JERUSALEM MEDIA REACTION (10/22): THE ROAD MAP "HAS LOST

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JERUSALEM 001919 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 (10/22): THE ROAD MAP "HAS LOST ITS WAY" -------------- Main Stories: -------------- Al Quds and Al Ayyam lead with Palestinian unity talks in Cairo, reporting that all factions have accepted Egypt's proposal for restoring unity, though Hamas has expressed some reservations. In separate reporting, all front pages note that Palestinian Authority President Abbas has dismissed top Palestinian intelligence official, Tawfiq Tirawi. Press "sources" denied that the action was the result of Hamas' demands made at the Cairo talks. Al Hayat Al Jadida leads with a story on Palestinians remaining on the Al Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem to "defend" the mosque. All front pages report that 17 Israeli Jews aborted an October 21 attempt to enter the compound after Palestinians shouted at them. The stories run next to photos taken earlier this week of Israeli Jews standing on the compound under Israeli police escort. Al Ayyam's front page features the letter allegedly written by Secretary Rice to Hamas Polit Bureau Chief Khalid Misha'al. Rice writes, "I would like to inform you that keeping the calm [with Israel] is of critical Palestinian interest... I feel it is important for Hamas to be ready to abandon terrorism and be ready for a peaceful coexistence between the two states," the paper notes. In separate reporting, all front pages quote Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs David Welch from an October 21 meeting in Cairo with Arab League Secretary General Amr Musa. Welch encouraged Arab states to establish relations with Israel and indicated that there is a, "US-Egyptian understanding" regarding efforts to make progress on the Israeli-Palestinian track, according to coverage. Palestinians have "new ideas" regarding the peace process, according to chief Palestinian Authority negotiator Quray, speaking at a Paris joint press availability with French Foreign Minister Kushner on October 21. Al Quds and Al Ayyam run front page stories on the statements, also highlighting Quray's comments that the French presidency of the EU might provide a good vehicle for explaining and discussing these ideas. Israel's Defense Minister Barak has ordered a complete closure of Gaza crossing points after a projectile, "allegedly launched from Gaza" landed in Israel, the front pages report. In linked reporting, the front pages of Al Ayyam and Al Hayat Al Jadida feature photos of a calf being hoisted up into Gaza via an underground tunnel from Egypt. Finally, in Gaza/Hamas reporting, Al Quds notes on an inside page that Hamas denies media reports that it has lost $300 million in investments in the Lehman Brothers Bank. Al Quds and Al Ayyam report on inside pages that Public Affairs Officer Micaela Schweitzer-Bluhm gave a presentation on U.S. elections at a gathering organized by the Palestinian democracy and human rights organization, Miftah in the West Bank city of Ramallah on October 21. Al Ayyam also reports that Schweitzer-Bluhm met and discussed U.S. elections with the Deputy Palestinian Authority Minister of Youth and Sports and Palestinian Young Leadership Council officials in Ramallah. Israeli military arrested a camera crew of the Ramallah-based Watan TV on October 21, according to an inside story in Al Quds. The journalists were covering attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinians in Kufr Qadum near the West Bank city of Qalqiliya, reporting noted, adding that Palestinian Authority Legislator Mustafa Barghouthi condemned the arrest. JERUSALEM 00001919 002 OF 002 The three papers report that Palestinian Authority (PA) Prime Minister Salam Fayyad joined the Italian Consul General on October 21 to sign an agreement for a major grant to the PA. Italy will provide 20 million Euros to the PA which will be spent in accordance with the "European-Palestinian mechanism;" the traditional method of aid distribution. -------------- BLOCK QUOTES: -------------- ¶1. Al Quds editorial is titled "Palestinians embrace their olives despite settler aggression" (10/22): "No one, regardless of his barbarism and cruelty, can separate the Palestinian from his olive tree, which he considers to be one of his sons... the world and so-called international community should not be satisfied to stand by and watch the hateful [Israeli] settler aggression prevent farmers from accessing olive groves and cause attacks, beatings and injuries. The international community must speak out loudly and condemn settlement activities, the settlers and demand the dismantling of settlements." ¶2. Columnist Hani Habib opines in Al Ayyam under the title "Rice responds to Fayyad" (10/22): "Mrs. Condoleezza Rice said with pride in an interview with the BBC that the Bush Administration was the one that placed the formation of a Palestinian state among the priorities for negotiations. Perhaps she was referring to the road map peace plan that has lost its way... Mrs. Rice ignored that the issue of the Palestinian state was proposed even before the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948. We refer here to the UN partition resolution of 1947... In her interview with the BBC, Rice finds a chance to reiterate... the possibility of reaching an Israeli-Palestinian agreement by the end of this year, as if she, once again, is refuting [Palestinian Authority Prime Minister] Fayyad's statements that Israel is to blame for blocking the peace process and [the negative effects of] the policy of settlement expansion... the American effort that Rice referred to, has done nothing but weaken the Palestinian [peace] partner." Walles