ANALYSIS OF THE PALESTINIAN MEDIA-- June, 2005

ANALYSIS OF THE PALESTINIAN MEDIA-- June, 2005 By Michael Widlanski June 6, 2005-Monday

Voice of Palestine radio broke into its regular programming (10AM) to announce that Israeli troops and Jewish extremists were invading Islamic holy places on the Temple Mount.

Later on, Palestinian television opened its afternoon news broadcast with a report showing PA Prime Minister Ahmad Qreia (Abu 'Ala) accusing Israel of invading the Temple Mount, during a PA cabinet meeting.

"Prime Minister Ahmad Qreia asserted that the attempt by Israel to invade Jerusalem [Arabic: beit al-maqdas] was fraught with danger," announced Muhammad Yassin, the senior PBC anchorman.

Qreia was quoted as saying that Israel was escalating plans to Judaize Jerusalem, and he cited the destruction of "hundreds of homes" in the Silwan neighborhood.

"Every month there is another attempt to invade the Al-Aqsa mosque," asserted Prime Minister Qreia, wagging his finger.

Throughout the afternoon hours of the day, VOP radio continued to broadcast that the Al-Aqsa shrine area (meaning both the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa) was being invaded by Israeli soldiers and Jewish extremists.

Palestinian rock-throwers injured several Jewish visitors and policemen during several hours of clashes.

Meanwhile, Palestinian television continued to promote continuing demonstrations against Israeli fence-building operations.

"JERUSALEM PERSONALITIES CALL FOR THE DEFENSE OF AL-AQSA AGAINST THE INVASION OF JEWIS EXTREMISTS." This was the main headline in Al-Hayat Al-Jadeeda. The paper also featured a front-page picture of man in a field protesting what was said to have been Israeli bulldozing of his olive trees near the village of Marda near Nablus. In a separate article, 30 people were reported to have been wounded in demonstrations against Israeli fence-building in Salfit and other areas.

Meanwhile, Al-Quds led with a picture of an Israeli soldier, sitting near a Palestinian detained in the Hebron area, sticking his tongue out at the camera.

Al-Quds also features a picture of a bedraggled Saddam Hussein atop an article saying the former Iraqi leader will face 12 charges at his coming trial.

This newspaper also featured a story that, in 1967, Ariel Sharon threatened to execute a coup d'etat against the Israeli government, unless it decided to go to war.

Palestinian television led its news broadcasts Sunday with the news that Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas had issued a decree on Saturday (June 4) delaying the legislative elections indefinitely. Dr. Abbas, who heads the Fatah Movement, the PLO, as well as the Palestinian Authority (PA), said a decision on a day for the elections, originally set for July, would come after talks with HAMAS and others.

Both PA leader Abbas and Deputy PA Prime Minister Nabil Sha'ath indicated that Fatah was prepared to agree to having half the legislature chosen on a district level with the other half chosen on a proportional basis of at-large seats.

"The Hamas movement completely rejects the postponement of the elections, which is contrary to the Cairo Agreement," asserted Sami Abu-Zuhri, a Hamas spokesman interviewed on PBC television. He refered to the agreements between Abbas, Hamas and Islamic Jihad regarding elections and a "cooling-off" period in attacking Israelis.

The Hamas spokesman said Abbas's decision was based on internal Fatah difficulties, he hinted it was due to a Fatah desire to gain more time to get ready for the elections at a time when there are strong indications that Hamas may be stronger than Fatah believed.

"This came because of the internal situation inside Fatah, and it has nothing to do with national Palestinian considerations," declared Abu-Zuhri.

But Fatah officials in the legislature echoed Abbas's comments yesterday that the postponement was based on logistical difficulties in getting the election law passed-so that there would be at least two months between passage and voting.

"We just need more time to get through the bnecessary proceedings," said Abdul-Karim Abu-Salah, chairman of the PA Legislature's Legal Committee.

Al-Ayyam led its coverage with news of the election postponement as well as a picture of Palestinian and foreign demonstrators pushing and shoving with Israeli soldiers in the village of Salfit, protesting Israeli fence-building operations.

Al-Quds showed an almost identical lay-out and coverage. It featured a picture of Israeli soldiers linking arms in front of flag-waving demonstrators (some with Hebrew banners) near the city of Nablus. This newspaper's cartoon made fun of the election postponement, showing a man trying to hold back the hands of a clock.

A somewhat similar theme was shown in a cartoon in Al-Hayat Al-Jadeeda, where a member of the current legislature is seen dancing for joy at the thought of election delays.

Al-Hayat Al-Jadeeda provided almost identical news coverage and pictures at the top of its front page, and its lead headline was "THE PRESIDENT DELAYS THE ELEGISLATIVE ELECTIONS UNTIL LEGAL PROCEDURES AND NATIONAL PROGRAMS ARE COMPLETED."

The official Palestinian Authority (PA) broadcast media promoted what they called "fence resistance" in the form of a "peaceful march" and public Friday prayer assembly led by Sheikh Taysir Tamimi of the PA Waqf Ministry.

