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Viewing cable 05TELAVIV4770, ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
05TELAVIV4770 2005-08-02 11:19 2011-08-24 01:00 UNCLASSIFIED Embassy Tel Aviv
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 004770 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA, NEA/IPA, NEA/PPD 
 
WHITE HOUSE FOR PRESS OFFICE, SIT ROOM 
NSC FOR NEA STAFF 
 
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.  Gaza Disengagement 
 
2.  Saudi Arabia 
 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
All major media reported that the settler leadership 
accepted a late-night IDF and police compromise on 
their mass anti-disengagement protest planned for 
today.  The settlers agreed to hold a "short" rally in 
Sderot between 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. EDT and to move 
on to the Negev city of Ofakim for the night. 
 
Yediot and Israel Radio reported that the joint Israeli- 
Palestinian military coordination commission, which 
convened at the Erez Crossing on Monday, decided that 
the IDF will start transferring in an orderly fashion 
evacuated settlements to the PA even before all Gaza 
Strip settlements are evacuated. 
 
Leading media reported that Israel and Egypt have 
reached an in-principle agreement, according to which 
750 Egyptian border policemen will be stationed along 
the Philadelphi route.   Ha'aretz says that Egypt has 
explicitly pledged to prevent smuggling from its side 
and that the Egyptian force, whose equipment will only 
include light weapons and APCs, will not be able to 
bring tanks or anti-tank missiles into the Sinai. 
Ha'aretz reported that the bilateral security-military 
commission will meet next week to finalize the details 
of the agreement.  The media quoted Yuval Steinitz, the 
chairman of the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense 
Committee, as saying that this "pitiful" agreement 
harms the great achievement of the Sinai's 
demilitarization. 
 
Jerusalem Post reported that the PA plans to launch a 
mass public awareness campaign within a few days to 
promote Israel's evacuation of the Gaza Strip 
settlements later this month. 
 
Ha'aretz cited the growing belief of the Israeli 
defense establishment that the stability of Syrian 
President Bashar Assad's regime will be at risk during 
the coming year.  The newspaper quoted a senior Israeli 
defense official as saying that Assad's mistakes -- the 
infiltration of terrorists from Syria into Iraq despite 
U.S. warnings; the continuation of Syrian intelligence 
activity in Lebanon, despite Syria's assurances; the 
continuation of the activity of the headquarters of 
Palestinian terrorist groups in Damascus; and Syria's 
ongoing assistance to Hizbullah -- could cost him his 
rule. 
All media reported that Crown Prince Abdullah became 
King of Saudi Arabia on Monday, succeeding his late 
brother Fahd.  Jerusalem Post cited academic and 
diplomatic assessments in Jerusalem, according to which 
the developments in Saudi Arabia are unlikely to have 
any immediate impact on that country's relations with 
Israel. 
Ha'aretz's web site reported that Iran's president 
elect, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, said this week he will 
continue to support Hizbullah's struggle against the 
"enemies of Islam."  He reportedly made the comment 
after meeting with Hizbullah leader Sheikh Hassan 
Nasrallah in Tehran on Monday. 
 
Israel Radio reported that Kfir Levy, a Jewish driver 
from Ramat Gan, and two Israeli Arabs have been 
arraigned under suspicion of having abetted the Netanya 
suicide bomber on July 12.  Yediot quoted Shin Bet head 
Yuval Diskin as saying on Monday that the terrorist 
cell that planned to assassinate Shas mentor Rabbi 
Ovadia Yosef was captured last week.  Ha'aretz cited 
statistics released Monday by the Shin Bet: 21 Israelis 
were killed and 238 others were wounded during the 
period of quiet declared by the PA and the terrorist 
organizations. 
 
Jerusalem Post reported that Fatah leaders and 
activists have decided to establish a Palestinian 
"popular army" to help the PA enforce law and order in 
the Gaza Strip after Israel evacuates the area.  The 
newspaper quoted sources in the Gaza Strip as saying 
that the decision to establish that body was taken by 
Tunis-based hard-line PLO official Farouk Kaddoumi. 
Jerusalem Post quoted PA officials in Ramallah who 
expressed concern over the decision, saying there was 
no need for "another militia" and that the Palestinian 
security forces are capable of taking control over the 
areas that will be evacuated by Israel. 
 
All media reported that on Monday, "by-passing" the 
U.S. Senate, President Bush appointed John Bolton U.S. 
representative to the UN.  The media remind that Bolton 
is controversial and that the U.S. Jewish leaders 
appreciate him, especially thanks to his role in 
revoking the 1975 UN General Assembly resolution 
equating Zionism with racism. 
 
