MEDIA REACTION MEP; HARARE

UNCLAS HARARE 002858 SIPDIS DEPT FOR AF/PDPA, AF/S, AF/RA NSC FOR JENDAYI FRAZER LONDON FOR GURNEY PARIS FOR NEARY NAIROBI FOR PFLAUMER E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PHUM KPAO KMDR ZI SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION MEP; HARARE ¶1. Under headline "U.S. stumbling block to Palestinian state" the pro-government weekly "The Sunday Mirror" dedicated its December 22 editorial to accusing the United States of stalling the peace process in the Middle East. Excerpts: ¶2. "Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat will next month send a delegation to London for talks on a peace blueprint, which envisages an end to two years of violence in the region and a Palestinian state by 2005. However, the call by Israel on the United States. . .to go slowly on the `road map' until Israeli elections on January 28 has poured cold water on expectations that a definitive document on the peace plan would be produced soon. America's veto last week of a United Nations resolution blaming Israel for the killings of three U.N. staff in Palestinian territories and its excessive use of force raises serious questions about the commitment of both Israel and the U.S. to the peace plan. It appears the unholy alliance between America and Israel is the single most significant impediment in the way of a lasting solution to the Palestinian crisis. While U.S. President George W. Bush has expressed his commitment to the establishment of a Palestinian state, last week's veto underscored the hypocrisy in American foreign policy on Palestine. America's blatant bias towards Israel will certainly determine their response to the resolutions that will come out of the London peace conference, which has been called by British prime Minister, Tony Blair." WHITEHEAD