VZCZCXRO6681
OO RUEHROV
DE RUEHJM #2301/01 3650910
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 300910Z DEC 08
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3602
RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHDC
RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NSC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RUEKJCS/DIA WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUEADWD/DA WASHINGTON DC//DAS-ZD/DACS-ZK//
RUEAHQA/CSAF WASHINGTON DC//POLAD//
RHMFIUU/CMC WASHINGTON DC
RUENAAA/CNO WASHINGTON DC//POLAD//
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE
RUEHTU/AMEMBASSY TUNIS 7467
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 4452
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 4300
RUEHNC/AMEMBASSY NICOSIA 5794
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME 4216
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 2786

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JERUSALEM 002301 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE PASS BBG 
STATE FOR NEA, NEA/IPA, NEA/PPD 
WHITE HOUSE FOR PRESS OFFICE, SIT ROOM 
NSC FOR ABRAMS 
CMC WASHINGTON DC FOR POLAD 
 
JERUSALEM ALSO FOR ICD 
LONDON FOR HKANONA AND POL - TSOU 
PARIS ALSO FOR POL 
ROME FOR MFO 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL KMDR KPAL KWBG KPAO IS
SUBJECT: JERUSALEM MEDIA REACTION (12/30): Calls for national unity 
as the Israeli offensive in Gaza continues 
 
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Main Stories: 
------------- 
The three papers dedicate their front and many inside pages to 
photos and reports of the ongoing Israeli offensive in Gaza.  The 
lead stories are written in red and white fonts against a black 
background.  Al Ayyam's lead headline is "And the massacre 
continues..." with an above-the-fold photo of a bombed building.  Al 
Quds leads with "The death toll increases to 350, including dozens 
of women and children" and an above-the-fold photo of a destroyed 
building on the campus of the Islamic University of Gaza.  Al Hayat 
Al Jadeeda's lead headline is "The massacre in Gaza: 360 martyrs and 
1500 injured" and presents an above-the-fold photo of a woman 
sitting outside her demolished building in Rafah. Al Hayat Al 
Jadeeda's front page also carries a photo of five Palestinian girls 
killed in an Israeli airstrike, wrapped in white shrouds for 
burial. 
 
Al Hayat Al Jadeeda and Al Ayyam claim that the Israeli military is 
gearing up for a land offensive within the next few hours. Al Quds 
reports that 40 Palestinian children have been killed and 180 others 
injured in the last three days, and citing AFP, quotes a UN source 
that at least 57 civilians have been killed in the Israeli strikes. 
Citing the same AFP story, the paper quotes an Israeli source 
revealing preparations for a land offensive and saying that "the 
worst is yet to come" in Gaza.  The three papers cite an AFP report 
that Egypt opened the Rafah border crossing to allow injured Gazans 
to enter Egypt for medical treatment and to facilitate the flow of 
humanitarian assistance into Gaza.  Al Ayyam, citing an AFP report, 
carries a statement by the International Committee for the Red Cross 
expressing concern over the chaos in Gaza hospitals because of the 
large number of casualties.  Al Quds reports that the UN and UNRWA 
have addressed a letter to the Israeli Defense minister, demanding 
an international investigation into the killing of 55 Palestinian 
women and children in the past two days in Gaza.  Al Ayyam reports 
on its front page that two Israelis were killed and 34 injured in 
Palestinian rocket attacks on Ashdod and Ashkelon. 
 
