NEW PLC: POSITIVE ABU MAZEN SPEECH; HAMAS

C O N F I D E N T I A L JERUSALEM 000725 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/18/2016 TAGS: PREL KWBG KPAL KDEM SUBJECT: NEW PLC: POSITIVE ABU MAZEN SPEECH; HAMAS CANDIDATE ELECTED AS SPEAKER Classified By: Consul General Jake Walles. Reasons: 1.4 (b) and (d). -------------- Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) In the February 18 swearing-in of the new Palestinian Legislative Council, President Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) asked Hamas to form the next government, but also attempted to bind Hamas to negotiations with Israel based on previous agreements and President Bush's vision of a two-state solution. He asked that Hamas recognize existing international arrangements and support his policies, including negotiations, as the sole strategic choice available to the Palestinian people (informal translation of Abu Mazen speech faxed to NEA/IPA and Ops Center). Abu Mazen addressed Israelis, noting that they had a partner for peace, and that there is no military solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He asked the international community not to punish the Palestinian people for the exercise of their democratic rights and called for a renewal of negotiations, leading not to provisional boundaries but rather to permanent status. Consul General, along with representatives of approximately 40 other countries, attended the Ramallah event. Hamas PLC members in Gaza participated by video teleconference. ¶2. (C) Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri, speaking after Abu Mazen's speech, said that Hamas "rejects negotiations with the occupation, especially since Israel still practices collective punishment" and that "we re-emphasize the commitment to armed resistance as a natural right of our people." As expected, Abdul Aziz Dweik was elected as speaker of the PLC; however, he gained only 70 votes, with 46 ballot papers returned blank - a breakdown that suggests Hamas, PFLP, and Hama-affiliated independents voted for him, while Fatah and some independents such as Salam Fayyad abstained. The next government steps involve Abu Mazen caucusing with Hamas representatives, receiving the name of Hamas' nominee as Prime Minister (widely expected to be Ismael Hanniyyah), and then sending that designee a letter detailing the President's preferred program for the new government, thereby starting the 3 week clock for the new Prime Minister to form a cabinet. -------------- Abu Mazen's Speech Highlights -------------- ¶3. (C) Abu Mazen laid out directions for the incoming government, saluting the outgoing PLC but then asking the new government to continue its processes and achievements. He declared his intention, in representing the Presidency and the Government, to continue Palestinian commitment to the negotiation process as the sole political, pragmatic, and strategic choice. He singled out the Oslo Accords, saying that the PA had not and would not accept any questioning of the Accord's legitimacy and adding "... from the hour they were endorsed, they became a political reality to which we remain committed." ¶4. (C) Abu Mazen reviewed the history of the last decade, describing the 1995 assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Rabin as not merely a political assassination, but rather a move to halt a peace process that was sprinting ahead. In its wake came a different process, intent on denying the existence of a Palestinian partner and geared toward the imposition of unilateral solutions based on the logic of force and the expansion of settlements. Abu Mazen reached out to the Israelis, observing that they are on the verge of parliamentary elections. He argued that the only path to security is through a just peace, and that there is no military solution to the conflict. Abu Mazen declared that there is a Palestinian partner ready to reach a solution. He ruled out a state with provisional borders, and advocated instead his readiness to start permanent status negotiations immediately. He asked the GOI to turn away from the process of unilateralism, and back to the process which lead to the Roadmap. He specifically cited President Bush's vision of two states living side by side. ¶5. (C) Abu Mazen described the results of elections as leading to a new political reality. He emphasized the PLO as having the highest political role of any Palestinian institution, and outlined the PLO's accomplishments over the years (note: out of an 11-page speech, fully 2 of them focused on the accomplishments of the PLO. End note.) Abu Mazen described the centrality of Oslo and the role of Oslo in the creation of the PA, and went on at length regarding the superior status of the PLO over the PA. ¶6. (C) Abu Mazen outlined five general points of emphasis, speaking as the President of the PA and the PLO: -- A Commitment to the negotiating process, as well as other forms of peaceful popular struggle; -- A call to move away from unilateral measures, and a call to the Quartet and the US Administration to re-activate the negotiating process, conducted on the bases of international legitimacy, President Bush's vision of two states, the Arab Peace initiative, and the existing agreements ranging from Oslo to the Roadmap; -- A recognition of the need for internal changes, but a simultaneous call for the international community not to punish the Palestinian people for their democratic choice; -- The need for continued reform, particularly regarding the Palestinian judiciary and other key state institutions; -- The need to respect the "independent national (i.e. Palestinian) decision," avoiding entanglements of any sort (comment: meaning that the PA should not capitulate to the desires of the Syrians or the Iranians; in other words. End comment.) ¶7. (C) Abu Mazen spoke of security concerns, the need to avoid further chaos, and the need to strengthen the security sector - including the provision of arms and equipment. He also spoke of the need to activate the work of the National Security Council. -------------- Election Results -------------- ¶8. (C) The newly sworn-in PLC elected, as expected, Abdul Aziz Dweik as the incoming PLC speaker. Dweik was the only candidate and of note, received only 70 votes, along with 46 blank papers. These numbers roughly equate to a measure of Hamas and PFLP support (taking into account PLC members in jail, and who cannot vote),with the blanks suggesting that Fatah and independents such as Third Way leader Salam Fayyad maintaining at least some party discipline in this first vote. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶9. (C) Abu Mazen,s long speech included several important points addressed to the new Palestinian government: adhere to a negotiating process with Israel aimed at a two-state solution, respect all previous agreements, and limit popular struggle to "peaceful" means. Abu Mazen also addressed some very positive comments to the Israeli audience: there is no military solution to the conflict, there is a Palestinian partner for negotiations, and the two sides should live in two neighboring states and educate their children in "the culture of life, not the culture of death." On security, Abu Mazen emphasized the importance of the "security of all those who live on our land, and the implementation of our international commitments." In these areas, Abu Mazen went farther than in his January 26th speech immediately following the PLC elections. ¶10. (C) Comment continued: The scene in the hall in Ramallah was striking. The Hamas PLC members entered as a group, a bit bewildered in their new surroundings as if they were students on their first day at a new school. In contrast, the Fatah members arrived one-by-one and took their seats in the front rows, as if they were still in control. The Fatah stalwarts led the applause for key lines of Abu Mazen,s speech. The Hamas members were polite but not enthusiastic, perhaps waiting until they become more comfortable with their new surroundings before trying out their new political power. WALLES