INDEPENDENT NEWS

Cablegate: Jerusalem Media Reaction (04/29): Violence in Gaza And

Published: Tue 29 Apr 2008 09:00 AM
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TAGS: PREL KMDR KPAL KWBG KPAO IS
SUBJECT: JERUSALEM MEDIA REACTION (04/29): VIOLENCE IN GAZA AND
DEBATING FORMS OF RESISTANCE
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Main Stories:
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Graphic photos of the four children killed along with their mother
after an Israeli shell hit their house on April 28 in Gaza were
displayed on the front-paged of Al-Ayyam and Al-Hayat Al-Jadida. On
a black background covering the upper half of its front-page,
Al-Ayyam and ran a banner headline in red type, "The breakfast of
death in Beit Hanoun: Killing a mother and her four children." The
front pages of the three dailies reported that Palestinian President
Abbas condemned the "Israeli aggression on Gaza" and renewed calls
for state of calm. Other reports stated that the number of
Palestinians killed in Gaza on April 28 reached seven.
The dailies highlighted coverage of the anticipated building of a
new Israeli settlement in the Palestinian neighborhood of Ras
al-Amud, east of Jerusalem. Israeli sources reported that the new
Israeli settlement will be constructed on land that used to
encompass Israeli police stations.
The dailies reported that the Israeli authorities opened, but did
not remove a major checkpoint near Nablus. Al-Quds carried a picture
showing Palestinians trying to remove the metal gate at the
checkpoint. Related front-page reports stated that Quartet envoy
Tony Blair submitted to the Israeli Minister of Defense a list of
checkpoints that "must be removed."
Ma'an reported that the Palestinian Intelligence Services seized a
stockpile of weapons and explosives in the West Bank city of
Bethlehem on April 28, quoting intelligence officials that the
armaments belonged to a Hamas cell. Al-Hayat Al-Jadida ran a picture
showing the seized equipment.
Citing a White House statement issued on April 28, Al-Ayyam reported
that President Bush will visit Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt, May
13-18, but that there are no plans for a joint peace summit with
Israeli and Palestinian leaders.
Ma'an quoted Palestinian security sources that three prisoners had
escaped from a Palestinian Authority prison in the West Bank city of
Jericho on April 28.
The dailies reported that a Palestinian military court in the West
Bank city of Hebron sentenced a Palestinian security officer to
death by firing squad after he was found guilty of treason and
collaboration with Israel.
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BLOCK QUOTES:
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1. In its main editorial entitled, "Why are women and children being
killed?", independent Al-Quds opined (4/29): "The Palestinian public
may have its own criticisms of Hamas, but the ongoing Israeli
attacks on the Gaza Strip and West Bank alike make one wonder about
the Israeli logic. Israel not only rejects a comprehensive quiet in
both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank but also hinders any efforts
to achieve a limited quiet in Gaza .... Israeli society must
realize that targeting civilians, including women and children, and
the absolute reliance on the logic of force to resolve the
Arab-Israeli conflict has never been nor will it ever be an
efficient basis for achieving peace and stability in the region.
Quite the contrary, it remains the recipe for more violence and
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counter-violence and bloodshed on both sides."
2. Commentator Moaffaq Matar wrote in official Al-Hayat Al-Jadida
under the headline, "War and the end of a family," (4/29): "We
should have learned from previous lessons when, last month, the
Israeli occupation forces killed 120 victims in three days.... It
has become evident that the occupation army, through its shelling of
civilian and military targets alike, has blown up the so-called red
lines and all ethics and rules of war. The victims and those
injured were mostly innocent civilians.... That said, the talk here
is not about our right for self defense, freedom or independence.
Rather, we are talking about our right to debate the ways [of
resistance] that would best ensure the safety and security of our
citizens and help them remain steadfast in their homes and land."
WALLES
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