US embassy cable - 03AMMAN4157

UNCLAS AMMAN 004157 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ARN, NEA/PA, NEA/AIA, INR/NESA, R/MR, 
I/GNEA, B/BXN, B/BRN, NEA/PPD, NEA/IPA FOR ALTERMAN 
USAID/ANE/MEA 
LONDON FOR GOLDRICH 
PARIS FOR O'FRIEL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
 
TAGS: KMDR JO 
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION ON MIDDLE EAST 
 
                        Summary 
 
-- Lead stories in all papers today, July 9, are 
reports about the Palestinian Prime Minister's threat 
to resign as the head of the Palestinian government 
amidst tension within the Palestinian leadership over 
negotiations with Israel.  Front pages also report on 
the situation in Iraq highlighting Iraqi "guerilla" 
attacks against Coalition forces and the latest audio 
tape, claimed to have been made by Saddam Hussein, 
urging Iraqis to launch "covert" attacks as "the best 
way to end the occupation". 
 
                 Editorial Commentary 
 
-- "The stage of difficult tests" 
 
Center-left, influential Arabic daily Al-Dustour 
(07/09) editorializes:  "Facts on the ground in the 
Palestinian territory seems to be very complicated and 
difficult..  The suffering of Palestinian Prime 
Minister Mahmoud Abbas seems quite evident as he tries 
to reconcile between the various contradictions on the 
Palestinian front and manage negotiations with the 
Israeli side that continues to carry out maneuvers in 
an attempt to jeopardize everything that Mr. Abbas is 
trying to achieve..  The Islamic Jihad Movement did 
well to declare that the latest operation, which was 
done by one of its members, had not been part of its 
program and that it is committed to the truce.  Yet, 
as important as this clarification is, there has to be 
total control over such action, in order not to give 
the Israelis the pretext or the justification for 
refusing the release of prisoners who belong to those 
Palestinian factions..  We continue to urge the 
Palestinian factions to block Israel's way and call 
for further American follow-up and direct mediation in 
order to remove the obstacles that Israel is placing 
in the path to peace and help everyone overcome this 
stage of difficult tests". 
 
-- "When Mahmoud Abbas resigns" 
 
Semi-official, influential Arabic daily Al-Rai (07/09) 
editorializes:  "The resignation of the Palestinian 
Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas from Fateh takes the 
Palestinian domestic front back to square one, just 
when things have started to look like they were 
heading towards calm and quiet..  Pushing Abbas 
against the wall and tying his hands behind his back 
achieves nothing but what we think would be a not so 
noble objective, simply because it means suicide. 
This is because the hole that would be left by Abbas' 
resignation from government will prove to be a success 
and an opportunity for the Sharon government to 
portray itself as the one that wants peace and the 
Palestinians as wanting nothing but extremism and 
terrorism; Israeli charges by all means". GNEHM