JERUSALEM MEDIA REACTION (11/06): SPECULATION ON

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JERUSALEM 002000 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 (11/06): SPECULATION ON PRESIDENT-ELECT OBAMA'S MIDDLE EAST POLICIES -------------- Main Stories: -------------- The three papers lead with Barack Obama's election as U.S. President. Al Quds states that the world welcomes him while Al Ayyam notes that, "change has come to America." Al Hayat Al Jadida leads with comments by the King of Jordan and President of Egypt looking forward to Obama's contribution to solving the Palestinian question. Palestinian Authority President Abbas sends his congratulations and comments about looking forward to working with the new U.S. administration from Hungary where he is making an official visit. Statements by Consul General Jake Walles made during the Consulate General Jerusalem's November 5 official election gala event in Ramallah, run on Al Quds' front page and on an inside page of Al Ayyam. Walles noted that president-elect Obama is committed to the Middle East peace process and has visited Ramallah twice." Al Quds adds that Secretary Rice will present the new administration with a document outlining, "general principles for solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict." Al Ayyam's front page runs a report that president-elect Obama has offered the post of White House Chief of Staff to Rahm Emanuel, a "former Israeli Defense Forces officer" from Illinois. All front pages run reports on the November 5 Israeli military strike on Gaza, noting that the action calls into question the ceasefire with Hamas. The papers note that both Palestinian and Israeli officials have expressed concern that the five-month long ceasefire could be in jeopardy. Palestinian officials considered the November 4 Israeli incursion into Gaza to be, "a scandalous violation of the Egyptian-brokered ceasefire," while Israel's Defense Minister defends the action as aimed at destroying a tunnel constructed to abduct Israeli soldiers. The papers also report that Gaza groups fired off dozens of mortar shells and homemade projectiles at Israeli targets, injuring two women in Gaza. Finally, Hamas member Fawzi Barhum suggests, in the dailies, that Israel timed the November 5 attacks to coincide with the American presidential election, in hopes of keeping the action out of the spotlight. House demolitions and arrests by the Israeli military grab front page headlines in Al Quds and Al Ayyam, while front page photos of the bulldozers at work appear in Al Hayat Al Jadida and Al Ayaam. According to reports, Israel demolished two Palestinian homes in the central Gazan Strip and three Jerusalem-area houses and a public hall. Israeli military arrested 17 Palestinians and injured 17 others in Jerusalem on November 5, the reports detail. Al Quds' front page reports on the signing of a $30 million agreement between the Palestinian Authority (PA) and MIGA international to guarantee investments in the Palestinian Territories. In related economic reporting, PA Prime Minister Fayyad is quoted on Al Ayyam's front page hoping to direct more of the PA budget to development projects, after making all outstanding payments to PA employees and the private sector. Al Quds' front page runs an update on inter-Palestinian talks in Cairo. According to Fatah delegation chief, Nabil Shaath, talks will begin on November 10, with Palestinian Authority President Abbas, Arab League Secretary General Amr Musa and other Arab foreign ministers in attendance. Any resulting agreement would be JERUSALEM 00002000 002 OF 002 implemented after the Eid Al Adha holiday in early December. -------------- BLOCK QUOTES: -------------- 1) Al Quds' editorial runs under the title, "Obama made a miraculous victory: Can he live up to the expectations?" (11/06): "The most important thing to us is his [Obama's] stand regarding the [Palestinian] issue, means to establish a Palestinian state and finding a solution to the conflict that has continued in the Middle East for many decades... We should not ask an American President to do what we ourselves are not doing. We need to learn from the power of the Jewish lobby in America [how to leverage influence]... We do not want to have unrealistic dreams and illusions, but we do believe that the chances for change will be greater during Obama's term." 2) Mohamad Abdulla opines in Al Quds under the title, "Barack Obama won't stray from American strategic interests"(11/06): "Obama will not be the sole decision maker in the American Administration, as there are lobbying organizations and apparatus that will restrain his actions and monitor his positions... at the end of the day, he will have to take positions and make policies that result from developments in the American and international arenas." Walles