VZCZCXRO3707
OO RUEHROV
DE RUEHJM #0399/01 0680903
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 090903Z MAR 09
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4284
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 7574
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 4559
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 4407
RUEHNC/AMEMBASSY NICOSIA 5901
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME 4323
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 2897

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 JERUSALEM 000399 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE PASS BBG 
STATE FOR NEA, NEA/IPA, NEA/PPD 
WHITE HOUSE FOR PRESS OFFICE, SIT ROOM 
NSC 
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 (03/09):  PALESTINIANS ANALYZE 
CLINTON VISIT FOR CLUES ON DIRECTION OF U.S POLICY 
 
------------- 
Main Stories: 
------------- 
Al Quds and Al Ayyam lead with the Palestinian Authority (PA) 
government decision to step down on the last day of the month.  Al 
Hayat Al Jadida also front pages the news.  Continuing weekend 
reporting, papers note that the "Fayyad government" has also pledged 
to pay this month's salaries and has put in place a hiring and 
promotion freeze until a new government is formed.  The three papers 
run inside comments and reports about PA Premier Fayyad, calling him 
popular with the international community, successful, and a person 
who resigned in order to pave the way for a national consensus 
government.  The papers run statements by Fayyad calling for support 
for PA President Abbas' efforts to ensure the success of Palestinian 
internal dialogue and formation of a national consensus government. 
 
 
Al Ayyam's front page highlights statements by a NSC spokesman 
stating on March 8 that the White House hopes for continuous 
progress in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process despite the 
resignation of the Palestinian Authority government.  The statements 
are also covered on inside pages of the Al Quds and Al Hayat Al 
Jadida. 
Al Hayat Al Jadida leads with news that Palestinian Authority 
President Abbas has given instructions to the Fatah delegation 
attending Palestinian unity talks in Cairo, "to do their utmost to 
achieve unity."  The talks begin on March 9, according to reporting. 
 
 
An official U.S. protest has been issued over remarks by Israeli 
Jerusalem Mayor Barakat regarding his criticism of Secretary 
Clinton's March 4 remarks regarding Israeli house demolitions in 
Jerusalem and "settlement" activities.  The report adds that the 
U.S. has made several additional protests through its Embassy in Tel 
Aviv against Israeli settlement activities and house demolitions. 
The report quotes a senior Israeli source revealing that U.S. 
Special Envoy George Mitchell is expected to discuss the issues with 
Israeli authorities upon his return to the region. 
Al Ayyam runs an inside report on Secretary Clinton's "extended 
hand" policy, citing an unnamed Irish media source.  The report 
analyzes the Secretary's first international tour, stating that she 
demonstrated "clear vision" in dealing with friends and opponents 
throughout the world, and showed hesitation only in dealing with the 
Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  She limited her comments about 
Israeli settlement activities to calling them, "not helpful" and 
justified her silence by stating that she awaits the new Israeli 
government, according to the report. 
Al Quds and Al Hayat Al Jadida front page wire reporting on the 
delay of a British humanitarian convoy at the Rafah crossing point 
between Egypt and Gaza.  According to coverage, Egypt demanded that 
the convoy's passage be "coordinated with Israel" and clashes broke 
out between "convoy activists" and Egyptian police.  In other Gaza 
news, weekend front pages reported that Israel is "readying itself 
for delivering a harsh response," to rockets fired from Gaza. 
 
All front pages note that Israel has imposed a total closure of 
Palestinian Territories' crossings with Israel until March 18, due 
to the Jewish holiday Purim. 
All front pages report that Palestinian Authority President Abbas 
signed the U.N. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of 
Discrimination against Women on the occasion of the International 
Women's Day, March 8.  In other Abbas news, the front pages note 
that Abbas issued a statement welcoming Pope Bendictus XVI to the 
Holy Land on May 8-15 2009. 
 
