JERUSALEM MEDIA REACTION (04/06): PALESTINIANS: PEACE

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SUBJECT: JERUSALEM MEDIA REACTION (04/06): PALESTINIANS: PEACE
THROUGH THE TWO-STATE SOLUTION WITH JERUSALEM AS A SHARED CAPITAL

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Main Stories:
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Al-Quds leads with reports on the Israeli High Court's rejection of
legal challenges to eviction orders of two East Jerusalem
Palestinian families. All front pages note that the ruling comes
despite the presentation of Ottoman era documents that prove the
families' ownership of the land. Reporting adds that confrontations
took place on April 5 between "settlers" and residents of another
house under dispute in East Jerusalem, resulting in injury of three
Palestinians and arrest of the owner and his two brothers.
According to Palestinian Authority representative for Jerusalem
Affairs Hatem Abdul Qadir, the ruling indicates that the Israeli
High Court is not independent. Therefore, Palestinian authorities
will file future petitions in international courts, he explained.
The story follows two weeks of near-daily reporting on
Jerusalem-area Palestinian house evictions and demolitions by the
Jerusalem Municipality.

Al-Hayat Al-Jadida and Al-Ayyam lead with Palestinian Authority
President(PA) Abbas' visit to Iraq on April 5. According to reports
that also appear in Al-Quds' front page, Abbas met with Iraqi
President Talibani to discuss bilateral relations, Palestinian
national dialogue and the new Israeli Government. Abbas thanked
Iraq for its support of the Palestinian cause and papers highlight
that the visit is the first since 2003.

Al-Ayyam's front page reports on Netayahu's upcoming travel to the
U.S. to meet with President Obama on May 3. All dailies report that
U.S. Special Envoy Mitchell will visit the region soon, now that the
new Israeli government is in place. Al-Ayyam highlights that
Mitchell announced that the Arab Peace Initiative will be part of
Obama's Middle East policy and that the Administration is working on
a strategy to pitch the Initiative to the Israeli public. In
related news, Al-Hayat Al-Jadida's front page cites an AFP report
that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu announced that his government
will begin work on defense and peace policies.

Al-Quds' front page reports that Palestinian Authority(PA)President
Abbas will take steps to form a transitional government after unity
talks failed to provide agreement on the composition and political
platform of a new (PA) government. According to the report that
cites London-based Al-Hayat daily, the transitional government will
focus on Gaza reconstruction and preparations for presidential and
legislative elections in January 2010. Abbas will attempt to secure
the participation of Hamas and Islamic Jihad by including
representatives of various factions in the new government, reporting
concludes.

Al-Quds' and Al-Hayat Al-Jadida's front pages report on Israelis
"stealing" one of the largest decorative stones of the Islamic
Umayyad palaces located on the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem,
during their ongoing excavations under the compound. According to
reports quoting Islamic Waqf officials, the move is "very dangerous"
and they call on Moslems and international institutions charged with
protecting cultural patrimony to intervene and force the return the
stone.

In economic news, Al-Quds front pages news about the European
Commission's donation of $31,500,000 to the Palestinian Authority
(PA) Ministry of Finance to pay for salaries on April l6. Reporting
notes that payment to Gaza employees will be delayed by,
"restrictions on the transfer of funds," into Gaza. Meanwhile, all
dailies report on inside pages that the Ramallah-based Housing Bank

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for Trade and Finance has opened a new branch in Turmus Ayyah
village near Hebron. Speaking at the April 5 opening ceremony,
Palestine Monetary Authority Governor Al-Wazir noted that the new
branch will provide residents with better access to quality banking
services. --------------
WEEKEND STORIES:
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Sunday, April 5, 2009
The front pages carried several stories about clashes between
Palestinians and Israeli military. In Gaza, all papers highlight
the killing of two Al Qassam Brigades members and a teenage girl,
suspected of planning attacks on the Israeli border units. Separate
reporting highlights clashes between Israeli soldiers and
Palestinian and international activists who entered agricultural
land near the Israeli Karmitsur settlement in northern Hebron
Governorate. A third front page story ran the weekly update of
"scores of injuries" caused by tear gas, rubber bullets and
"beatings with guns" by Israeli military.

"An Israeli court supports settler control over Palestinian land,"
according to a front page headline in Al Quds. The paper explained
that in the landmark case, the Israeli military court ruled that
settlers cannot be evacuated from Palestinian-owned land if the
settlers can show that they have "used the land for agricultural
purposes for a specific period of time." The paper further noted
that the ruling means that the Israeli Army will not evacuate
settlers even when the Israeli Army itself has issued the evacuation
orders.

According to Al Ayyam's front page, the Jordanian Minister of
Interior denied that his government has any contract with Hamas.
The Minister explained that, "we do not interfere in Hamas' affairs
and we do not allow Hamas to interfere in ours."

Saturday, April 4, 2009
Al Quds' and Al Ayyam's front pages highlighted the U.N. Human
Rights Council's announcement of the appointment of Justice Richard
Goldstone, Chief Prosecutor of the U.N. International Criminal
Tribunals, to head an investigation into, "all violations of human
rights committed during the last Israeli aggression against Gaza
Strip." Reporting does note that violations by all groups will be
investigated.

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BLOCK QUOTES:
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1) Ibrahim Kandalaft, opines in Al-Quds independent daily under the
title, "Peace can be achieved through the establishment of an
independent Palestinian State"(04/06): "As Palestinians, we should
focus on the Palestinian cause and call on the international
community and the Middle East Quartet to enforce international
agreements and end the Israeli occupation in addition to announcing
the establishment of an independent, Palestinian state with
Jerusalem as its capital... the Middle East Quartet through the Road
Map, focuses on the establishment of two states without, specifying
clear borders or even a capital. Therefore, we should abide by King
Abdullah of Jordan's statements that peace cannot be achieved
between Palestinians and Israelis unless a Palestinian state is
established with Jerusalem as its capital."

2) Ghassan Zaqtan runs an editorial in Al-Ayyam independent daily
under the title, "The Palestine Liberation Organization"(04/06):
"It is not clear how unity talk participants are handling the PLO
question. What are they waiting for, before they take action to

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revitalize the PLO and pump new blood into its veins? PLO reform
has always been a political demand on the Palestinian political
scene. It did not first emerge after the recent conflict between
Hamas and Fatah... PLO reform should not be understood as a response
to Hamas'demands. Rather, the PLO needs to become a strong and
viable organization that is capable of change through the
introduction of a new, modern vision so that it can respond to
external changes at national, regional and international levels."

WALLES