JERUSALEM MEDIA REACTION (02/10): "ISRAELI ELECTIONS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JERUSALEM 000270

SIPDIS

STATE PASS BBG
STATE FOR NEA, NEA/IPA, NEA/PPD
WHITE HOUSE FOR PRESS OFFICE, SIT ROOM
NSC FOR ABRAMS
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 (02/10): "ISRAELI ELECTIONS
WITHOUT PALESTINIAN ILLUSIONS"

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Main Stories:
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Lead stories differ in the three dailies, but appear on all front
pages: Al Quds leads with news that Egypt has sent invitations for
or
internal Palestinian talks to begin in Egypt on February 22. The
paper runs statements by Fatah Central Committee member Nabil
Sha'ath confirming on February 9 that Fatah is willing to discuss
PLO reform with Hamas. The paper also notes that Hamas legislator
Mushir Al Masri announced the formation of a committee to handle the
issue of Hamas detainees in Palestinian Authority detention.

Al Ayyam leads with news agency reports about intensified Gaza truce
efforts in Egypt, hours before Israeli elections, adding that Israel
and Hamas were, "bridging gaps." The paper quotes Egypt's President
Mubarak from a February 9 Paris press conference with French
President Sarkozy, predicting that a truce agreement between Israel
and Hamas will be reached next week. Mubarak is also quoted
thanking the French for supporting Egypt in Gaza truce talks and
extending an invitation to Sarkozy to the "Gaza reconstruction
conference" in March.
Israeli election reporting is featured on all front pages. The
reports, under banner headlines, include photos of the candidates
and predictions of a win by "right-wing" Likud leader Binyamin
Netanyahu. Al Hayat Al Jadida leads with statements by Palestinian
Authority President Abbas from Warsaw on February 9, expressing
readiness to negotiate with any elected Israeli government and
noting, "promising indications and steps by the Obama
administration." Al Ayyam and Al Hayat Al Jadida run inside wire
stories commenting that a Netanyahu win would, "embarrass the Obama
administration" and "raise tensions with the U.S." In related
reporting, all front pages highlight the Israeli closure of all West
Bank and Gaza crossings.

In photo coverage, a pro-Palestinian Authority (PA) President Abbas,
pro-PLO rally in Ramallah on February 9, is on all front pages.
According to linked reporting, the "thousands of Palestinians"
attended the rally also to show their opposition to Hamas calls to
replace the PLO.

Al Ayyam's front page cites DPA in reporting that Ahmad Bahr, Hamas
acting Speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council [PLC] has sent
a letter to international and regional parliament associations
asking them to cancel memberships in the PLO's Palestinian National
Council (PNC) and instead seek membership in the PLC. Bahr also
sent a copy of the letter to the Tehran-based Islamic Countries
Parliaments' Association, according to the paper. [The PLC is a
subsidiary body of the PLO's PNC. The PLC has not been convened
since February 2007]
Al Quds' front page cites DPA in quoting the head of Hamas Polit
Bureau Musa Abu Marzuq, confirming that no prisoner exchange deal
has been reached with Israel. Abu Marzug also highlighted that
Egypt is the sole mediator, thereby denying reports of Turkish and
Qatari mediation.

All front pages highlight the killing of Palestinians. They report
on an Israeli strike on Gaza on February 9 that killed two
Palestinians and the death of a third Palestinian from injuries
sustained in an Israeli strike last week. Al Quds' front page
highlights that 273 Palestinians have been killed by the "siege on
Gaza" including the recent death of two children who could not leave
the Strip to seek urgent medical care. --------------
BLOCK QUOTES:

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1) Al Quds' editorial is titled, "With PLO support and action"
(02/10): "The massive rally in Ramallah yesterday and the speeches
by the national factions' representatives, confirmed, beyond a
doubt, [popular] support for the PLO and its continued historic
representation of the Palestinian people everywhere. It further
confirmed that any attempt to undermine the status of the PLO will
mean nothing but straining [a positive outcome for] the national
cause and fate."
2) Abdul Malik Al Sheikh, from Saudi Arabia publishes an open
letter to President Obama in Al Quds (02/10): "The people of our
region dream that our region will be free of the weapons of mass
destruction and free from... violence... and we hope, Your
Excellency, to realize this dream during your term. However, we
also fear that the forces of hatred that exist in every nation could
assassinate our and your hopes, and that a future of violence will
await our and your children."
3) Hani Al Masri opines in Al Ayyam under the title, "Israeli
elections without Palestinian illusions"(02/10): "Learning from
previous experiences with Israel requires learning the lesson that
Israel is not ready for peace, and that the preferred Israeli
options are: Maintaining the status quo; reviving the Jordanian
option and the Egyptian mandate; returning to unilateral Israeli
measures; establishing one or two Palestinian states that enjoy no
features of statehood except for the label."
WALLES