US embassy cable - 05MUSCAT690

UNCLAS MUSCAT 000690 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR NEA/ARPI, NEA/PPD, NEA/P, INR/R/MR 
 
LONDON FOR GOLDRICH 
PARIS FOR ZEYA 
USCENTCOM FOR PLUSH 
FOREIGN PRESS CENTER/ASILAS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KPAO, KMDR, OIIP, MU, Public Affairs 
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: ISRAELI DUPLICITY AND AMERICAN DEMAND 
FOR CHANGE IN THE REGION 
 
 
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No To Settlements 
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1. On April 21, the government-owned Arabic daily "Oman" carried 
an editorial entitled, "A Strange Position": 
 
"The duplicity of the American position toward Israel hurts the 
prospects of peace in the region.  While it is true that America 
has called for Israel to stop building new settlements, it still 
supports indirectly the merger of large settlements.  The 
proposed mergers are completely unacceptable to the Palestinian 
Authority.  Its leadership has made clear that the American 
administration has no right to grant Palestinian land to Israel 
for settlements or any other purpose." 
 
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Putting the Ball into Play 
--------------------------- 
 
2. On April 21, the privately-owned Arabic daily "al-Watan" 
carried an editorial entitled, "The Ball is in Israel's Court": 
 
"The Palestinian president has fulfilled his promise to halt 
Palestinian violence.  Israel should now fulfill its commitments. 
That is, Israel should end its policy of targeted assassinations, 
stop building the separation fence, and give up plans to build 
new settlements.  The ball is clearly in Israel's court.  It must 
decide how it will put the ball into play." 
 
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Hungry for Change 
----------------- 
 
3. The privately-owned Arabic newspaper "al-Watan" published an 
editorial on April 23 entitled, "Rice's Storm": 
 
"America is hungry to change the whole world and no one can stand 
up to it.  After Iraq, the U.S. has turned its attention to 
Lebanon and Syria....  The eye of Secretary Rice's storm of 
change is also hovering over Russia and China.  Nowadays, the 
U.S. announces its demands in the media, so diplomatic calls for 
change are things of the past.  If a country does not do as 
America wishes, it will face U.S. might or it will have to 
contend with U.S. efforts to destabilize it by provoking tension 
between ethnic and religious groups.  This is what is happening 
in Iraq now." 
 
BALTIMORE