VZCZCXRO9504
OO RUEHROV
DE RUEHJM #2258/01 3531058
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 181058Z DEC 08
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3537
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 7448
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 4431
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 4281
RUEHNC/AMEMBASSY NICOSIA 5775
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME 4197
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 2767

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JERUSALEM 002258 
 
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 (12/18):  "ACTION - NOT JUST LIP 
SERVICE" 
 
------------- 
Main Stories: 
------------- 
Al Quds and Al Ayyam lead with the, "escalation of violence" in Gaza 
where one Palestinian was killed and four others injured, including 
a child, in an Israeli artillery attack on Tal Z'atar neighborhood 
in the northern Gaza Strip on December 17.  The papers note that the 
truce between Hamas and Israel is scheduled to end December 18.  The 
papers cite news agencies in reporting that Palestinian militants 
responded to the attack by firing 15 projectiles onto Israel's 
southern town of Sderot.  Al Quds adds, citing Israeli daily Maariv 
that the Israeli military has developed offensive plans for action 
in the Gaza Strip that could result in the killing of 800 
Palestinians or more.  Al Quds also quotes Israeli Premier Olmert 
stating on December 17 that Israel will respond to Palestinian 
rocket fire from Gaza.  Finally, Al Hayat Al Jadida's front page 
quotes a high ranking officer of the Israeli military commenting 
that the U.S. has ordered all staff in Israel to use armored 
vehicles when traveling to Sderot, just as it does in Iraq or 
Afghanistan. 
Al Hayat Al Jadida leads with, and all front pages highlight, 
statements by Palestinian Authority President Mahmud Abbas on 
December 17, insisting that the Palestinian Authority is seeking 
simultaneous elections in the West Bank and Gaza Strip for early 
next year.  In comments made after a meeting with Austrian President 
Fischer, Abbas added that, "if we have an agreement with Israel, we 
will proceed with it, even if we face opposition."  Speaking about 
his trip to the United States, Abbas noted that the visit will be to 
express, "appreciation for everything President Bush has done 
towards reaching a [peace] agreement."  Abbas continued that, "not 
having reached an agreement does not mean that we have failed, and I 
call on the American presidency to make every effort to ensure the 
success of our plans in the Middle East."  Al Ayyam's front page 
reports that Abbas will seek U.S. guarantees on continuing the peace 
process with Israel. 
Al Quds' front page quotes Palestinian Authority Prime Minister 
Fayyad stating on December 17 at a meeting with his Tunisian 
counterpart in Tunis, that the Palestinian people are resolute on 
safeguarding all their internationally recognized national rights. 
Al Quds' front page quotes Bethlehem Mayor Victor Patarsah accusing 
Israel of attempting to spoil Christmas festivals in the city.  He 
pointed to recent Israeli military action in the area, "storming" 
Bethlehem and surrounding villages and arresting youth, occupying a 
Palestinian house and hoisting the Israeli flag over it.  He 
characterized the actions as attempts to scare away tourists and 
terrorize Palestinian civilians. 
 
Al Ayyam's inside page cites a report by the British Foreign Office 
that designates Israeli settlements as illegal and in violation of 
international law. The statement considers settlement expansion an 
obstacle to peace, according to reporting. 
Al Ayyam's front page cites DPA when quoting Osama Mazini, a Hamas 
member dealing with the case of captured Israeli soldier Shalit, 
revealing that Israel has turned down a European offer to mediate on 
a prisoner exchange deal between Israel and Hamas.  The paper also 
cites news agencies in reporting that Hamas chief Khalid Mish'al 
turned down an offer by former President Jimmy Carter to 
unilaterally extend the truce with Israel for six months. 
In public affairs news, all inside pages report that Palestinian 
Authority Deputy Minister of Women's Affairs Salwa Hudayb met in 
Ramallah on December 17 with a U.S. Consulate delegation from the 
Public Affairs section to discuss the establishment of a Palestinian 
committee for combating violence against women and other training 
and capacity building activities.  Consulate representatives also 
 
JERUSALEM 00002258  002 OF 002 
 
 
briefed Hudayb on their preparations for a month long series of 
activities to mark International Women's Day on March 8.  Meanwhile, 
an inside page in Al Hayat Al Jadida reports on the experiences of a 
Palestinian student from Jerusalem who participated in a U.S. 
Government funded summer writing workshop.  A Consulate press 
officer is quoted noting that the workshop is one among many 
activities organized for Palestinian youth. 
 
------------- 
BLOCK QUOTES: 
----------------------- 
 
1)  Adli Sadiq editorializes in Al Hayat Al Jadida under the title, 
"Fatwa and pursuit" (12/18): "[Palestinian Authority] elections 
without Gaza, would consolidate the obvious Israeli and American 
victory [of separating Gaza from the West Bank], whereas elections 
that include Gaza, without political change within Hamas, would also 
constitute a trap for both Hamas and Fatah.  The Palestinian 
Authority's embrace of the illusion of U.S. support for the 
establishment of an independent Palestinian state is like the 
behavior of someone sad and ignorant. Fatah's embrace of its own 
shabby condition, however, will only accelerate the coming of an 
Islamic surprise." 
 
2) Al Quds' editorial is titled, "More peace talk" (12/18): "The 
[Arab] region and we Palestinians in particular, need action and not 
just lip service.  We need the implementation of resolutions, not 
the passing of new ones... no one is fooled anymore by what they 
hear since the formula remains the same: an economically, militarily 
and politically strong Israel faces a weakened, oppressed Arab 
world, and a divided Palestinian people..." 
 
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