. 
Yediot wrote that Shas's entry into the coalition would 
cost the state 2 billion shekels (around USD 440 
million).  Maariv reported that Olmert officially told 
Israeli President Moshe Katsav Sunday that this 
morning, he intends to present the coalition agreements 
to the Knesset.  This morning, Israel Radio was 
covering the process Olmert's awarding of portfolios to 
senior Kadima leaders.  Major media reported that on 
Sunday, by a slim majority, the Labor Party's Central 
Committee authorized party chairman to pick the 
ministers for the incoming coalition government.  The 
media reported that after the secret ballot, Peretz 
presented his list of ministers: Knesset Members Yuli 
Tamir, Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, Shalom Simhon. 
 
Over the weekend, the media quoted Olmert as saying in 
an interview with the German newspaper Bild that 
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is a "psychopath, 
and 'Hitler'."  Olmert fell short of calling for a 
military strike on Iran, but did say: "The West under 
the leadership of the United States is going to have to 
make sure that Iran does not, under any circumstances, 
acquire non-conventional weapons."  On Sunday, Yediot 
wrote that the newly launched Israeli satellite Eros B 
began sending high-quality images to the ground station 
in Israel of various sites around the world, including 
the nuclear installations in Iran.  On Sunday, The 
Jerusalem Post and other media reported that the US and 
Britain are behind the move to get the UN Security 
Council more actively involved in the possibility of 
imposing future sanctions on Iran if Ahmadinejad's 
administration does not comply with the demand to stop 
his country's nuclear program.  The Jerusalem Post 
quoted President Bush as saying: "I think that the 
diplomatic options are just the beginning."  On Sunday, 
Yevgeni Primakov, former Russian PM and FM, was quoted 
as saying over the weekend in an interview with The 
Jerusalem Post: "Russia will do its utmost to prevent 
the further escalation of tension in the Iranian 
nuclear crisis." 
 
On Sunday, Yediot reported that the Hamas leadership is 
contemplating endorsing the Saudi initiative as a way 
of breaking the ring of international isolation that 
came to circumscribe the PA after Ismail Haniyeh formed 
his government.  On Sunday, The Jerusalem Post and 
other media reported that French President Jacques 
Chirac suggested over the weekend that the World Bank 
funnel assistance, including the salaries of PA 
employees, directly to Palestinians to stave off a 
humanitarian crisis.  The Jerusalem Post noted that 
Chirac's proposal could put him in conflict with 
Israeli and US positions.  Today, The Jerusalem Post 
reported that the PA is on the verge of bankruptcy and 
civil war.  On Sunday, Hatzofe also reported on a 
worsening of the economic crisis in the PA.  Yediot 
reported that the Foreign Ministry has ordered all 
Israeli representations not to hold talks with 
Palestinian diplomatic representatives.  Yediot said 
that this means a return to the era preceding the Oslo 
Agreement. 
 
Major media reported that on Sunday, the cabinet 
unanimously approved recommendations to change the 
route of the separation fence around Ariel, Gush 
Etzion, and the Hebron Hills.  The Jerusalem Post wrote 
that the changes would leave 40,000 Palestinians 
outside the fence. 
Major media reported that the Shin Bet revealed on 
Sunday that senior Hamas figures in the Gaza Strip 
funded and trained the terrorists who last week 
launched an abortive strike at the Gaza Strip's Karni 
crossing.  The Jerusalem Post wrote that this was the 
first time since winning the Palestinian Legislative 
Council elections in January that Hamas has been 
revealed as being directly involved in anti-Israeli 
activity.  On Sunday, The Jerusalem Post led with the 
concern expressed by PA officials over the weekend 
about reports that Al Qaida was planning to assassinate 
top PA leaders. 
 
Israel Radio and other media reported that a female 
resident of Tulkarm was killed this morning by IDF 
soldiers during a search for a wanted Islamic Jihad 
militant. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that the IDF and police have given 
settlers 10 days to leave a house in Hebron, in the 
latest chapter of an ongoing dispute.  The newspaper 
also reported that settlers from nearby Havat Maon 
(Maon Farm) allegedly attacked Palestinian children. 
 