----------------------- 
1.  Gaza Disengagement: 
----------------------- 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Chief Economic Editor and senior columnist Sever 
Plotker wrote in mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot 
Aharonot: "Sharon is beginning with disengaging from 
Gaza.... After it, in my opinion, will come the real 
thing: larger withdrawals and evacuations from Judea 
and Samaria [i.e. the West Bank]." 
 
Leading industrialist Stef Wertheimer wrote in popular, 
pluralist Maariv: "I am in favor of Sharon now, because 
Sharon is now doing the possible and right move." 
 
The Director of the Interdisciplinary Center's Global 
Research in International Affairs Center, columnist 
Barry Rubin, wrote in conservative, independent 
Jerusalem Post: "There will be no big response [to the 
disengagement] in the region and the withdrawal will 
have little effect on Arab states' policies." 
 
Ultra-Orthodox Yated Ne'eman editorialized: " The Prime 
Minister can 'flex his muscles' when facing the 
'orange' settlers, but he knows well that he must 
submit to every American dictate." 
 
Commentator Marina Rozenblit wrote in conservative 
Russian-language daily Vesty: "An undercover dialog 
conducted between Prime Minister Sharon's closest 
supporters and religious leaders of the opposition [to 
disengagement] is additional evidence that ... [the 
latter] are actually almost reconciled with the 
inevitability of [disengagement]." 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
I.  "After the 8,000 Will Come the 80,000" 
 
Chief Economic Editor and senior columnist Sever 
Plotker wrote in mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot 
Aharonot (August 2): "During his visit to France, 
Sharon said: 'Had a million Jews settled in the 
territories, Israel could have pursued a different 
policy.'  By so saying Sharon admitted ... that the 
settlement movement stands facing its failure.  True, 
some 250,000 Jews live beyond the Green Line, but 
150,000 of them live in what is referred to as the 
"major settlement blocs," blocs of Jewish population 
that either abut or nearly abut the 1967 borders.  That 
is where Israel ends.... When faced with the failure of 
the settlement enterprise, what is left for Sharon -- 
its prophet and commander -- to do?  Precisely what he 
is doing now: to minimize the damage, to pick up the 
pieces, to withdraw and to stabilize new borders.  He 
is beginning with disengaging from Gaza, but Gaza is 
just the first installment, a mere brigade exercise, 
and a dress rehearsal.  After it, in my opinion, will 
come the real thing: larger withdrawals and evacuations 
from Judea and Samaria.  Just as Sharon did not stop 
after 40 kilometers in the Lebanon War, so too will he 
not stop in the evacuation of settlements after Gush 
Katif and Netzarim.  Sharon will go for the 'big plan,' 
and will seek to transfer at least 80,000 settlers who 
live on the far side of the separation fence route to 
the Israeli side.... A man like Sharon, a statesman who 
thinks only on a huge scale, would never make do with 
less than that." 
 
 
II.  "For Sharon Now" 
 
Leading industrialist Stef Wertheimer wrote in popular, 
pluralist Maariv (August 2): "I am in favor of Sharon 
now, because Sharon is now doing the possible and right 
move... It is no longer possible to determine the 
destiny of another nation, because maintaining 7,000 
Israelis in this Palestinian space is illogical.... 
When Israel arrived in Gush Katif 40 years ago, we were 
a different Israel.... We increased the defense budget 
at the expense of occupational education and 
professionalism, and of the development of the Galilee 
and Negev.  This indeed was a defense necessity, but it 
almost swallowed us.... Modern industry and exports 
still are Israel's -- and the individual Israeli's -- 
best chance.... No longer exploiters and exploited -- a 
new tomorrow." 
 
III.  "The Debate That Won't Happen" 
 
The Director of the Interdisciplinary Center's Global 
Research in International Affairs Center, columnist 
Barry Rubin, wrote in conservative, independent 
Jerusalem Post (August 2): "What about the [notion] 
that the withdrawal proves Israel is weak and that it 
shows terrorism is working?  Certainly, there will be 
those in Hamas and Hizbullah that will make such claims 
but they will not be repeated too often by others. 
Why?  Most basically because the Arab states and Iran 
do not need or want the image of a weak Israel.  To be 
useful, Israel must be seen as strong, as an imminent 
threat.  Only if this is so can the 'Zionist menace' 
justify continued dictatorship, high military spending, 
and a denial of internal freedom.  Unless Israel is a 
threat, the battle could be left to the Palestinians 
and there is no ability to use the issue as a professed 
grievance against the West.... If Israel is so weak, 
radical groups can argue it is time for the Arab states 
to go to war and devote all their resources to 
defeating it.  But if, for example, Syria made that 
mistake it would be a disaster that might well prove 
fatal to the regime there.  Therefore, there will be no 
big response in the region and the withdrawal will have 
little effect on Arab states' policies.  The limited 
exception is Egypt, which will now have to manage its 
border with the Gaza Strip." 
 
