VZCZCXRO7224
OO RUEHROV
DE RUEHJM #0270/01 0411153
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 101153Z FEB 09
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4085
RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHDC
RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NSC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RUEKJCS/DIA WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUEADWD/DA WASHINGTON DC//DAS-ZD/DACS-ZK//
RUEAHQA/CSAF WASHINGTON DC//POLAD//
RHMFIUU/CMC WASHINGTON DC
RUENAAA/CNO WASHINGTON DC//POLAD//
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE
RUEHTU/AMEMBASSY TUNIS 7536
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 4521
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 4369
RUEHNC/AMEMBASSY NICOSIA 5863
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME 4285
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 2857

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" 
 
------------- 
Main Stories: 
------------- 
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: 
 
JERUSALEM 00000270  002 OF 002 
 
 
-------------- 
 
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