JERUSALEM MEDIA REACTION (11/9): Palestinians want

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 JERUSALEM 002023 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 (11/9): Palestinians want President Abbas to reconsider his decision not to run for re-election -------------- Main Stories: -------------- All three dailies continue to report on local Palestinian reactions to Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas' announcement that he will not run for re-election. President Abbas conducted a visit to Hebron and Bethlehem yesterday to inaugurate a number of projects with the presence and support of thousands of Palestinians urging him to run in the next elections. The headlines quote Abu Mazen reiterating that "Israel doesn't want peace and Hamas doesn't want reconciliation." Al-Quds leads with and Al-Ayyam and Al-Hayat Al-Jadida front page news citing the Israeli daily Haaretz on Israel fearing a possible international endorsement of PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad's plan calling for a "unilateral announcement of a Palestinian state on the borders of 1967." The coverage reports that Fayyad reached a secret agreement with President Obama that the US would recognize an independent Palestinian state. The reports note that Netanyahu asked President Obama to veto any such proposal. The dailies also run front page news on Kadima leader Shaul Mofaz presenting a plan for negotiations with Hamas and establishing a Palestinian state on 60% of the West Bank land within a year. Maan reports that Hamas leader Mushir Al-Masri told the Israeli news website Ynet that the plan represented "a very important step, but we are interested in its translation from talk into action." Al-Ayyam, however, front pages news on Al-Masri saying that Hamas "rejects the Mofaz plan since it doesn't ensure the Palestinians' rights of having a complete independent state with full sovereignty." Hamas spokesperson Fawzi Barhoum said that the proposal was "a malicious Israeli attempt to take advantage of the state of Palestinian disunity, to beautify the occupation, and to exploit opportunities to divide us." Al-Hayat Al-Jadida front pages news on the PA presidency spokesperson Nabil Abu Rundeina saying that such plan will "never see the light" and reiterated that any solution that excludes Jerusalem is unacceptable. Al-Quds front pages news on the Israeli municipality handing out 17 demolition orders yesterday against Palestinian houses in East Jerusalem. -------------- Weekend Stories: -------------- Sunday, November 8: The three dailies run front page stories on President Obama reiterating his full support for a solution that is based on the principle of "two states that live side by side in peace and security." In a recorded message to commemorate the anniversary of the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, President Obama said that "Israel will not enjoy security if Palestinians continue to live in desperation." President Obama added, "We will never give up on our joint objective: just and permanent peace in Israel, Palestine, and the Arab world." Al Ayyam runs a front page story on the intensive contacts by many Arab and Western countries in the hopes of convincing President Abbas to run for re-election. Hours before giving his speech last Thursday, President Abbas received several phone calls and messages JERUSALEM 00002023 002 OF 003 from different countries asking him not to announce his decision. According to a Western diplomat, many people thought that President Abbas was manoeuvring to confront US pressure to resume negotiations after what he considered was an unprecedented change in position regarding the cessation of settlement activities. The diplomat who spoke under the condition of anonymity said that "after 8:30 pm that Thursday evening, it became obvious that things were more serious than just a manoeuvre, thus forcing a new pace and approach in terms of actions to deal with it." Al Quds runs a front page story on continued settler aggression against Palestinians, their land, and their properties, preventing people from harvesting their crops. Palestinians from the village of Bourin near Nablus are subject to almost weekly attacks by settlers from the nearby settlements of Yitzhar and Brakha. In the most recent attack, eye-witnesses said that the settlers reached one resident's home but the villagers were able to stop them. As the settlers retreated from Bourin, they attacked the village of Irak Bourin. Meanwhile, in Hebron, a group of settlers attempted to seize by force a building in the city center. Local sources said that armed settlers barged into a three-story building of office space and clinics trying to take control and transform it into a settlement outpost. The settlers' attempt failed. The sources confirmed that Israeli soldiers reached the area and evacuated the settlers as large numbers of Palestinians gathered around the building. Saturday, November 7: The three dailies lead with stories on factions, organizations and unions outside and inside the country asking President Abbas to reverse on his decision not to run for re-election. The groups expressed support for President Abbas as the leader of the Palestinian people and the sole leader in expressing the people's ambitions to attain their legitimate rights and establish an independent state with Jerusalem as the capital. In related news, the dailies quote Israeli sources saying that President Obama will offer his commitment to the Palestinian leadership that East Jerusalem is not part of Israel and that settlement construction in East Jerusalem is illegal. These commitments, according to Israeli sources, aim to solve the current crisis and convince President Abbas to reverse his decision not to run for re-election. The dailies also highlight President Abbas telling the Central Election Commission to move forward with its preparations to hold elections on January 24, 2010 in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and Jerusalem. The three dailies run stories on Prime Minister Fayyad expressing hope that the external and internal conditions that led President Abbas to take his decision not to run for re-election would change. In statements to the press, Fayyad stressed that in order to restore credibility to the peace process and achieve its goals, Israel should be forced to end all settlement activities and construction in the occupied territories, including Jerusalem. Al Quds runs a front page story citing Israeli daily Kol Hasman that Israel plans to intensify settlement activity and construction in a number of settlements in Jerusalem. The Israeli Ministry of Housing, the Jerusalem City Council and Israel's Land Authority allocated a JERUSALEM 00002023 003 OF 003 number of plots to construct an estimated 1800 housing units within the next few months, according to coverage. Al Ayyam runs a front page story on seven US senators pushing for the adoption of a bill that would force President Obama to move the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Fourteen years ago Congress passed a law that stipulates the US Embassy should be in Jerusalem, but gave the president the power to refrain from implementing this for security reasons. The new bill proposes to strip the president of that power and to postpone the transfer of funds from the State Department to the Embassy in Israel until it is moved to Jerusalem, according to coverage. -------------- BLOCK QUOTES: -------------- Al-Quds independent daily runs an editorial under the title "America and Europe are requested to take immediate actions" (11/9): "The US and European reactions to President Abbas' decision not to run for re-election raises many questions and concerns. What are the real intentions of Western countries regarding the peace process and preserving the rights of the Palestinians? ... If the US and Europe want to protect their credibility, they have to take immediate action to tackle the issues that made Abbas take this decision." RUBINSTEIN