JERUSALEM MEDIA REACTION (01/16): EGYPTIAN PROPOSAL -

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SUBJECT: JERUSALEM MEDIA REACTION (01/16): EGYPTIAN PROPOSAL -
"FASTEST WAY TO SAVE GAZA"

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Main Stories:
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All papers lead with the escalation of violence in Gaza and report
on January 15 as "the bloodiest day" in the war, as Israeli strikes
kill 71 Palestinians and injure 300 others, bringing the estimated
Palestinian death toll to 1,105. All front pages report on the
killing of "Hamas Interior Minister" Said Siam in an Israeli air
strike that killed dozens, including his family and Hamas' security
chief Salih Abu Shraykh. Al Quds adds that Israel "targeted" the
UNRWA compound, two hospitals and a building with media offices in
Gaza City, whereas Al Ayyam and Al Hayat Al Jadida use a more
neutral verb, reporting that the sites were "hit". Al Ayyam further
adds that the Israeli army carried out the strikes while trying to
advance into downtown Gaza City.

The three papers run the same lead photo of the raging fire inside
the Gaza City UNRWA compound warehouse, filled with food and
medicine. Al Quds runs another photo of a Gaza medical team holding
an Israeli shell that was fired on January 15 onto the Jerusalem
hospital in Gaza. AccompanyiQreporting notes that the shelling
caused panic and "mass fleeing" of the injured and sick, as others
struggled to evacuate newborns and those too sick to move to the
outside streets. Al Hayat Al Jadida inserts into the lead photo, a
smaller photo of "martyr Said Siam," the "Hamas Interior Minister."
Al Quds and Al Ayyam allocate separate front page space with photos,
to Siam's "assassination."
In coverage of the USQAl Ayyam's front page cites DPA in reporting
that the US has decided to cut back on loan guarantees to Israel
because of Israeli West Bank settlement policy. The paper comments
that the US decision has already been made, but will only be
communicated to Israel after the presidential inauguration. In
other new, Al Quds' front page cites AFP in reporting that the
Pentagon is drawing up plans for the accelerated withdrawal of
troops from Iraq, in order to have plans ready for President Obama's
review when he assumes office.

Secretary State Rice is, "worried" and called Israeli leaders to
express, "deep concern" over the humanitarian situation in Gaza,
according to an inside report in Al Ayyam that cites AFP. State
Department spokesman McCormack is also quoted saying, "we are
working very hard to reach a ceasefire that is permanent and not
limited." Al Hayat Al Jadida and Al Ayyam's front pages and Al
Quds' inside page, report in neutral language that Israeli Foreign
Minister Livni will travel on January 16 to Washington to sign a US
assistance agreement to combat arms smuggling to Hamas. The papers
report that Secretary Rice told Israel that the US can assist in
combating arms smuggling and the papers' remind readers that Israel
is demanding that smuggling must be disrupted before arms arrive
into Gaza, possibly through pressure on Iran and the targeting of
transit points, for example, in Sudan.

In front page coverage of the international response to escalating
military operations in Gaza, the three papers report "shock and
anger" on the part of international organizations, including the UN
and EU. They further report on a January 15 call by Amnesty
International to launch an independent investigation into Israeli
"war crimes" in Gaza, in light of the attack on UNRWA's Gaza City
compound. Al Quds cites AFP in reporting that UN Secretary General
Ban Ki Moon was "furious" and told journalists in Tel Aviv that he
demanded from Israeli Defense Minister Barak a full explanation, to
which Barak responded that the strike on the compound was a "grave
mistake". In separate reporting, Al Quds' front page cites AFP in
reporting that the EU Parliament adopted on January 15, a decision,

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"condemning Israel's collective punishment of Palestinians as a
violation of international humanitarian law."

In ceasefire efforts' coverage, the three front pages quote a senior
Egyptian diplomat stating in Cairo on January 15 that Israel has
accepted the Egyptian proposal for a ceasefire. What remains,
according to the diplomat, is the scheduling of meetings to decide
on how to implement the proposal. Al Ayyam adds that Israel has
denied agreeing to the proposal. In separate reporting, Al Ayyam's
front page cites Reuters in reporting that Hamas offered Israel, via
Egyptian mediators, a one-year truce if Israel agrees to withdraw
from the Gaza Strip in one week and reopens Gaza crossings.

In coverage of official Palestinian statements, all front pages
quote Palestinian Authority (PA) President Abbas during a January 15
press conference with German Foreign Minister Steinmeier in
Ramallah, stating that the next few hours would be "decisive" for
reaching a ceasefire in Gaza. Abbas would not elaborate, but added
that there are developments that he hoped would prove positive. He
also revealed that there is a five-point Chinese proposal for a
ceasefire. Al Ayyam and Al Hayat Al Jadida front page statements by
PA Prime Minister Fayyad announcing in Ramallah on January 15 that
the PA will seek a UN resolution under article VII of the UN
charter, to stop "the Israeli war on Gaza." Fayyad also noted that
the PA will seek international protection for all Palestinians,
beyond current international commitments to monitor the Rafah
Gaza-Egypt crossing.
In coverage of Arab summits, Al Quds' front page runs statements by
a Qatari official that the planned January 16 Doha summit will
proceed, regardless of the number of states attending. Al Ayyam's
and Al Hayat Al Jadida's front pages report on the January 15 Gulf
summit, noting that it further diminished support for the Qatari
summit. The papers add that the Gulf summit led to agreement on
working towards the success of the January 19 Arab economic summit
in Kuwait, at which, according to Kuwaiti Emir Al Ahmad, the
situation in Gaza will be among the top agenda items. Finally, the
papers report that Saudi Foreign Minister Al Faisal told journalists
that Gulf States on January 15 decided to allocate "generous"
assistance to the Palestinians.
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BLOCK QUOTES:
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1) Al Quds' editorial is titled, "Bombing the UNRWA compound during
the Ban Ki Moon-Livni meeting"(01/16): "Is it a coincidence that
the Israeli bombing of the UNRWA compound in Gaza coincided with the
UN Secretary General's visit to the region?...the bombing is clear
evidence... that Israel does not care about the international
community ['s will] represented by the UN and its Secretary General.
All that Israel cares about is... seeking to reestablish its
capability for deterrence that it lost in Lebanon in 2006... Ban Ki
Moon was the recipient of the news of the bombing of the UNRWA
compound in Gaza. He must have understood the Israeli message, but
responding to that message might not be within his purview, since
that response will come from the people of the world who are
denouncing this aggression and demanding [the conflict] end
immediately and unconditionally."
2) Rajab Abu Sirriyiah editorializes in Al Ayyam under the title,
"The Egyptian proposal is the fastest way to save Gaza": (01/16)
"The Hamas leadership and its delegation in Cairo have been pushed
to understand that the Egyptian proposal is the fastest way to stop
the insane Israeli war on Gaza. Until now, they have not given
their explicit endorsement of the initiative, apparently waiting for
the Israeli endorsement first... one could say that political

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naivet and the effect of negative, opposition forces exploiting
internal Palestinian [division]... have caused the death of all
these victims, since this was all avoidable had the opening of the
Rafah crossing on the basis of the 2005 agreements been accepted a
year and a half ago, and had a serious... vigorous process been
employed to arrange internal affairs."
WALLES