VZCZCXRO9792
PP RUEHROV
DE RUEHAM #0028/01 0051257
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 051257Z JAN 09
FM AMEMBASSY AMMAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4084
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 AMMAN 000028 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ELA, NEA/PPD, IIP/GNEA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OPRC KPAO KMDR JO
SUBJECT: JORDAN: JANUARY 5 MEDIA REACTION TO GAZA SITUATION 
 
¶1. SUMMARY:  Developments in Gaza and new statements by King 
Abdullah dominated Monday's news coverage and op-ed commentary in 
all of one of Jordan's major media outlets.  Al-Ghad newspaper led 
with indications that official protests and public anger are 
converging into a common repudiation of Israel.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2.  Sunday's developments on the ground in Gaza and new public 
statements by King Abdullah predominated news coverage on Monday by 
all but one of Jordan's major media outlets.  In a meeting with 
senior government and parliamentary leaders on Sunday, the King 
reportedly stated, "All of Jordan is angry about Israeli-led 
aggression and is expressing its anger by initiating all steps 
possible and necessary to stop it."  The monarch warned against 
"consequent outcomes of this aggression on the whole region and on 
efforts seeking to achieve lasting peace on the two-state solution." 
 He pledged that "Jordan will go on exerting its utmost efforts to 
stop Israel's aggression on Gaza Strip and diverse capabilities are 
at our disposal to alleviate repercussions and outcomes of Tel 
Aviv's offensive acts."  The King also "urged the UN Security 
Council to adopt a resolution to enforce a halt to Israel's 
aggression, open crossing points and end the humanitarian 
catastrophe of the Palestinians."  All statements were sourced to 
the Jordan News Agency. 
 
¶3.  Prime Minister Dahabi's remarks to the Lower House of Parliament 
Sunday evening received second billing in three of Jordan's four 
major Arabic dailies.  In response to demands by some deputies that 
he recall Jordan's Ambassador to Israel and expel his Israeli 
counterpart, Dahabi stated that "the government retains all options 
available to take any action to assess relations with anyone, 
especially with Israel, and to re-consider those relations in 
accordance with keenness to serve the higher interests of the 
country."  He stated that Jordan continues "to push for an immediate 
cessation of Israel's brutal aggression and to provide all possible 
aid to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people to help 
them overcome this ordeal."  In this context, Dahabi referred to 
Jordan's diplomatic and humanitarian activities.  The premier called 
Israel's ground incursion a "dangerous escalation" that amounts to 
"a clear threat to security and stability throughout the region." 
 
¶4.  Under the large point headline "Jordan Hints at Severing 
Relations with Israel," Al-Ghad newspaper led with a summary article 
on the stepped-up rhetoric, reporting that "Jordanian anger, 
official and popular, has reached the extent of calls signaling the 
severing of its political relations with Israel."  The daily quoted 
an unidentified high-ranking official as stating that "all 
diplomatic communications between Jordan and Israel are currently 
cut off... Jordan is watching closely the Israelis' next moves in 
the coming days, particularly as it acts perplexed over the linkage 
of the war to the Israeli elections."  The newspaper reported that a 
number of labor unions and political parties have welcomed the 
government's new stand.  In a separate, inside-page analysis, 
Al-Ghad also reported that Jordan's Ambassador to Israel Ali Ayed 
remains in Amman following routine consultations rather than 
returning to Tel Aviv, suggesting an implicit message to Israel. 
Ayed took part in the Fourth Forum for the Jordanian Ambassadors 
held in Amman last month. 
 
¶5.  All newspapers reported that approximately 5,000 university 
students marched yesterday in central Amman to deliver a petition to 
the speaker of parliament demanding that Jordan sever diplomatic 
ties with Israel and annul the Wadi Araba treaty.  Reports appeared 
alongside large photos of the event. 
 
¶6.  All newspapers except Al-Ghad published front and inside page 
photographs of wounded Palestinians and grieving relatives.  The 
photographs were sourced to international wire services. 
 
¶7. Editorial Commentary 
 
-- "The Standards of Defeat and Victory" 
 
Columnist Sameeh Al-Ma'aitah in the January 5 edition of the 
independent Arabic daily Al-Ghad comments, "It is easy to see the 
victor in battles that take place between organized armies or 
military powers.  But when it comes to resistance or popular 
movements and unbalanced powers, judging the situation and 
determining the victor requires different standards....  Some people 
did not hesitate to say that the high number of martyrs and the 
wounded and the level of destruction is a big price for the 
Palestinian people to pay to protect Hamas' policies.  This point of 
view was rejected by others who talked about the need for patience 
and steadfastness.  This difference of opinion is definitely the 
outcome of the varying standards of defeat and victory.  Yet, 
whatever the viewpoints are, the big truth says that this is an 
aggression and the enemy is responsible for it and the priority is 
to stop the killing and the aggression...  If Hamas manages to 
maintain its military structure with the least of losses, it would 
be indicative of the enemy's defeat.  If the aggression fails to 
achieve a security status under the occupation forces' conditions, 
it would also be indicative of the enemy's defeat.  If the 
 
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aggression fails to create an Arab, Palestinian, and international 
status that preserve the Zionist entity's security and turns 
resistance action into political action with everyone's approval, 
including Hamas, it would be indicative of the enemy's defeat.  If 
Hamas' political calculations remain the same after the aggression, 
it would be indicative of the enemy's defeat.  If the Palestinian 
situation, however, remains miserable, then it would be indicative 
of the aggression's success....  The important thing is that there 
should not be any dispute by any party about the bigger picture, 
namely that this is an aggression and that the real reason for 
everything that is going on in Gaza and the West Bank is the 
occupation, and everything else is an outcome of the occupation." 
 
