US embassy cable - 04ABUDHABI824

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ABU DHABI 000824 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ARP; NEA/PPD; NEA/RA; INR/R/MR; PA; 
INR/NESA; INR/B; IIP/G/NEA-SA 
WHITE HOUSE FOR PRESS OFFICE; NSC 
SECDEF FOR OASD/PA 
USCINCCENT FOR POLAD 
LONDON FOR GOLDRICH; PARIS FOR O'FRIEL 
LONDON ALSO PASS TO MOC 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OIIP, KMDR, TC 
SUBJECT:  MEDIA REACTION: ASSASINATION OF SHEIKH AHMAD YASSIN 
 
1.  SUMMARY:  THE ASSASSINATION OF SHEIKH AHMAD YASSIN, THE 
SPIRITUAL LEADER OF HAMAS, YESTERDAY AT DAWN DOMINATED COVERAGE 
IN ALL ELECTRONIC AND PRINT MEDIA.  AN "AL KHALEEJ" EDITORIAL 
NOTED THAT ALL ARABS ARE THREATENED AND NOT ONLY PALESTINIANS. 
AN "AL BAYAN" EDITORIAL POINTED OUT THAT SHARON IS NOT THE ONLY 
KILLER, BUT ALSO ALL THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN AND STILL ARE SILENT ARE 
ALSO THE KILLERS.  ABU AWAD, COLUMNIST IN "AL ITTIHAD," NOTED 
THAT THIS IS THE END SHEIKH YASSIN HOPED FOR AND DESIRED AND THAT 
ISRAEL ACHIEVED HIS DREAM WITHOUT REALIZING IT.  END SUMMARY. 
 
2.  NOTING THAT ARABS SHOULD START REALIZING THAT NOT ONLY 
PALESTINIAN, BUT ALSO ARAB BLOOD IS GOING TO BE SHED BY SHARON, 
SHARJAH-BASED PAN-ARAB DAILY "AL-KHALEEJ" EDITORIALIZED 03/23: 
 
"WHEN WILL THE ARABS BELIEVE THAT THE ZIONIST CRIMINAL GROUP LED 
BY SHARON WILL SHED ALL THEIR BLOOD FROM WATER TO WATER AND NOT 
ONLY PALESTINIAN BLOOD?. THE BLOOD OF THE SHEIKH, OF MARTYRS AND 
OTHER MARTYRS SHOULD BE A WATERSHED IN THE HISTORY OF THE ARAB 
REGION. THIS CRIME OF ASSASSINATING SHEIKH AHMAD YASSIN SHOULD 
NOT PASS AS OTHER CRIMES HAVE PASSED, IT SHOULD HOIST THIS NATION 
FROM ITS STUMBLING, BEFORE SHARON, WHO IS BACKED UP BY THE U.S., 
STARTS A NEW ERA OF ESCALATIONS. THE BLOOD OF THE SHEIKH OF 
MARTYRS AHMAD YASSIN IS YOUR BLOOD, ARABS!  DEFEND YOUR BLOOD 
BEFORE THE KNIVES OF BUTCHERS REACH YOU.  IT IS AN ERA OF 
HUMILIATION, SO WAKE UP TO PUT AN END TO IT!" 
 
3.  UNDER THE HEADLINE "A CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY," ABU DHABI- 
BASED SEMI-GOVERNMENT "AL ITTIHAD" EDITORIALIZED 03/23: 
 
"THE CRIME THAT WAS COMMITTED BY THE TERRORIST SHARON IN COLD 
BLOOD YESTERDAY AT DAWN BY ASSASSINATING THE CRIPPLED, 76 YEAR 
OLD SHEIKH AHMAD YASSIN, HAMAS'S SPIRITUAL LEADER, WILL LEAD THE 
REGION TO MORE VIOLENCE AND BLOODSHED AND WILL DESTROY ALL HOPES 
OF PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST, WHICH SHARON DOES NOT WANT TO 
SUCCEED, IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE HIS GOALS OF EXPANSION NOT ONLY IN 
PALESTINE, BUT ALSO IN THE REGION THAT IS GOING THROUGH DIFFICULT 
AND DANGEROUS TIMES. THE INTERNATIONAL FAMILY HEADED BY THE 
COUNTRIES SUPERVISING THE PEACE PROCESS IS REQUESTED TO MOVE AND 
STOP THE ZIONIST ORGANIZED TERRORISM, WHICH HAS A TARGET OF 
DEMOLISHING THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE. AS FOR OUR BROTHERS IN THE 
ARAB WORLD, SHARON IS ANSWERING THEM EVERY DAY BY ACTION, 
ANNOUNCING HIS REJECTION OF PEACE THROUGH HIS BLOODY OPERATIONS." 
 
