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DE RUEHJM #1654/01 2570634
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 140634Z SEP 09
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6058
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
RHMFIUU/CNO WASHINGTON DC//POLAD//
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE
RUEHTU/AMEMBASSY TUNIS 7856
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 4828
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 4678
RUEHNC/AMEMBASSY NICOSIA 6169
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME 4595
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 3180

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 JERUSALEM 001654 
 
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 (09/14): Palestinian factions 
insist presidential and legislative elections be held in January 
2010 
 
------------- 
Main Stories: 
------------- 
Al-Quds leads with news citing Israeli daily Haaretz that an 
agreement has been reached between the Palestinians and Israelis to 
re-launch negotiations next month based on an agreement to create an 
independent Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders in two 
years. The report notes that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud 
Abbas has designated Chief Negotiator Saeb Erekat to lead the 
Palestinian negotiations team, while President Abbas will conduct 
talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Al-Ayyam, 
however, quotes Erekat denying an agreement of this type. 
 
The local press highlights the September 13 meeting between Prime 
Minister Netanyahu and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo. 
According to coverage, Mubarak urged Netanyahu to halt all 
settlement activities (including natural growth), and stressed that 
Jerusalem has very special status for the Arabs and Muslims, which 
should be respected. Mubarak also urged Israel to pursue 
negotiations with the Palestinians. 
 
Al-Quds front pages news on Prime Minister Netanyahu reiterating 
Sunday that there are still gaps between the US and Israeli 
positions regarding re-starting negotiations, which have to be 
bridged during his talks with the US Special Envoy George Mitchell. 
 
 
The local press highlights news on Jibreel Al-Roujoub, member of the 
Fatah Central Committee noting to the press after his meeting with 
Egyptian Intelligence Chief Omar Sulaiman and Arab League Secretary 
General Amr Mousa in Egypt on September 13 that Fatah is committed 
to holding presidential and legislative elections in January 2010. 
Al-Roujoub reiterated that Fatah is working hard to achieve national 
reconciliation based on a unified clear vision. In related news, 
Al-Hayat Al-Jadida front pages coverage citing AFP on Palestinian 
politicians and analysts expecting that October should be a turning 
point for national reconciliation efforts, either producing an 
agreement or deepening the state of division between Hamas and 
Fatah. 
 
All three dailies report on the launching of the partnership program 
between Bard College and Al-Quds University on September 13. The 
papers quote US Consul General Daniel Rubinstein noting that this 
project represents the partnership that President Obama called for 
with the Arab World and focused on fostering greater educational 
partnerships and exchanges between the US and the Arab world. 
 
---------------- 
Weekend Stories: 
---------------- 
 
Sunday, September 13: 
 
All three dailies run front page stories citing sources within the 
Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) Executive Committee 
confirming that the Palestinian response to the Egyptian plan to end 
the internal division will include four main issues: the importance 
of building upon what was agreed during the previous rounds of 
national dialogue; rejection of any attempts to undermine the status 
and role of the PLO; the need to ensure that none of the proposed 
measures contradict with the Basic Law of the Palestinian Authority 
(thereby rejecting the idea of postponing the legislative and 
 
JERUSALEM 00001654  002 OF 003 
 
 
presidential elections); and, accepting any agreement that helps end 
the occupation. Al Ayyam reported that President Abbas' response to 
the plan consisted of a number of comments and observations, the 
most important of which was the lack of a specific date for 
conducting the presidential and legislative elections. Hamas said 
that they will respond to the plan after the Eid holiday. 
 
Al Quds runs a front page story on a report issued by the Jerusalem 
Center for Social and Economic Rights that stated American 
organizations are financing illegal and illegitimate settlements 
through tax exempt donations. The report calls upon the US to stop 
these organizations that finance the construction of settlements on 
Palestinian lands, particularly in Jerusalem, including those that 
finance the seizing of real estate and properties owned by 
Palestinians in Jerusalem. (Al Quds publishes an extensive review of 
the report in the inside pages.) 
 
Saturday September 12: 
 
Al Hayat Al Jadida and Al Quds run front page stories quoting 
Palestinian Chief Negotiator Saeb Erekat stating that Special Envoy 
George Mitchell will meet Tuesday with Palestinian Authority 
President Mahmoud Abbas. During the meeting, Abbas will emphasize 
the need to exert pressure on Israel to stop all settlement 
activities. Erekat also stressed that there are no plans for a 
meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu, and noted the importance of 
Mitchell's upcoming visit that comes prior to the Quartet's meeting 
later this month in New York. 
 
Al Ayyam and Al-Hayat Al-Jadida run front page stories on Prime 
Minister Netanyahu's Sunday meeting with President Mubarak to 
discuss reviving the peace process. Israeli media sources reported 
that Prime Minister Netanyahu hopes that Egypt will convince 
President Abbas to participate in a tri-lateral meeting with 
Netanyahu and President Obama on the margins of the UN General 
Assembly meetings in New York. 
 
Al Quds runs a front page story citing Israeli sources that the 
Jerusalem Municipality, in cooperation with the Israeli government, 
is preparing to build 3,000 new settlement units in Gilo, Abu Ghneim 
(Har Homa), Pisgat Ze'ev, and Ramot. The Israeli weekly newspaper 
Kol Hazman reported Friday that construction will start soon. In 
related news, representatives of Israeli settlers in the West Bank 
announced Friday the launch of a campaign against a settlement 
freeze. The campaign will start on/around September 20 with a sit-in 
across the street from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's 
headquarters in Jerusalem. 
------------- 
BLOCK QUOTES: 
------------- 
 
1) Rajeh Abu Asab opines in Al-Quds independent daily under the 
title "Isn't it time to end the Palestinian division?" (09/14): "In 
order to bridge the gaps between the Palestinian factions, 
presidential and legislative elections must be held next January as 
scheduled ... and then form a national unity government for an 
independent Palestinian state with clear borders." 
 
2) Samih Shbeib opines in Al-Ayyam independent daily under the title 
"Presidential and legislative elections" (09/14):"Holding the 
Palestinian elections is a political battle by all means. It is a 
battle against the internal division, against those who dismiss the 
 
JERUSALEM 00001654  003 OF 003 
 
 
law and order. It is a battle to preserve legitimacy and protect 
it." 
 
RUBINSTEIN