VZCZCXRO3160
OO RUEHROV
DE RUEHJM #0719/01 1201013
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 301013Z APR 09
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4745
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
RHMFIUU/CNO WASHINGTON DC//POLAD//
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE
RUEHTU/AMEMBASSY TUNIS 7660
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 4637
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 4485
RUEHNC/AMEMBASSY NICOSIA 5979
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME 4400
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 2977

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JERUSALEM 000719 
 
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 (04/30):  UNITY TALKS "POSTPONED" 
 
------------- 
Main Stories: 
------------- 
Al-Quds and Al-Hayat Al-Jadida lead with news of the Jerusalem 
Municipality issuing demolition orders for two buildings in the 
Armenian Quarter of the Old City.  According to coverage, these 
houses were built recently in by the Armenian Orthodox Church to 
house priests traveling from the Vatican with the Pope for his May 
visit to the city.  Palestinian Authority Official for Jerusalem 
Affairs Abdul Qadir noted that Christian church leaders have 
requested that his office intervene in the matter and pursue legal 
recourse. 
 
Al-Ayyam leads with news on recent developments in Palestinian unity 
talks that have been "postponed" until mid-May.  According to 
coverage that also appears on Al-Quds' front page, Palestinian 
factions have agreed to a fifth round of talks to achieve "tangible 
results" regarding the issues of forming a national consensus 
government, security and Palestinian Authority elections.  Reporting 
also concludes that factions have achieved some progress regarding 
PLO reform by forming an ad hoc committee to prepare for elections 
to the PLO's Palestinian National Council.  The "postponement" of 
unity talks was the lead story in all dailies on April 29. 
 
All front pages report on protests that took place in several 
Palestinian villages on the occasion of the 61st anniversary of the 
"Nakba" on April 29.  The dailies run lead photos of protesters 
holding Palestinian flags and signs reading, "Your 
[Israeli]Independence is our Nakba [catastrophe]" along with signs 
listing the names of Palestinian villages that have been destroyed 
or renamed since the establishment of Israel in 1948. 
 
All front pages highlight Palestinian Authority(PA) Premier Fayyad's 
April 29 meeting with a delegation of EU diplomatic mission chiefs 
in Ramallah.  In comments to the press, EU representatives saluted 
Fayyad's implementation of the Palestinian Reform and Development 
Plan based on the principles of good governance and the rule of law. 
 The representatives also stressed the importance of making good on 
financial pledges to the PA to enable Fayyad to achieve greater 
progress in the reform plan.  Fayyad reiterated Palestinian demands 
that Israel respect signed agreements, halt settlements and military 
incursions in order to allow for a two-state solution.  He also 
repeated the official position that, "these conditions are crucial 
to restoring the credibility of the peace process and ending 
occupation and enabling our people to establish an independent state 
with Jerusalem its capital," according to coverage. 
 
Al-Hayat Al-Jadida runs an AFP story on President Obama's 
congratulatory remarks on Israel's Independence Day on April 29. 
The story notes that Obama looks forward to cooperating with Israel 
in the next few months and years on promoting mutual interests 
including reaching a comprehensive Middle East peace deal. 
 
Al-Quds runs an inside political cartoon of President Obama opening 
his office door on day 100, only to face another crisis - a large 
pig labeled "Swine Flu."  Al-Ayyam continues the theme with an 
inside cartoon showing Obama calling for an open and civilized 
dialogue with the disease. 
 
Al-Hayat Al Jadida's inside page runs an AFP story about recent 
bombings in Baghdad with a photo of American soldiers reviewing the 
shell of a burned-out car. 
 
--------------------- 
Wednesday, April 29: 
 
JERUSALEM 00000719  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
--------------------- 
Front pages reported on an April 28 press conference held in 
Jerusalem by the Al-Aqsa Waqf and Heritage Society.  The group 
expressed concern about new Israeli plans to establish a ring of 100 
synagogues around the Jerusalem Old City's Al-Aqsa Mosque. 
 
Al-Hayat Al-Jadida's front page reported that Palestinian Authority 
President Abbas received US Consul General Walles in Ramallah on 
April 28.  According to coverage, Abbas briefed Walles on recent 
developments in the Palestinian Territories and efforts to advance 
the peace process. 
-------------- 
BLOCK QUOTES: 
-------------- 
 
1) Al-Quds independent daily runs an editorial under the title, 
"Awaiting the next dialogue session"(04/30):  "the fourth round of 
national unity talks has concluded on a more positive..., the two 
parties [Fatah, Hamas]have noted that 'some progress has been 
achieved' ... Our people realize the dangers of division should it 
continue and the challenges facing our land if we don't 
unite...Therefore, the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza should 
exert more pressure on their leaders to advance in this positive 
climate and achieve results." 
 
2) Abdelmajid Swilim opines in Al-Ayyam independent daily  under the 
title, "Dialogue training"(04/30):  "It seems that the national 
dialogue sessions now occur once a month or even more frequently, 
without yielding any tangible results except achieving some progress 
here and there... However, I believe that if the parties wanted to 
achieve [real] progress, they could have done it long time ago.  The 
game being played now is how to waste... the most time.  It looks 
like the parties are content to wait until the situation on the 
ground changes by itself... I say to those who are being trained on 
dialogue techniques, you can practice as much as you'd like, but the 
game has not even started yet and the referees have not shown up 
yet." 
 
WALLES