Coverage of Israel’s Gaza Incursion to Free Kidnapped Soldier

The NYTimes’ news piece today, “Israel Squeezes, and Gaza Strip Adapts to a Vise,” is blatantly one-sided with no analysis. But if you’re looking for only a humanitarian story focused on the average Palestinian, it’s sufficient. See: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/02/world/middleeast/ 02gaza.html?hp&ex=1151812800&en=37f7bbf4cc629aea&ei= 5094&partner=homepage

Bottom line according to NYTimes: Israel’s incursion will only drive the divided Fatah and Hamas closer, and serve to strengthen the Palestinian population’s support for the Hamas-led government.

What the Times forgot to say, but other papers picked up: #1: that the kidnappers of the Israeli solder, Shalit, are demanding that Israel release 1,000 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails in exchange for information about Shalit’s condition (Jerusalem Post); and, 2#: that no civilians have been reported killed in the incursion and only one militant has died of wounds from an airstrike (LA Time).

Israel’s Haaretz, a left-leaning daily, wins kudos for its story on the US government footing the bill for damages to a Gaza power station hit on Tuesday by an Israeli airstrike. The Israeli paper credits The Boston Globe, though it looks like Reuters had the scoop on this one. Apparently, the power station is insured by the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), a US government agency, for $48 million due to "political risks." See: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/733394.html

The power station, which provides electricity for approximately 860,000 Gazans, many of whom are now in the dark, was built by—surprise—Enron Corporation, along with Palestinian businessman Said Khoury in 1999. Khoury’s Morganti Group bought out Enron’s share in 2000. Hours after the strike, according to Reuters, White House Spokesman Tony Snow (former Fox anchor), “‘urged Israel to ‘avoid the unnecessary destruction of property and infrastructure.’" Yes, please, especially when American taxpayers will have to pay to repair the damage!

Editorial of the Day:

Haaretz’s Editorial was perhaps the most intelligent commentary today on the Israeli government’s tactics. Its editors question Israel’s contradictory policy of pressuring Hamas’ political leadership and the Palestinian public, in order to force the public to pressure Hamas, while simultaneously claiming that Khaled Mesha—political leader of Hamas and head of the group’s Syrian branch—holds ultimate sway over the kidnappers.

Haaretz acutely notes: “If so, what is the point of pressuring the local Palestinian leadership, which did not know of the planned attack and which, when it found out, demanded that the kidnappers take good care of their victim and return him?”

Of course, the paper rather naively calls for Israel to free the detained Hamas politicians and open negotiations for the release of Shalit. Haaretz’s heart is in the right place but it doesn’t seem to make sense to give up your bargaining chip before you negotiate. The editors recall that Israel was eventually forced to negotiate with Hezbollah and withdraw from Southern Lebanon. And, that back then, Israel also kidnapped people from Lebanon to strengthen Israel’s position in prisoner swaps.

Haaretz is worried that Olmert has not learned from history, since those kidnappings didn’t get Israel anywhere. But the analogy is false. The Israeli government is not currently worried about being forced to negotiate a withdrawal from the West Bank. It wants to withdraw. The problem is that it’s going back into Gaza now, which it only recently left unilaterally. Israel’s operations in Gaza will only stoke an already burning fire there and unite the Palestinian factions. Better to leave Gaza alone and instead put pressure on the Hamas powerbase in Syria. The trick is, that’s not so easy and no one is really sure who controls the kidnappers.

See: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/733036.html