JERUSALEM MEDIA REACTION (01/11): Israelis and Palestinians

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 JERUSALEM 000045 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 (01/11): Israelis and Palestinians trade blame for the failure to resume negotiations -------------- Main Stories: -------------- The dailies lead with news on the death of five Palestinians from Israeli attacks in central Gaza yesterday. The dailies also front page news on Israeli forces demolishing shelters housing approximately 150 Palestinians in Tana village near Nablus. A spokesman for the Israeli authorities said that the 14 shelters were "illegally constructed structures," adding that they had been built on a military training ground, "endangering the lives of those present." PA official daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida reports that Israel is not taking seriously Senator George Mitchell's statement that the US could withhold loan guarantees to pressure Israel into making compromises with the Palestinians. The coverage quotes Israeli Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz saying "We don't need to use these guarantees ... But several months ago we agreed with the US Treasury on guarantees for 2010 and 2011, and there were no conditions." Independent daily Al-Quds reports on Senator Joe Lieberman saying that Congress will not allow the Administration to withhold financial assistance to Israel. Independent daily Al-Ayyam reports on the Palestinian Authority (PA) Presidency Spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeina refusing to accept that the PA is to blame for obstructing any progress towards the two state solution, as Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu stated yesterday. Netanyahu's office issued a statement on Sunday stating that "Everyone realizes that the Palestinian Authority refuses to renew peace talks, while Israel took significant steps to advance the process." All three dailies report on Berlanty Azzam, the Bethlehem University student who was removed from the West Bank and returned to Gaza by the Israeli authorities, receiving her university degree in Gaza. Bethlehem University Vice President Brother Peter Bray gave Azzam the certificate in a ceremony held in the Latin Patriarch in Gaza yesterday. The local press report on the head of the Hamas political bureau Khaled Mishal noting that Hamas will submit its response to the German mediator concerning the prisoner exchange deal in 2-3 days. Reports note that Netanyahu refuses to release Palestinian prisoners who are "terrorist figures" as part of the deal. -------------- Weekend Stories: -------------- Sunday, January 10: The three dailies run front page stories on Secretary of State Clinton's meetings with the Jordanian and Egyptian Foreign Ministers in Washington. Reports note that Clinton asked President Abbas to give up his demand for a full cessation of settlement activities as a condition for resuming negotiations. Chief PA Negotiator Saeb Erekat said "we highly appreciated President Obama's call, on his first day in office, to President Abbas. We also highly appreciated the fact that he appointed Senator George Mitchell as an envoy to the peace process during his first week in office." However, "it is very unfortunate that the American administration failed to hold the Israeli government responsible for obstructing President Obama's effort to launch a genuine peace process." Palestinian political JERUSALEM 00000045 002 OF 003 analyst Hani Al Masri said "President Obama started on a very promising note, but the shock is reflected in the tremendous and surprising change of position in the first round because he gave in to the pressures of the Jewish lobby and moved from a position of promising full cessation of settlement activities to a position where partial freezing of these activities was considered an unprecedented step, and ultimately moving towards exerting pressure on the Palestinians." In related news, Al-Quds and Al-Hayat Al-Jadida run separate front page stories on the Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs Aboul Gheit saying that "the lack of common ground and the absence of proper circumstances" make it impossible for PA President Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to start direct negotiations right now. Al-Quds and Al-Ayyam front page news on Prime Minister Netanyahu's office responding to statements by Special Envoy George Mitchell that the US could withhold loan guarantees if Israel did not act on moving negotiations with Palestinians forward. Netanyahu's office said that "Israel, as well known to everyone, has taken significant steps to move the peace process forward, while the Palestinian side continues to refuse the resumption of negotiations." Al-Ayyam and Al-Hayat Al-Jadida run front page stories on the Jerusalem Center for Social and Economic Rights reporting that more than 125,000 Jerusalemites risk losing their residency rights in Jerusalem because of the wall built around Jerusalem, rather than 50,000 as reported by the Jerusalem Municipality. Saturday, January 9: The dailies lead with stories on Special Envoy George Mitchell stating that the US could withhold loan guarantees to Israel if the latter did not take steps to move the peace process forward. Mitchell added that the US will use incentives or sanctions with the Israelis and the Palestinians alike in order to push the peace process forward. Despite that, Mitchell said, a "slight progress" has been achieved recently towards resuming peace negotiations and the US will continue its efforts to achieve further progress. Al-Quds and Al-Hayat Al-Jadida carry front page news on Israeli sources revealing a plan to build a new settlement in the Ras Al Amoud area in Jerusalem consisting of 100 units over an area of 11 dunnums. In related news, Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak gave settlement councils the power to approve any additions or changes to existing buildings that do not entail building new residential units. The three dailies front page news on Israeli government sources saying that Prime Minister Netanyahu's hardened position on the prisoner exchange deal might force Hamas to close the door on this subject. An Israeli official said that as the German mediator resumed his efforts between Israel and Hamas after the Christmas holidays, Netanyahu did not give him any room to negotiate. News reports mentioned that Hamas rejected the most recent Israeli offer. Al-Ayyam front pages a story citing the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reporting that the US might explore the possibility of launching indirect negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority because President Abbas continues to refuse direct negotiations. The newspaper added that according to this plan, Special Envoy George Mitchell and his team will meet separately with both parties and JERUSALEM 00000045 003 OF 003 present the position of each party to the other in an attempt to bridge the gap between them. The report added that this is the same unsuccessful approach used by Presidents Bush and Clinton in the Israeli-Syrian negotiations. -------------- BLOCK QUOTE: -------------- Abdel Rahim Malouh, Vice Chairman of the Popular Front for Liberation of Palestine, writing in Al-Quds under the title "We Need to Abide by International Rules and Resolutions," opines that President Obama must stick to his earlier position ion regarding the Palestinian-Israeli conflict that both sides must abide by international laws and resolutions ... Malouh believes that Obama is very much like former US President Bush, as they both defend the interests of Israel. Malouh concludes that neither the Palestinian leadership nor the Palestinian people are responsible for the stalemate in negotiations. RUBINSTEIN