Cablegate: Israel Media Reaction

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

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 07 TEL AVIV 006641

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

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SUBJECTS COVERED IN THIS REPORT:
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1. Mideast

2. Lebanese-Syrian Track

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Key stories in the media:
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Maariv, Yediot, and The Jerusalem Post, published the
results of three polls that show improvement in the
rating of PM Sharon's party Kadima (Forward). Were
elections held today, Kadima would lead with 32-34
Knesset mandates; the Labor Party would get 26-28
Knesset seats; and Likud would get 12-13 mandates.
Some media raise the possibility of a Kadima-Labor
Party coalition after the elections. In the polls,
Shinui is plummeting to 5-6 mandates. Ha'aretz and
other media reported that the Likud has embarked on a
drive to prevent key activists from following Sharon
out of the party. The media reported that about 1,000
out of the 3,000 members of the Likud's Central
Committee attended Thursday's committee session in Tel
Aviv, the first since Sharon quit. The Likud primaries
will be held on December 19. Israel Radio cited the
Arabic-language newspaper Kul Al-Arab, as saying,
quoting Sharon associates, that Sharon intends to
include senior Israeli-Arab figures in his party, and
to name a member of that community in the government he
would form.

All media (banner in Yediot) cited a vaguely worded
travel advisory made public by the GOI's anti-terror
HQ, which warns that Israelis could be kidnapped all
over the world. Yediot quoted an Israeli source as
saying that Israel is concerned about a new Elchanan
Tenenbaum affair. Some commentators said that
Hizbullah is the group behind the threat. Yediot
reported that Hizbullah planned to open a luxury
restaurant in the Haifa area in partnership with an
Israeli Arab it enlisted (he was arrested on November
7), in order to obtain information from senior Israeli
security personnel and IDF officers regarding IDF
offensive plans in Lebanon.

On Thursday, leading media reported that, following
intense U.S. pressure, the UN Security Council on
Wednesday issued an unprecedented condemnation of
Hizbullah's attacks on northern Israel Monday. Israel
Radio reported that this morning, Israel returned to
Lebanon the bodies of three Hizbullah militants killed
by IDF fire on Monday. The media reported that Israel
made the decision on Thursday, following an official
request by the Lebanese government. On Thursday, all
media reported that an Israeli paraglider was blown
down into Lebanese territory on Wednesday, sparking
exchanges of gunfire between the IDF and Hizbullah
until he managed to return safely to Israel.

The Jerusalem Post reported that PA Chairman
[President] Mahmoud Abbas will officially open the
Rafah crossing today. The newspaper reported that no
Israeli representative is expected to attend the
ceremony. The Jerusalem Post also reported that on
Wednesday night, Rafik al-Hasanat, a senior member of
Hamas who has been wanted by Israel for over a decade,
returned to the Gaza Strip through the crossing, which
was opened for a few hours on Wednesday to allow
hundreds of Palestinians stranded on the Egyptian side
to return to the Gaza Strip.

The Jerusalem Post reported that the U.S. Congress is
working on a resolution that will ban Hamas from taking
part in the election process and threatens relations
between the PA and the U.S. should the PA fail to
disarm Hamas. The newspaper wrote that House
Resolution 575 was introduced last Friday by a group of
Republican and Democratic congressmen and that it was
referred to the House International Relations
committee. The Jerusalem Post reported that a similar
letter is now circulating in the U.S. Senate.

Leading media reported that Iyad Abu Rob, the commander
of Islamic Jihad in Jenin, surrendered to IDF troops
early Thursday morning, after a day-long siege. Abu
Rob is suspected of involvement in the October 26
suicide bombing in Hadera that killed six Israelis.
Ha'aretz reported that Zacharia Zubeidi, the head of
the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades in the city, tried to
mediate between the sides.

Ha'aretz reported that the High Court of Justice told
Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz on Thursday to report
within 10 days on preparations to demolish illegal
structures at the Amona outpost near the West Bank
settlements of Ofra.
On Thursday, The Jerusalem Post reported that the U.S.
was willing to give Russian diplomacy another chance
and that it would not insist on referring the Iranian
nuclear issue to the UN Security Council in the meeting
of the International Atomic Energy board of governors
that was slated to take place Thursday.