Al Hayat Al Jadeeda's front page, and the inside pages of the other 
dailies, quote Israeli sources revealing that the Israeli air force 
is using American smart bombs recently supplied to Israel. The paper 
comments that although the bombs are designed to penetrate bunkers 
without causing civilian causalities, the number of civilian victims 
attests to their failure.  Al Hayat Al Jadeeda also reports that the 
PLO has decided to halt peace negotiations with Israel and has 
called for an emergency Arab summit to discuss the attacks on Gaza. 
Al Quds reports that the Arab foreign ministers will meet on 
Wednesday, December 31, to discuss the situation in Gaza with the 
goal of finding a way out of the violence and "reconstructing what 
Israel destroyed." Al Quds, citing an AFP report, carries comments 
by Egypt's Foreign Minister Ahmed Abu Al Gheit revealing a 
Turkish-Egyptian diplomatic effort to put an end to the Israeli 
strikes.  Al Quds also cites a Reuters report on its front page with 
a quote from UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon criticizing world 
leaders for not taking action to stop the violence in Gaza.  Al 
Quds' front page further cites a Reuters report with quotes by a 
Hamas representative in Lebanon, Osama Hamdan, denying earlier 
statements by the Senegalese Foreign Ministry claiming that Hamas 
Political Chief Khaled Mishaal was ready to sign a ceasefire 
agreement.  All the dailies front page statements by the Palestinian 
Cabinet and various political factions, demanding international 
intervention to stop the Israeli offensive. The papers also report 
that Hamas and the Islamic Jihad movements rejected a call by 
President Abbas to hold a meeting of all the Palestinian factions to 
 
JERUSALEM 00002301  002 OF 002 
 
 
discuss the situation in Gaza.  Al Quds' front page reports on 
dozens of Palestinians injured during protest rallies that have 
taken place throughout the West Bank, Jerusalem, and many Israeli 
cities.  Al Quds and Al Ayyam report on their front pages that the 
White House considers the Israeli offensive an "act of self 
defense," with Al Quds adding a quote from White House Spokesman 
Gordon Johndroe expressing concern over the humanitarian situation 
in Gaza. In its report on the US response, Al Ayyam claims that 
Washington unconditionally supports Israel. 
 
Al Quds carries a story on an inside page cited from the Israeli 
daily The Jerusalem Post, quoting Amos Gilad, a Political Officer at 
the Israeli Defense Ministry, revealing that the Gaza offensive has 
nothing to do with the fate of the kidnapped Israeli soldier in 
Gaza. The paper also cites an AFP report quoting the Deputy Israeli 
Prime Minister Haim Ramon saying that the goal of the offensive is 
to topple Hamas rule in Gaza. 
 
An Al Quds inside page reports on the killing of a Palestinian 
security officer by friendly fire during a raid in Jaba' village 
near Jenin in the West Bank yesterday, after the police force was 
attacked by stones thrown from the rooftops of houses in the 
Palestinian village. 
 
------------ 
BLOCK QUOTES: 
------------ 
 
1)  Abdul Azeem Hammad opines in Al Quds under the title "A way out 
for Hamas" (12/30):  "Certainly, today or tomorrow might not be 
suitable for Hamas to sign an initiative to return to national 
dialogue in order to re-establish [Palestinian] unity.... It is not 
expected or required [for a Hamas initiative] to occur under the 
Israeli bombardment, but the way out is for the movement's leaders 
to provide enough guarantees for Egypt to achieve that goal 
[Palestinian unity].... Such guarantees can constitute a prelude to 
Egyptian diplomacy in a regional and international campaign to aim 
to stop the aggression, as a first stage in a multi-stage 
comprehensive process for reorganizing the Palestinian house, and 
launch serious peace negotiations that coincide with the 
inauguration of a new US administration and the formation of a new 
government in Israel." 
 
2) Rajab Abu Sareyyeh writes in Al Ayyam under the title "Gaza 
awaits response by declaring unity"(12/30): "There are many 
requirements for resistance and steadfastness and they need to be 
launched immediately: there is a need to release the prisoners [in 
Hamas prisons]--not only to save them from being victims of the 
Israeli bombardment, but also to achieve internal unity--and to form 
a military/political leadership body to manage the Palestinian 
military forces in Gaza, and next to have a national consensus for a 
general administration for negotiations and resistance, which will 
take into consideration the reconstruction of Gaza and the launching 
of resistance in the West Bank. All this can be a gateway and the 
result of one choice, and that is internal unity, without which Gaza 
will drawn into a sea of blood, and in realizing [former Israeli 
Prime Minister] Rabin's wish for Gaza to be drowned in the sea, the 
West Bank will remain a stage for the settlers and occupation." 
 
WALLES