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).


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Summary
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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.

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Abu Mazen's Speech Highlights
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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.

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Election Results
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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.

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Comment
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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