JERUSALEM 00000399  002 OF 003 
 
 
Al Ayyam's front page runs an AFP story about the Israeli Ambassador 
being ordered by Mauritania to leave the country one month after 
Mauritania froze relations with Israel in response to events in 
Gaza. 
-------------- 
WEEKEND STORIES: 
-------------- 
Sunday, March 8, 2009 
 
Secretary Clinton's op-ed about activating the full potential and 
energies of women appeared on Al Quds' front page.  The piece was 
introduced by a photo of Clinton and paragraph about the Secretary's 
recent visit to Jerusalem and the West Bank.  In other news, Al Quds 
and Al Ayyam ran headlines that, "Clinton encourages contacts 
between Syria and Israel and announces Ankara's and Washington's 
commitment to a two-state solution." 
 
News of Palestinian Authority (PA) Premier Fayyad's resignation 
dominated front pages.  All papers reported that PA President Abbas 
asked Fayyad and his cabinet to remain in office, pending the 
results of reconciliation talks.  Abbas was quoted stating that 
Fayyad submitted his resignation in order to strengthen 
intra-Palestinian dialogue and move efforts forward on forming a new 
consensus government.  He also denied rumors that he had forced 
Fayyad to resign over "disagreements."  The papers further report on 
Hamas reaction to the announcement.  Hamas spokesperson Fawzi Barhum 
stated that the resignation of Fayyad's government is irrelevant to 
national dialogue and reconciliation efforts, also noting that the 
government never was legitimate. 
 
Israel is using settlement expansion, house demolitions, and 
restrictions on construction as part of a strategy to illegally 
annex Jerusalem, according to a "secret" EU report that featured on 
all front pages.  The report, submitted by the heads of EU missions, 
states that Israel has accelerated its plans for annexing East 
Jerusalem and highlights that the Israeli actions undermine the 
credibility of the Palestinian Authority and weaken support for 
peace negotiations.  Related reporting on all front pages, noted 
that the PLO's Executive Committee warned of the dangerous 
implications of Israeli plans for Jerusalem, asserting that 
negotiations with Israel will not resume as long as settlement 
expansion continues and that Israel should withdraw to the September 
28, 2001 line. 
 
Saturday, March 7, 2009 
 
Front pages carried several articles about Israeli "settlement 
expansion" and plans for house demolitions in the Jerusalem area. 
Reporting focused on plans to add 2,670 housing units to the Gilo 
settlement and plans to, "change the characteristics of the Old City 
of Jerusalem including its gates, wall, markets, and lighting," and 
historic sites.  Papers also reported that heavy police protection 
was provided to Jerusalem municipality officials who distributed 
orders for the destruction of 254 houses in the East Jerusalem 
neighborhoods of Silwan, Sheikh/Abassiyyah, Beit Hanina, Al 
Ashqariyyah, Shu'fat, Anata refugee camp, and As Salam.  Residents 
in the affected neighborhoods set up protest tents over demolished 
houses and near houses threatened with demolition and organized 
themselves, "to engage in a large-scale popular campaign against the 
Israeli demolition orders," papers highlighted.  Palestinian 
officials visited the protest tents and commented that they came, 
"to activate efforts to exert public pressure on everyone, the 
Israelis in particular, to stop these arbitrary orders," according 
to coverage. 
 
JERUSALEM 00000399  003 OF 003 
 
 
-------------- 
BLOCK QUOTES: 
-------------- 
1)  Adli Sadiq opines in official daily Al Hayat Al Jadida under the 
title, "A look at Hillary's steps"(03/09):  "During her recent 
visit, Hillary Clinton didn't say much... about how she plans to 
deal with the issues of the region and the world.  Nevertheless some 
principles did surface:  the priority of solving the domestic 
economic crisis... soothing foreign fronts, especially Moscow and 
Beijing, and engaging a few traditional opponents, particularly 
Tehran, thereby abandoning the carrot and stick policy for which the 
Bush administration was famous.  [Clinton will also] deal 
comprehensively with regional crises all of which share a common 
component - the Israeli-Arab conflict." 
 
2) Khaled Hroub writes in Al Ayyam under the title, "Where on the 
agenda is the opening of the Erez [Gaza] crossing?"(03/09):  "The 
opening of the Erez crossing, [between Israel and Gaza], must be at 
the heart of all ongoing political efforts.  Any international or 
Palestinian initiative must address this issue.  If real, rather 
than superficial Palestinian unity is desired, it must include 
facilitating communication between Palestinian parties." 
 
WALLES