MEDIA REACTION ON MIDDLE EAST

UNCLAS AMMAN 002956 SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA/ARN, NEA/PA, NEA/AIA, INR/NESA, R/MR, I/GNEA, B/BXN, B/BRN, NEA/PPD, NEA/IPA FOR ALTERMAN USAID/ANE/MEA LONDON FOR GOLDRICH PARIS FOR O'FRIEL E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KMDR JO SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION ON MIDDLE EAST Summary --Lead story in all papers today, May 20, focuses on the series of suicide bombings that took place yesterday in Israel. Front-page stories continue to focus on preparations for the Jordanian parliamentary elections. Editorial Commentary -- "Who is responsible for the bloodshed?" Center-left, influential Arabic daily Al-Dustour (05/20) editorializes: "No one has to look very hard for the real cause for this recent escalation of violence on both the Palestinian and the Israeli fronts. It is Sharon and his extremist right-wing government. They have closed off the road for peace and destroyed the accords and they continue their war of settlements, colonization and invasions.. It is truly sad that the world stands watching the Israeli arrogance. The Israeli government commits crimes on daily basis against the Palestinians without any condemnation or denunciation.. We call on the United States and the international community to intervene strongly in order to salvage the peace plan and to put an end to the suffering of the Palestinian people. We also look to the people in Palestine to pull in their ranks, to put their differences aside, and to formulate a unified strategy that would enable the people to confront the challenges leading to their freedom and independence." -- "The terrorism that serves the enemies" Columnist Yaqoub Jaber writes on the op-ed page of center-left, influential Arabic daily Al-Dustour (05/20): "It is probably too early to say that Al- Qa'eda organization was responsible for the bombings in Riyadh and Casablanca. Yet, we can safely say that such bombings against targets related to the foreign and American presence marks a reaction against the war that the United States launched against Iraq.. According to these groups, terrorism is the only means of revenge, since armies have failed to protect national independence. But they do not realize that their push for terrorist actions out of revenge is actually harming their own people and their own countries and the image of Arabs and Muslims in the world. It is our duty to warn that terrorists may take advantage of the fall of Baghdad to spread death and destruction and to continue to defame Arabs and Muslims. We would not blame the governments if they deal harshly with those who chose terrorism as a means of self-expression, a means that serves only the objectives of the enemies and the adversaries." GNEHM