JERUSALEM MEDIA REACTION (07/27): Palestinians seek deeper

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 JERUSALEM 001280 SIPDIS STATE PASS BBG STATE FOR NEA, NEA/IPA, NEA/PPD WHITE HOUSE FOR PRESS OFFICE, SIT ROOM NSC 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 (07/27): Palestinians seek deeper US involvement in East Jerusalem -------------- Main Stories: -------------- Al-Quds and Al-Hayat Al-Jadida lead with and Al-Ayyam carries front page news on US Special Envoy George Mitchell's visit to the region. The report covers Mitchell's visit to Syria on July 26, including his meeting with President Bashar Assad. Mitchell called on Arab states to take steps that will build trust with Israel and reiterated that the US is serious about achieving a comprehensive and lasting peace between Israel and the Arab states. Mitchell stated that the purpose of his visit to Syria was to discuss the prospects for achieving a comprehensive peace in the region and enhancing relations between the US and Syria. Mitchell noted that discussions with Assad were "very candid and positive." President Assad noted that Syria must regain control of its occupied territories in the Golan Heights in order to achieve comprehensive peace in the region, according to coverage. The political and media advisor to President Assad, Buthaina Shaban, noted that "the messages we continue to receive from President Obama prove how serious he is about opening a new chapter with Syria and achieving peace and security in the region." Al-Quds runs separate front page coverage of a report in the Israeli daily Haaretz that US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reportedly noted during a meeting with European Union foreign ministers last week that Israel and the US are very close to an agreement on a temporary settlements freeze. Per the report, a senior Israeli official tated that Secretary Clinton told the EU foreign ministers that she is "optimistic" about the possibility of reaching an agreement with Israel concerning settlements, noting that this would be the first time Israel has agreed to such a step. Al-Ayyam runs front page coverage on the Israeli Government endorsing the allocation of approximately NIS 25 million for the construction and development of settlements in the West Bank. The decision was made on July 26, before the arrival of US officials to the region, according to the report. All dailies report on "settlers" attacking and demolishing a Palestinian house located in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem on July 26 with protection from the Israeli police. The police arrested Hatem Abdul Qader, the head of the Fatah Jerusalem Affairs Committee, and 11 foreigners who were protesting the attack. The police also blocked the press and a US Consulate General Political Officer from approaching the scene. The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Mohammed Hussein, noted following the incident that Jerusalemites do not need any more statements from the US, but rather they want the US to take serious measures and raise the issue in the UN Security Council, adding that "Palestinians will take notice how the US responds regarding Sheikh Jarrah." News on the Sixth Fatah Party Congress, scheduled to begin August 4 in Bethlehem, receives front page coverage in the three dailies. Al-Ayyam quotes the head of the Fatah parliamentary block Azzam Al-Ahmad noting on July 26 that Hamas is requesting the release of all Hamas prisoners in the West Bank before it will allow Fatah members residing in Gaza to attend the conference in the West Bank. Al-Ahmad criticized this Hamas policy and noted that Fatah should not give in to this "blackmail." -------------- Weekend Stories: -------------- JERUSALEM 00001280 002 OF 003 Sunday July 26: All dailies front page news that the US is intensifying its efforts to find a solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict. The efforts also aim to resume indirect negotiations between Syria and Israel. Reports note an announcement by a senior Palestinian official that U.S. National Security Advisor James Jones will meet with Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas Thursday in Ramallah. The official, who spoke to AFP under condition of anonymity, added that Jones will meet with President Abbas and PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad on his first visit to the Palestinian territories since assuming office. The Palestinian official considered the visits by Jones and Special Envoy Mitchell a "confirmation of the American administration's great interest in the Palestinian question and the resolution of the Palestinian and Arab-Israeli conflict." Al-Quds runs front page news on the Israeli Central Court decision to give the owners of six houses in the Jerusalem neighbourhood of Beit Safafa one week to evacuate their homes and hand them over to a settler from the West Bank settlement of Kiryat Arba (near Hebron). The settler claims he