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Viewing cable 08JERUSALEM739, MEDIA ANALYSIS: Palestinian Media Downplays Role of

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
08JERUSALEM739 2008-04-30 15:04 2011-08-24 01:00 UNCLASSIFIED Consulate Jerusalem
VZCZCXRO2218
RR RUEHDE
DE RUEHJM #0739 1211504
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 301504Z APR 08
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1346
INFO RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV 4106
RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN 8225
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 4082
RUEHDE/AMCONSUL DUBAI 0041
UNCLAS JERUSALEM 000739 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA, NEA/IPA, NEA/PPD 
DUBAI FOR PELLETIER 
LONDON FOR SREEBNY 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KMDR KPAL KWBG KPAO KINR
SUBJECT: MEDIA ANALYSIS: Palestinian Media Downplays Role of 
Factions in Provoking Israeli Military Operations 
 
1. SUMMARY: Reporting on Palestinian-Israeli violence in the Gaza 
Strip, the Palestinian media typically relegates any provocative 
action by Palestinian militant factions to the background, focusing 
instead on Israeli actions and Palestinian deaths and injuries.  The 
resulting coverage downplays Israeli deaths or injuries and leaves 
readers with the impression of unprovoked or excessive Israeli 
military operations.  The April 9 attack by Palestinian gunmen on an 
Israeli fuel depot at Nahal Oz near the Gaza border and the 
subsequent Israeli military reaction illustrates this trend.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
2. The Gaza Strip is daily front-page and top of the hour news 
material for the Palestinian press, with particular attention paid 
to Israeli operations and resulting Palestinian deaths.  The lead 
headlines in all three print dailies routinely include the number of 
Palestinians killed in the Gaza Strip by the Israeli military, but 
rarely mention provocative actions that precede Israeli operations. 
 
 
NAHAL OZ ILLUSTRATES 
-------------------- 
 
3. On April 9, Palestinian gunmen raided the Nahal Oz Israeli fuel 
depot on the Israeli side of the Gaza border, killing two Israeli 
civilian guards.  In response, the Israeli Air force struck Gaza, 
killing seven Palestinians, some militants and some children.  The 
military wings of all three Palestinian factions claimed 
responsibility for the attack on Nahal Oz. 
 
4. Palestinian media coverage reported on the Israeli military 
response and the resulting Palestinian deaths and injuries and left 
the initial Palestinian attack and the resulting Israeli deaths in 
the background.  On April 10, both Al-Ayyam and Al-Hayat Al-Jadida 
dailies ran banner headlines declaring that "seven Palestinians were 
martyred and three Israelis killed" conflating several events into 
one.  Articles in all the dailies highlighted that three children 
were among the Palestinian dead.  The front pages showed photos of 
the wreckage of a car hit by an Israeli missile and a woman holding 
two children running for safety.  Al-Hayat Al-Jadida incorrectly 
identified the two Israelis killed as soldiers and called the 
Palestinian gunmen "resistance fighters."  In related reports, 
Al-Hayat Al-Jadida also claimed the violent events in Gaza could be 
traced back to the work of "resistance fighters" to "expose" an 
attempt by Israeli special forces to "creep into" an area in the 
eastern Gaza Strip, giving justification to the Nahal Oz attack. 
The Al-Quds lead story noted in its sub-headline that two Israelis 
were also killed and described the Israeli reaction as a "revenge 
shelling" on the Gaza Strip, but did not specify the cause. 
 
5.  The  PA issued an official statement  condemning the Palestinian 
factions for attacking Nahal Oz and accusing the gunmen of 
undermining ongoing efforts to "alleviate the suffering of 
Palestinians in Gaza," and "intentionally giving the Israelis 
pretexts to close the crossings and cut the fuel supply" to Gaza. 
Al-Quds did not mention the PA statement, and Al-Ayyam and Al-Hayat 
Al-Jadida focused on the statement's call on Israel to avoiding 
harming Gazans and largely ignored the criticism of the Palestinian 
gunmen. 
 
6.  In its main editorial, Al-Quds directly linked the military 
escalation to the Palestinian attack on Nahal Oz, stating that the 
Israeli operation was a response to the Palestinian attack.  The 
same editorial, though, was clear in expressing condemnation of the 
Israeli military reaction, maintaining that such reaction reflects 
"Israel's immense desire for revenge." 
 
WALLES