Cablegate: Jerusalem Media Reaction (09/04): Negotiations Require A

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TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5972
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INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE
RUEHTU/AMEMBASSY TUNIS 7846
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STATE FOR NEA, NEA/IPA, NEA/PPD
WHITE HOUSE FOR PRESS OFFICE, SIT ROOM
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LONDON FOR HKANONA AND POL - TSOU
PARIS ALSO FOR POL
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TAGS: PREL KMDR KPAL KWBG KPAO IS

SUBJECT: JERUSALEM MEDIA REACTION (09/04): Negotiations Require a
Commitment to Action

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Main Stories:
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Al-Quds, Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, and Al-Ayyam all report that Netanyahu
has agreed on a partial halting of settlement activities for nine
months -- excluding East Jerusalem. Al Quds newspaper reports that
Washington permitted construction work to continue in 2500
settlement units. Additionally, reports state that the halting of
settlement activities was made in exchange for Arab promises to
resume work in Israeli interest offices in the Gulf and North
Africa. In related news, Al-Ayyam also leads with a story that
states an agreement between the U.S. and Israel "is close."
However, Israel's suggestion for a State with temporary borders was
denied. All three dailies highlighted the press conference between
President Mahmoud Abbas and French Foreign Minister Bernard
Kouchner, where both parties claim to be ready to resume
negotiations for final status issues, if Israel halts its settlement
activities.

Al Hayat Al Jadida and Al Ayyam report that the group Salafi Jund
Ansar Allah wal Sunnah (The Salafist Movement of Loyal Soldiers of
Allah and Sunnah) is claiming responsibility for the recent bombings
that have targeted Hamas centers. According to the report, the three
bombings targeted Ansar Mall and an area near the home of President
Mahmoud Abbas' in Gaza (100 meters away from the mall). The third
bombing was in an undisclosed location.

Al Hayat Al Jadida reports on its front page an interview with
Arab-Americans condemning the Israel government's discrimination
against Arab-Americans in Israel. According to the report, this
group of Arab-Americans requested to meet Secretary Clinton in order
to condemn what they consider racism, and the long-standing
discrimination against Arab-Americans in Israel and the Palestinian
Territories.

Al Quds and Al Hayat Al Jadida report on the opening ceremony of
water wells in the South of the West Bank, Bethlehem and Hebron,
claiming that the wells in the South of the West Bank now operate
with a capacity of 41 thousand cubic meter daily. The stories also
claim that these recent openings put an end to the issue of the
stalled wells. Prime Minister Salam Fayyad was quoted as saying
that these projects are essential to end "the occupation." Fayyad
is also quoted inviting the people to gather around the PA and its
leaders and to protect the PLO. -------------
BLOCK QUOTES:
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Al-Ayyam independent, Rajab Abu Siryeh, "September Exposes the Faith
of Solutions!" (09/04): "The days of the 23rd of September and the
25th of September will decide the destiny of both the negotiation
process between the PA and the Israeli government, and the internal
reconciliation folder. However, the PA is going forward in
installing itself on the ground, as an independent state project...
When the final status issue negotiations failed to deliver a
solution that announced a Palestinian State, they talked about
enforcing the state's sovereignty and announced it from one side.
But what happened after that from US President Bill Clinton's
interference extended the deadline until the end of his term in
n
2000... resulting in the intractability in Camp David, and in the
conflict between both sides (the second Intifada)."

JERUSALEM 00001602 002 OF 002

Mohammad Yaghi, Al-Ayyam independent, "Fateh and Hamas in a Waiting
State" (09/04): "Obama might have better intentions than Clinton
towards the region, but Clinton acquired unusual diplomatic skill
and a big political ambition... He could not get from Netanyahu
more than the Wye River agreement, which was not executed anyway.
Negotiations will create for Ramallah a state of movement that will
fill the political vacuum that exists. But Ramallah knows too that a
negotiation in the presence of Netanyahu on the top of the
leadership pyramid in Israel is not more than a word that is a
synonym to wait."

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