MEDIA REACTION: ISRAEL/PALESTINE; INFLUENCE AND

UNCLAS MUSCAT 001136 SIPDIS DEPT FOR NEA/ARPI, NEA/PPD, NEA/P, INR/R/MR LONDON FOR TSOU PARIS FOR ZEYA USCENTCOM FOR PLUSH FOREIGN PRESS CENTER FOR ASILAS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KPAO KMDR OIIP XF MU SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: ISRAEL/PALESTINE; INFLUENCE AND TECHNOLOGY -------------- --- One Man's "Bombing" Is Another Man's "Operation" -------------- --- ¶1. "Al-Watan," a privately-owned Arabic daily, carried an editorial on July 15 under the headline "The Palestinian Conflict And Urgent Questions": "We are now witnessing an elected Palestinian political authority making successful decisions to peacefully fulfill the goals of its people. However, the civilian operations [read: Palestinian suicide bombers] do not advance this process. These civilians use violence to achieve their goals, but genuine peace will only result from the actions of the politicians. The timing of these operations is particularly bad, because they seem to occur just when the wheels of the political process begin to move forward." -------------- Wills (And Won'ts) -------------- ¶2. The government-owned Arabic daily "Oman" featured an editorial on July 15 entitled "Peace Needs A Strong Political Will": "If one closely tracks Israeli behavior, one realizes that Ariel Sharon does not really want peace. He claims that Israel will withdraw from Gaza, while simultaneously continuing to build a racist separation wall... True peace requires a strong political will, accompanied by the desire to end the bloodshed between Israelis and Palestinians. However, Sharon and his generals want the instability and insecurity to continue. Haven't the Palestinians suffered enough from the Israeli chaos?" -------------- Big Brother Is Watching -------------- ¶3. "Oman" also published an op-ed by Abdullah al-Alyan on July 12 entitled "To Influence, Or To Be Influenced": "There is no doubt that we are living in an age in which economic forces have opened up cultures to one another. The Internet, the revolutions in information technology, and the omnipresent media have created a global society, and the resulting connections have profound implications for the upbringing of today's youth. Technology will shape the identity of youngsters around the world; it will affect cultures and states on many levels. Indeed, there is a danger that strong cultures will interfere with other societies, and foreign influences will try to control our lives. This interference will lead to larger problems that will endanger the process of cooperation between cultures." BALTIMORE