PALESTINIANS PROVIDE FURTHER CLARIFICATION ON

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JERUSALEM 000529 SIPDIS SIPDIS NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE. NSC FOR ABRAMS/SINGH/PASCUAL E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/26/2018 TAGS: KWBG PGOV PREL PTER PHUM KPAL IS SUBJECT: PALESTINIANS PROVIDE FURTHER CLARIFICATION ON YEMENI INITIATIVE REF: A. SANA'A 517 ¶B. JERUSALEM 504 Classified By: Consul General Jake Walles, per reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Summary. Presidential Spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh confirmed on March 26 that President Mahmoud Abbas' (Abu Mazen) conditions to resume dialogue with Hamas remained unchanged. PLC-Fatah bloc leader Azzam al-Ahmed, who signed the Sana'a Declaration with Hamas on March 23, made this same point to the media March 25, stating "there will be no talks with Hamas unless it reverses its coup in Gaza and accepts the PLO legitimacy." Also on March 25, the President's Chief of Staff Rafiq al-Husseini told Poloff that the Sana'a Declaration is "utter nonsense." Abu Mazen's Media Advisor Nabil Amre delivered an official statement to the press March 26 stating that the President's position on the Yemeni Initiative has been "fixed" and there is no room for dialogue on it. Grassroots Fatah leader Qadura Fares told Poloff March 25 that al-Ahmad should not have signed the declaration and dialogue is possible only if Hamas accepts a two-state solution and agrees that PM Fayyad should stay in office until elections. End Summary. Conditions Remain Unchanged -------------- ¶2. (C) Presidential Spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh told the Consul General on March 26 that Abu Mazen's conditions to resume dialogue with Hamas remain unchanged; Hamas must reverse the coup in Gaza, accept the legitimacy of the PLO, and accept all PLO commitments. PLC-Fatah bloc leader Azzam al-Ahmed, who signed the Sana'a Declaration on March 23, took a similar line with the press on March 25, saying "there will be no talks with Hamas unless it reverses its coup in Gaza and accepts the PLO legitimacy." Al-Ahmad also told media that he informed the Hamas delegation that it must accept Abu Mazen's appointment of PM Salam Fayyad as the only legitimate government. Al-Ahmad added that Hamas does not have the will to implement Abu Mazen's three conditions and without the will, dialogue between Hamas and PLO factions, including Fatah, will not be resumed. ¶3. (C) A senior administrative official in the President's Office told ConGen Political Specialist that al-Ahmed informed Abu Mazen that Hamas delegates disagreed, even at the Sana'a Declaration signing, with the President's position that the Yemeni Initiative is the bottom line, not the starting point for negotiations. The official said Abu Mazen maintains there is no room for discussion with Hamas on the Yemeni Initiative. President's Office Stands Firm -------------- ¶4. (C) Presidential Chief of Staff Rafiq Husseini told Poloff March 25 that the Sana'a Declaration is "utter nonsense and total rubbish." He said al-Ahmed did not consult with Abu Mazen before endorsing the declaration and signed "only to please Yemen." Husseini said Abu Mazen will participate in the Arab Summit in Damascus, but added that "the Yemeni Initiative is dead" and will not be an area of discussion at the summit. (Note/Comment: Other senior Presidential advisors acknowledge Arab League members may seek to use the Arab League Summit to press for reconciliation, but they insist that Abu Mazen will hold firm on his conditions. Abu Mazen told the Consul General March 25 that he will reiterate these conditions in his Summit speech. End Note/Comment.) ¶5. (C) In an official March 26 statement, Media Advisor Nabil Amre said Abu Mazen accepted the Yemeni Initiative in its original form, which encompasses the conditions that Hamas reverse the coup in Gaza, accept the PA's legitimacy, and accept all PLO commitments. Amre said "this position has been fixed and unchanged." He expressed support for Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh's efforts to forge national unity between Hamas and PLO, but stressed that there is no room for dialogue on the initiative. Hamas seeks to open "endless dialogue on the initiative in order to amend it," he said, but this is not an option. He said Hamas' recent announcement to reshuffle its government in Gaza indicates insincerity in implementing the Yemeni initiative. Separately, Amre told ConGen Political Specialist that the statement was issued to clarify Abu Mazen's position on al-Ahmad's signing of the "Sana'a Declaration." Fatah Reaction -------------- JERUSALEM 00000529 002 OF 002 ¶6. (C) Fatah Central Committee (FCC) members, including Ahmad Qureia (Abu Ala'a),endorsed the Sana'a Declaration March 24. Subsequently, Abu Ala's told the media that the signing of the declaration was "a mix-up." Fatah grassroots leader Qadura Fares told Poloff March 25 that he opposes al-Ahmad's signing of the Sana'a Declaration without approval from Abu Mazen and said a "bigger deal" is needed with Hamas. Fares said Hamas must accept the Arab Peace Initiative's two-state solution and agree to PM Fayyad staying in office until elections are held. "We need to bring Hamas into our political framework," stressed Fares. WALLES