JERUSALEM MEDIA REACTION (01/22): Palestinian media ask

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JERUSALEM 000137 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 (01/22): Palestinian media ask what has changed since President Obama took office -------------- Main Stories: -------------- Independent daily Al-Quds leads with a headline quoting President Obama saying "We exaggerated about our capacity to end the Middle East conflict." Reports note that the Palestinian leadership reiterated that President Obama is committed to the two state solution, but stressed that in order to achieve this vision, Israel must abide by international laws and commit to the road map. Palestinian Authority (PA) official daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida runs a lead photo of a banner hanging in Ramallah that has a picture of Obama and reads "One year for Obama...What has changed?" The dailies report that Special Envoy George Mitchell met with Israeli officials yesterday in Tel-Aviv and will meet President Mahmoud Abbas today in Ramallah. The reports note that Mitchell discussed Israeli gestures of goodwill that will support the re-launching of negotiations. PLO Chief Negotiator Saeb Erekat condemned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's statements that Israel will maintain its presence on the Eastern borders of a Palestinian state. Erekat noted that in order for Mitchell to succeed in his mission, Netanyahu's conditions should be ignored because they jeopardize the two state solution. PA Presidency spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeina noted that the PA will not accept even one Israeli soldier in the Palestinian territories after the Israeli occupation is over and accused Netanyahu of putting more obstacles on the peace process. The PLO issued a statement yesterday accusing Israel of obstructing the peace talks by their continued settlement activities, noting that the Israelis are the ones that should be pressured, not the Palestinians. The statement also condemned the Israeli decision to open the first Israeli university in the West Bank, saying it "ruins all the foundations for negotiations." -------------- BLOCK QUOTE: -------------- Adel Abdel Rahman, writing in Al-Hayat Al-Jadida under the title "Netanyahu and Abu Mazen" opines that those who are concerned about achieving peace in the region and the world must first force Prime Minister Netanyahu to respect international laws and resolutions, especially a full cessation of all settlement activity. -------------- Palestine Cyberspace: -------------- This week, Palestinian cyberspace focused on Haiti relief efforts and on settlers' practices in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Social Media carried the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights' (PCHR) weekly report on Israeli human rights violations in the occupied Palestinian territory (13 - 20 Jan 2010) Palestinian Social Media also carried the vlog (Video Blog) posted on palestinevideo.blogspot.com titled Incitement: Settlers Tour of Hate Through Occupied Hebron The Palestine Telegraph, an on-line newspaper based in Gaza, reported on Obama's one year anniversary in office under the title BARACK OBAMA, a year of Silence and Failure! JERUSALEM 00000137 002 OF 002 RUBINSTEIN