VZCZCXRO2054
OO RUEHROV
DE RUEHJM #0073/01 0081000
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 081000Z JAN 09
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3749
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 7480
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 4465
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 4313
RUEHNC/AMEMBASSY NICOSIA 5807
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME 4229
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 2799

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JERUSALEM 000073 
 
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 (01/08):  "SIGNS OF A TRUCE AND 
THE ESCALATION OF WAR" 
 
------------- 
Main Stories: 
------------- 
All papers lead with Gaza news in red and black headline fonts 
denoting crisis reporting.  Al Quds leads with the Palestinian death 
toll since the beginning of Israeli operations in Gaza 12 days ago: 
more than 700 dead and at least 3,000 injured.  The paper adds that 
deaths on January 7 included five members of the same family, three 
sisters and two other children.  Al Ayyam leads with reporting on 
Israel's decision to expand its "aggression" on Gaza and estimates 
the January 7 death toll of Palestinians at 44, 14 of whom were 
children.  Al Hayat Al Jadida leads with reports about "continued 
massacres" in Gaza as people await "calm diplomacy" at the UN 
Security Council to produce results. 
 
In photo coverage, Al Ayyam and Al Hayat Al Jadida lead with photos 
of prayers at a mass burial in Gaza for the victims of a January 6 
Israeli "attack" on a UN school, the Palestinians' bodies lay in a 
row, draped in Hamas and Fatah flags.  Al Quds runs a lead photo of 
a Palestinian consoling two mourning women. 
All papers report that Israel has announced a three-hour, daily 
ceasefire in Gaza that will also be respected by Hamas. Al Ayyam 
further notes that 12 Israeli tanks rolled into the southern Gaza 
Strip and headed for Khan Yunis, while Israeli jets dropped leaflets 
on Rafah residents instructing them to evacuate in advance of 
Israeli army plans to target the area.  The paper continues that 
Egypt has drafted plans to deal with possible mass displacement of 
Palestinians into Egypt, following a ceasefire in Gaza. 
Al Quds' front page quotes Palestinian Authority President Abbas 
before the UN Security Council in New York on January 7, demanding a 
halt to the "massacre" against Palestinians in Gaza and freedom for 
his people.  Meanwhile, Al Quds' and Al Ayyam's front pages report 
that Secretary Rice and British Foreign Minister Miliband met with 
Arab foreign ministers, except those of Qatar and the Arab League, 
to win their support for a Security Council resolution supporting an 
Egyptian-French ceasefire proposal.  Al Ayyam continues, citing 
Reuters, that Rice is also pressuring Israel "to move closer" to the 
Egyptian-French plan.  The paper highlights Rice stating that a "we 
believe a ceasefire is necessary, but it has to be a ceasefire that 
will not allow a return to the status quo.  Of course - the status 
quo ante."  The paper calls the UN Security Council meetings 
"intense" and notes that the Council is preparing to issue its own 
statement, instead of an Arab draft regarding a cease-fire in Gaza. 
Finally, Al Ayyam's front page cites London-based Al Hayat newspaper 
in revealing that Egypt's President Mubarak has invited Israeli 
Premier Olmert to Cairo on January 10 to discuss a ceasefire in 
Gaza. 
 
President-elect Obama is quoted on the front pages of Al Quds and Al 
Hayat Al Jadida from a January 7 press conference cited by AFP, 
reiterating that he will begin work on a solution to the Middle East 
conflict the moment he assumes presidential office, but does not 
want to send a confusing message to the world that there are two 
U.S. administrations.  The paper also cites the Washington Post in 
reporting that Gaza truce negotiators are discussing ideas to 
eliminate the problem of smuggling tunnels under the Gaza-Egypt 
borders.  According to reporting, one of the ideas being discussed 
is the construction of a massive underground wall along the border, 
where an estimated 150 of the 300 tunnels have been destroyed by 
Israel. 
 
Coverage of rocket attacks on Israel and Israeli military deaths is 
downplayed in the dailies.  Al Ayyam mentions on its front page and 
continues on an inside page, news agency items reporting on 20 
 
JERUSALEM 00000073  002 OF 002 
 
 
Palestinian rockets landing in Israel on January 7, causing 20 
people to "suffer panic," the injury of 8 and damage to homes.  The 
paper also runs figures from the Israeli military confirming 9 
soldiers wounded on January 7, in addition to statements by Islamic 
Jihad of a "direct [rocket] hit" on an Israeli commando army unit in 
the northern Gaza Strip and a Hamas statement claiming the killing 
of an Israeli soldier east of Gaza's Tuffah neighborhood. 
 
Al Quds cites DPA in an above-the-fold article reporting on EU 
expectations that a ceasefire in Gaza will soon be reached, despite 
the meager success achieved by its delegation to the Middle East. 
Al Quds further reports that although Israel has expressed 
satisfaction over provisions in the Egyptian-French cease-fire 
proposal to stop smuggling through Gaza-Egypt tunnels, Israel has 
not yet made a final decision whether or not to accept the proposal. 
 
 
Al Hayat Al Jadida's front page cites AFP in quoting statements by 
Hizbullah chief Nasrallah stating on January 7 that, "all options in 
Lebanon remain open" in light of developments in Gaza. 
 
-------------- 
BLOCK QUOTES: 
-------------- 
 
1) Al Quds' editorial is titled, "Signs of a truce... and the 
escalation of war!" (01/08):  "Observers of the war in Gaza note a 
clear contradiction between Israeli positions and their obvious 
determination to conduct war and bring destruction.  Israel halted 
bombing for a few hours on humanitarian grounds, declared its 
acceptance of the Egyptian-French truce proposal and sent a 
delegation to discuss [the proposal] in Cairo... Yet, Israel has 
also, not only continued its bloody and destructive bombing of 
different areas of the Strip, but has also warned Rafah [Egypt] 
border area residents to evacuate in advance of further bombing or 
perhaps the complete destruction of the area under the pretext that 
it houses tunnels used for arms smuggling... Despite signs of a 
truce agreement, it seems that the destructive war will in fact 
continue for several more days." 
 
2) Jawad Al Bashiti opines in Al Ayyam under the title, "A peace 
that is worse and more dangerous than war" (01/08): "If Israel ['s 
goal was] a lasting ceasefire with Gaza, based on the withdrawal of 
its troops and settlers from [Gaza], then on the same basis, Israel 
should recognize the rights of all Palestinians to a ceasefire in 
all [of the Palestinian Territories]... Should Israel agree to a 
ceasefire in both Gaza and the West Bank, it must withdraw all its 
troops and settlers as it did in the [Gaza] Strip.  [I say] Yes to 
an "international force" provided it guarantees security for both 
sides... in the West Bank as well, and... provided that it is part 
of an "interim international administration, under the UN... lifting 
the Israeli military occupation... Yes to the reopening of all 
crossings, provided that 'passage' between Gaza and the West Bank is 
also opened." 
 
WALLES