JERUSALEM MEDIA REACTION (9/04): INTERNATIONAL CHANGES AND

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SUBJECT: JERUSALEM MEDIA REACTION (9/04): INTERNATIONAL CHANGES AND
THEIR INFLUENCE ON THE REGION

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Main Stories:
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The three dailies highlight news that Israeli Minister of Defense,
Ehud Barak, declared in an interview with Al-Jazeera TV on September
3 that a future Palestinian state could have parts of Jerusalem as
its capital. According to Barak, Arab neighborhoods in East
Jerusalem could make up the future capital of a Palestinian state.
The papers quote Barak telling Al-Jazeera "We can find a formula
under which certain neighborhoods, heavily-populated Arab
neighborhoods, could become, in a peace agreement, part of the
Palestinian capital that, of course, will include also the
neighboring villages around Jerusalem." The papers note that Barak
did not mention whether these neighborhoods will include
neighborhoods in the old city of Jerusalem, particularly Al-Aqsa
Mosque.

Al-Quds reports that the Israeli daily newspaper Ha'aretz said that
Egypt and Jordan object to an Israeli- Palestinian agreement which
does not bring the conflict as a whole in the region to an end.
Jordan in particular expressed worries that such an agreement may
force the country to absorb hundreds of thousands of Palestinian
refugees. The papers note that the Palestinian Authority agrees
with the position of Egypt and Jordan.

Accompanied by photos of the Palestinian Authority (PA) President,
Mahmoud Abbas, and the President of Iceland, Olafur Grimsson, the
three dailies lead with news about their meeting at the presidential
compound in Ramallah on September 3. Following the meeting, the
papers note, Abbas confirmed the need to reach a comprehensive and
complete peace agreement with the Israelis regarding all final
status issues.

Al-Ayyam reports that the Hamas leader, Mahmoud Az-Zahar, confirmed,
in an interview with a Qatari newspaper, that the negotiations with
Israel to broker a prisoners' exchange are frozen. Az-Zahar said
that Hamas did not receive a letter from the Egyptian mediator
asking Hamas to reduce their conditions to release the Israeli
soldier Gilad Shalit.

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BLOCK QUOTES:
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1. Independent Al-Quds editorialized in "Special Damascus Summit,"
(9/4): "Today in Damascus a special quartet summit (which includes
French President Sarkozy, President Assad of Syria, Amir of Qatar Al
Thani, and Turkish PM Erdogan) is held... The convening of this
summit by itself is considered a win for Syria and a certain end to
the international isolation against it... Although the American
position remains distanced from the progressive position led by
Sarkozy, the fact that the French President has very strong
relations with the U.S. indicates that the U.S. is not opposed to or
completely far-off from this Sarkozy's effort."


2. Independent Al-Ayyam runs an editorial by daily columnist Abdul
Majid Sweilem entitled, "The New International Plan: Primary
Features" (9/04): "[T]he most important question is how the new
international situation [i.e. the crisis between Georgia and Russia]
will impact this region's crisis and opportunities for a solution?
The biggest loser is Israel and the second biggest lose is
Palestine!!! Israel's loss is clear because the United States is
retreating from playing the role of international police, direct
military use is no longer acceptable and international alliances are
being redrawn...[This] means a deterioration in Israel's capacity to

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impose its [unilateral] plans and programs in the region...as for
Palestine, the loss is due to the fact that the current internal
[Palestinian] situation does not allow [Palestinians] to make use of
this new historical chance to benefit Palestine's higher national
interests...if I were in Hamas' place, I would have put the
Palestinian cause and the unity of the Palestinian people and
homeland on top of my priorities. And if I were in place of the
Palestinian left wing, I would have studied the new situation and
revived the national program in order to pave its way."
WALLES