VZCZCXRO5367
OO RUEHROV
DE RUEHJM #1950/01 3010856
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 270856Z OCT 08
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3090
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 7373
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 4353
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 4206
RUEHNC/AMEMBASSY NICOSIA 5700
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME 4122
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 2687

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 JERUSALEM 001950 
 
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 (10/27): POLITICAL AND SECURITY 
DEBATES 
 
------------- 
Main Stories: 
------------- 
 
Al Quds leads with Kadima Party leader Livni's announcement Sunday 
calling for early elections after failing to form a coalition 
government. In a separate article, the paper quotes President 
Mubarak of Egypt saying that the elections in the U.S. and Israel 
will "provide us additional time to move" toward achieving 
Palestinian unity.  All three papers carry reports on their inside 
pages quoting senior Fatah official Ahmad Qurei saying: "Fatah wants 
dialogue, not confrontation with Hamas," adding that Fatah will take 
a "conciliatory approach to its rival Hamas, even while negotiations 
with Israel continue." 
 
Al Ayyam leads with a report that U.S. helicopters carried out an 
airstrike inside Syrian territories near the Iraqi borders on 
Sunday. The article cites a report by the official Syrian news 
agency SANA that at least seven Syrians were killed and several 
others injured in the Al-Bukamal area. The article notes that 
Pentagon officials refused to comment on the incident. 
 
Al Ayyam front-pages an interview with LTG Dayton quoting him 
expressing confidence in the ongoing efforts to establish a 
Palestinian state while praising the performance of the PA security 
services in Jenin.  Dayton is also quoted dismissing criticism by 
Hamas that his mission aims to end the movement's existence.  The 
lengthy interview also addresses Dayton's experience and his calls 
to strengthen the PA security forces to "avoid surprises as happened 
in Gaza."  Dayton is quoted stating that the PA security success in 
Jenin would allow people to refocus on improving the economy and 
their lives. 
 
The three papers carry front-page reports that Israeli settlers 
attacked Palestinians near Hebron and desecrated a Muslim graveyard 
following the evacuation of a settlement outpost by the IDF near the 
Kiryat Arba settlement. 
 
Al Quds carries the findings of a public opinion poll that shows 63 
percent of Palestinians are satisfied with President Abbas' 
performance, and 55 percent support holding new legislative 
elections.  The poll was conducted by the Arab World Center for 
Research and Development during the month of October. 
 
The three papers front-page reports, with Al Hayat Al Jadida leading 
with large photos, of the Palestinian national soccer game held in 
Al-Ram in the West Bank yesterday, in which the Palestinian national 
team played against the Jordanian team.  The game ended in a 1-1 
tie. The coverage highlighted the attendance of FIFA President 
Joseph Blatter, noting that FIFA's Goal program has financed, in 
part, the renovation and construction of two football stadiums, one 
in Al-Ram and the other in Al-Bireh near Ramallah. 
 
The three dailies report on their inside pages that dozens of mental 
health specialists from Canada, the U.S., Holland, Italy and the UK 
protested at the Erez crossing yesterday against Israel's closure of 
the Gaza Strip and its refusal to allow a medical conference from 
taking place in Gaza. 
 
------------------------------ 
STORIES FROM THE WEEKEND PRESS 
------------------------------ 
 
Sunday, October 26, 2007 
 
JERUSALEM 00001950  002 OF 003 
 
 
------------------------- 
 
The three dailies report that Palestinian Prime Minister Fayyad 
welcomed the "Egyptian paper" which presents a proposal to end the 
Palestinian division and called for its immediate implementation. 
Fayyad is also quoted calling on Hamas to "steer away from 
pre-conditions and avoid procrastination." 
 
Al-Ayyam quotes Hamas senior leader Mahmoud Az-Zahhar at the Rafah 
crossing on Saturday, October 27, saying that he did not expect 
Egypt to make any changes to its proposal for reconciliation among 
the Palestinian factions, "despite comments and the reservations 
expressed by several parties, including Hamas itself."  Azzahar 
added that Hamas has objected to the PLO as the sole legitimate 
representative of the Palestinians unless it is reformed to include 
all the active factions, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad. 
 
Saturday, October 25, 2007 
-------------------------- 
 
Al-Quds quotes Akrama Sabri, Chairman of the Higher Islamic Council, 
warning Palestinians from Jerusalem against resorting to Israeli 
courts in their land and property disputes.  Sabri said the Israeli 
authority, known as the "Custodian of Absentee Property," may misuse 
the court system to seize those properties.  The reports note that 
Sabri had announced an edict placing blame on any Palestinian who 
causes the loss of property through the Custodian of Absentee 
Property. 
 
Al-Quds reports that Secretary Rice will soon travel on a new tour 
to the region during which she will meet with Israeli and 
Palestinian officials to "encourage them to conclude a peace 
agreement."  The article quotes State Department spokesman Robert 
Wood saying that Rice's visit to the region will certainly occur 
before the end of Bush's term. 
 
------------ 
BLOCK QUOTES: 
------------ 
Columnist Samih Shbib opines in Al Ayyam under the title "Political 
stagnation in Israel" that "It's worth mentioning that the Israeli 
interest has turned to managing the crisis [with the Palestinians] 
and not solving it. During his term, Ariel Sharon tried to solve the 
conflict through the 'Defensive shield' but politically he 
failed....Israel has no political vision for the a final settlement 
with the Palestinians. If Likud enters office, it still won't find 
any other alternative but to do crisis management." 
 
Columnist Hasa Al Batal opines in Al Ayyam on the much-debated PA 
security deployment in Hebron under the title "Starting with a new 
security concept."  Batal argues that "at a stage like this one, it 
happens that some of those harmed [by enforcing security] on the two 
sides make conflicting protests...but meet in the end. Those, on our 
side, are benefiting from chaos in the name of 'resistance', and 
those on [the Israeli] side benefit from settlement chaos in the 
name of their right to abuse the land.  [Both have] political 
projects, both of the harmed sides play object to security 
coordination and to political negotiations.  [I]n principle ...civil 
security [should come] first followed by national security, 
sovereignty security and finally regional security." 
 
Mohamad Jalal Enaya opined in Al Quds under the title "Recognizing 
the Arab initiative...and the horrifying alternatives" says "The 
best way [for Hamas] to get out of its political crisis... is to 
 
JERUSALEM 00001950  003 OF 003 
 
 
recognize the Arab peace initiative (declared in Beirut in 2002). 
[O]therwise the alternatives are terrifying -- wars that consume 
people and everything on the Palestinian land". 
 
Walles