JERUSALEM MEDIA REACTION (01/20): OBAMA's "ERA OF

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SUBJECT: JERUSALEM MEDIA REACTION (01/20): OBAMA's "ERA OF
DIALOGUE" BEGINS

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Main Stories:
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All papers lead with news of the reconciliation of Arab states at
the January 19 Kuwait Arab economic summit and reports on the
situation in Gaza. The three papers run lead photos of Arab leaders
at the summit. Al Quds runs a photo of Palestinian Authority
President Abbas at the summit next to a photo of a Gaza Palestinian
youth consoling an elderly man whose house has been destroyed. The
photos' caption reads, "the Arabs reconciled... and the catastrophe
continues in Gaza." All papers run inside reports on the "post-war"
shock experienced by Palestinians in Gaza, as they inspect their
destroyed houses. The three papers front page reports, citing news
agencies, that an Amnesty International arms expert has confirmed
that Israel used phosphorus bombs and further accused Israel of
committing war crimes against Gazan Palestinians.
The dailies report that most Israeli troops have left the Gaza Strip
ahead of the inauguration of President-elect Obama, and quote
Israeli sources saying that additional, if not all, forces will have
left the Gaza Strip before the inauguration. All papers dedicate
one or more inside pages to the inauguration of President-elect
Obama, and describe the event as a "historic". The papers add that
Obama's term begins with, "nervous hopes" for change. The papers
also comment that the Bush "evil axis" era will be succeeded by the
Obama era of "dialogue".

In Gaza reconstruction coverage, the three papers front page reports
that Saudi King Abdullah announced the end of Arab states' internal
division and pledged one billion dollars for Gaza reconstruction.
Al Quds quotes EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-
Waldner stating on January 19 that there are efforts underway to
hold a conference on Palestinian issues in Cairo next month. She
added that Hamas and Fatah need to end internal conflict before Gaza
reconstruction begins. Al Ayyam reports, citing AFP, that UN
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will visit Sderot, Israel and Gaza on
January 20. The paper quotes Ki-moon announcing that he will send a
needs assessment mission to Gaza to speed recovery there.
In ceasefire news coverage, Al Quds' front page quotes a senior
Egyptian official announcing on January 19 that Egypt is working on
ideas for the sustaining of a Gaza ceasefire. Those ideas will be
presented to Israel and Palestinian factions in Cairo on January 22,
according to coverage. The papers further report that Egypt's
Foreign Ministry spokesman Zaki denied, when speaking to AP on
January 19, that Egypt has any written agreement with Israel on
preventing arms smuggling into Gaza. Al Quds and Al Ayyam's front
pages report on a German proposal to begin assistance to Gaza,
followed by efforts to prevent arms smuggling to the Strip, and a
subsequent resumption of the peace process. Al Ayyam comments that
the German plan was announced by German Foreign Minister
Frank-Walter Steinmeier one day before the inauguration of
President-elect Obama and that the plan aims to stabilize the
ceasefire and aid the reconstruction of Gaza. Al Hayat Al Jadida's
front page cites news agencies in reporting that EU foreign
ministers will meet Israeli Foreign Minister Livni in Brussels on
January 20 and then meet their Palestinian, Jordanian and Turkish
counterparts on January 25 to discuss the ceasefire in Gaza.
The possibility of a new Palestinian national unity government grabs
front page headlines. Palestinian Authority (PA) President Abbas is
quoted in Al Quds and Al Ayyam calling on all Palestinian factions
to immediately convene in Egypt to reconcile and form a national
unity government. Al Quds and Al Ayyam run front page statements by
PA Premier Fayyad, warning parties not to treat Gaza as a separate
entity, which he considers, "an Israeli effort to end the
Palestinian cause." Fayyad also echoed Abbas' call on Palestinian

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factions to agree to a new national unity government, according to
reports. The front pages further note that AFP quoted Palestinian
Authority Ambassador to Egypt Nabil Amr announcing on January 19
that Arab states have agreed that Egypt, exclusively, will work on
Palestinian reconciliation efforts. Finally, Al Quds' reports that
"close aids" to French President Sarkozy, revealed that Europe would
be ready to recognize Hamas if it agreed to be part of a unity
government.

