VZCZCXRO1722
OO RUEHROV
DE RUEHJM #1188/01 1900955
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 080955Z JUL 08
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 2036
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 7195
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 4180
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 4033
RUEHNC/AMEMBASSY NICOSIA 5531
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME 3949
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 2514
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JERUSALEM 001188
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 (7/08): "A COMPREHENSIVE DEAL OR
COMPREHENSIVE WAR?"
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Main Stories:
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The visit of Palestinian Authority President Mahmud Abbas to
Damascus leads coverage for a second day in all dailies. On July 7,
Abbas briefed Fatah leaders on the current situation in the
Palestinian Territories, the Hamas/Israel truce in the Gaza Strip
and on his initiative to launch a comprehensive, national dialogue,
papers report. Palestinian sources described the Fatah meetings as,
"positive, constructive and focused on internal reunification."
Islamic Jihad leader Abdullah Shalah told Abbas during a meeting in
Damascus that internal dialogue is a national responsibility that
requires Arab involvement to bring Hamas and Fatah closer together,
the reporting continues. Abbas also discussed Hamas' suggestions
for internal Palestinian talks with Syrian President Al-Assad,
coverage notes. Finally, Hamas leader Mash'al asked Secretary
General of the Arab League Musa in a letter on July 7 to "intervene
and explore" with Abbas possible common denominators among the
parties on which to build internal Palestinian dialogue.
Front pages reveal that Palestinian Authority (PA) Premier Salaam
Fayyad presented "practical ideas" to end internal division
according at a July 7 PA ministerial session. Deploying Arab
security forces to the Gaza Strip is the only idea revealed in the
reports.
All dailies carry front page reports about Israel's "declaration of
war" on Hamas charities in the West Bank. On July 8, Israeli Defense
Forces "invaded" Nablus city in the West Bank and, "burst into a
number of charitable societies which the Israeli soldiers claimed to
be infrastructure for Hamas," the dailies note. Al-Hayat Al-Jadida
leads with a large photo of a veiled woman standing amid the debris
of a ransacked charity office in Nablus. Israeli Defense Forces
closed four of these charities for the next four years, reporting
continues.
The Hamas/Israel truce in the Gaza Strip continues to hold despite
Israeli violations, especially the refusal by Israel to allow for
the entry of goods and food into Gaza, according to Hamas leader
Al-Zahhar in a July 7 radio interview quoted by all dailies. In
separate coverage, Al-Quds and Al-Hayat Al-Jadida highlight that
Egypt has "vigorously" called upon Israel to honor its commitment to
the truce with Hamas. Former Hamas Premier Haniyyah confirmed that
a Hamas delegation will head to Cairo on July 8 to discuss the truce
and the reopening of the crossing points into the Gaza Strip, the
two papers conclude.
Al-Hayat Al-Jadida covers news about the July 6 arrest of Israeli
settlers who "tortured" a man from a village near Hebron. The
newspaper's front page shows a picture the Palestinian victim with
signs of torture on his body.
Front pages make a brief announcement that Germany will give 20
million Euros in emergency assistance to the Palestinian Territories
to address, "deteriorating conditions" and provide the Gaza Strip
with electricity.
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BLOCK QUOTES:
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1. Independent Al-Quds prints its main, daily editorial under the
title, "The Special importance of Abu Mazin's Visit to Damascus"
(7/08): "...Abu Mazin met with a number of leaders from different
JERUSALEM 00001188 002 OF 002
Palestinian factions, but did not meet with any Hamas leaders, most
notably, Hamas leader Khalid Misha'al. The reasons seems obvious...
because Hamas has controlled the Gaza Strip for more than a year now
through military force...some media sources note that Misha'al
handed President Al-Assad a document in which he laid out the
foundation for [internal Palestinian] dialogue, and [Al-Asad] must
have discussed it with Abu Mazin... In view of the anticipated
meeting between Misha'al and Al-Assad, we expect that things will be
clearer soon... We hope that the results will be positive and that
Abbas' visit will contribute to... ending the destructive
[internal] division that we are experiencing in our country already
destroyed by the occupation..."
2. Independent Al-Ayyam runs its daily editorial by Hani Al-Masri
entitled, "The Winds of Truce in the Region: Prelude to a
Comprehensive Deal or Comprehensive War?" (7/08): "There are lots
of indications to suggest that the region is witnessing a
region-wide truce similar to the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli
[truce]... [indications include] on-going Palestinian-Israeli
negotiations despite their having reached a dead-end, the talk about
[the two parties] reaching an agreement before the end of the year,
... the on-going truce in the Gaza Strip despite mutual
violations... on-going Israeli-Syrian negotiations... on-going
discussions about the Iranian nuclear issue... Is this truce an
introduction to a comprehensive deal between the United States of
America and Iran in which Washington recognizes the regional role of
Iran if the latter will give up its ambitions to have nuclear
weapons? Or, ...is this truce an Israeli- American attempt to
marginalize the other parties in the Middle East?...It is hard to
decide what is more likely - the comprehensive deal or the
comprehensive war. What is certain, is that the direction of things
[towards a deal or a war] will be clear by the end of this year,
that is, at the end of Bush's presidency".
Walles