IV.  "Behind the Smiles" 
 
Ultra-Orthodox Yated Ne'eman editorialized (August 2): 
"During her meetings with Sharon, Mofaz, and Shalom, 
Secretary of State Rice demonstrated an aggressive and 
 
SIPDIS 
patronizing attitude, as someone who is very aware of 
Israel's full dependence on the United States.  The 
Prime Minister can 'flex his muscles' when facing the 
'orange' settlers, but he knows well that he must 
submit to every American dictate, whether he likes it 
or not.  In the final analysis, who eventually dictates 
Israeli policy?  These aren't Israel's senior defense 
officials or economists, but the top U.S. officials, 
who act out of domestic motives and considerations, 
which often utterly contradict Israel's needs." 
 
V.  "Shooting a Movie " 
 
Commentator Marina Rozenblit wrote in conservative, 
Russian-language daily Vesty (August 2):"The opponents 
of the settlers' evacuation from the northern West Bank 
and Gaza have regarded the unilateral disengagement 
plan as a propaganda trick and a performance ... to 
achieve some political goals....  However, as the 
implementation date of the disengagement plan is 
getting closer, the argument that 'it will not happen 
because it can never happen' ... becomes irrelevant.... 
An undercover dialog conducted between Prime Minister 
Sharon's closest supporters and religious leaders of 
the opposition [to disengagement] is additional 
evidence that although the latter are continuing the 
struggle ... to express their protests, they are 
actually almost reconciled with the inevitability of 
[disengagement]." 
 
----------------- 
2.  Saudi Arabia: 
----------------- 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Senior Middle East affairs analyst Zvi Bar'el wrote in 
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz: "Thus far, [King] 
Abdullah has done relatively well in maneuvering around 
these pressures, but with the line to the throne 
becoming ever shorter, he may find himself facing a few 
more rebels from within his own house." 
 
Conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized: 
"King Fahd's death may not mark the immediate end of an 
era, but it is a reminder that that end is coming." 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
I.  "A Sense of Saudi Stability" 
 
Senior Middle East affairs analyst Zvi Bar'el wrote in 
independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz (August 2): "The 
sense the kingdom [of Saudi Arabia] has managed to 
convey over the past decade, on the surface at least, 
has been one of political stability.... But this 
stability has to be reexamined against the backdrop of 
the developments that have taken place in Saudi Arabia 
over the past decade, and the past two years in 
particular.  The stability rests on two foundations -- 
recognition of the heir system among the seven 
brothers, and the understanding that the ruling family 
is bound to see to the welfare of the kingdom's 
citizens.  But these two foundations themselves rest on 
an aging family ... whose members harbor a fair amount 
of mistrust for one another... Tension also exists 
between Interior Minister Prince Naif, who is also 
waiting in line for the throne, and Abdullah on 
questions pertaining primarily to reforms in the 
country.... The pressures from home with regard to the 
problem of poverty have joined the religious pressure 
on the part of the Shi'ite minority, as well as anti- 
reform pressure from radical circles.  Thus far, [King] 
Abdullah has done relatively well in maneuvering around 
these pressures, but with the line to the throne 
becoming ever shorter, he may find himself facing a few 
more rebels from within his own house.  When it comes 
to foreign policy, it is clear to the Saudi royal 
family that there is no cause for change." 
 
II.  "The Crumbling House of Saud" 
 
Conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized 
(August 2): "King Fahd, who died yesterday, was the 
Saudi leader who invited American troops into his 
kingdom to repel Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait, 
but he was also the world leader most responsible for 
creating the monstrous world of militant Islamism.... 
In June at Cairo University, Secretary of State 
Condoleezza Rice spoke not just of the need for truly 
free elections in Egypt, but of the 'brave citizens 
demanding accountable government' in Saudi Arabia.... 
This sort of frank talk is revolutionary in the U.S.- 
Saudi relationship.  Yet it is barely a taste of what 
could be done.  The Saudi human rights record, despite 
the image of having created a 'modern state,' is not 
dissimilar to that of the Taliban.  The funding by 
Saudi 'charities' of a global network of radical 
Islamist indoctrination continues.  So does 
institutionalized anti-Semitism which, if it happened 
in place like Austria, would long ago have triggered an 
international boycott.... There is, in short, much to 
be done. Though the U.S. has become blunter and bolder, 
it is still an open question whether America considers 
the House of Saud as the 'devil it knows' and therefore 
preferable to most foreseeable alternatives. 
Ultimately, however, the experience from the demise of 
the oddly similar Soviet ideological gerontocracy 
indicates that collapse will come, even if the West 
foolishly tries to resist it. King Fahd's death may not 
mark the immediate end of an era, but it is a reminder 
that that end is coming." 
 
KURTZER