-- "Discovering Our Ability Towards National Unity" 
 
Columnist Jamil Nimri in the January 5 Al-Ghad refers to the King's 
remarks yesterday and asserts, "Jordan has not seen such unity 
between the official and popular stances since the second Gulf 
War....  One of the most important phenomena to focus on is the pure 
national unity that brought together Jordanians from all backgrounds 
and trends: the same feelings and the same anger....  This internal 
unity in solidarity with Gaza seems natural and understandable ... 
but there is another observation to be made here relevant to the 
local national fabric that was always affected by the path of the 
Palestinian cause.  After years of the frustrating struggle and 
division, there is a positive and constructive revival of 
Palestinian nationalism that does not stir fears of division; on the 
contrary, it adds to the struggle for taking the rights of the 
Palestinian people to freedom and independence." 
 
-- "Jordan in Its True Image" 
 
Columnist Mohammad Abu Rumman in the January 5 Al-Ghad observes, 
"The official stand yesterday reached an advanced stage of 
condemning the Israeli aggression on Gaza....  It is no secret that 
the Jordanian official mood vis-`-vis Israel has changed a great 
deal over the past few years.  There is a state of official 
frustration and disappointment, feeling that the Israelis are not 
serious about the peace process or the establishment of a fully 
sovereign Palestinian state, which would ultimately fulfill the 
Jordanian, Palestinian and Israeli political and security strategic 
interests....  The point is that Jordan is not in love with Israel 
and the relationship with it is not sacred.  It has actually become 
a political and security burden.  Jordan has wagered a long time on 
the settlement and has exerted all efforts to achieve the 
Palestinian state in line with international legitimacy, despite the 
weakness of the Arab politics.  This aggression and all the regional 
repercussions to come constitute a stage for core and genuine review 
of the Jordanian strategic option.  Yesterday, Jordan's stance came 
a long way, and the requirement is to complete the path by recalling 
our ambassador to Israel and expelling the Israeli Charge d'Affaires 
from Amman.  This would be an advanced stage of the required review 
and the diplomatic confrontation with Israel, and the ultimate 
harmony between the official and popular stances." 
 
-- "The Pirates of Death in Israel" 
 
Director of the Audio-Visual Commission, Hussein Bani Hani, in the 
January 5 Al-Ghad opines, "The bloodshed in Gaza inflames people's 
feelings, while satellite television channels deepen conflicts among 
the Arab countries.  Everyone has fallen in the trap of simplifying 
the Palestinian cause, where the reality of the occupation is 
ignored in order to put blame on one party or the other.  Meanwhile, 
Israeli tanks and planes pave the way for the winner of its upcoming 
elections who will present its new project for the Middle East to 
the Obama administration, thus exporting the problem. 
Unfortunately, the Arab nation continues to be, since its division 
vis-`-vis the Israeli war on South Lebanon in 2006 all the way to 
its differences over the Gaza massacres, a helpless nation, 
sufficing with watching Israel as it rolls its tanks over Arab 
lands, filling the hearts of Arab people with contempt for their 
leaders and in turn giving more extremists to those unreasonable 
Arabs, meanwhile demonstrating to the world that the religion of the 
Arabs and Muslims is one of terrorism and Hamas its spearhead.... 
The war on Gaza continues to the end, and the most to lose in 
addition to the martyrs are peace and Arab moderation." 
 
-- "The Ground Aggression and Hamas' Strategy" 
 
Columnist Hassan Barari in the January 5 edition of the leading, 
government-owned Arabic daily Al-Rai cautions, "The wager is for 
Hamas to hold on and accommodate the heavy losses in return for 
incurring big losses among the Israeli army rank, which in turn 
would raise the cost of Israel's 'victory' so much that it becomes 
in favor of Hamas.  Hamas leaders insist that the street war will be 
in their favor.  This is the 2006 scenario, but the difference is 
that the circumstances are different, Hamas is not Hizbollah and the 
Israelis have better intelligence and a better army than 2006.... 
We wish victory to the Palestinians, but the balance of power makes 
Hamas' strategy a bigger risk than a practical choice....  This is 
not a call for desperation, but there is need to lower the level of 
 
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expectations." 
 
-- "Despite the Roar of Millions, the Massacre Continues" 
 
Managing editor Fahed Khitan in the January 5 edition of the 
independent, opposition Arabic daily Al-Arab Al-Yawm laments, "The 
tragedy could have been stopped, and we could have helped the 
hundreds of victims had degradation and humiliation not been the 
characteristics of the Arabs and their official regimes.  For the 
thousandth time, the Arab official regime disappoints us with its 
helplessness, collusion and submission.  Every day, an American 
official goes out to the media to reiterate Washington's support for 
the aggression, but the Arab regime stays the same, unashamed of 
continuing to beg at the doorsteps of the Security Council, unabated 
by the slap in the face....  The official Arab regime is not looking 
for a solution to the crisis in Gaza, but for a way out for itself, 
buying time with Turkish and French initiatives and the diplomatic 
movement in New York while thinking nothing about exercising a 
nursing role in Gaza: Israel kills and wounds and we treat the 
wounds.  States are now competing with humanitarian organizations 
and UNRWA over their role....  Nothing stops the massacre except the 
Arabs.  The world stands in solidarity with us and we thank them, 
but no one deters the Zionist thuggery except us, so stop begging at 
the United Nations; the battle is in Gaza not in New York." 
 
BEECROFT