JORDAN: JANUARY 6 MEDIA REACTION TO GAZA SITUATION

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 000046

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/ELA, NEA/PPD, IIP/GNEA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OPRC KPAO KMDR JO
SUBJECT: JORDAN: JANUARY 6 MEDIA REACTION TO GAZA SITUATION


1. SUMMARY: Jordanian media coverage today of developments in Gaza
returned to sensational photos and news of civilian casualties and
suffering caused by Israel's offensive. Coverage by major news
outlets focused on deteriorating humanitarian conditions while the
vituperative op-ed commentary sees time running out for a political
solution. END SUMMARY.


2. Tuesday's newspapers and other major news outlets in Jordan led
with photos of dead children, returning to Sunday's sensational
themes of the casualties among the most vulnerable of Palestinian
civilians. Extensive coverage in all major dailies focused on the
deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza, reportedly indicated
by the increase in the numbers of civilian casualties, specifically
children. The tone of the coverage was emotional. Under the
headline "Israel Blockades Civilians and Kills Childhood," Al-Ghad
newspaper summarized yesterday's clashes between Israeli Defense
Forces and Hamas militants by stating that "Israel escalated the
situation in Gaza yesterday by killing 50 Palestinians, among them
17 children." Hamas' launching of at least 35 rockets was also
highlighted.


3. In this context, Queen Rania's public statements yesterday also
received prominent play. Speaking at a press conference held by
several UN officials visiting Jordan, she stated that "either the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights is not so universal, or the
people of Gaza are not human beings, worthy of the same universal
rights." The Queen pleaded for a "humanitarian ceasefire" in the
Gaza Strip and urged governments to contribute to UNRWA's emergency
appeal.


4. Covering public reaction, the dailies reported that a delegation
of civil society organizations, led by labor union officials and
Islamists, will head to Damascus today to meet Hamas political
supremo Khaled Mishaal in a show of solidarity with Palestinians in
Gaza. Protests continued yesterday across the Kingdom. A tent near
the Israeli Embassy in Amman drew signficant media attention.
Online news outlet Ammoun News reported that authorities had
requested the removal of the tent, but that Interior Minister Eid
al-Fayez later withdrew the request. In separate reports, Fayez was
quoted as urging citizens to express their feelings "in a civilized
manner."


5. Al-Arab Al-Yawm newspaper reported that prominent industrialists
called for severing economic ties with Israel and "halting all forms
of normalization" as an expression of solidarity with Gazans and as
a protest against Israel's aggressive measures. The report quoted
President of the Jordan Chamber of Industry Dr. Hatem Al-Halawani as
urging the industrial sector to "sever all forms of cooperation with
the Zionist entity." It also quoted President of the Jordanian
Exporters Association Engineer Omar Abu Wishah as describing trade
relations with Israel after the Gaza crisis as "a form of tampering
with the abilities of the Arab people."


6. Editorial Commentary

-- "Rein in This Fascist Attack"

The main editorial in the January 6 edition of the leading,
government-owned Arabic daily Al-Rai opines, "Enough hypocrisy. It
is time for the human conscience to arise and stand firmly to say to
Israel enough. They must learn that history will not only be
unmerciful towards this international silence over the massacre
committed by the war criminals in Israel, but has always brought
victory to the struggling people and has always indicated that
occupation disappears sooner or later.... The fate of Olmert,
Barak, Livni, and all the fascists who support their criminal
campaign on Gaza will be in the dumpster of history."

-- "American Bias and European Silence Manifest in the Israelis'
Barbaric Attack"

Columnist Abdullah Al-Qaq in the January 6 edition of the
government-aligned, pro-Palestinian Arabic daily Ad-Dustour asserts,
"In light of the excessive Israeli assaults against the
Palestinians, the American and European practices and actions are
considered blatant bias that contributes to giving Israel more time
to continue its aggression, and in turn confirms to the people of
the Arab and Muslim nations and to the whole world that human rights
and international law and legitimacy are completely ignored at the
international level.... It is clear that one of the objectives of
the Israeli attacks is to divide up Gaza.... There is no hope for
the Palestinians except to continue the resistance. We hope that
Palestinians will pull in ranks against this aggression that is
taking place with American support and under European silence."

