MEDIA REACTION ON ISRAEL-HEZBOLLAH COMBAT

UNCLAS AMMAN 005768 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 TSOU SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KMDR JO SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION ON ISRAEL-HEZBOLLAH COMBAT Editorial Commentary -- "The project that steals a victory for Israel" Columnist Jamil Nimri writes on the back-page of independent, centrist Arabic daily Al-Ghad (08/01): "The United States prevented the denunciation of Israel over its massacre of children in Qana, and it is now scheming for a project that steals for Israel a victory that was not won on the ground.... It has become clear that destroying Hezbollah is not possible and that weakening it is a non-measurable vague outcome. Israel now wants to make the two kilometers behind the borders an area void of people, and the Qana massacre is going to convince the remaining people to leave. The comprehensive cleanup will continue with artillery and overflights so that the forces will advance and occupy with the least of losses and in time with the issuance of the Security Council resolution to send international forces to the area.... But unlike the U.N. forces that are peace-keeping forces, this new force that will be deployed according to Chapter 7 is going to be authorized for military retaliation and its mission will be to guarantee that the south is arms-free and that Hezbollah forces do not have any presence.... The chances of the American project are very weak indeed. The project will not get Lebanon's approval, and Lebanon will not accept a ceasefire as long as there are occupied lands. However, the United States wants at least to reach a position where it is no longer responsible for rejecting a ceasefire and where the inability of the parties to reach an understanding is the thing that is prolonging the conflict." -- "General Rice: new Middle East on the bodies of the children of Qana" Columnist Oraib Rantawi writes on the op-ed page of center-left, influential Arabic daily Ad-Dustour (08/01): "Secretary Rice moved away from the international consensus calling for an immediate and comprehensive ceasefire and her evil mind put forth a new trick: suspension of military operations for 48 hours for humanitarian reasons.... The battles did not stop, Israeli raids continued, and the days uncover news of new massacres. Rice speaks of the possibility of a ceasefire within a week, giving Israel the time to continue its destructive war and to burn the land. Washington, first and foremost, is the one that is waging the war on Lebanon, and if there is any one to blame, it is this unbalanced thirsty-for-destruction-and-war administration.... What new Middle East is the lady of the smart bombs talking about? What does the mater of the White House mean when he says, after the Qana massacre, that what is happening in the region is an 'opportunity for change'? Rice is telling us that the war is not over yet, that the darkest days are yet to come, that the opportunity for change that George Bush is seeking needs for fuel of the blood and bones of the Lebanese, and that the Middle East, be it the new or the greater, will rise only on devastation, destruction and human skulls." -- "The culture of terrorism stems from Israel and America" Chief Editor Taher Odwan writes on the back-page of independent, mass-appeal Arabic daily Al-Arab Al-Yawm (0801): "America is going to reap only hatred and detestation from the Arab street. Israel has lost its cause, because normalization and co-existence have become a mirage and an illusion. The region is coming up to decades of resistance, because the resistance manifests the just demand for permanent peace, but the roadmap is just a map for Israeli massacres ... and another headline for humiliating the Arabs and usurping their will and their rights." HALE