A public donation campaign to benefit Gazans, sponsored by the
USAID-supported Youth Development Resource Centers network under the
U.S. Palestinian Partnership (UPP) program in the West Bank,
receives positive coverage on inside pages of Al Hayat Al Jadida and
Al Ayyam. The donation drive was also featured on local radio
outlets and a daytime live report on Al Jazeera. --------------
WEEKEND NEWS:
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Sunday, January 11

All front pages headlined news that Israel declared a unilateral
ceasefire and would keep forces in the Gaza Strip. They highlight
remarks by Israeli Premier Olmert that Israel's goals had been met
and Hamas' ability to launch rockets "severely weakened." Olmert
promised Hamas that continued rocket attacks on Israel would draw a
military response whereas a halt to attacks would see the withdrawal
of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip, according to reporting.
Front pages also run Hamas statements by spokesman Fawzi Barhum
stating that, "Israel should stop its aggression, withdraw fully
from the Gaza Strip, lift the siege and reopen the crossing
points... Hamas remains strong and the resistance will continue..."


Front pages continued daily reporting on the rising death toll of
Gazans, the targeting of additional UN facilities, including schools
and the use of "highly lethal" weapons by Israel that, "melt away
the flesh leaving skeletons."

Al Hayat Al Jadida's front page headlined that Egypt's Foreign
Minister Abu Al Ghayt insisted on January 18 that Egypt has made no
commitments vis-`-vis the Israeli-American memorandum of
understanding regarding arms smuggling into Gaza. The paper notes
that Al Ghayt expressed, "the sharpest criticism of Israel since the
beginning of the aggression, "and runs the quotes, "the memorandum
seeks to impose control over the high seas and around the world, and
this is purely the concern of Israel and the U.S."

Saturday, January 10

All front pages gave an update on civilians killed in the previous
day's fighting and reported on discussion between Palestinian
President Abbas and Ban Ki-moon stressing the need for an immediate
ceasefire and exploring the possible deployment of an international
military force to the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile Al Quds and Al Ayyam's
front pages headlined that, "Gaza Summit calls for the suspension of
the Arab peace initiative, ending normalization with Israel, and
pursuing Israel in courts." The [Qatar] summit condemned the
Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip and Israel's refusal to
abide by UN Security Council Resolution number 1860, according to
coverage. Papers also reported that the Israeli office in Doha was
closed down and Mauritania announced the freezing of its diplomatic
relations with Israel. Finally, Palestinian Authority (PA)
spokesman Rahim publicly chided Qatar for noting the absence of PA
President Abbas, stating that, "the Prince of Qatar knows very well
that President Abbas was the first to accept the invitation to

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attend the Qatar Summit were a quorum established. However, when
such a quorum was not established..."
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BLOCK QUOTES:
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1) Al Quds editorial is titled, "Meet...and don't leave without an
agreement" (01/20): "[Palestinian Authority] President Mahmud Abbas
has called for a conference [for Palestinian unity] to include all
Palestinian factions, to be held in Egypt... Ismail Haniyah... has
also called for national reconciliation... Go to Cairo, Fatah,
Hamas, [Islamic]Jihad, Popular [Front for the Liberation of
Palestine], and all the other factional leaders and independents,
don't procrastinate, and leave narrow factional interests aside.
The remains of the homeland are calling you, and your patient
steadfast people will hold you accountable."

2) Muhannad Abdul Hamid demands in Al Ayyam under the title,
"Post-aggression questions" (01/20): "We should reconsider
the[Palestinian] negotiation policy that has yielded no positive
results and lost the Palestinian people's confidence... When we go
to the negotiation table and achieve nothing... does that not demand
that we change the nature of negotiations? We should employ some
pressure tactics, think of forms of protest, abstain from
negotiations, that is, attempt to change the political process that
is within our sphere of influence."

WALLES