On Sunday, Maariv reported that the Organization for 
the Support of the Palestinian People's Resistance 
would be holding a conference that day with the 
participation of representatives of Palestinian terror 
organizations at noon in a Paris suburb. 
 
On Sunday, Yediot reported that the State Department is 
establishing a department for Arab media, which will be 
shaped along the lines of the Israeli Foreign 
Ministry's model. 
 
Yediot reported that it currently takes 57 days for 
Israelis to get tourist visas to the US. 
 
On Sunday, Ha'aretz reported that new revelations about 
the circumstances under which Israel and the US reached 
a secret understanding on the Israeli nuclear program, 
and the Richard Nixon administration came to recognize 
Israel's policy of "nuclear ambiguity," appear in an 
article published this weekend in Washington.  The 
article, in the current issue of Bulletin of the Atomic 
Scientists, was coauthored by Israeli historian Avner 
Cohen, who wrote "Israel and the Bomb" (1998), and 
William Burr, an expert on US nuclear weapons policy. 
 
Maariv and Israel Radio reported that on Sunday, 
Egyptian authorities arrested 10 Israelis who were 
participating in a maritime rally.  The media cited 
Egypt's claim that they do not appear on the list of 
rally participants and that the Israeli Foreign 
Ministry is working to resolve the crisis. 
 
Maariv reported that Olmert is on TIME Magazine's 
current list of 100 most influential people. 
 
All media extensively reported on events related to 
Israel's Memorial Day, which will be observed tonight 
and tomorrow.  Major media cited the Defense Ministry 
as saying that 138 soldiers have been killed since last 
Memorial Day.  The ministry also said that since 1860, 
when the first Jewish settlers began establishing 
Jewish neighborhoods outside the Jerusalem city walls, 
22,123 soldiers have been killed.  Ha'aretz reported 
that the National Insurance Institute issued statistics 
according to which 794 civilians, including 42 foreign 
workers and tourists, have been killed and 7,748 have 
been wounded in 945 terrorist attacks since the 
beginning of the Intifada in October 2000. 
 
 
------------ 
¶1.  Mideast: 
------------ 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Defense and foreign affairs columnist Amir Oren wrote 
in independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "Whoever the 
next US president is, the overall impression ... is 
that the government of Israel is deluding itself if it 
believes that 'convergence' into 'settlement blocs,' as 
opposed to a nearly total withdrawal from the Green 
Line, will satisfy the next administration." 
 
Ha'aretz editorialized: "The importance of the 
guidelines takes second place to Ehud Olmert's repeated 
declarations, which have become a pledge to the public 
to work toward withdrawal from the territories" 
The Director of the Interdisciplinary Center's Global 
Research in International Affairs Center, columnist 
Barry Rubin, wrote in the conservative, independent 
Jerusalem Post: "We already knew there was little 
likelihood of Hamas changing its ways.  Now we know it 
is not very good at even appearing to moderate." 
 
Arab affairs commentator Danny Rubinstein wrote in 
Ha'aretz: "If Hamas is pushed into a corner ... the 
assertion that Hamas is tied to Al Qaida would become a 
self-fulfilling prophecy." 
 
Walid M. Awad, Director General of External Relations 
at the Office of the Chairman [President] of the 
Palestinian Authority, wrote in The Jerusalem Post: 
"Abbas made his choice and opted for a negotiated, just 
peace with Israel.  It is now Israel's turn, either to 
reciprocate ... or [to opt] for more long years of 
conflict." 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
¶I.  "After Bush, the Green Line" 
 
Defense and foreign affairs columnist Amir Oren wrote 
in independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (5/1): "As long 
as [Senator John McCain] is not a declared 
[presidential] candidate, his comments to Ha'aretz on 
Saturday, during a weekend break from American politics 
here in Brussels, reflect the personal opinion of a 
senior and influential figure in the area of defense 
policy in the United States Senate, rather than an 
attempt to formulate policy guidelines for his 
administration.... Whoever the next US president is, 
the overall impression from a conversation with a 
leading candidate like McCain is that the government of 
Israel is deluding itself if it believes that 
'convergence' into 'settlement blocs,' as opposed to a 
nearly total withdrawal from the Green Line, will 
satisfy the next administration.  In 2009, it will be a 
different show: Neither Bush nor settlement blocs." 
 
