VZCZCXRO2398
OO RUEHROV
DE RUEHJM #0166/01 0221150
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 221150Z JAN 09
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3906
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 7501
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 4486
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 4334
RUEHNC/AMEMBASSY NICOSIA 5828
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME 4250
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 2822

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JERUSALEM 000166 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE PASS BBG 
STATE FOR NEA, NEA/IPA, NEA/PPD 
NSC FOR SHAPIRO/PASCUAL 
WHITE HOUSE FOR PRESS OFFICE, SIT ROOM 
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 (01/22): HOPES FOR OBAMA; 
PESSIMISM ABOUT ARAB RECONCILIATION 
 
------------- 
Main Stories: 
------------- 
All papers run front page photos of the infrastructure devastation 
in Gaza, and report that two additional bodies of people killed in 
the war were found under rubble, while three others died of injuries 
sustained during the Israeli bombing campaign. Al Quds adds that 
Israeli navy vessels fired on parts of the Gaza coastline on January 
¶21. 
 
Al Hayat Al Jadeeda reports that several smuggling tunnels 
connecting Gaza with Egypt have already reopened.  But, the paper 
notes, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak has threatened to destroy 
them.  Al Hayat Al Jadeeda also carries a Reuters report that Israel 
is blocking the Palestinian Authority from transferring cash into 
Gaza, preventing it from distributing salaries and recovery 
assistance to Gazans. 
 
On the diplomatic front, Al Quds reports on a five-point German plan 
"to solve the Gaza and Palestine crises" and French plans to call 
for an international peace conference in Paris.  The paper quotes 
Israeli sources characterizing the European initiatives as coming at 
a time when President Obama is not likely to have a firm position on 
the Palestinian issue.  The Israeli sources speculate that President 
Obama will want to avoid the appearance of interfering in the 
upcoming Israeli elections on February 10th.  The German plan, 
according to Al Quds, calls for providing assistance to Gaza, 
preventing smuggling, opening crossings and re-launching peace 
negotiations with Israel. Al Quds further reports that EU foreign 
ministers urged Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni in Brussels on 
January 21 to open the Gaza crossings.  Al Ayyam and Al Hayat Al 
Jadeeda front page statements by the Quartet Envoy Tony Blair saying 
the Quartet would be willing to talk to Hamas if it accepts the 
two-state solution. 
 
Al Quds and Al Ayyam front page statements in Damascus by Hamas 
politburo chief Khaled Mesh'al urging the West Bank "to revolt in 
order to become victorious as Gaza did." Mesh'al is also quoted 
demanding that Hamas be allowed to handle Gaza reconstruction funds 
and describing what happened in Gaza as "the first war fought and 
won by the Palestinians on their land". Al Quds also reports that 
Hamas spokesperson Sami Abu Zuhri announced that Hamas accepts the 
Saudi initiative for internal Palestinian reconciliation.  The paper 
notes, though, that Egypt has delayed the visit by representatives 
of the Palestinian factions to Cairo in order to allow more time for 
consultations. 
 
All three papers cite an Israeli TV Channel 2 report that a number 
of Israeli ministers have lifted their opposition to a Hamas list of 
prisoners to be released in exchange for captured Israeli soldier 
Gilad Shalit.  The reports note that Egyptian Foreign Minister Abu 
Al Ghayt confirmed that neither Israel nor Egypt know anything about 
Shalit's fate. 
 
All papers front page President Barack Obama's call to Palestinian 
Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on January 21 - "the first to a 
foreign president" - to confirm his commitment to working together 
to achieve peace in the region.  The papers note that President 
Obama telephoned other regional leaders, including Israeli Prime 
Minister Ehud Olmert and Jordanian King Abdullah II. Al Ayyam runs a 
photo of President Obama sitting to sign directives "on his first 
day" as President. 
 
All papers report that President Obama officially offered George 
 
JERUSALEM 00000166  002 OF 002 
 
 
Mitchell the post of Middle East envoy and that the U.S. Congress 
confirmed Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State. 
 
The three papers run extensive inside coverage of President Obama's 
achievements, describing him as one of three seminal figures in 
African-American history, along with Abraham Lincoln and Martin 
Luther King. 
------------- 
BLOCK QUOTES: 
------------- 
 
1) Randa Taqi Aldin opines in Al Quds under the title "Obama can 
find a solution to the Palestinian issue": "Though Obama's 
administration cannot change its structural alliance with Israel, 
one hopes that intelligence and political good sense will prevail in 
order to reach a permanent solution to the Palestinian cause. This 
cause fuels violence and hatred against the West [among] Arab 
nations that look upon Israel as the US regional proxy, which is 
allowed to do anything without being held accountable [for its 
actions]." 
 
2) Talal Okal writes in Al Ayyam under the title "War and its 
aftermath": "Instead of the Arabs reconciling at the Kuwait summit, 
they differed once again on several issues...[including] the 
ownership of Gaza reconstruction, opening of the crossings and 
lifting of the siege...This means that we might return to the 
situation before the war, with a deep Palestinian division that 
reflects a deeper Arab division." 
WALLES