4.  NOTING THAT SHARON IS NOT THE ONLY KILLER OF SHEIKH AHMAD 
YASSIN, DUBAI-BASED BUSINESS-ORIENTED "AL BAYAN" EDITORIALIZED 
03/23: 
 
". ALTHOUGH THE ASSASSINATION OF THE MARTYR SHEIKH YASSIN WAS 
COMMITTED BY THE ISRAELI TERRORISM SIDE, SOME OTHER SIDES ARE 
RESPONSIBLE TOO.  THE SILENCE OF THESE SIDES TOWARDS THE CRIMES 
COMMITTED BY THE TEL AVIV BUTCHERS IS CONSIDERED TO PROVOKE THE 
CONTINUATION OF THESE MASSACRES COMMITTED AGAINST OUR CHILDREN 
AND BROTHERS IN PALESTINE.  THESE SILENT PEOPLE ARE NOT ONLY THE 
INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY, BUT ALSO THE ARABS WHO LEFT THEIR 
BROTHERS IN PALESTINE IN THE JAWS OF AN ENEMY WHO HAS NO 
HUMANITY. SHARON HAS STARTED THE FIRE, SOONER OR LATER HE WILL BE 
BURNT IN IT BECAUSE RESISTANCE WILL NOT DIE AND ITS MEN ARE ALL 
YASSIN." 
 
5.  POINTING OUT THAT THE WINNER IN THE ASSASSINATION OF SHEIKH 
YASSIN IS THE SHEIKH HIMSELF, COLUMNIST ABU AWAD WROTE IN "AL 
ITTIHAD" ON 03/23: 
 
". SHEIKH AHMAD YASSIN IS THE WINNER IN THIS OPERATION, SINCE 
EVERY PALESTINIAN LIVING ON THE LANDS OF PALESTINE DREAMS OF THIS 
END, AND ISRAEL HAS ACHIEVED THE MOST PRECIOUS DREAM FOR THIS MAN 
WITHOUT REALIZING IT..SHEIKH YASSIN, WHO WAS VERY SICK, WAS 
HONORED TO DIE THIS HEROIC DEATH..AS FOR ISRAEL, THAT DREAMS 
ABOUT SECURITY AND ACHIEVING MORE AND MORE BENEFITS OUT OF THIS 
CRIME, IT SEEMS THAT IT DOES NOT LEARN FROM ITS MISTAKES. PEACE 
UPON SHEIKH AHMAD YASSIN..PEACE UPON SHEIKH AHMAD YASSIN..PEACE 
UPON SHEIKH AHMAD YASSIN..PEACE UPON ALL ARABS" 
 
6.  UNDER THE HEADLINE "ASSASSINATING A WHEELCHAIR," UAE 
COLUMNIST NASSER AL DHAHERI WROTE IN "AL ITTIHAD" ON 03/23: 
 
". WILL THE ASSASSINATION BURY HAMAS AND MAKE IT CONCENTRATE ON 
AGRICULTURE AND USING UP THE OIL PRODUCTS EVERY SEASON?  IN 
ASSASSINATING SHEIKH YASSIN, ISRAEL, WHICH IS DESCRIBED AS A 
DEMOCRATIC AND FREE COUNTRY IN THE MIDDLE EAST, WAS SHOWING ITS 
OLD HISTORIC COWARDLINESS, IN ADDITION TO ITS HATRED. WHAT WAS 
ASSASSINATED YESTERDAY WAS ONLY THE WHEEL CHAIR, NOT THE SHEIKH." 
 
WAHBA