JERUSALEM MEDIA REACTION (01/21): Local press report that

UNCLAS JERUSALEM 000132 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 (01/21): Local press report that Special Envoy George Mitchell arrives without any new guarantees -------------- Main Stories: -------------- Independent daily Al-Ayyam leads with news citing well informed Palestinian sources saying that the Palestinian leadership is under pressure to return to negotiations with Israel. The leading headline says that Special Envoy George Mitchell isn't bringing anything new this time and wants to pursue negotiations without a full settlement freeze. Independent daily Al-Quds front pages news on Mitchell saying from Syria that the US is committed to comprehensive peace in the region. The dailies highlight stories on Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak approving upgrading a college in the Ariel settlement to a university. The headlines all state that this will be the first Israeli university in the West Bank. In related news, dozens of settlers attacked Awarta village near Nablus on Tuesday night, destroying tomb stones and the door of a school. The dailies also report that the Israeli authorities submitted notices to the Bedouins of Ka'abneh in Jericho yesterday notifying them that the Israelis will demolish a mosque and a school no later than February 4, 2010, claiming that the Bedouins lack the appropriate building permits and that the buildings are located in Area C. Citing Israeli daily Ha'aretz, Al-Quds front pages a report that the Israeli Ministry of Interior stopped giving work permits to foreigners who work with international NGOS in the Palestinian Territories and Jerusalem. The Al-Quds headline says that Israel will move the offices of the international organizations from Jerusalem to the West Bank. The dailies report that the Fatah Revolutionary Council issued a statement yesterday at the conclusion of its meetings in Ramallah renewing its support for Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas and all PA institutions. The council called for promoting the popular resistance against the wall and settlement activities. The council also stressed that Hamas should sign the national reconciliation plan without amendments. -------------- BLOCK QUOTE: -------------- Al-Quds runs an editorial under the title "After a Year of Promises, Nothing Will Change if We Ourselves Don't Change" which talks about President Obama after his first year in office. The editorial argues that none of Obama's promises were achieved, but says that the problem is not with President Obama or the pressure that he is being exposed to, but rather with the weak Palestinian and Arab leadership that lacks the strategic vision to defend Palestinians' rights. The editorial concludes that Palestinians should not wait for others to help them solve their problems. RUBINSTEIN