VZCZCXRO2917
OO RUEHROV
DE RUEHJM #0740/01 1220858
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 010858Z MAY 08
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1347
RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHDC
RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NSC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RUEKJCS/DIA WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUEADWD/DA WASHINGTON DC//DAS-ZD/DACS-ZK//
RUEAHQA/CSAF WASHINGTON DC//POLAD//
RHMFIUU/CMC WASHINGTON DC
RUENAAA/CNO WASHINGTON DC//POLAD//
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE
RUEHTU/AMEMBASSY TUNIS 7089
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 4083
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 3936
RUEHNC/AMEMBASSY NICOSIA 5434
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME 3844
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 2411
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JERUSALEM 000740
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
STATE PASS BBG
STATE FOR NEA, NEA/IPA, NEA/PPD
WHITE HOUSE FOR PRESS OFFICE, SIT ROOM
NSC FOR ABRAMS
CMC WASHINGTON DC FOR POLAD
JERUSALEM ALSO FOR ICD
LONDON FOR HKANONA AND POL - TSOU
PARIS ALSO FOR POL
ROME FOR MFO
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL KMDR KPAL KWBG KPAO IS
SUBJECT: JERUSALEM MEDIA REACTION (5/01): PUBLIC OWNERSHIP OF
RESISTENCE
-------------
Main Stories:
-------------
Ongoing Egyptian efforts to reach an Israeli-Palestinian truce
receive extensive coverage on the front pages of the dailies.
Al-Quds leads with the announcement that, "Egypt will inform Israel
about the details of the truce in the coming days." According to
the coverage, twelve Palestinian political and military factions
have agreed in principle to accept a ceasefire with Israel. The
dailies report that Palestinian leaders agreed that any agreement
should be bi-lateral, apply to both the Gaza Strip and the West
Bank, and include an end to the siege of the Gaza Strip. On the
ground, the dailies report that a Palestinian was killed and five
where injured in an Israeli airstrike on Gaza on April 29. The
dailies also report that sewage has begun to flood Gaza City streets
and warned of a humanitarian and environmental crisis.
The meeting of Saudi King Abdullah and Palestinian President Abbas
on April 29 in Riyadh is front page news. The dailies report that
both leaders discussed the latest developments regarding the
"Palestinian cause" and the peace process in the region. President
Abbas also briefed the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques on the
outcomes of his recent visits to the USA and Russia, according to
the coverage.
Comments made by Secretary Rice at the April 29 meeting of the
American Jewish Committee in Washington received front page coverage
in all dailies. Citing an AFP story, the dailies highlight that
Rice stated, "Hamas is fighting on behalf of Iran against Israel."
She further explained that Palestinian Hamas militants are serving
as "proxy warriors for an Iran bent on destroying Israel and
destabilizing the Middle East[AFP]."
Citing AFP, the front page of Al-Quds reports that French President
Sarkozy confirmed on April 29, that he would support Palestinian
President Abbas' efforts to develop the Palestinian Territories.
President Sarkozy said that the security of Israel is linked to
ending the Israeli occupation and establishing a viable, democratic
and modern Palestinian state. A related report on Al Ayyam's front
page quotes the British Council in Jerusalem saying that progress
should be made in the areas of negotiations, the economy and freedom
of movement," in order to support peace efforts.
The dailies report that the Israeli non-governmental organization
B'Tselem has called upon the Israeli Army's Judge Advocate General
to open a military police investigation into the circumstances of
the death of a Palestinian mother and her four young children killed
on April 29 by an Israeli shell in the northern Gaza area of Beit
Hanun. The dailies also report that the Israeli military stated
that Israeli soldiers are not responsible for the killing.
According to the dailies, the UN refugee organization OCHA issued a
report stating that obstacles to movement in the West Bank increased
to 612 following a detailed field survey completed on March 18.
This represents an increase of 236 obstacles (62.8%) over the
baseline figure of August 2005.
------------
BLOCK QUOTES:
------------
1. Independent Al-Quds ran its daily editorial entitled "Which
map?!" (5/01): "Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni... presented
the Palestinian negotiation team... an Israeli vision of a final
JERUSALEM 00000740 002 OF 002
agreement [as] a serious, official position presented through the
main negotiation channel. This bizarre solution indicates complete
Israeli control over large settlements in the West Bank and in
Jerusalem as well as in the Jordan valley. This will go along with
other security arrangements regarding [a mountain ridge between
Jerusalem and Jericho]. The anger of Abu Ala' [Ahmad Quray, chief
Palestinian negotiator] is not enough, even if it was necessary. We
think that it is the right of our people to ask the head of our
negotiation team to say what is going on in these negotiations in
order to enlist the support of Arab and international public opinion
on the side of the Palestinians against Israeli polices that will
never lead to a solution and erase the tension that exists in the
region. On the contrary, [the Livni plan] will make [the region] a
center that is ready to explode into more violence and extremism.
Israel, which is backed by Washington, should realize that peace has
requirements and conditions that [must be followed and that not
every agreement will] be accepted by any Palestinian Authority or
any Palestinian official..."
2. Independent Al-Ayyam runs an op-ed by veteran columnist Abdullah
Awwad, entitled "Which truce... which resistance and which
negotiations?" (5/01): "...whoever claims to represent the
Palestinian people should not try to stop resistance... whether by
an agreement or a truce or a unilateral truce and this is a rule for
all Palestinian parties. This right [to resist] belongs to the
Palestinians people themselves. All agreements and truces do not
prevent people who live under occupation from engaging in all means
of resistance. Public ownership of resistance belongs to the people
who are killed, burned, their children slaughtered, and their sons
imprisoned daily. When Hamas talks about resistance and a truce, it
is playing a misleading game... A truce basically means ending
resistance and Hamas has no right to do this nor does any other
party. Therefore, I am wondering what they are negotiating in
Cairo?... this issue has only one explanation, each party has its
own special calculation."
WALLES