MEDIA REACTION ON MIDDLE EAST

UNCLAS AMMAN 007525 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 E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KMDR JO SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION ON MIDDLE EAST Summary -- Papers published today, September 20, are dominated by various reports related to the dialogue and reaction to the Jordanian government's decision to raise fuel price in the Kingdom in order to deal with its extreme budget deficit. Other lead stories continue to highlight continuing violence in Iraq. Editorial Commentary -- "Containment through inclusion" Centrist daily Jordan Times (influential among the elite English speakers) (09/20) editorializes: "Israel is giving Hamas the biggest boost ever by seeking to deny it the opportunity to participate in the January Palestinian legislative elections.. At a time when there is determined effort to engage Hamas and other Palestinian extremist groups in the political process as an integral part of the new Palestinian order, any attempts to exclude them from such participation willingly drives them even further into extremist and radical positions vis--vis Israel and peace efforts. While it is true that Hamas made a strong showing in recent municipal elections, it is up to the Palestinian people, and to them alone, to decide whether Hamas can be a partner in the political establishment.. As long as the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza works and the Palestinians can begin to feel the difference in their lives and reap the fruits of peace in Gaza, there is a high probability that they will opt to build on what has been painstakingly constructed by giving peace a chance in the rest of the Palestinian territories." -- "Condoleezza Rice: from 9/11 to 9/16" Columnist Yaser Abu Hilaleh writes on the op-ed page of independent Arabic daily Al-Ghad (09/20): "Condoleezza Rice cannot imagine Hamas' participation in the next elections and, at the same time, she receives Sharon with warm hospitality. The problem with Condoleezza Rice is not her ignorance of the importance of the Hamas movement on the Palestinian street, but rather her ignorance of Sharon's nature. Let us assume that Hamas is a terrorist movement that blows up cars in civilian areas. What about Sharon then, particularly when the anniversary of the Sabra and Shatila massacres on September 16 is lost amidst the world's marking of the 9/11 attacks? By the way, the September 16 Sabra and Shatila massacres are much uglier than the 9/11 massacre in New York and Washington. In Sabra and Shatila, the pro-Israel Christian militia intentionally killed children right before the eyes of their mothers . and this does not compare to a random explosion that kills without discrimination.. Condoleezza Rice must remember well that there is September 16 memory that the world has forgotten but the victims have not." RUBINSTEIN