VZCZCXRO6289
OO RUEHROV
DE RUEHJM #1471/01 2210934
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 080934Z AUG 08
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 2462
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 7254
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 4243
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 4096
RUEHNC/AMEMBASSY NICOSIA 5590
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME 4009
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 2577

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 JERUSALEM 001471 
 
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 (8/08): Frustration at lack of 
tangible results from Israeli-Palestinian talks 
 
------------- 
Main Stories: 
------------- 
 
Israeli actions in Jerusalem and the West Bank on August 7 dominate 
the front pages of the three dailies. All dailies lead with news 
about Israel's decision, announced by the Israeli Ministry of the 
Interior on August 7, to establish 400 housing units in the Nave 
Ya'kov settlement in East Jerusalem.  This project was reportedly 
approved by the Jerusalem Municipality on March 10, according to an 
AFP report cited in Al-Quds.  The dailies also report that Israel 
has submitted bids to establish another 416 units in two settlements 
near Bethlehem.  Al-Ayyam's lead headline reads, "Israel decides to 
establish 816 housing units in three settlement neighborhoods in 
occupied Jerusalem," while Al-Hayat Al-Jadida's headline states, 
"Israel allows the establishment of hundreds of settlement housing 
units in Jerusalem."  In other related coverage, all dailies report 
on an incident that occurred during a peaceful demonstration against 
the separation barrier in Ni'lin village, near Ramallah, on August 
¶7.  Israeli soldiers reportedly tried to stop the protest by 
attacking the demonstrators, injuring eight, including one French 
demonstrator.   The soldiers also arrested four others, including 
two Israeli peace activists and one French national.  The 
demonstrators reportedly retaliated by threatening the drivers of 
the Israeli bulldozers [working on the separation barrier] and 
forcing them to flee.  The dailies also report on a series of 
Israeli incursions into the West Bank on August 7, stating that 
Israeli soldiers "invaded" the city of Jenin and the refugee camp 
there, as well as a restaurant in Ramallah, various houses in 
Hebron, and a taxi office in Tulkarem.  Israeli soldiers also 
reportedly arrested seven Palestinians from the West Bank, and 
Israeli settlers in Hebron are said to have violated the Al-Ras 
Mosque by placing garbage in front of the its gate.  Finally, the 
British Foreign Ministry reported in a statement on August 7 that 
Israeli settlers attacked a British diplomatic delegation. No 
injuries were reported in that incident. 
 
The three dailies highlight that the Palestinian Prime Minister, 
Salam Fayyad, called for the formation of a temporary transitional 
national reconciliation government during his meeting with the 
Secretaries General of Fatah in the West Bank on August 7.  Al-Hayat 
Al-Jadida cites an AFP report stating that Fayyad would not 
necessarily run this government [note: it is unclear, from the 
report, whether Fayyad himself suggested this].  The same article 
quotes Fayyad as saying that the aim of this government would be to 
achieve homeland unity.  During the meeting, Fayyad reportedly 
reiterated his call for the Palestinian people to support 
Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas in his national 
dialogue initiative. 
 
Al-Ayyam and Al-Quds, citing AFP and agencies, write that the leader 
of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, promised to release the Fatah prisoners 
arrested by Hamas in the wake of the Gaza beach explosion on July 
¶25.  Haniyeh reportedly made this announcement during his meeting 
with the Public Monitoring and Freedom Committee in the Gaza Strip 
on August 7, and on the same occasion also promised to reopen the 
institutions closed by Hamas and to implement the rule of law.   In 
related coverage in Al-Quds, the former Ministry of the Interior 
[under Hamas control, in Gaza] is said to have released more than 
150 Fatah members, including the Governor of Middle Gaza, once it 
was satisfied that these individuals were not involved in the July 
25th explosion.  Al-Ayyam carries a similar story, but citing AFP, 
writes that 140 prisoners were released. 
 
 
JERUSALEM 00001471  002 OF 003 
 
 
All dailies cite an AFP report about the new and strict Israeli 
procedures that have been put in place to limit the movements of 
bulldozer drivers.  According to a 24-year-old Jerusalemite 
[Palestinian] bulldozer driver working in West Jerusalem, he cannot 
operate the bulldozer unless an Israeli policeman is present, and if 
he wants to cross the road or change direction, he needs to inform 
the policeman; otherwise, any mistake he commits will "cost him his 
life." 
 
Al-Ayyam covers news that the U.S.-based Human Rights Watch called 
for a reduction in the amount of aid provided to Israel, in order to 
avoid financially supporting the establishment and expansion of 
Israeli settlements. 
 
------------ 
BLOCK QUOTES: 
------------ 
 
¶1. Independent Al-Quds runs its daily editorial entitled, "Another 
Palestinian-Israeli summit but...!" (8/08): "Palestinian Authority 
(PA) President Mahmoud Abbas met with the Israeli Premier, Ehud 
Olmert, in a series of organized meetings between the two sides [on 
August 6]. As usual, the new meeting did not include any positive or 
serious Israeli steps towards what is referred to as 'building 
confidence between the two sides,' even if there are reports about 
Olmert's intention to agree to the release of 150 Palestinian 
prisoners in the next couple of weeks, if the Israeli side fulfills 
this promise and does not create obstacles or make delays as usual 
... The question here is about the priority of issues in the 
Palestinian-Israeli meetings.  It is known that the Israeli side is 
running away from finding a solution to the main final status issues 
and that the negotiations have not achieved any progress in this 
regard, according to declarations by the negotiators themselves. 
So, why aren't the current Israeli procedures, such as settlement 
activities, house demolitions, checkpoints, and the 'siege' on the 
Gaza Strip, not dealt with in these meetings...?  The Palestinian 
people requests that these issues be activated and discussed with 
seriousness, not only with the Israeli side...but on all 
international levels-the International [sic] Security Council...the 
International Court of Justice in The Hague, and the War Crimes 
Tribunal, because the events taking place in Palestine are a kind of 
collective punishment affecting all [the Palestinian] people and the 
international community should place a limit on this in view of its 
human and legal responsibility.  What should take place, and what is 
expected from these Israeli-Palestinian meetings and summits, is not 
that they take place to prove that the peace process is still 
alive...but to get results that will improve people's living 
conditions and give them a sense of peace and security.  This has 
not yet been achieved although these meetings have been going on for 
almost a year." 
 
¶2. Independent Al-Ayyam runs an editorial by Rajab Abu Sirriyyeh 
entitled, "The light at the end of the tunnel" (8/08): "...the late 
Yasser Arafat was always saying that there was a light at the end of 
the tunnel, not to make people optimistic at times of depression, 
but because he saw that life does not stop and that the Palestinian 
people's desires cannot be suppressed, regardless of military power 
... The [Israeli-Hamas] truce has held in the Gaza Strip for one and 
a half months despite Israel's lack of commitment to provide Gaza 
with the necessary food and goods.  The past three weeks have not 
witnessed any Palestinian response to the Israeli violations and 
this indicates that coexistence and control of internal security 
matters are possible ... When Palestinians agree on a method of 
coexistence with their neighbors [Israelis] and when they accept 
 
JERUSALEM 00001471  003 OF 003 
 
 
them despite their diversity in the regional circle, the internal 
tension will calm down. Then, the Palestinians and the [Israelis] 
and all interested parties will sit down and there will be agreement 
on coexistence with everybody in a way that no one will be denied; a 
way to the future after being freed from the near and far past. And, 
by embarking on this historic and tortuous path, the small details 
[of the past] will disappear." 
 
WALLES