MEDIA REACTION: ISRAELI BLOCKADE OF GAZA

UNCLAS MUSCAT 000129

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/ARP, NEA/PPD, NEA/PI, AND INR/R/MR
STATE PASS USTR FOR N. MOORJANI, J. BUNTIN
LONDON FOR TSOU
PARIS FOR ZEYA
USCENTCOM FOR PLUSH
FOREIGN PRESS CENTER FOR SILAS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OIIP KPAO KMDR MU
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: ISRAELI BLOCKADE OF GAZA



1. SUMMARY: The editorials in private Arabic daily "Al-Watan" and
government-owned "Oman" commented on the need to save Palestinians
from Israeli attacks on the basis of moral and legal concerns and
human rights. END SUMMARY.

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MORAL AND LEGAL COLLAPSE
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2. On February 7, state-owned Arabic daily "Oman" (circulation
38,000) described Palestinian suffering caused by the Israeli
blockade and called on the U.N. and the international community to
protest these human rights violations in an editorial, "Israeli
Attack and the Silence of the International Community":

"Israel is continuing its barbaric attack against the Palestinians
in Gaza and the West Bank while the international community stands
and watches. It is as if the whole world is sending Israel the
message that it can do what it wants without interference. This is
a moral and legal collapse of the international community which
otherwise sings about human and civilian rights. The majority of
victims in this war are civilians - children, elderly people, and
women. The United Nations does nothing to rescue Palestinians in
the face of Israel's crimes, deliberate massacres, theft of water,
destruction of farms, and assassinations. Israel is taking
advantage of American bias and the division among Arabs to implement
its criminal plans."

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A RETURN TO COLLECTIVE PUNISHMENT
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3. The privately owned Arabic daily "Al-Watan" (circulation 42,000)
wrote on February 7 that Israel is using HAMAS as a pretext for
launching illegal attacks against civilians, calling it "A True Test
for Israel":

"Israel continues to call for a strict blockade around Gaza under
the pretext of ceasing the so-called 'rocket war'. It claims that
there is a war taking place against Hamas, and that this war must
incorporate economic pressure as a weapon. The Israeli President,
the butcher Shimon Perez, suggests that there is no such thing as a
small or big operation, but only convenient or inconvenient ones.
These operations are supported by the international community, which
has adopted Israel's line of self-protection. The international
community is silent about what is going on in Palestine, and it is
turning a blind eye to the Israeli attacks. Israel will return to
its policy of collective punishment, using Hamas as an excuse to
subject civilians in Gaza to Israeli humiliation forever. Israel is
diverting people's attention away from the core Palestinian issues
to spoil peace efforts."

GRAPPO