II.  "Reduction in Settlement Areas" 
Ha'aretz editorialized (4/30): "Because of clear prior 
agreements regarding diplomatic issues, it is difficult 
to understand why the ambiguous formulation, "reduction 
in areas of Israeli settlement in the territories of 
Judea and Samaria [i.e. the West Bank]," was chosen 
instead of the more precise 'withdrawal and 
evacuation'.... This is the first time in almost forty 
years of occupation that an Israeli government has 
declared it is 'striving' for such a reduction not 
because there is no choice, but because Israeli 
interests require it.... The importance of the 
guidelines takes second place to Ehud Olmert's repeated 
declarations, which have become a pledge to the public 
to work toward withdrawal from the territories -- 
either by agreement or unilaterally -- in this term of 
office." 
 
III.  "Hamas Can't Even Fake Moderation" 
 
The Director of the Interdisciplinary Center's Global 
Research in International Affairs Center, columnist 
Barry Rubin, wrote in the conservative, independent 
Jerusalem Post (5/1): "Hamas can pretend to be a non- 
terrorist group observing a cease-fire while financing 
and helping both the [Popular Resistance] Committees 
and Islamic Jihad to carry out terrorist attacks.  It 
would be nice to say no one would be stupid enough to 
fall for this type of transparent trick.  There are 
still plenty of Western politicians and intellectuals 
who belie that hope, but far less -- and certainly far 
fewer national leaders -- than there might be had Hamas 
taken lessons from Yasser Arafat on the cultivation of 
useful idiots.  We already knew there was little 
likelihood of Hamas changing its ways.  Now we know it 
is not very good at even appearing to moderate." 
 
IV.  "Al Qaida?  If Hamas Is Pushed Into a Corner" 
 
Arab affairs commentator Danny Rubinstein wrote in 
Ha'aretz (5/1): "Is there a danger that Hamas and Al 
Qaida could be linked? Warnings to such an effect could 
be heard last week, after the release of an Osama bin 
Laden tape expressing support for Hamas, which, he 
said, was defending itself against the 'Zionist- 
Crusader offensive.'  Even C. David Welch, the 
Assistant US Secretary of State for Near Eastern 
Affairs, discussed such a danger.  Hamas is very angry 
at these reports, and views them as attempts to muddy 
the organization's name, as part of the repeated 
efforts to topple the democratically elected government 
of Ismail Haniyeh.... But if Hamas is pushed into a 
corner and the distress and anarchy in the West Bank 
and Gaza intensify, a comfortable backdrop for Al Qaida 
activity in Palestine could develop -- and then, the 
assertion that Hamas is tied to Al Qaida would become a 
self-fulfilling prophecy." 
 
¶V.  "Israel Does Have a Partner For Peace" 
 
Walid M. Awad, Director General of External Relations 
at the Office of the Chairman [President] of the 
Palestinian Authority, wrote in The Jerusalem Post 
(5/1): "Hamas, considered by the US and the West as a 
terrorist organization, is helping Israel achieve its 
other objective, the complete devastation of the 
Palestinian economy and reducing the Palestinian public 
into a state of poverty and helplessness.... Chaos and 
civil disorder may engulf the Palestinian territory and 
perhaps beyond.  This is not in the interest of anyone, 
including Israel.... Let us consider the alternative 
[to the boycott of the PA by Israel and the 
international community]: negotiating with Abbas, in 
his capacity as president of the Palestine Liberation 
Organization, the sole legitimate representative of the 
Palestinian people, and the elected president of the 
Palestinian Authority.  Abbas is ready to immediately 
resume negotiations with the Israeli government, 
bearing in mind that negotiating with Israel is still 
the mandate of the PLO, which signed all previous 
agreements with Israel.... Abbas made his choice and 
opted for a negotiated, just peace with Israel.  It is 
now Israel's turn, either to reciprocate by extending 
its hand to the president and the Palestinian people, 
showing respect, acknowledging Palestinian rights, and 
raising hopes for peace, or by opting for more long 
years of conflict. " 
 
--------- 
¶2.  Iran: 
--------- 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
Independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized: "At a 
time when the international community is being 
recruited for a goal that is important to Israel, there 
is no reason to spur Israeli-Iranian wrangling." 
 
