JERUSALEM MEDIA REACTION (8/08): Frustration at lack of

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 JERUSALEM 001471 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 (8/08): Frustration at lack of tangible results from Israeli-Palestinian talks -------------- Main Stories: -------------- Israeli actions in Jerusalem and the West Bank on August 7 dominate the front pages of the three dailies. All dailies lead with news about Israel's decision, announced by the Israeli Ministry of the Interior on August 7, to establish 400 housing units in the Nave Ya'kov settlement in East Jerusalem. This project was reportedly approved by the Jerusalem Municipality on March 10, according to an AFP report cited in Al-Quds. The dailies also report that Israel has submitted bids to establish another 416 units in two settlements near Bethlehem. Al-Ayyam's lead headline reads, "Israel decides to establish 816 housing units in three settlement neighborhoods in occupied Jerusalem," while Al-Hayat Al-Jadida's headline states, "Israel allows the establishment of hundreds of settlement housing units in Jerusalem." In other related coverage, all dailies report on an incident that occurred during a peaceful demonstration against the separation barrier in Ni'lin village, near Ramallah, on August ¶7. Israeli soldiers reportedly tried to stop the protest by attacking the demonstrators, injuring eight, including one French demonstrator. The soldiers also arrested four others, including two Israeli peace activists and one French national. The demonstrators reportedly retaliated by threatening the drivers of the Israeli bulldozers [working on the separation barrier] and forcing them to flee. The dailies also report on a series of Israeli incursions into the West Bank on August 7, stating that Israeli soldiers "invaded" the city of Jenin and the refugee camp there, as well as a restaurant in Ramallah, various houses in Hebron, and a taxi office in Tulkarem. Israeli soldiers also reportedly arrested seven Palestinians from the West Bank, and Israeli settlers in Hebron are said to have violated the Al-Ras Mosque by placing garbage in front of the its gate. Finally, the British Foreign Ministry reported in a statement on August 7 that Israeli settlers attacked a British diplomatic delegation. No injuries were reported in that incident. �0A;The three dailies highlight that the Palestinian Prime Minister, Salam Fayyad, called for the formation of a temporary transitional national reconciliation government during his meeting with the Secretaries General of Fatah in the West Bank on August 7. Al-Hayat Al-Jadida cites an AFP report stating that Fayyad would not necessarily run this government [note: it is unclear, from the report, whether Fayyad himself suggested this]. The same article quotes Fayyad as saying that the aim of this government would be to achieve homeland unity. During the meeting, Fayyad reportedly reiterated his call for the Palestinian people to support Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas in his national dialogue initiative. Al-Ayyam and Al-Quds, citing AFP and agencies, write that the leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, promised to release the Fatah prisoners arrested by Hamas in the wake of the Gaza beach explosion on July ¶25. Haniyeh reportedly made this announcement during his meeting with the Public Monitoring and Freedom Committee in the Gaza Strip on August 7, and on the same occasion also promised to reopen the institutions closed by Hamas and to implement the rule of law. In related coverage in Al-Quds, the former Ministry of the Interior [under Hamas control, in Gaza] is said to have released more than 150 Fatah members, including the Governor of Middle Gaza, once it was satisfied that these individuals were not involved in the July 25th explosion. Al-Ayyam carries a similar story, but citing AFP, writes that 140 prisoners were released. JERUSALEM 00001471 002 OF 003 All dailies cite an AFP report about the new and strict Israeli procedures that have been put in place to limit the movements of bulldozer drivers. According to a 24-year-old Jerusalemite [Palestinian] bulldozer driver working in West Jerusalem, he cannot operate the bulldozer unless an Israeli policeman is present, and if he wants to cross the road or change direction, he needs to inform the policeman; otherwise, any mistake he commits will "cost him his life." Al-Ayyam covers news that the U.S.-based Human Rights Watch called for a reduction in the amount of aid provided to Israel, in order to avoid financially supporting the establishment and expansion of Israeli settlements. -------------- BLOCK QUOTES: -------------- ¶1. Independent Al-Quds runs its daily editorial entitled, "Another Palestinian-Israeli summit but...!" (8/08): "Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas met with the Israeli Premier, Ehud Olmert, in a series of organized meetings between the two sides [on August 6]. As usual, the new meeting did not include any positive or serious Israeli steps towards what is referred to as 'building confidence between the two sides,' even if there are reports about Olmert's intention to agree to the release of 150 Palestinian prisoners in the next couple of weeks, if the Israeli side fulfills this promise and does not create obstacles or make delays as usual ... The question here is about the priority of issues in the Palestinian-Israeli meetings. It is known that the Israeli side is running away from finding a solution to the main final status issues and that the negotiations have not achieved any progress in this regard, according to declarations by the negotiators themselves. So, why aren't the current Israeli procedures, such as settlement activities, house demolitions, checkpoints, and the 'siege' on the Gaza Strip, not dealt with in these meetings...? The Palestinian people requests that these issues be activated and discussed with seriousness, not only with the Israeli side...but on all international levels-the International [sic] Security Council...the International Court of Justice in The Hague, and the War Crimes Tribunal, because the events taking place in Palestine are a kind of collective punishment affecting all [the Palestinian] people and the international community should place a limit on this in view of its human and legal responsibility. What should take place, and what is expected from these Israeli-Palestinian meetings and summits, is not that they take place to prove that the peace process is still alive...but to get results that will improve people's living conditions and give them a sense of peace and security. This has not yet been achieved although these meetings have been going on for almost a year." ¶2. Independent Al-Ayyam runs an editorial by Rajab Abu Sirriyyeh entitled, "The light at the end of the tunnel" (8/08): "...the late Yasser ARAFAT was always saying that there was a light at the end of the tunnel, not to make people optimistic at times of depression, but because he saw that life does not stop and that the Palestinian people's desires cannot be suppressed, regardless of military power ... The [Israeli-Hamas] truce has held in the Gaza Strip for one and a half months despite Israel's lack of commitment to provide Gaza with the necessary food and goods. The past three weeks have not witnessed any Palestinian response to the Israeli violations and this indicates that coexistence and control of internal security matters are possible ... When Palestinians agree on a method of coexistence with their neighbors [Israelis] and when they accept JERUSALEM 00001471 003 OF 003 them despite their diversity in the regional circle, the internal tension will calm down. Then, the Palestinians and the [Israelis] and all interested parties will sit down and there will be agreement on coexistence with everybody in a way that no one will be denied; a way to the future after being freed from the near and far past. And, by embarking on this historic and tortuous path, the small details [of the past] will disappear." WALLES