Cablegate: Israel Media Reaction

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

141346Z Jul 05

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 TEL AVIV 004367

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

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SUBJECTS COVERED IN THIS REPORT:
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1. Gaza Disengagement

2. London Bombings

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Key stories in the media:
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PM Sharon's decision to seal off the Gaza Strip to non-
resident Israelis through the disengagement move
dominates the media, some of which report on scuffles
between security forces and anti-disengagement
protesters at the Kissufim crossing to the Strip.
Ha'aretz reports that six IDF soldiers refused to take
part in the sealing operation. Ha'aretz says that
2,000 soldiers and police have been stationed around
the Strip. Maariv marks Wednesday as the starting date
of the disengagement. A Hatzofe headline reads: "No
Entry to Jews." Israel Radio reported that five
Israelis in their twenties were arrested on suspicion
of planning to block roads.

Israel Radio reported that Israeli communities inside
and outside the Gaza Strip were shelled last night.
There were no casualties. The radio also reported that
the IDF killed an armed Palestinian in Nablus.
Ha'aretz reported that during its raid in Tulkarm, the
IDF found a laboratory for making explosives and some
70 kg of gunpowder. The lab was destroyed in a
controlled explosion.

Jerusalem Post reported that, less than 24 hours after
a senior PA security official announced that the PA was
planning to crack down on Islamic Jihad for its role in
Tuesday's suicide bombing in Netanya, Palestinian
officials have made it clear that "only those directly
linked to the attack would be punished."

Ha'aretz quoted officials from international entities
involved in talks to coordinate the disengagement as
saying that demolishing homes in the Gaza Strip after
evacuation will entail a logistically complicated
operation to remove debris. The sources are quoted as
saying that the rubble will have to go to Sinai.
Therefore, Egypt will determine the fate of the plan to
demolish the homes and flatten the ground for
rebuilding. Ha'aretz also reported that Egyptian
officers will arrive in Gaza on Sunday to prepare the
Palestinians for the Israeli evacuation from the Strip.

Maariv reported that over 660 members of the Likud's
Central Committee have signed a petition requesting
that the committee be convened to set a date for
elections for the chairmanship of the party. The
newspaper says that the purpose of the move's
initiators is to make Binyamin Netanyahu replace
Sharon.
Yediot New York correspondent Eitan Amit reports on
what he says is the United States' indifference to the
expansion process of the UN Security Council.

Jerusalem Post cited a viewer poll aired on Monday by
CNN, according to which 94 percent of respondents are
opposed to U.S. taxpayers footing the bill for Israel's
pullout from Gaza; 6 percent agree to the idea.

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1. Gaza Disengagement:
-----------------------

Summary:
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Independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized: "The
decision to close the [Gaza] Strip earlier than planned
was correct, and may even have saved lives."

Diplomatic correspondent Shimon Shiffer wrote in mass-
circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot: "It would not
be an overstatement to say that the central
significance [of Wednesday's closure of the Gaza Strip
to non-resident Israelis] is that Israeli democracy is
prepared to deal with those who want to rise up and
force it to do what they want."

Editor-in-Chief Amnon Dankner and senior columnist Dan
Margalit wrote on page one of popular, pluralist
Maariv: "The line must be drawn clearly and sharply:
the line does not divide disengagement supporters from
disengagement opponents, it divides between those who
have national responsibility and those who have none."

Senior columnist Haggai Huberman wrote on page one of
nationalist, Orthodox Hatzofe: "Opponents of uprooting
will have to recruit enormous forces to meet the
difficult task whose definition is hard to actually
utter: to defeat the IDF."

Block Quotes:
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I. "The Evacuation Has Begun"

Independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized (July
14): "The evacuation of the Gaza Strip actually began a
few weeks ago, when the IDF began to evacuate military
infrastructure. But from a psychological standpoint,
it seems that the Prime Minister's issuance on
Wednesday of a closure order for the Strip was the
definitive moment.... Had it not been for the active
intervention of disengagement opponents and the bear
hug they gave Gush Katif residents, things would
presumably have been done differently. The renewed
attempts to block roads throughout the country, the
fact that the ultra-Orthodox have joined the
demonstrations, the enlistment of the Baba Baruch [a
charismatic religious sage] in the struggle, the
repeated seditious statements by some yeshiva heads --
all of these demonstrate that the decision to close the
Strip earlier than planned was correct, and may even
have saved lives."

