VZCZCXRO5329
OO RUEHROV
DE RUEHJM #1444/01 2200844
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 070844Z AUG 08
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 2430
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 7252
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 4241
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 4094
RUEHNC/AMEMBASSY NICOSIA 5588
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME 4006
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 2575
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JERUSALEM 001444
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 (8/07): A call for public and
civil society action
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Main Stories:
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The summit between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and
Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas on August 6 in
Jerusalem dominates the front pages of the dailies. The headlines
in all three dailies announce that Abbas and Olmert confirmed their
intention to keep meeting and negotiating, and that Israel has
decided to release 150 Palestinian prisoners on August 25. The
headline in Al-Hayat Al-Jadida also adds, "Israeli sources confirmed
that the release of the Fatah leader Marwan Al-Barghouthi is amongst
the options," but noted that no decisions have been taken yet in
this regard. In its coverage, Al-Ayyam quotes Palestinian Chief
Negotiator Sa'eb Erekat as having said, after the Abbas-Olmert
meeting on August 6 in Jerusalem, that Israel agreed in principle to
resolve the issue of the 22,000 Palestinian residents without
identity cards and agreed to issue one thousand permits to those
living abroad without identity cards to return to the Palestinian
Territories to get their cards.
All dailies express outrage over a "dangerous precedent" set by the
Israeli Supreme Court in its decision, announced on Israeli radio on
August 6, that the PA does not have immunity against compensation
lawsuits filed by Israelis. The Israeli Supreme Court thus
overturned a previous decision, issued by the Israeli Central Court
in Jerusalem in 2006, that the Palestinian Authority is considered a
state and is thus immune from lawsuits. The Israeli Supreme Court's
decision came in response to an appeal filed by a religious school
at the Alon Moreiya settlement, requesting the implementation of
another court's decision against a "Palestinian Authority person"
regarding a land case.
Coverage in all dailies highlights that on August 6, Israel released
five Palestinian prisoners according to the prisoner's exchange deal
agreed to on July 16 with Hezbollah. The lead photo in Al-Quds
shows the released prisoners walking towards a checkpoint in
Tulkarem and a smaller front-page photo in Al-Ayyam shows them
making a "V" sign for victory. In other coverage, Al-Ayyam and
Al-Hayat Al-Jadida write that on August 6, Israel released Hamas
members Adli Ya'ish and Issa Al-Ja'bari, following the payment of
7000 NIS in bail.
Al-Quds, citing the official Palestine News Agency WAFA, writes that
the EU announced on August 6 that it has pledged 14.7 million euros
to assist the Palestinian government in paying the salaries of
approximately 74,000 employees.
Al-Quds reports that in a statement issued on August 6, Hamas
announced that it would allow the reopening of all the civil
institutions that were closed in the wake of the Gaza beach
explosion. In related coverage, the leader of Islamic Jihad
reportedly said in an interview with the Qatar-based Al-Sharq
Al-Qatariya newspaper published on August 6 that there are intensive
efforts ongoing to release the prisoners arrested by Fatah and
Hamas.
Al-Ayyam and Al-Hayat Al-Jadida report that in a statement issued by
his office on August 6, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak ordered
the demolition of the house of Hisham Abu Dheim, who executed the
attack against the Jewish religious institute Merkaz Harav in West
Jerusalem in March 2008 in which 8 Israelis were killed and 10
injured. Abu Dheim's house is located in the Jabal Al-Mukabber
neighborhood in East Jerusalem.
JERUSALEM 00001444 002 OF 002
Citing an AFP story, Al-Ayyam and Al-Hayat Al-Jadida relate that
according to a statement by the Israeli human rights organization
B'Tselem, the Israeli military discharged the Israeli soldier who
gave the order to shoot a Palestinian with his hands tied behind his
back in Ni'lin village near Ramallah on July 7.
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BLOCK QUOTES:
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1. Independent Al-Quds runs an editorial entitled, "Where is the
role of the public...?" (8/07): "The tragic situation in which we
[Palestinians] live is characterized by three signs:
- The first sign is the destructive bloody conflict for authority
and the preference of narrow group interests over the public
national interests.
- The second is the absence of true leadership capable of imposing
its decisions and respect...and of convincing the public to accept
its opinions.
- The third sign: the near-total absence of the role of the public
and civil society at a time when we are in need of such a role.
Why don't the angry public ... [and] the civil society...that talks
about human rights...and the political organizations that are
standing between Fatah and Hamas...take action? This is the time to
work, and this is the time to show capacities and qualifications to
act before we drown in the catastrophe we are facing ... We suggest
or request everyone to take action...starting in Ramallah and the
Gaza Strip ... All negative criticism and vain expressions of pain
should stop. The public should act and tell all these fighters
[Fatah and Hamas] to stop and fear God ... We should not allow the
slaughter of the remains of our [Palestinian] cause and of our
homeland while we sit and watch...!!!"
WALLES