VZCZCXRO8486
OO RUEHROV
DE RUEHJM #1487/01 2251012
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 121012Z AUG 08
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 2487
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 7260
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 4249
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 4102
RUEHNC/AMEMBASSY NICOSIA 5596
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME 4015
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 2583

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JERUSALEM 001487 
 
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 (8/12): Who deserves 
responsibility for closing the Gaza Crossings? 
 
------------- 
Main Stories: 
------------- 
All the dailies give front-page coverage to the closing of the Gaza 
crossings today by Israel.  Al-Quds writes that Israeli Defense 
Minister Barak's decision to shut down the crossings came after a 
rocket landed on Sderot yesterday afternoon from northern Gaza.  The 
decision will affect the Nahal Oz crossing, currently used to 
transport fuel, and the Sofa crossing, used for the passage of 
foodstuffs.  The coverage notes that since the truce was announced 
on June 19, forty missiles have been fired from the Gaza Strip, but 
have not caused any casualties according to IDF reports. 
 
All dailies continue to provide prominent coverage of the passing of 
the Palestinian national poet, Mahmoud Darwish, reporting that 
Palestinian Authority (PA) President Abbas will attend the funeral 
and that both official and community-organized ceremonies are being 
prepared in his honor.  The papers report that the Palestinian 
Cabinet honored Darwish yesterday in a special mourning session 
during which Prime Minister Fayyad paid tribute to the poet on 
behalf of President Abbas.  All dailies quote Fayyad as saying, 
"Farewell Mahmoud...through your humanity you saw the triumph of the 
humanity of the Palestinian people."   The body is expected to 
arrive Wednesday, Aug 13, and will be buried at a small hill next to 
the Cultural Palace in Ramallah, where he held his last poetry 
session.  A presidential delegation asked the family's permission to 
bury the deceased in Ramallah in accordance with his will. 
 
The dailies report that the Israeli ministerial committee charged 
with the issue of releasing Palestinian prisoners decided on August 
11 to release 150-200 prisoners whose hands "do not have Israeli 
blood on them." This decision comes after a promise made by Olmert 
to Abbas, during their recent peace talks, to release Palestinian 
prisoners. 
 
All dailies report on the Israeli decision to transfer 72 million 
NIS to the Palestinian Authority to pay the salaries of its Gaza 
employees.  Israeli Defense Minister Barak ordered the transfer in 
response to a request by PM Fayyad. 
 
The dailies report on an Israeli plan to build synagogues and 
bridges in the Al-Maghrabi Gate, the western gate of Al Aqsa Mosque, 
noting that the bridge would enable the police to raid Al Aqsa at 
will.  The Al Aqsa Association called for an emergency meeting to 
counter these Israeli efforts. 
 
The dailies quote the Secretary General of the Palestinian 
Presidency, Tayyeb Abdel Rahim, as having said yesterday during a 
conference of retired veterans that "the national struggle is 
passing through its most critical and dangerous phases," and that 
the peace process is "facing many obstacles which will have dire 
consequences for the region." 
 
Inside pages of all the dailies provide coverage of the internship 
program funded by the U.S. Consulate General in Jerusalem and 
implemented by the Palestinian Business Women Forum (BWF) in 
cooperation with the Consulate.  The 17 interns who participated in 
the program completed 120 hours of practical training with prominent 
Palestinian companies throughout the West Bank.  The positive 
coverage highlighted these efforts to integrate recent women 
graduates into the Palestinian workforce. 
 
------------ 
BLOCK QUOTES: 
 
JERUSALEM 00001487  002 OF 002 
 
 
------------ 
 
¶1. Independent Al-Quds runs its main editorial entitled, "Egypt... 
and the Palestinian Situation" (08/12): "Rafah and the other 
crossings were opened per international arrangements and agreement, 
and what actually closed them down is the takeover by force of the 
authority in Gaza and the continuity of these practices as witnessed 
in recent events; added to this is the rejection and hindrance of 
the dialogue initiative launched by President Abu Mazen which would 
have led to the reopening of all the crossings.  It would have been 
better for those [an ambiguous reference to Hamas in Gaza] who 
criticize Egypt and raise suspicions about its positions, to first 
demand from Israel, with whom they concluded a truce...that the 
crossings be opened.  And it would have been better for those same 
individuals to go back and examine the causes [of the closures] 
rather than stepping over the real facts.  The only way of lifting 
the siege in the Gaza strip is to restore the unity of the homeland 
and unify the PNA and the security forces ... The Egyptian position 
has always been and still is crystal clear in this regard and has 
been repeatedly emphasized ... Egypt's national position in support 
of and solidarity with Palestinian rights remain above all 
suspicions and accusations." 
 
¶2. Under the title, "Hamas and Egypt", regular columnist Hani Al 
Masri opines in the independent Al-Ayyam (08/12): "These days, signs 
of a new crisis between Egypt and Hamas appear as Egypt blocks 
passage of a parliamentary delegation through Rafah, and as official 
Egyptian sources leak growing skepticism about Hamas' credibility 
and interest in reconciliation and dialogue, especially after recent 
events following the Gaza beach [explosion]... Signs of this crisis 
have become even clearer in the accelerating criticism that Hamas 
has fired at Egypt for not opening the Rafah crossing, to the point 
where Hamas leaders have organized and taken the lead in marches 
towards the crossing.  This threatens a repetition of the popular 
large-scale raid of the Egyptian-Gazan border, which would embarrass 
the Egyptian leadership and make them party to the siege ... An 
explosion of the Hamas and Egypt crisis is in nobody's interest 
because it would reflect on the whole Palestinian people and on the 
Palestinian cause, and most powerfully on the people in the Gaza 
Strip.  We must hurry to stop the deterioration [of the situation] 
and give priority to ending the division and to restoring unity." 
 
WALLES