VZCZCXRO5329
OO RUEHROV
DE RUEHJM #1444/01 2200844
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 070844Z AUG 08
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 2430
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 7252
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 4241
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 4094
RUEHNC/AMEMBASSY NICOSIA 5588
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME 4006
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 2575

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JERUSALEM 001444 
 
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 (8/07):  A call for public and 
civil society action 
 
------------- 
Main Stories: 
------------- 
 
The summit between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and 
Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas on August 6 in 
Jerusalem dominates the front pages of the dailies.  The headlines 
in all three dailies announce that Abbas and Olmert confirmed their 
intention to keep meeting and negotiating, and that Israel has 
decided to release 150 Palestinian prisoners on August 25.  The 
headline in Al-Hayat Al-Jadida also adds, "Israeli sources confirmed 
that the release of the Fatah leader Marwan Al-Barghouthi is amongst 
the options," but noted that no decisions have been taken yet in 
this regard.  In its coverage, Al-Ayyam quotes Palestinian Chief 
Negotiator Sa'eb Erekat as having said, after the Abbas-Olmert 
meeting on August 6 in Jerusalem, that Israel agreed in principle to 
resolve the issue of the 22,000 Palestinian residents without 
identity cards and agreed to issue one thousand permits to those 
living abroad without identity cards to return to the Palestinian 
Territories to get their cards. 
 
All dailies express outrage over a "dangerous precedent" set by the 
Israeli Supreme Court in its decision, announced on Israeli radio on 
August 6, that the PA does not have immunity against compensation 
lawsuits filed by Israelis. The Israeli Supreme Court thus 
overturned a previous decision, issued by the Israeli Central Court 
in Jerusalem in 2006, that the Palestinian Authority is considered a 
state and is thus immune from lawsuits.  The Israeli Supreme Court's 
decision came in response to an appeal filed by a religious school 
at the Alon Moreiya settlement, requesting the implementation of 
another court's decision against a "Palestinian Authority person" 
regarding a land case. 
 
Coverage in all dailies highlights that on August 6, Israel released 
five Palestinian prisoners according to the prisoner's exchange deal 
agreed to on July 16 with Hezbollah.  The lead photo in Al-Quds 
shows the released prisoners walking towards a checkpoint in 
Tulkarem and a smaller front-page photo in Al-Ayyam shows them 
making a "V" sign for victory.  In other coverage, Al-Ayyam and 
Al-Hayat Al-Jadida write that on August 6, Israel released Hamas 
members Adli Ya'ish and Issa Al-Ja'bari, following the payment of 
7000 NIS in bail. 
 
Al-Quds, citing the official Palestine News Agency WAFA, writes that 
the EU announced on August 6 that it has pledged 14.7 million euros 
to assist the Palestinian government in paying the salaries of 
approximately 74,000 employees. 
 
Al-Quds reports that in a statement issued on August 6, Hamas 
announced that it would allow the reopening of all the civil 
institutions that were closed in the wake of the Gaza beach 
explosion.  In related coverage, the leader of Islamic Jihad 
reportedly said in an interview with the Qatar-based Al-Sharq 
Al-Qatariya newspaper published on August 6 that there are intensive 
efforts ongoing to release the prisoners arrested by Fatah and 
Hamas. 
 
Al-Ayyam and Al-Hayat Al-Jadida report that in a statement issued by 
his office on August 6, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak ordered 
the demolition of the house of Hisham Abu Dheim, who executed the 
attack against the Jewish religious institute Merkaz Harav in West 
Jerusalem in March 2008 in which 8 Israelis were killed and 10 
injured.  Abu Dheim's house is located in the Jabal Al-Mukabber 
neighborhood in East Jerusalem. 
 
JERUSALEM 00001444  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
Citing an AFP story, Al-Ayyam and Al-Hayat Al-Jadida relate that 
according to a statement by the Israeli human rights organization 
B'Tselem, the Israeli military discharged the Israeli soldier who 
gave the order to shoot a Palestinian with his hands tied behind his 
back in Ni'lin village near Ramallah on July 7. 
 
 
------------ 
BLOCK QUOTES: 
------------ 
 
¶1. Independent Al-Quds runs an editorial entitled, "Where is the 
role of the public...?" (8/07): "The tragic situation in which we 
[Palestinians] live is characterized by three signs: 
- The first sign is the destructive bloody conflict for authority 
and the preference of narrow group interests over the public 
national interests. 
 
- The second is the absence of true leadership capable of imposing 
its decisions and respect...and of convincing the public to accept 
its opinions. 
 
- The third sign: the near-total absence of the role of the public 
and civil society at a time when we are in need of such a role. 
 
Why don't the angry public ... [and] the civil society...that talks 
about human rights...and the political organizations that are 
standing between Fatah and Hamas...take action?  This is the time to 
work, and this is the time to show capacities and qualifications to 
act before we drown in the catastrophe we are facing ... We suggest 
or request everyone to take action...starting in Ramallah and the 
Gaza Strip ... All negative criticism and vain expressions of pain 
should stop.  The public should act and tell all these fighters 
[Fatah and Hamas] to stop and fear God ... We should not allow the 
slaughter of the remains of our [Palestinian] cause and of our 
homeland while we sit and watch...!!!" 
 
WALLES