VZCZCXRO9995
OO RUEHROV
DE RUEHJM #0002/01 0040747
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 040747Z JAN 10
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7161
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 8023
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 4990
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 4840
RUEHNC/AMEMBASSY NICOSIA 6328
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME 4759
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 3363

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JERUSALEM 000002 
 
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 (01/04): The new year starts with 
a flurry of diplomatic activity in the region 
 
------------ 
Main Stories: 
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The three dailies front page an Associated Press report on Hamas 
inmates saying during jailhouse interviews from Jneid jail in Nablus 
that Palestinian security forces in the West Bank stopped torturing 
Hamas prisoners last Ramadan, ending two years of systematic abuse. 
Palestinian Authority (PA) Prime Minister Salam Fayyad confirmed a 
"dramatic change for the better" in West Bank prisons and said 43 
officers have been jailed, fired or demoted for abusing prisoners. 
 
The dailies report that PA President Mahmoud Abbas and Egyptian 
President Hosni Mubarak will meet today in Sharm El Sheikh. 
According to Egyptian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Husam Zaki, the 
meeting will focus on the US peace plan, as well as briefing 
President Abbas on the discussions that took place between President 
Mubarak and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week. 
 
The three dailies also run reports on President Abbas' interview 
with Kuwaiti daily Al-Rai yesterday during which he confirmed 
information about the possibility of clashes between Hamas and Fatah 
in the West Bank and noted that the PA will not allow this to 
happen. 
 
Al-Quds reports that the head of the Hamas political bureau Khaled 
Misha'al told the press during his visit to Saudi Arabia yesterday 
that progress has been achieved in the national reconciliation 
efforts and that Hamas reached the last stage in achieving the 
reconciliation. Misha'al urged Fatah to sign the national 
reconciliation agreement based on Hamas' amendments. Head of the 
Fatah Parliamentary block in the PLC Azzam Al-Ahmad denied 
Misha'al's statements and urged Hamas to sign the original Egyptian 
proposal. 
 
PA official daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida reports that PM Netanyahu 
reaffirmed that any rocket shelling from Gaza against Israeli 
neighborhoods and populations will require a harsh and unprecedented 
response. 
 
The dailies report on Israeli Kadima party leader Haim Ramon urging 
PM Netanyahu to unilaterally announce the borders of Israel, saying 
only then will Kadima join the government coalition. 
 
---------------- 
Weekend stories: 
---------------- 
 
Sunday, January, 3: 
 
The three dailies run front page stories on the Palestinian 
Ambassador to Egypt Brakat Al Farra confirming that a meeting 
between President Mubarak and President Abbas will take place Monday 
in Cairo to discuss the latest developments on internal Palestinian 
affairs and coordinate Palestinian-Egyptian positions towards 
reviving the peace process. Al Farra notes the importance of the 
meeting, which takes place prior to the visit that Egyptian Foreign 
Minister Aboul Gheit and Intelligence Chief Omar Suleiman will make 
to Washington on January 8 to propose ideas to overcome the current 
stalemate in the peace process. In related news, Nabil Sha'ath, 
member of Fatah Central Committee, said that Egypt, Saudi Arabia, 
and several European countries are talking to the US about playing a 
positive role in resuming negotiations. 
 
 
JERUSALEM 00000002  002 OF 002 
 
 
Al-Quds and Al-Ayyam run front page stories quoting Palestinian 
sources saying that discussions are underway among Arab countries to 
help facilitate national reconciliation during the Arab summit that 
is scheduled to take place in Libya at the end of March. Palestinian 
sources told the London-based Al Hayat newspaper that if Arab 
countries such as Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Egypt, in cooperation 
with other countries such as Oman and Qatar, reached an 
understanding regarding the Palestinian reconciliation, then the 
reconciliation could take place within 24 hours. One source noted 
the need for the mediator to have balanced relations with Fatah and 
Hamas to facilitate the possibility of reaching an agreement. 
 
In related news, Al-Ayyam and Al-Hayat Al-Jadida run front page 
stories on Ismail Haniyeh, head of the Hamas government in Gaza, 
saying that Hamas wants to sign the reconciliation agreement in 
Egypt with some changes. Haniyeh called on Fatah to sign the 
reconciliation document in accordance with "new arrangements" to be 
agreed upon between Hamas and Fatah. 
 
Saturday, January, 2: 
 
The three dailies front page news on Israeli sources revealing that 
wide-scale construction works are taking place in dozens of 
settlements throughout the West Bank following Israel's decision to 
freeze settlement activities. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported 
that construction works started just before the decision to freeze 
settlement activities and continued following the announcement. The 
newspaper documented the presence of heavy duty machines and 
equipment to level the ground and build the infrastructure in 
several settlements. 
 
Al-Quds and Al-Ayyam carry front page news on the Deputy Head of the 
Hamas political bureau Mousa Abu Marzouq denying claims that Hamas 
refused the prisoners' exchange deal with Israel. Abu Marzouq 
reiterated from Damascus that deliberations are still on-going with 
the German mediator. 
 
------------ 
BLOCK QUOTE: 
------------ 
Hafeth Al-Barghouti, Chief Editor of official daily Al-Hayat 
Al-Jadida writing under the title "Misha'al...the Optimist" hopes 
that Misha'al's statements about the national reconciliation are 
true and credible. Al-Barghouti states that Fatah met Hamas more 
than half-way towards the reconciliation and it is now Hamas' turn 
to end the division. 
 
 
RUBINSTEIN