VZCZCXRO1722
OO RUEHROV
DE RUEHJM #1188/01 1900955
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 080955Z JUL 08
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 2036
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 7195
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 4180
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 4033
RUEHNC/AMEMBASSY NICOSIA 5531
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME 3949
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 2514

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JERUSALEM 001188 
 
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 (7/08): "A COMPREHENSIVE DEAL OR 
COMPREHENSIVE WAR?" 
 
------------- 
Main Stories: 
------------- 
The visit of Palestinian Authority President Mahmud Abbas to 
Damascus leads coverage for a second day in all dailies.  On July 7, 
Abbas briefed Fatah leaders on the current situation in the 
Palestinian Territories, the Hamas/Israel truce in the Gaza Strip 
and on his initiative to launch a comprehensive, national dialogue, 
papers report.  Palestinian sources described the Fatah meetings as, 
"positive, constructive and focused on internal reunification." 
Islamic Jihad leader Abdullah Shalah told Abbas during a meeting in 
Damascus that internal dialogue is a national responsibility that 
requires Arab involvement to bring Hamas and Fatah closer together, 
the reporting continues.  Abbas also discussed Hamas' suggestions 
for internal Palestinian talks with Syrian President Al-Assad, 
coverage notes.  Finally, Hamas leader Mash'al asked Secretary 
General of the Arab League Musa in a letter on July 7 to "intervene 
and explore" with Abbas possible common denominators among the 
parties on which to build internal Palestinian dialogue. 
 
Front pages reveal that Palestinian Authority (PA) Premier Salaam 
Fayyad presented "practical ideas" to end internal division 
according at a July 7 PA ministerial session.  Deploying Arab 
security forces to the Gaza Strip is the only idea revealed in the 
reports. 
 
All dailies carry front page reports about Israel's "declaration of 
war" on Hamas charities in the West Bank. On July 8, Israeli Defense 
Forces "invaded" Nablus city in the West Bank and, "burst into a 
number of charitable societies which the Israeli soldiers claimed to 
be infrastructure for Hamas," the dailies note.  Al-Hayat Al-Jadida 
leads with a large photo of a veiled woman standing amid the debris 
of a ransacked charity office in Nablus.  Israeli Defense Forces 
closed four of these charities for the next four years, reporting 
continues. 
 
The Hamas/Israel truce in the Gaza Strip continues to hold despite 
Israeli violations, especially the refusal by Israel to allow for 
the entry of goods and food into Gaza, according to Hamas leader 
Al-Zahhar in a July 7 radio interview quoted by all dailies.  In 
separate coverage, Al-Quds and Al-Hayat Al-Jadida highlight that 
Egypt has "vigorously" called upon Israel to honor its commitment to 
the truce with Hamas.  Former Hamas Premier Haniyyah confirmed that 
a Hamas delegation will head to Cairo on July 8 to discuss the truce 
and the reopening of the crossing points into the Gaza Strip, the 
two papers conclude. 
 
Al-Hayat Al-Jadida covers news about the July 6 arrest of Israeli 
settlers who "tortured" a man from a village near Hebron.  The 
newspaper's front page shows a picture the Palestinian victim with 
signs of torture on his body. 
 
Front pages make a brief announcement that Germany will give 20 
million Euros in emergency assistance to the Palestinian Territories 
to address, "deteriorating conditions" and provide the Gaza Strip 
with electricity. 
 
------------ 
BLOCK QUOTES: 
------------ 
 
¶1.  Independent Al-Quds prints its main, daily editorial under the 
title, "The Special importance of Abu Mazin's Visit to Damascus" 
(7/08): "...Abu Mazin met with a number of leaders from different 
 
JERUSALEM 00001188  002 OF 002 
 
 
Palestinian factions, but did not meet with any Hamas leaders, most 
notably, Hamas leader Khalid Misha'al.  The reasons seems obvious... 
because Hamas has controlled the Gaza Strip for more than a year now 
through military force...some media sources note that Misha'al 
handed President Al-Assad a document in which he laid out the 
foundation for [internal Palestinian] dialogue, and [Al-Asad] must 
have discussed it with Abu Mazin... In view of the anticipated 
meeting between Misha'al and Al-Assad, we expect that things will be 
clearer soon... We hope that the results will be positive and that 
Abbas' visit will contribute to...  ending the destructive 
[internal] division that we are experiencing in our country already 
destroyed by the occupation..." 
 
¶2.  Independent Al-Ayyam runs its daily editorial by Hani Al-Masri 
entitled, "The Winds of Truce in the Region:  Prelude to a 
Comprehensive Deal or Comprehensive War?" (7/08):  "There are lots 
of indications to suggest that the region is witnessing a 
region-wide truce similar to the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli 
[truce]... [indications include] on-going Palestinian-Israeli 
negotiations despite their having reached a dead-end, the talk about 
[the two parties] reaching an agreement before the end of the year, 
... the on-going truce in the Gaza Strip despite mutual 
violations... on-going Israeli-Syrian negotiations... on-going 
discussions about the Iranian nuclear issue...  Is this truce an 
introduction to a comprehensive deal between the United States of 
America and Iran in which Washington recognizes the regional role of 
Iran if the latter will give up its ambitions to have nuclear 
weapons?  Or, ...is this truce an Israeli- American attempt to 
marginalize the other parties in the Middle East?...It is hard to 
decide what is more likely - the comprehensive deal or the 
comprehensive war. What is certain, is that the direction of things 
[towards a deal or a war] will be clear by the end of this year, 
that is, at the end of Bush's presidency". 
 
Walles