JERUSALEM MEDIA REACTION (06/09): PALESTINIANS: NEW

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JERUSALEM 000945 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 (06/09): PALESTINIANS: NEW ELECTIONS WILL END DIVISION" -------------- Main Stories: -------------- Al-Quds leads with and Al-Hayat Al-Jadida and Al-Ayyam front page a wire report quoting U.S. Special Envoy Mitchell on June 8 stating that the U.S. is committed to the establishment of a Palestinian state. Mitchell also noted that President Obama wants to start immediate talks between Israel and the Palestinians in order to reach a comprehensive peace agreement in the Middle East with normalized relations between Israel and Arab countries. The peace, Mitchell continued, will also serve U.S. security interests, according to coverage. Mitchell is also quoted addressing the donors community at the donors conference in Oslo on June 7. He stated that the objective of the donors conference was to provide all needed support to the Palestinian Authority and pave the way for the two-state solution by establishing an independent Palestinian state that lives side by side with Israel. Al-Hayat Al-Jadida runs a front page headline quoting Israeli Shas party leader Yishay on June 7 demanding intensified settlement activities in the West Bank, while Israeli Minister Yusi Biled calls for Israeli pressure on the U.S. and President Obama in reaction to U.S. policy on Israeli settlements. Al-Hayat Al-Jadida leads with comments by Palestinian Authority President Abbas noting on June 8 that the Palestinian Authority is fully ready to negotiate with Israel if Israel respects previously signed agreements and abides by the Roadmap which calls for the two-state solution and a complete halt to settlement activities, including natural growth. Al-Hayat Al-Jadida's front page cites Ma'an news agency in reporting that an agreement between Fatah and Hamas is being prepared in Cairo in cooperation with the U.S., Egypt and Israel. The agreement will be made public in July, according to reporting. PLO Chief Negotiator Erekat told press that the Palestinian Authority (PA) will not object to a new government headed by a Hamas Prime Minister as long as that government would implement Gaza reconstruction, prepare for new PA presidential and legislative elections and commit to previously signed agreements. Al-Quds runs a front page story citing "Tel-Aviv" about Israel examining possibilities for partially lifting "the siege" imposed on the Gaza Strip, in reaction to President Obama's June 4 speech in which Obama criticized Israelis restrictions on Palestinian movement. Al-Ayyam runs a front page report citing Reuters about Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu telephoning President Obama on June 8 to talk to the President about his June 14 speech which will present Israeli policy on peace in the Middle East. All dailies run inside coverage of the June 8 MOU signing ceremony between the U.S. Consulate General and Salfeet Municipality to launch an American Corner in Salfeet. The Consul General is quoted from his remarks referring to President Obama's Cairo speech and highlighting the importance of cultural exchange between the U.S. and other cultures. -------------- BLOCK QUOTES: -------------- 1) Hani Al-Masri opines in Al-Ayyam independent daily under the the title, "The fate of national dialogue after the Qalquilya incidents and Obama's speech"(06/09): "If the Palestinian Authority is JERUSALEM 00000945 002 OF 002 serious about ending Palestinian division, it must recognize that any solution must benefit all concerned parties, particularly after Obama's speech which proved the seriousness of the U.S. to end the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. An [inter-Palestinian] agreement must be based on a national program that integrates Gaza, the West Bank, the Palestinian Authority and the Palestinian Liberation Organization into a partnership at all levels, only then will division end." 2) Al-Quds independent daily runs an editorial under the title "Dialogue and the voice of the people"(06/09): "Palestinian division is not only disagreements and conflicts but it is the crux of the political solution... if agreement among Palestinians seems difficult, that is because each of the parties wants to have the upper hand. We need to hold elections so that the people to make their own choice." WALLES