Cablegate: Media Reaction Report - Middle East - Hamas - Israeli

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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 004521

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR INR/R/MR; IIP/RW; IIP/RNY; BBG/VOA; IIP/WEU;
AF/PA; EUR/WE /P/SP; D/C (MCCOO); EUR/PA; INR/P; INR/EUC;
PM; OSC ISA FOR ILN; NEA; WHITE HOUSE FOR NSC/WEUROPE; DOC FOR
ITA/EUR/FR AND PASS USTR/PA; USINCEUR FOR PAO; NATO/PA; MOSCOW/PA;
ROME/PA.

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OPRC KMDR FR
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION REPORT - Middle East - Hamas - Israeli
Incursion Guantanamo Trials: Supreme Court Ruling
PARIS - Friday, June 30, 2006

(A) SUBJECTS COVERED IN TODAY'S REPORT:

Middle East - Hamas - Israeli Incursion
Guantanamo Trials: Supreme Court Ruling

B) SUMMARY OF COVERAGE:

The new spiral of violence and the Israeli incursion into Gaza is
today's lead front-page story. Le Figaro titles: "Israel Wants to
Break Hamas." Inside, the take in several reports is that Israel
considers the kidnapping of Gilad Shalit to have given it "free
reign." "Israel has taken the forceful approach: in the span of a
few hours, the political leaders of Hamas were neutralized." But in
his editorial Pierre Rousselin comments on "Olmert's Miscalculation"
while Georges Malbrunot reports on Syria's "behind the scene"
manipulations. For Liberation, "operation 'Summer Rain' has turned
into a violent storm." La Croix headlines: "Israel-Palestine: A War
of Hostages" while its inside story is entitled "The Crisis Between
Hamas and Israel is a War Without Remission." (See Part C) La
Croix's Catherine Rebuffel profiles Israel's Defense Minister Amir
Peretz, a former 'dove' of the 'Peace Now' movement who "may not be
in his place as Defense Minister... The latest events are shedding
new light on Peretz: he seems to be pulled by an army command which
has chosen the hard approach."

The Supreme Court's ruling on Guananamo is Le Figaro's second major
story: "The Court Declares Guantanamo Trials to Be Illegal."
Liberation considers the decision on Guantanamo to be "An Affront to
Bush." La Croix simply states: "Guantanamo Trials Invalidated." (See
Part C)

PM Villepin pens an op-ed in Liberation calling for "A Revolution of
the Mind" and for equality in French society. But Villepin is
careful to distinguish between "equality of opportunity and
egalitarianism." Villepin enumerates all the social phases, which
require more equality: schooling, professional training, housing...
"We must stop thinking that at 18 all the cards have been dealt. We
must stop thinking that diplomas and status are everything. We must
allow France's dynamism and diversity to bloom. Equality of
opportunity is also a revolution of the mind."

Today's lead domestic story is the continuing good news on
unemployment, now a fifteen-month trend. Employment Minister
Jean-Louis Borloo is interviewed in Le Parisien which headlines:
"Unemployment Is Truly Going Down." In his interview, Borloo
itemizes the ten programs implemented by the Villepin government to
help jobseekers find jobs. A sidebar entitled "The U.S., Employment
Champion" says the U.S. has the lowest unemployment rate in the
world, 4.6%. But we all know how difficult it is in the U.S. to be
granted unemployment benefits."

(C) SUPPORTING TEXT/BLOCK QUOTES:

Middle East - Hamas - Israeli Incursion

"Olmert's Miscalculation"
Pierre Rousselin in right-of-center Le Figaro (06/30): "Israel's
incursion... is spectacular, excessive and counter-productive. It is
all the more dangerous because the world is passively watching this
new tragedy... It is doubtful whether the capture of Hamas leaders
who were democratically elected, a gesture which does not find its
equivalent in any other democracy, will resolve anything. When
Israel's security is at risk, its leaders have the right and the
obligation to defend it. But in this instance, Olmert will have to
assess whether his actions might make things worse rather than
better... It is clear the Israelis are pursuing something other than
rescuing Gilad Shalit: they want to put an end to the Islamic
government of Hamas... One hopes that Olmert is not taking advantage
of the kidnapping to implement a pre-conceived plan of
unilateralism... Such an attitude, while saving Olmert's political
plan, could have serious repercussions for Israel. Already Islamic
moderates have been gagged; and the chaos in Gaza can only disserve
Israel... Reactions to date have been reserved, including from Arab
countries. This passivity confirms that Hamas's electoral victory
has plunged them in disarray and emphasized the lack of a solution
to the crisis."

"Spiral"
Dominique Quinio in Catholic La Croix (06/30): "Olmert needs to
prove to his people that he can be firm and respect Israel's
long-standing policy of never negotiating with kidnappers...
Whatever one might think of the extremist Hamas party, the
Palestinian government has been duly elected... Imprisoning its
ministers marks a new escalation, if only symbolically, because of
how humiliating this is for the Palestinians. But despite the
justification Israel is invoking, it will be hard-pressed to
demonstrate the proportionality between the initial kidnapping and
the reprisal..."

Guantanamo Trials: Supreme Court Ruling

"Supreme Court Disavows Bush"
Bernard Guetta on government-run France Inter radio (06/30): "With
the Supreme Court ruling, the White House is fully disavowed. Not
only has the Supreme Court proven Hamdam's lawyers and human rights
organizations right, but despite it being conservative, the Supreme
Court has also upheld the honor of America's institutions and the
right of law. It has given back the U.S. its true face. The ruling
has also opened the way to legally contesting the existence itself
of Guantanamo... It also provides the detainees' lawyers with a
legal basis to demand that their clients be either freed or tried by
a court of law, whether military or civilian. This ruling will make
its mark."

"Guantanamo Courts Illegal"
Philippe Gelie in right-of-center Le Figaro (06/30): "Yesterday, the
U.S. Supreme Court may have hammered the last nail into the coffin
of Guantanamo... This is a serious setback for the American
President in his war against terrorism... American officials reached
the conclusion that Gunatanamo is a millstone that tarnishes the
image of the U.S. abroad and in diplomatic circles."

"An Affront to Bush"
Laurent Mauriac in left-of-center Liberation (06/30): "With the
Supreme Court's ruling, it is an entire section of President Bush's
system, implemented in Guantanamo, which has been declared illegal.
The Supreme Court has ruled the President does not have the
authority to implement military tribunals in Guantanamo: these will
have to be given up. This is an affront to the White House... These
tribunals have been characterized by human rights organizations as
partial and outside the law... The Supreme Court has ruled by 5 to 3
that these tribunals violate both the Geneva Convention and American
laws... This ruling, on the heels of President Bush's recent
declarations in Europe about wanting 'to end' Guantanamo, may
accelerate its closing."

"Bush Has Over-Stepped His Powers in Guantanamo"
Thomas Cantaloube in right-of-center Le Parisien (06/30): "As a
spokesman for the Center for Constitutional Rights said, 'this
decision is very important, because it means that while the prison
may not be closed tomorrow, the President and Congress are urged to
respect the laws of the United States...' These military tribunals
were implemented two years ago when the Supreme Court ruled that the
government could not hold the Guantanamo detainees indefinitely
without a trial... The President, who said he took the Supreme
Court's ruling very seriously, is facing a dilemma: the detainees
must be tried either before a civilian or a military court. But it
will be very difficult to prove their guilt." STAPLETON

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