Leading media reported that on Thursday, Jordan's King
Abdullah II named Dr. Marouf al-Bakhit prime minister.
Al-Bakhit was ambassador to Israel until a few weeks
ago. Yediot notes that he speaks Hebrew.

The Jerusalem Post reported that a delegation of four
Israeli Arabs headed by Knesset Member Talab El-Sana
from the Arab Democratic Party left Thursday for Qatar
to meet with Qatari leaders. The newspaper quoted El-
Sana as saying he would meet with Qatari leader Sheik
Hamad Bin Khalifa to discuss the situation of Israeli
Arabs in Israel and the effects of the recent political
developments on the peace process. The Jerusalem Post
also reported that El-Sana told the newspaper: "We will
also visit the offices of Al Jazeera-TV, which
President George Bush wanted to bomb, and we will thank
the emir for his support for projects in Palestine."

All media reported that India has expressed concern
over the high crash rate of its Israeli-made spy
drones, having taken up the issue with Israeli
officials.

On Thursday and Friday, all media reported on
controversy sparked by anti-Semitic comments that the
American singer Michael Jackson allegedly made in a
phone conversation with one of his former advisers two
months ago. Israel Radio quoted media sources in
Bahrain as saying that Jackson plans to convert to
Islam or that that he has already done so.

Leading media reported that the Health Ministry
announced on Thursday that a man who worked with
migratory birds in the Hula Lake in northern Israel
might have been infected with the dangerous genus of
the avian influenza.

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1. Mideast:
------------

Summary:
--------

Diplomatic correspondent Ben Caspit wrote in popular,
pluralist Maariv: "Should there be no partner for
Roadmap -- which is plausible -- Israel, on its own
initiative, will leave expansive parts of Judea and
Samaria [i.e. the West Bank], [and] obtain (advance)
American recognition of, (and silent European assent)
to the new line."

Liberal op-ed writer Ofer Shelach opined in mass-
circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot: "The American
document par excellence ... mentioned things the
Palestinians had never dared even ask for in the course
of the negotiations."

Washington correspondent Nathan Guttman wrote in the
conservative, independent Jerusalem Post: "If President
Bush is interested in helping Sharon before the
elections, he can follow two avenues."

Block Quotes:
-------------

I. "The Maps Are Ready"

Diplomatic correspondent Ben Caspit wrote in popular,
pluralist Maariv (November 25): "Sharon is this week's
big winner... More than anything else, Sharon's move
was courageous and fit for a leader. In addition, it
can be determined with certainty that Sharon wouldn't
have gone for it had he not planned to take new bold
diplomatic steps. There is no doubt about it -- had he
wanted to spend his time playing around with the
Roadmap, he would have stayed in the Likud. At this
point, Sharon isn't talking about this and his advisers
(Weisglass and Eival Giladi) have gone underground, but
the maps have already been prepared. The formula that
worked in Gaza will also be implemented in the West
Bank. Should there be no partner for the Roadmap --
which is plausible -- Israel, on its own initiative,
will leave expansive parts of Judea and Samaria [i.e.
the West Bank], concentrate behind the [separation]
barrier in many areas, obtain (advance) American
recognition of, (and silent European assent) to the new
line, and stabilize a new situation in the region....
What could save Netanyahu would be (as usual) terror.
This is also what could ruin [Amir] Peretz. On the
other hand, there is no Shimon Peres on the other side
... but Sharon, who, let's remove any doubt, will
always be able to launch a short Arab-munching
operation in the middle of the [elections] campaign."