purchased one of the homes in 1993 from an Armenian who moved to the United States. Homeowner Mohammad Salah told Al Quds newspaper that the family was surprised that the court decision called for the evacuation of all six homes, rather than the single home the settler claimed as his. Reporting notes that the decision was not based on this individual claim, but rather the Israeli desire to evacuate the area to expand the nearby Givat HaMatos settlement. Al Quds, Al Ayyam, and Al Hayat Al Jadida front page news on PA Prime Minister Fayyad's statement that the time of "disregarding court decisions has gone for good," confirming that all decisions and verdicts issued by the Palestinian High Court have been implemented. Fayyad said in a statement that "the independence of the judiciary, strengthening of its status and respect, and implementation of all its decisions is a red line that cannot be overstepped by anyone," and added "the PA, as it works diligently to build a state of institutions, reiterates its utmost desire to separate the three powers and to implement all court decisions." Saturday July 25: All dailies lead with news on US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announcing the transfer of $200 million in direct support to the PA's budget. The announcement came during a signing ceremony held through videoconference with the participation of Secretary Clinton from Washington, DC, and Prime Minister Fayyad, PA Minister of Planning Ali Jarbawi, US Consul General Jake Walles and USAID Mission Director Howard Sumka from the Council of Ministers' headquarters in Ramallah. Dr. Fayyad stressed that the direct transfer to the Palestinian treasury is an indicator of international confidence in the Palestinian financial system and called on other donors to follow the same approach. Secretary of State Clinton said "I want to underscore how much we appreciate the steps and changes that your government has undertaken." She continued by expressing her support for the reforms that were started two years ago by President Abbas and Prime Minister Fayyad, and urged other donors to fulfil their pledges of assistance, noting that the PA has "systems in place to ensure that donor funds are handled transparently and in an accountable manner." The dailies cite Israeli sources saying that the US warned the Israeli government not to implement the "E1" project to expand the JERUSALEM 00001280 003 OF 003 Maale Adumim settlement, thus connecting it with Jerusalem. Palestinians and some Israeli organizations say that this would effectively divide the West Bank into two parts and isolate Jerusalem completely from the West Bank. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged during his election campaign to implement the project. Reports state that implementation of the project was part of the agreement that Netanyahu struck to include Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman's Yisrael Beitenu (Israel is Our Home) party in his governing coalition. The US has expressed its opposition to the project and asked Netanyahu "to refrain from imposing facts on the ground until such time that an agreement is concluded that would settle the legal status of East Jerusalem." Al Quds front pages news on a senior PA official denying a July 24 report published by an Israeli research center regarding the PA's risk of "collapse" and "bankruptcy" as a result of its continued financial crisis. The official, who spoke under condition of anonymity, accused the Israeli media of "seeking to cause damage to the PA's reputation and to portray the PA as fragile and unreliable for political and security considerations." While the official acknowledged that the PA has been suffering from a severe financial crisis for months now and urged donors to come through with their pledges of assistance, the official vehemently denied any risk of collapse or bankruptcy. -------------- BLOCK QUOTES: -------------- 1) Al-Quds independent daily runs an editorial under the title, "So that the International Community doesn't fail again" (07/27): "The peace process cannot be re-launched if the US does not cooperate with the international community and with the Middle East Quartet to implement the two state solution, including all of Israel's obligations (and mainly the cessation of settlement activity). It is time for Europe and Russia to play a vital role to support the US in its efforts to achieve peace in the region." 2) Omar Hilmi Al-Ghoul opines in Al-Ayyam independent daily under the title "What is the significance of extensive US diplomacy?" (07/27): "It is obvious that the US is not ready to waste more time like previous administrations ... Obama's administration will try to persuade Netanyahu of a settlement freeze and reduce restrictions imposed on the Palestinians ... The US diplomatic effort is not done at random, but is very well studied and planned and shows that President Obama knows what he wants from all the involved parties." WALLES