-- "Let the 'Other Opinion' Be Quiet for a While"

Columnist Samer Khair Ahmad in the January 6 edition of the
independent Arabic daily Al-Ghad comments, "Events in Gaza have
taken a new turn, but viewpoints about this aggression are not
decided by the Gaza events alone. The Palestinian cause, after

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sixty years of the Zionist occupation, has become very complicated,
where viewpoints about any Palestinian event are not shaped by one
single event, but rather by the repercussion of years of
developments and events.... With regard to the Israeli aggression
on Gaza, people understand the 'other opinion' that may call for
calm with Israel or seek a political solution to the crisis, or
resolve the conflict between Fatah and Hamas in a manner that
restores the former's authority in Gaza, or other proposals that
object to the methods of the resistance or doubt the feasibility of
the confrontation with the Israeli army.... The person with the
'other opinion' may have good intentions and noble objectives.
Those people with 'other opinions' who are concerned about the
public good are required to be quiet for a while, especially under
these circumstances. They must choose the place and time for making
their opinions known, if they want their opinions to achieve public
good."

-- "Serious Secrets about the Gaza War"

Columnist and Al-Jazeera Television correspondent Yaser Abu Hilala
in the January 6 Al-Ghad inveighs, "It is not an unceasing war
against Hamas, but rather a war against the Palestinian people. The
world is fighting Gaza with its security council that has become a
branch of the American State Department, which is itself involved in
the Arab-Israeli conflict, as if Al-Qassam rockets are falling on
Washington. In return, every Arab and Muslim feels that the house
leveled to the ground is his own house and that every child killed
is his own child. This is the real story. Everything else is a
lie."

-- "About the Expectations of Victory and Defeat"

Columnist Jamil Nimri in the January 6 Al-Ghad argues, "This is not
the type of war where victory or defeat is decided as in Arab wars
with Israel and where the war ends with the defeat of one army and
the victory of the other. The current formula in this confrontation
defies every definition. What does it mean to bomb Gaza and destroy
every stone in it? If the Israeli target is to 'eliminate' Hamas,
then this is an impossible goal, because it is a popular political
organization, and because for every martyr, ten others will join it.
As such and if Israel seeks this goal, then its defeat is certain.
But Israel is not saying that. Rather, it proposes vague formulas
for its goals, like changing the security reality in the south. If
stopping the rockets is the objective, then there was no need for a
war, but rather political mediation and resolving the issue of the
siege.... Behind this vagueness, the Israelis seem to have a
political plan more complicated than achieving a specific 'victory'
in a battle. Israel had no problem with Gaza's split from Ramallah.
If anything, it was an additional free gift in the context of its
constant hatred for the birth of an independent Palestinian national
entity. Yet, the growing power of Hamas and its armament probably
made Israel believe that an unsafe military force supported by enemy
forces like Iran was gaining ground. And so started the plan that
is being implemented now. Israel does not say anything about the
objectives of its ground offensive. Yet it is clear that it is the
occupation of certain areas in the north and splitting Gaza in
half."

-- "Jordan and Palestine"

Chief editor Taher Odwan in the January 6 edition of the
independent, opposition Arabic daily Al-Arab Al-Yawm predicts, "If
the government undertakes a conclusive action, like expelling the
Zionist ambassador, popular support for this decision would be
comprehensive and powerful. The one thing that all Jordanians agree
upon today is that what is going on against Gaza must stop
immediately and that the outcomes of continuing this aggression go
beyond Gaza's border and may constitute an imminent danger on
neighboring countries. The brutality of the aggression proves that
Israel is a racist country and that agreements signed with it are
not worth the ink they are written in, because the first condition
in all these treaties and agreements is for Israel to be part of
comprehensive peace. Since Israel is wiping out this peace with its
wars and crimes, the Arab-Zionist conflict goes back to fateful
crossroads and options that Arab may have to resort to if the
disaster continues."

BEECROFT