II. "The Day Disengagement Began"

Diplomatic correspondent Shimon Shiffer wrote in mass-
circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (July 14): "The
decision to close the Gaza Strip has many shades of
significance, some far reaching: it would not be an
overstatement to say that the central significance is
that Israeli democracy is prepared to deal with those
who want to rise up and force it to do what they
want.... The closure order issued on Wednesday by
Sharon put an end to the planned parliamentary tricks
to thwart the evacuation, could stop the denial process
nurtured by the hard core of Gush Katif settlers.
That's it, the die has been cast. It is hard to
imagine a scenario that can now prevent implementation
of disengagement. A day after the disengagement is
completed, Israel will declare the removal of
responsibility over the Gaza Strip and the cancellation
of the Civil Administration in the area. The practical
significance: if the Palestinian Authority decides to
implement its right of return and bring refugees into
the Gaza Strip, it will be able to do so."

III. "Red Line for Rabbis"

Editor-in-Chief Amnon Dankner and senior columnist Dan
Margalit wrote on page one of popular, pluralist Maariv
(July 14): "With criminal irresponsibility, with
arrogance and a poisonous tongue, too many rabbis of
the national-religious public speak evil. Their talk
is mainly disproportionate. True, evacuation is a
difficult matter, and true, it is right that they
should warn of its possible security and political
outcome.... However, in truth, when the harsh
statements and hair-raising descriptions are heard, one
would think that the settlers are being slaughtered....
One could also think ... that Zionism has died or been
murdered by the government of Israel.... None of this
talk has any basis.... Five weeks before disengagement
begins, the line must be drawn clearly and sharply: the
line does not divide disengagement supporters from
disengagement opponents; it divides between those who
have national responsibility and those who have
none.... Each and every one of the citizens of Israel
is obliged today to stand on the correct side of this
line. Those who prefer to stand on the other side must
realize that they deserve neither understanding nor
forgiveness, neither empathy and nor an embrace, only
the harshest words of condemnation and a complete
turning of our backs."

IV. "Sharon Has Turned the IDF Into the Enemy"
Senior columnist Haggai Huberman wrote on page one of
nationalist, Orthodox Hatzofe (July 14): "The battle
for Gush Katif began on Wednesday; there is no question
about that.... We can win. It will be a tough battle,
not a simple one, against hostile forces, against an
imperious and dictatorial government. Opponents of
uprooting will have to recruit enormous forces to meet
the difficult task whose definition is hard to actually
utter: to defeat the IDF -- to bring the Israel Defense
Forces to its knees. The IDF, temporarily, the echelon
of the top command, has become, because of Sharon, the
'enemy' in the service of the evil regime. It will
revert to being our army again on the day that the
battle is decided, either way, and we believe that it
will be decided in favor of keeping the settlements."

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2. London Bombings:
--------------------

Summary:
--------

Editorial writer Avraham Tal observed in independent,
left-leaning Ha'aretz: "As someone who is now assuming
the status of an international leader with designs on
making peace in the Middle East, [Tony Blair] must not
forget Islamic Jihad and Hamas, whose modus operandi
was demonstrated last week to Britons on Bus No. 30 and
the underground trains."

Block Quotes:
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"A Worthy Mission For Blair"

Editorial writer Avraham Tal observed in independent,
left-leaning Ha'aretz (July 14): "On the day it was
Britain's turn to fall victim to Al-Qaida, and fears
rose regarding incitement and retribution against its
Muslim citizens, British Prime Minister Tony Blair said
that the vast majority of Muslims were decent citizens
who were appalled by terror just like other citizens.
This is certainly true; nevertheless, it is difficult
to ignore the fact that Britain, with close to 2
million Muslim residents (around 800,000 in London
itself), is a breeding ground for Al-Qaida terror,
perhaps more so than any other European country....
What is truly needed to weaken Islamic terror,
alongside an uncompromising war against it, is a
decision by the sane majority among Muslims everywhere
to denounce and rid themselves of the terrorists. But
beyond the condemnations of the terror, the Islamic
establishment there, as in Israel, wasn't very moved by
the attacks.... Over and above his praise for the
British Muslims' reservations regarding terror, Blair
must openly demand that their communal leaders stand at
the forefront of the struggle against the Al-Qaida
criminal organization. And as someone who is now
assuming the status of an international leader with
designs on making peace in the Middle East, he must not
forget Islamic Jihad and Hamas, whose modus operandi
was demonstrated last week to Britons on Bus No. 30 and
the underground trains."

KURTZER

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