II. "What the Palestinians Never Dreamt of Getting"

Liberal op-ed writer Ofer Shelach opined in mass-
circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (November 24):
"The security negotiations [over a Gaza crossings
agreement] went on for months without getting
anywhere.... While -- according to Shimon Peres -- the
lack of agreement over the crossing points meant we had
not yet left Gaza, the ticking bomb of the living
conditions of the Gazans -- which are entirely
dependent on the passage of people and goods from Egypt
to Gaza, continued to tick away loudly. In the end it
was the danger presented by that bomb, which found
expression in James Wolfensohn's threat to leave the
region, which brought about Rice's intervention, and,
with it, the American document par excellence that
mentioned things the Palestinians had never dared even
ask for in the course of the negotiations. In the
final agreement Israel has no real control over who
comes into or goes out of the Gaza Strip. This is not
likely to endanger national security, as the
establishment would like us to think, but it could have
been prevented had the negotiations been properly
conducted. But ... this agreement will not last,
because this very same attitude will cause the security
establishment to behave in ways that will undermine
it.... The vicious cycle will remain unbroken: Israel's
security fixations will damage its ability to achieve
things by negotiation, then immediately afterwards the
security establishment will prove that the negotiations
were unnecessary from the outset. And so another prime
minister will continue to back it up and the citizens
of Israel will continue to believe it more than they
believe anyone else, and nothing will ever change."
III. "Due Process"

Washington correspondent Nathan Guttman wrote in the
conservative, independent Jerusalem Post (November 25):
"The fact that there is no pressing issue on the Middle
East agenda -- and that any push forward in the peace
process would have to wait in any case for the January
Palestinian elections -- is helping the administration
follow the upcoming Israeli elections from a distance.
That is not to say that there is no interest in the
dispute between Sharon and his former political
home.... If President Bush is interested in helping
Sharon before the elections, he can follow two avenues.
The first would be to refrain from putting any pressure
on Israel until the elections. Bush is not known for
pressuring Israel in any situation, so it is safe to
speculate that he will be able to take this route in
the next few months as well. The second is by
approving the special aid package of USD 1.2 billion
for the development of the Negev and Galilee. The
approval of this sum can go a long way in Israeli
politics and can be used by Sharon to show he voters
how his good relations with the U.S. are essential for
the future of Israel. Israel and the U.S. recently
resumed discussions on this special aid package, but it
is not clear if it can move forward before the
elections even if Bush gives it the green light."

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2. Lebanese-Syrian Track:
--------------------------

Summary:
--------

Senior columnist and chief defense commentator Zeev
Schiff wrote in independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz:
"[Hizbullah] clearly understood that a kidnapping
operation would foment a broad Israeli response. This,
in fact, was the aim: to divert attention from the
results of the Hariri assassination investigation and
ease the pressure on Syria."

Block Quotes:
-------------

"Hizbullah Rocks the Boat"

Senior columnist and chief defense commentator Zeev
Schiff wrote in independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz
(November 25): "Since February, Hizbullah had refrained
from firing Katyusha rockets into Israel and launching
large-scale attacks on the Israel-Lebanon border. The
situation in Lebanon and in Syria was not suited for
such actions.... At the beginning of this week, a shift
occurred in Hizbullah's operational approach. The
organization launched a large-scale, well-planned
operation that included the goal of kidnapping an
Israeli soldier. Even though it was warned not to
expand its operation by firing Katyusha rockets deep
into the Galilee, the organization clearly understood
that a kidnapping operation would foment a broad
Israeli response. This, in fact, was the aim: to
divert attention from the results of the Hariri
assassination investigation and ease the pressure on
Syria. It is equally clear that an operation like this
would not have been launched without approval by Syria
and Iran.... Hizbullah suffered an ... operational
failure. It failed to achieve its goals, lost members,
and left their bodies behind. The Security Council
accused the organization of initiating the incident....
Not even the clearest photographs of Israeli army
equipment that was damaged can blur the failure....
This is a complex state of affairs, which is liable to
deteriorate into a broad confrontation between Israel
and Syria. It is doubtful that Syrian President Bashar
Assad can be relied upon to prevent such deterioration.
Therefore, it is doubly important for Israel to keep
its hands on the wheel, and take into account the need
to avoid being dragged into the American-French
confrontation with the Syrians and Hizbullah."

JONES

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