VZCZCXRO5438
OO RUEHROV
DE RUEHJM #0118/01 0131020
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 131020Z JAN 09
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3827
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 7487
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 4472
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 4320
RUEHNC/AMEMBASSY NICOSIA 5814
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME 4236
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 2808

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JERUSALEM 000118 
 
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 (01/13):  "IS A CEASEFIRE CLOSER? 
STOP KILLING CHILDREN" 
 
------------- 
Main Stories: 
------------- 
The "War in Gaza" continues to dominate Palestinian media coverage 
for the 17th day.  Al Hayat Al Jadida leads with news of "difficult" 
Gaza ceasefire negotiations in Egypt.  Al Quds and Al Ayyam lead 
with, and Al Hayat Al Jadida front pages, reporting of intensive 
Israeli bombing concentrated near the former Israeli settlement of 
Netzarim and a "violent showdown" resulting in the failure of 
Israeli ground troops to advance into Gaza City, despite the support 
of heavy shelling and bombing from Israeli tanks and Air Force.  Al 
Ayyam adds that Palestinian militants used land mines and 
projectiles to force Israeli troops to turn back and notes the death 
of a Saudi national who was fighting on the side of Palestinian 
militants.  Al Ayyam's front page also reports that 11 Israeli 
reservists have refused to deploy to Gaza for reasons of 
"conscience."  All papers highlight that the number of casualties 
among women and children continues to rise, with the papers giving 
January 12 death tolls ranging from 17-33 Palestinian dead. 
 
In photo coverage, Al Quds leads with a photo of Palestinian 
children sharing a meal of rice and lentils at an UNRWA school in 
Gaza where they have sought refuge.  Al Ayyam runs a lead photo of 
an "injured woman being carried to Al-Shifa hospital after an 
Israeli aerial bombardment on residential areas."  Finally, Al Hayat 
Al Jadida introduces front page reporting with a wide lens photo of 
a Gaza neighborhood filled with the smoke of a recent military 
strike, above a black font headline that accompanies an oversized 
photo of Palestinians evacuating their homes, as smoke billows from 
structures behind them. 
 
In coverage of the humanitarian situation in Gaza, Al Ayyam's front 
page cites a UN OCHA report stating that many basic commodities are 
not available in Gaza, where there is no electricity or fuel for a 
population of which 56% are children.  Al Hayat Al Jadida front 
pages statements by International Red Cross Director Anton Grand, 
speaking from Gaza on January 12, stating that the Strip is not safe 
for civilians.  Al Hayat Al Jadida's front page also notes that the 
EU Presidency has announced readiness to hold a donors' conference 
for Gaza reconstruction and redeploy its observer mission to the 
Rafah-Egypt crossing as part of any ceasefire agreement.  On an 
inside page, Al Ayyam reports on assertions by local Palestinian 
researcher Abdul Nasir Firwanah that Israel has detained a large 
number of Gazans for use as human shields. 
 
Official Palestinian reaction is highlighted on all front pages: 
Palestinian Authority(PA)Prime Minister Fayyad is quoted from a 
January 12 press conference in Ramallah, calling for "partnership" 
with Hamas within the PA for the purpose of administering the 
Rafah-Egypt crossing, as opposed to a separate arrangement outside 
the PA.  Fayyad also urged Hamas to accept the Egyptian ceasefire 
initiative and warned that Hamas would otherwise have to justify its 
refusal to the Palestinian people, according to coverage.  On Hamas 
statements, Al Quds' and Al Ayyam's front pages run quotes by Hamas 
leader Haniyah pledging to defeat Israel during a televised speech 
on January 12, while he also expressing a "willingness" to consider 
a ceasefire initiative to end "aggression" on Gaza. 
In official Israeli statements, Al Quds' front page quotes Israeli 
Premier Olmert speaking in Ashkelon on January 12 about Secretary 
Rice feeling, "ashamed when President Bush instructed her to abstain 
from voting for the [UN cease-fire 1860] resolution that she herself 
had drafted." The paper continues that Olmert claims to have spoken 
directly to Bush to convince him to instruct Rice to abstain.  The 
paper also quotes anonymous State Department officials refuting 
 
JERUSALEM 00000118  002 OF 002 
 
 
Olmert's version of events, explaining that Rice had herself decided 
to abstain from voting and stressing that the Israeli Government 
does not dictate U.S. policy.  In separate statements to Israeli 
radio on January 12, Olmert reportedly responded to international 
calls for a ceasefire with the comment that, "Israel does not seek 
anyone's permission to protect its citizens."  Finally, Al Ayyam 
reports on an inside page that Israel is demanding the establishment 
of a demilitarized "security zone" in Gaza. 
The UN Security Council will hold a session on the situation in Gaza 
on January 13, according to Al Ayyam's and Al Hayat Al Jadida's 
front pages.  All papers report that Qatar has issued invitations to 
Arab leaders for a January 16 summit in Qatar to discuss the 
situation in Gaza. 
Jerusalem settlement activities are highlighted in an Al Quds' front 
page report.  The paper notes that the Israeli Jerusalem 
municipality published on January 7, a decision to "confiscate" a 
2.5 acres plot of land in East Jerusalem's Al Tur neighborhood.  The 
paper further reports that the Municipality has turned over 
ownership of the land to Bayt Orot and another settler group headed 
by American millionaire Irving Moscovitch.  A second front page item 
reports that the Israeli army has decided to "confiscate" 124 acres 
of Palestinian land in the Jerusalem area of Abu Dis to advance 
construction of the Israeli separation barrier around Jerusalem. 
 
-------------- 
BLOCK QUOTES: 
-------------- 
 
1)  Al Quds editorial is titled,"Is a ceasefire closer?" (01/13): 
"Some observers expect the war [in Gaza] to stop before 
President-elect Obama assumes office because they believe that 
Israel does not want Obama to begin his term against the background 
of roaring artillery fire, the cries of the tortured, and the 
sweeping wave of international rallies condemning the massacres and 
aggression on Gaza.  Obama, himself, has expressed interest in the 
issue, after a long silence.  Sources close to his new 
administration have said that immediately after he assumes office, 
he will address the situation in Gaza and region issues in 
general." 
 
2) Mohannad Abdul Hamid opines in Al Ayyam under the title, "Stop 
killing children" (01/13):  "As of the 16th day [since Israeli 
military operations began in Gaza], 284 children have been taken by 
the Israeli war machine with hi-tech, or even ultra hi-tech 
brutality... 650 [additional] children have been injured, of which 
150 critically... the support and justification of this aggression 
by the American Administration and Congress... creates a culture of 
hatred and depression and leads to a response of revenge that 
strengthens the forces of extremism..." 
 
WALLES