VZCZCXRO7727
OO RUEHROV
DE RUEHJM #0647/01 1061010
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 151010Z APR 08
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1199
RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHDC
RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NSC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RUEKJCS/DIA WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUEADWD/DA WASHINGTON DC//DAS-ZD/DACS-ZK//
RUEAHQA/CSAF WASHINGTON DC//POLAD//
RHMFIUU/CMC WASHINGTON DC
RUENAAA/CNO WASHINGTON DC//POLAD//
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE
RUEHTU/AMEMBASSY TUNIS 7063
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 4054
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 3910
RUEHNC/AMEMBASSY NICOSIA 5408
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME 3818
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 2383

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JERUSALEM 000647 
 
SIPDIS 
 
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 (04/15): PALESTINIAN GRATITUDE TO 
EGYPT 
 
 
------------- 
Main Stories: 
------------- 
Photos of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation signing 
ceremony on April 14 in Ramallah are the lead photos on all front 
pages.  Positive coverage of the $500 million housing mortgage loan 
program follows with excerpts of remarks by Palestinian President 
Abbas noting that, "the modern state is built of several basic 
components of which security and the economy are the most 
important."  Abbas added more political commentary, insisting that, 
"there are no issues to be delayed in negotiations, and we are 
making every effort to achieve a truce [with Israel] and end the 
[Gaza] siege." 
 
Official daily, Al-Hayat Al-Jadida runs a large photo of a confident 
Palestinian President Abbas chairing a meeting with relaxed 
Palestinian Authority ministers and a smiling Prime Minister Fayyad 
on an inside page.  All dailies cover the story of Abbas attendance 
at the meeting.  Al Quds front page reports that Abbas asserted in 
statements to the press that the Fayyad Government, "enjoys the full 
support and backing" of the Presidency. Other front-page articles 
carry remarks from an April 14 Ramallah press conference by Minister 
of Foreign Affairs and Information Riad Malki, in which he confirms 
that Abbas conveyed to Fayyad his full confidence in the Government. 
 Malki added that Abbas urged ministers not to heed criticism by a 
few voices, mostly motivated by personal agendas.  Malki concluded 
that Abbas recalled similar difficulties and pressures that he had 
to deal with when he was prime minister.  Finally, Al Quds front 
page alludes internal Fatah power struggles in a quote by Fatah 
member Qadora Faris asserting that, "the Fatah crisis is an internal 
one and has nothing to do with Fayyad's government." 
 
 
Positive coverage on the agreement between the Palestinian 
Government and the public employees union continues.  The reporting 
notes that the government will pay a 50% increase in salaries as 
well as back-pay in exchange for an end to the threat of strikes. 
Teachers who conducted a recent strike will not be docked pay, the 
coverage concluded. 
 
The visit of former president Carter continues to capture front-page 
headlines.  The dailies run a Reuters report, highlighting comments 
by Carter that discussions with Syria and Hamas should be part of 
any future peace agreement. 
 
The dailies report that Afif Safia, previous head of the PLO mission 
in Washington, has been reassigned as Palestinian Authority 
ambassador to Russia. 
 
The meeting between Israeli Foreign Minister Livni and other Arab 
leaders and officials in Qatar is still front page news.  The papers 
report that Livni met with the Omani foreign minister for the first 
time and commented on April 14 that, "the Gaza Strip is an obstacle 
to the establishment of a Palestinian State." In other Gaza news, 
the dailies report that Israel has decided to resume delivery of 
fuel to Gaza and that UNRWA has begun cash assistance to Gaza 
families. 
 
The front page of Al-Quds cites a Reuters story about an opinion 
poll showing that the Arab world has a "black" view of the United 
States.  According to the poll conducted by Maryland University, 80% 
of interviewees had a negative image of the US.   Interviewees 
included 4,000 residents of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Morocco, Jordan, 
Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates.  The poll also showed that 
 
JERUSALEM 00000647  002 OF 002 
 
 
most of Arabs interviewed do not consider Iran to be the greatest 
enemy of the US, and showed greater approval for Hamas than Fatah. 
Most interviewed viewed Fatah as "backed by the US." 
 
------------ 
BLOCK QUOTES: 
------------ 
¶1.  Al-Quds independent carries an op-ed entitled, "Egypt's 
security, its control and authority over its territory is a red line 
[non-negotiable] for Palestinians" by Palestinian National Council 
Member Hatem Abu Shaban (4/15):  Lately, we have been hearing 
strange noises from Palestinian groups calling for a breach and 
invasion of the international border between Egypt and Palestine, 
claiming that this is the way to end the siege imposed on Gaza.... 
Egypt was and still is a warm [hospitable] place for Palestinians in 
general, specifically for Gazans.  Egypt has protected Gaza for a 
long time and defended it and its national rights in many battles 
and military confrontations and has fought for Palestinian rights in 
the international arena. Palestinians... will never be able to repay 
even the smallest part of what Egypt has done for them...  Everyone 
should recognize that Egypt's territorial sovereignty and its 
security is a red line [non-negotiable] for Palestinians and we will 
not allow anyone to overstep this line for any reason." 
¶2.  Independent Al-Ayyam carries an op-ed entitled, "The 
independence that causes a catastrophe!" (4/15):  "Two totally 
contradictory things: catastrophe and independence; one a day for 
sadness and the other for happiness; poverty and riches; a strong 
economy and a very fragile one; huge military arsenals and nuclear 
bombs...  Palestine is disappearing while Israel is rising.  Israel 
is superior in many things, but the Palestinians are supreme in one 
thing:  asking for their legitimate rights in the face of an Israeli 
colonial power... is it possible to adjust the balance between the 
two contradictions to escape the elimination of a ...powerless 
people by a powerful state?  This question has been asked for the 
past 60 years and Israel's answer is always: no." 
Walles