Chief Economic Editor Sever Plotker wrote in mass- 
circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot: "Engaging in a 
vociferous fight with Ahmadinejad is precisely what the 
president of Iran wants." 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post 
editorialized: "It is the US, not Europe, that is now 
taking the international system seriously and acting in 
that system's best interest -- including when the US 
threatens to form a 'coalition of the willing.'" 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
¶I.  "A Race Against Time" 
 
Independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized (5/1): 
"Israel has a supreme interest in stopping the threat 
of nuclear weapons in the hands of a country whose 
president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, preaches the 
destruction of Israel and the evacuation of its Jewish 
residents.  Interim Prime Minister Ehud Olmert 
addressed the matter in an interview with the German 
newspaper, Bild, in which he called Ahmadinejad a 
'psychopath' and compared him to Adolf Hitler.  Olmert, 
who will meet with Bush in three weeks, is hanging his 
hopes on a West, 'led by the United States,' that, as 
he said in the interview, 'will not under any 
circumstances allow Iran to have nuclear weapons'.... 
At a time when the international community is being 
recruited for a goal that is important to Israel, there 
is no reason to spur Israeli-Iranian wrangling.  This 
is liable only to give European and other governments 
an excuse to pull out, or could also lead to demands 
that Israel, too, pay a price by diluting its 
deterrence capabilities in exchange for Iranian 
disarmament." 
 
II.  "Not Every Jew-Hater Is Hitler" 
 
Chief Economic Editor Sever Plotker wrote in mass- 
circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (4/30): "It was 
neither correct nor wise to compare the president of 
Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, to Adolf Hitler.  It was 
particularly inappropriate to do so in an interview to 
a German newspaper, which is what acting Prime Minister 
Ehud Olmert did.... Those comments serve nothing and 
promote nothing. They only attest to mounting 
nervousness in Israel.  Calumny and psychiatric 
diagnoses are no substitute for firm policy; engaging 
in a vociferous fight with Ahmadinejad is precisely 
what the president of Iran wants.  The Iranian test is 
going to be the most difficult and complicated test in 
the term of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, and we need to 
prepare for it diligently.  The second Khomeinist 
revolution that has been under way in Tehran for 
approximately a year has cast its terror on the West, 
the Middle East and us.... Jew-hatred, fierce and 
diseased as it may be, is not enough to make someone 
into a 'Hitler,' who had a fully cogent Nazi world 
view: secular, racist, murderous and controlling. 
Ahmadinejad is enclosed in his fanatical, apocalyptic 
and sacrificing religious faith.  Hitler wanted to 
create a new German superhuman; Ahmadinejad believes in 
the imminent appearance of the Shiite messiah, and has 
already begun to hear voices.  Ahmadinejad is prepared 
to drown the Middle East in the blood of an all out war 
of Armageddon because only as a result of it and in its 
wake will the Shiite redemption come.  That is the 
timetable of his faith.  Ahmadinejad's lunacy is not a 
new form of either Nazism or Hitlerism.  It is 
something else.  In order to stop it and even to do 
away with it one needs to understand its world, faith, 
symbols and weaknesses.  Childishly calling him names 
does not promote any operative goal; it only gets in 
the way because it lays bare the blurring and confusion 
in the Prime Minister's Bureau in Jerusalem." 
 
III.  "Make the System Work" 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post 
editorialized (5/1): "Europe is acting as if preventing 
the US from acting 'on its own' is even more important 
than blocking an Iranian nuke.  But Europe, by the 
lights of its own belief in multilateralism, should 
have another, no less important objective: proving that 
the UN system can force a blatant aggressor to back 
down and thereby remove a dire threat to the 
international community.  It is the US, not Europe, 
that is now taking the international system seriously 
and acting in that system's best interest -- including 
when the US threatens to form a 'coalition of the 
willing.'  Europe should join the US in confronting 
China and Russia with this stance, which would force 
those countries to go along or risk shifting the action 
away from where they enjoy veto power.  The best way to 
bolster the international system is to make it work." 
 
JONES