In a prominent red box on its front page, Al-Quds ran notices of the scheduled marches at Bil'in, Salfit and at other sites, and PA radio and television urged protesters to join the demonstrations for several hours on Friday morning.

Al- Ayyam ran a cartoon on Thursday showing Palestinians blocking an Israeli bulldozer slated to destroy illegal housing.

After the protest, PBC television showed sign of protesters waving banners in English-"Uproot Settlers, Not Trees"-and being carried away by soldiers. But there were no pictures of violence at the protest site at the village of Bil'in during which an Israeli soldier was blinded in one eye when it was shattered by a rock thrown by one of the demonstrators. The use of the term 'muqawamat al-jidr' -FENCE RESISTANCE-suggests something more than non-violent behavior, because "muqawama"-resistance-is usually a term from the Palestinian political lexicon that is used in a violent setting.

Palestinian television, radio and newspapers reported that Mahmoud Abbas was in good health following minor surgery.

"There was no choice but to delay the elections until action is completed by the legislature," declared Dr. Abbas in a television interview Saturday afternoon (June 4). He explained that the Palestinian legislature had not completed the election law during weeks of deliberations. But Deputy PA Prime Minister Nabil Sha'ath suggested deeper factors behind the Abbas postponement of the elections.

"There was worry in the Fatah movement about our political program and the entire Palestinian struggle that have been in effect for the past 30 years, and this struggle and this program will continue," asserted Dr. Sha'ath.

His reference to the 30-year program of the Fatah appeared to be a reference to the 1974 "Program of Stages" under which the PLO said it would conquer all Israeli-held territory by a sequence of diplomatic and military moves.

Abbas has tried to channel Islamic fervor in his own direction and not to confront the Hamas movement directly, hoping for a change in fortunes after the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza scheduled for August, one month after the date originally set for Palestinian elections.

Abbas continues to reach out to Hamas, and his top leaders suggest that there is nothing fundamentally different about the final aims of Fatah and Hamas, but that Fatah is more able to get things done.

Deputy PA Prime Minister Sha'ath's comment on the "30-year program" of the Fatah is similar to one made in February on VOP radio by Yasser Abd-Rabo (a close advisor of Abbas and member of elite PLO Executive) that Hamas and Fatah share a program of staged goals.

The radio-broadcast speech from the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem was given by Sheikh Youssef Abu-Sneina, and it was devoted to long attack on Israel on the 38th anniversary of the June 1967 war. He attacked Israel for "the unpardonable crime" of destroying illegally-built homes in the neighborhood of Silwan, referring to this as part of "the Judaization of Jerusalem."

"Iran is facing direct American threats because of its nuclear program, and we read in the press how [Israeli] settlers who want to enter Al-Aqsa," declared Sheikh Youssef Abu-Sneina.

"How can Muslims live in the Western countries these days, and how can they be attacked solely for being Muslims" asked Sheikh Youssef Abu-Sneina, in a speech broadcast from the Al-Aqsa Mosque on Voice of Palestine Radio.

"Our people have realized that there will be no end to it until the rule of Islam returns to the land," declared Abu-Sneina, who is employed by the Palestinian Authority (PA). During his speech, Abu-Sneina also hammered at the theme that American forces repressed Muslims in Afghanistan and Iraq as well as deliberately desecrating Islamic sites and copies of the Quran, Islam's scripture.

On the other hand, the televised mosque address from Gaza was a rather staid analysis about family and belief in God, and the speech was not given by Sheikh Ibrahim Mudeiris, a known supporter of Al-Qaeda who has called for attacking Jews in his recent broadcast speeches. Deputy PA Prime Minister castigated Shekh Mudeiris's attacks on Jews in a television appearance on May 18.

The front pages of all three dailies-Al-Quds, Al-Ayyam and Al-Hayat al-Jadeeda-all showed released Palestinian prison convicts praying at the grave of Yasser Arafat, with flowers draped on portraits of the late Palestinian leader.

REPORT COMPILED BY MICHAEL WIDLANSKI ASSOCIATES. COMMISSIONED BY THE CENTER FOR NEAR EAST POLICY RESEARCH. [Permission to quote or reprint from article conditional on citing Michael Widlanski or Michael Widlanski Associates.]

If you'd like to be on this middle east/political ping list, please FR mail me.

Don't miss the kids show!

MEMRI: Al-Arabiya TV: Palestinian Children's Martyrdom Game

The following clip is an excerpt of a report aired on Al-Arabiya showing children in Gaza playing "Jews and Arabs," a game in which the aim is to die as a martyr for Allah.

*Clip #700: The Death Games of Gaza Children

Reporter: Abd Al-Sattar's favorite game is "Jews and Arabs."

Boy: The Arabs are in the street. The Jews stand over there and we shoot at them, and throw rocks and grenades at them.

Reporter: To win the game, the player must die.

Boy: Burn the tank!

Boy: Martyrdom for the sake of Allah is our greatest desire. Oh God! Don't be afraid because fear hurts me. Don't be sad because sadness frightens me. Don't scream because screams kills me.

TO VIEW THIS CLIP: www.memritv.org/search.asp?ACT=S9&P1=698

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.