MEDIA REACTION ON ISRAELI RAID ON SYRIA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 006394

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 ISRAELI RAID ON SYRIA


Summary

The lead story in all papers today, October 6, as well
as commentaries focus on the Israeli raid on Syria in
retaliation for the operation in Haifa. All papers
reported Arab and International condemnation of this
attack. According to the dailies, Jordanian Foreign
Minister Muasher said that Jordan considers the attack
a "serious escalation" and expressed his pessimism
about the current situation. Arabic daily Al-Dustour
cites an unidentified official in Washington as saying
that Syria has been warned against standing on the
wrong side of the war on terrorism. Another story in
all papers highlights the King's meeting with a
delegation from the British Royal Academy for Defense
Studies, during which he called for an end to violence
in the Palestinian territories and a quick transfer of
power to the Iraqis. All papers announce the formation
of a new parliamentary bloc called "the Homeland for
Reform" bloc, which includes 25 parliamentarians from
two parliamentary blocs - "the Homeland" bloc and "the
Reformers" bloc. This is the first integration of
blocs of its kind in the history of Parliament.

Editorial Commentary on Israeli Raid on Syria

-- "Is It A Shuffling of Cards or A Change in the
Rules of the Game?"

Commenting on the Israeli raid on Syria, semi-
official, influential Arabic daily Al-Rai (10/06)
asks: "Did Sharon's government act upon its own whims
when it transferred the battle to Damascus? Is
Washington not aware of this qualitative move towards
escalation, which Jordan considers a serious
escalation that will push the entire region into a
continuous whirlpool of violence?"

The paper adds: "The flexing of muscles on the part of
Sharon's government does not reflect any extraordinary
powers. On the contrary, it reflects a clear state of
political failure, behind which stands a government
that still wagers on the option of using force despite
the dismal failure of this option over the past three
years, which only led to more violence and hatred . .
It seems that the road map will also fail unless
extremism and violence are bridled and the Palestinian
and Israeli parties are forced to carry out their
commitments under the responsibility of the UN
Security Council and the Quartet."

Maintaining that Israel's raid on Syria, which is the
first in two decades, is an Israeli message with many
connotations and potentials, Al-Rai concludes: "This
demonstrates a failure on the part of the strong
Israeli military arsenal to end the conflict, which
calls for an Israeli self-evaluation that would lead
to the arena of negotiations and political solutions
and away from the options of using force and security-
related measures."

-- "Israel Escalates Tension .. On A Regional Level"

Center-left, influential Arabic daily Al-Dustour
(10/06) editorializes: "Observers fear that Tel Aviv
will use Washington's mild reaction (to the raid) and
that of other Western capitals to continue its policy
of escalation. Indeed, a call for self-restraint is
not enough to bridle this sudden Israeli outburst and
saying that Israel has the right to defend its
citizens in nothing but a green light for Israeli
aggression."

Al-Dustour concludes: "As we have said before,
violence breeds violence and the whirlpool of war and
aggression that was started by the extremist right
wing government in Israel will only expand the area of
the conflict and threaten regional security and
stability . . . This calls for extreme caution and
vigilance as well as greater international
intervention to bridle the Israeli escalation before
it is too late."

-- "The Raid on Damascus and the New Rules of the
Game"

Daily columnist Abu Yazan writes on the op-ed page of
center-left, influential Arabic daily Al-Dustour
(10/06): "It is very likely that the Syrian-Arab
reaction to the raid will not go beyond a condemnation
or a denunciation. At the very most, the Arab
community will resort to the UN Security Council,
seeking a resolution that criticizes the raid and
condemns Palestinian and Lebanese terrorist factions
or a statement from the Council that would call for
self-restraint and respect for signed agreements and
for providing the right climate to resume the peace
process."

Abu Yazan concludes: "If this happens, Israel will be
encouraged to carry out more such operations and
perhaps of a larger scale. Only then would Tel Aviv
really succeed in changing the rules of a game that
has lasted for thirty years . . . It is too early to
predict the new rules of this game and how will the
parties concerned deal with them."
GNEHM