Palestinian Territories, Syria/Netherlands, Lavrov/Mousa,

UNCLAS DAMASCUS 000122 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR PA, NEA/ARN, INR/IC/CD, INR/R/MR:STHIBEAULT AND JMCCARTER, VOA NEWS CA, NEA/PPD:CBOURGEOIS, AZAIBACK, AND AFERNANDEZ, IIP/G/NEA-SA MDAVIDSON WHITE HOUSE FOR NSC CENTCOM FOR CCPA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KMDR PREL KPAO OPRC SY SUBJECT: Palestinian Territories, Syria/Netherlands, Lavrov/Mousa, Lebanon, Iraq (2/6) ¶1. Summary: Syrian papers on Feb. 7 quoted an official source at the Syrian Foreign Ministry expressing, on Feb. 6, deep concern over Israeli excavations in the area of the al-Aqsa Mosque that threaten the safety and sanctity of the mosque. "Syria, which strongly condemns this aggression, sees those acts as a flagrant violation of the Islamic sanctities and Muslims' feelings all over the Islamic world," the source said. "Syria stresses that respecting others' sanctities is the most prominent feature of civilized societies, or those who claim to be civilized, and this is what Israeli authorities, that are doing the condemned digging, lack," it noted. The source said that Israel, as an occupying authority, must protect the holy places according to international law and the Geneva Convention. "Syria calls on the Organization of Islamic Conference to move, on behalf of the Islamic world, to stop any act that threatens the safety and sanctity of the holy mosque of Aqsa," it added. Papers also reported that Foreign Minister Walid al-Mouallem received a telephone call on Feb 6 from his Dutch counterpart Bernard Bot on developments in the region. On the Middle East peace process, papers reported that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Feb. 6 reiterated Russia's call to solve the issues of the Middle East by including all basic regional sides in meetings with the International Quartet. In a press conference with Arab League Secretary General Amr Mousa following talks in Moscow, Lavrov said: "Russia emphasized its call for the participation of the main regional countries." The Russian FM reiterated his country's rejection of any provocative attempts to damage the religious sanctities in Jerusalem, expressing Russian support for a Palestinian national unity government. He welcomed Mousa's efforts to find a solution to the crisis in Lebanon, underlining the necessity of intensifying efforts to reach national reconciliation with the participation of all Lebanese forces. End of summary. ¶2. Selected Headlines: "Syria expresses deep concern over Israeli excavations in the area of the al-Aqsa mosque. These acts are flagrant violations of the Islamic holy places and Muslims' feelings all over the Islamic world" (Government-owned Al-Ba'th, 2/7) "Commencement of the Palestinian dialogue in Mecca. Israel demolishes al-Maghareba road leading to the al-Aqsa Mosque" (Government-owned Tishreen, 2/7) "Foreign Minister al-Mouallem reviews in a telephone call latest regional developments with Bernard Bot, Foreign Minister of the Netherlands" (Government-owned Al-Thawra, 2/7) "Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov renews his country's position which calls for solving Middle East issues through the participation of all main regional sides and the International Quartet Committee" "President Lahoud asks UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to ignore the two messages sent by the current illegal government" (Government-owned Al-Ba'th, 2/7) "An Iranian diplomat kidnapped in Baghdad. Tehran: New terrorism by occupation forces" (Government-owned Al-Ba'th, 2/7) ¶3. Editorial Block Quotes: -------------- "Lies and Fabrications" -------------- Elias Khuri, a commentator in government-owned Al-Ba'th, said (2/7): "Some politicians are skilled at fabricating falsehoods against Syria. They turn white into black and black into white, forcing you -- though you hate it -- to speak up! "These politicians, who have become nothing but willing trumpets, are not satisfied with anything. No matter what Syria does for Iraq, and no matter what it offers for the sake of Iraq's fraternal people and their unity and freedom, these politicians are ungrateful and unfair to it, persistently leveling false accusations against it and working for estrangement from it. "Some of them, for example, have volunteered this piece of information: Half of those who carry out terrorist operations infiltrated from Syria. My God! It is as if these brilliant politicians were standing at the border carrying meters to count infiltrators and non-infiltrators and determine who is a terrorist and who is not. They ignore the fact that Syria has made and is still making tremendous efforts to control the border.... "Another allegation is that Iraqi citizens are not 'sufficiently welcomed' in Syria. This is a despicable fabrication because Syria is the only country in the whole world that opened its doors to the Iraqi brothers unconditionally. It received hundreds of thousands of Iraqis and offered them everything it could offer, so much so that the Iraqi dialect is the dominant dialect in some regions. Yet we still hear lies, fabrications, and hypocrisy! -------------- "Jerusalem Anew" -------------- Ali Qasim, a commentator in government-owned Al-Thawra, wrote (2/7): "Israel finds in intra-Palestinian clashes and the international situation an opportunity to Judaize Jerusalem.... Israel persists in excavations and demolitions around Al-Aqsa Mosque.... "Tel Aviv seeks to change totally the demographic situation of the holy city and its spiritual and religious stature for more than one billion Muslims. Palestinians must unify their ranks to confront the Israeli scheme.... "Israeli activities in Jerusalem provide Palestinians with a real opportunity to overcome their differences and foil the attempts that seek to sow domestic strife...." -------------- "Where Are Arabs?" -------------- Umar Jaftali, an editorialist in government-owned Tishreen, wrote (2/7): "The US Administration's hellish plan in the region aims at protecting Israel and controlling the oil resources. As part of this plan, Palestinians have been besieged and pushed toward domestic strife to allow Israel to implement its plans and Judaize Jerusalem.... "In Lebanon, the US Administration prevents accord among the Lebanese, and its Ambassador, Feltman, tells the February 14 forces what they should do or not do.... The aim is to prolong the political crisis, obstruct Arab mediation, and push everyone toward absurd labyrinths and sectarian strife to keep this country completely away from the Arab-Zionist conflict.... "Iraq is witnessing civil war while American and Israeli companies are looting Iraq's oil.... "Arabs must realize these dangers, which target them all...." Corbin