JERUSALEM MEDIA REACTION (05/27): PALESTINIANS: "MEEK U.S.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JERUSALEM 000853 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 (05/27): PALESTINIANS: "MEEK U.S. RESPONSE TO ISRAELI VIOLATIONS" -------------- Main Stories: -------------- A May 26 interview of senior Fatah official Ahmad Quray with Israeli daily Haaretz leads Al Quds coverage. All front pages run the interview during which Quray reiterates Palestinian Authority opposition to starting negotiations with Israel "from scratch," an idea proposed by Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, according to Quray. Quray also stresses that in any final agreement, settlements, East Jerusalem and historic sites must be subject to Palestinian rule ("sovereignty"). He also repeated that Palestinians will not recognize Israel as a Jewish state. Al-Hayat Al-Jadida leads with Palestinian Authority President Abbas' meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Harper in Ottawa on May 26. Abbas noted that all settlements are "illegal and illegitimate." The Wafa article also summarizes Abbas' statements before the Canadian-Palestinian parliamentary committee where he called on Israel to halt settlement activities and dismantle West Bank settlement outposts, stressing that both activities are destroying chances for regional peace. Al-Ayyam and Al-Hayat Al-Jadida run separate front page coverage of comments by Canadian Foreign Minister Cannon highlighting Canadian Government opposition to settlement expansion and support for the two-state solution. Al-Quds runs an inside page cartoon showing President Obama declaring his support for the two-state solution, as settlement construction crowds in around him. In related news, Al-Hayat Al-Jadida's front page cites AFP in reporting about Israeli Premier Netanyahu's intends to dismantle West Bank outposts in the hopes of gaining U.S. agreement on "natural growth" expansion. According to coverage, Netanyahu is also seeking U.S. support in countering the Iranian nuclear threat. Al-Quds' front page and Al-Ayyam's inside page reports on a British convoy arriving to Gaza on May 26 with several tons of medical supplies and advanced medical equipment for Gaza hospitals. Hamas officials received the convoy and expressed their appreciation for the gesture, according to coverage. -------------- BLOCK QUOTES: -------------- 1) Al-Quds independent daily runs an editorial under the title, "All settlements are illegitimate, not only outposts"(05/27): "What the international community must realize is that no peace agreement will ever be reached between Palestinians and Israelis as long as one single Israeli settlement still exists in the Palestinian Territories, regardless of its size, its purpose or location... When Israelis talk about dismantling outposts and whether or not they are licensed, they are only seeking to... deflect the international community's attention away from the large, problematic settlements which continue to expand every day. Everyone should know that all settlement activities are illegal and illegitimate. There is nothing legal about building settlements on other people's land." 2) Regular Columnist Omar Hilmi Al-Ghul opines in Al-Hayat Al-Jadida official daily under the title, "Will the visit have any effect on Obama?"(05/27): "The two leaders [Abbas and Obama] will find common ground during the upcoming trip of [Palestinian Authority] President Abbas to Washington, since Obama is serious about all previous commitments. Abbas' problem doesn't lie in Obama's continuous statements [of support], but rather in the absence of effective U.S. intervention that will halt Israeli attacks such as Jerusalem home demolitions, settlements, and the occupation... Abbas' problem is JERUSALEM 00000853 002 OF 002 Main Stories: -------------- American patience and tolerance of Israeli violations. His problem is meek U.S. response to Israeli violations... WALLES