VZCZCXRO7623
OO RUEHROV
DE RUEHJM #1967/01 3030722
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 290722Z OCT 08
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3129
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 7378
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 4358
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 4211
RUEHNC/AMEMBASSY NICOSIA 5705
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME 4127
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 2692

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JERUSALEM 001967 
 
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 (10/29):  ARAB PEACE INITIATIVE - 
"LAST UNILATERAL CONCESSION" 
 
------------- 
Main Stories: 
------------- 
Al Quds leads with news of "unprecedented floods" in Gaza and all 
front pages run prominent photos of flooded streets.  Reporting 
notes damage to roads and homes, making "many" families homeless. 
Gazans blame the Israeli blockade for the lack of machinery needed 
to combat flooding, papers report.  In other Gaza news, a "Free 
Gaza" movement ship is expected to set sail from Cyprus for Gaza on 
October 29, carrying foreign, Israeli and Palestinian nationals 
calling for a lifting of the Israeli "siege" on the Strip.  Unlike 
the first boat that reached Gaza in August this year, Israeli 
authorities have vowed to block the entry to Gaza of this second 
"Free Gaza" boat, according to reporting. 
 
Al Ayyam and Al Hayat Al Jadida lead with news about early Israeli 
elections in February 2009.  The papers quote Israeli Minister of 
Interior Sheetrit and Minister of National Infrastructures Ben 
Eliazer calling for a halt to peace negotiations with the 
Palestinians and Syria.  The three papers also report calls made by 
British Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Bill 
Rammell, that Israel halt settlement activities. 
 
All papers run highlighted stories on inside pages about the October 
28 cornerstone laying by Consul General Walles, Palestinian 
Authority Prime Minister Fayyad and USAID Director Sumka for a new 
library in the West Bank town of Beit Jala.  Accompanied by photos 
of the principals, the papers run lengthy comments by Walles 
reiterating U.S. support for the two-state solution and continued 
U.S. commitment to the peace process after U.S. presidential 
elections.  In separate reporting, Al Quds highlights a second 
October 29 Consulate activity on an inside page:  Public Affairs 
Officer Schweitzer-Bluhm gave a presentation on U.S. elections via 
digital video conference with the American Corner at Al Azhar 
University in Gaza. 
 
The three papers front-page statements by Palestinian Authority 
Prime Minister Fayyad from an October 28 meeting with police 
commanders in the West Bank city of Hebron stating, "We are about to 
launch a national project to end the occupation and establish an 
independent state.  What we are [doing] right now is laying the 
foundations of a state through the establishment of strong and 
effective institutions." 
 
Al Ayyam's front page reports that an Israeli security officer 
killed a Palestinian youth in Beit Shemen in Israel. Quoting the 
Arab48 website, the paper says that the officer fired at three 
Palestinians, "who seemed to be Arabs" because he thought they 
wanted to break into his house. 
 
------------ 
BLOCK QUOTES: 
------------ 
 
1)  Al Quds editorial opines under the title, "A political crisis 
for Israel or the peace process?" (10/29): "The internal Israeli 
crisis... [is] closely related to the peace process and negotiations 
with Palestinians... [Israeli Kadima Party leader] Livni's failure 
to form a coalition government proves that underlying the Israeli 
political crisis are extremist, radical positions regarding the 
peace process.  This connection will continue until the majority of 
Israelis recognize that peace and coexistence can only be realized 
by ending the occupation, settlement activities and establishing an 
independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital." 
 
JERUSALEM 00001967  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
2)  Regular columnist Hani Habib writes in Al Ayyam under the title, 
"The Arab peace initiative... the return of the lost son" (10/29): 
"There is a proposal ready for implementation.  Anyone discussing 
peace should start implementing instead of discussing amendments or 
negotiating articles here and there... [the Arab states] should be 
firm in their proposal, [rejecting] any amendments, so that the Arab 
initiative becomes the last unilateral concession necessary to 
achieve peace." 
 
Walles