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DE RUEHJM #1813/01 2861420
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O 131420Z OCT 09
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6296
RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHDC
RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NSC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
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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 7892
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 4864
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 4714
RUEHNC/AMEMBASSY NICOSIA 6205
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME 4636
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 3225

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 JERUSALEM 001813 
 
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 SPECIAL MEDIA REACTION (10/13): Palestinian 
Authority officials, Hamas, and opinion leaders react to speeches by 
President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas leader Khaled Mishal 
 
-------- 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas leader 
Khaled Mishal gave back-to-back speeches October 11. In his speech 
from Ramallah, President Abbas reiterated that the PA is committed 
to the peace process. However, he noted that in order to achieve 
peace, the Israelis must halt all the settlement activities and stop 
escalating their attacks against Jerusalem. Abbas also explained the 
rationale for postponing the vote of the Goldstone report, saying 
that the PA feared it would not secure enough support for a positive 
outcome. Finally, Abbas accused Hamas of taking advantage of the 
repercussions of postponing the vote to evade the national 
reconciliation agreement and provoke tension. 
 
Minutes later, Mishal gave a speech from Damascus in which he 
insisted on the Palestinians' right of resistance as long as the 
occupation continues. He accused the PA and Abbas of wasting the 
only chance to punish Israel for committing war crimes in Gaza by 
postponing the vote on the report. He also called on the PA to stop 
the security coordination with the Israelis and Americans. Mishal 
explained that Hamas called for postponing the national 
reconciliation agreement date because the climate is not appropriate 
after the anger that resulted from the Goldstone issue. He accused 
President Obama of being biased to the Israelis, and expressed his 
surprise that Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize for his words only. 
 
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Main Stories: 
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Hamas, Palestinian Authority officials, and opinion leaders reacted 
immediately to the two speeches in the Palestinian and Hamas-run 
press. 
 
Palestinian press and Hamas media outlets highlighted Hamas's swift 
reaction to Abbas's speech; spokesperson Sami Abu Zuhri noted on 
Al-Jazeera Arabic that Hamas considered President Abbas's remarks on 
the Goldstone report an attempt to evade responsibility. He opined 
that the speech included many inaccuracies and contradictions, and 
was full of attacks against Hamas that do not serve Palestinian 
national interests. Finally, Abu Zuhri said that Abbas should have 
admitted that he made a mistake when he called for a postponement to 
the vote on the Goldstone report. 
 
Spokesperson of the Hamas government in Gaza, Taher Al-Nouno, noted 
in a press conference that President Abbas's speech was an attempt 
to deceive the public and evade responsibility for his role in the 
postponement of the vote on the Goldstone report. He noted that 
Palestinians expected an apology from the President but instead 
Abbas appeared adamant that his intentions not be misunderstood. He 
added that the speech did not show a spirit of reconciliation, but 
rather it deepened divisions and hatred. 
 
Hamas's Gaza leader Ismail Haniyyeh said that the speech reflected 
the severe political crime that Abbas committed against the 
Palestinian people. He noted that the speech merely reiterated 
Israeli and US policies, and added that "the conspiracy that is 
being cooked up against our people is very big, and its final 
chapters are almost ready." 
 
Hamas's representative in Lebanon Osama Hamdan expressed his 
 
JERUSALEM 00001813  002 OF 003 
 
 
disappointment that Abbas did not apologize to the Palestinians, but 
rather he chose to escalate things with Hamas. He noted that Hamas 
needs more time to consult with its leadership concerning national 
reconciliation in light of Abbas's speech. 
 
In parallel to these reactions, the local press also highlighted 
Palestinian reactions to Khaled Mishal's speech. The dailies report 
on the Fatah Central Committee condemning Mishal's speech and 
expressing its disappointment in the attacks against Fatah and the 
Palestinian leadership. The reports note that Mishal used a tone of 
incitement against Fatah and President Abbas. 
 
Al-Ayyam reports on Abdel Alim Da'na, member of the Central 
Committee of the Popular Front for Liberation of Palestine, 
reiterating that the only way to end the Palestinian division is 
through the national reconciliation process and therefore he 
criticized Mishal for postponing the reconciliation date. Political 
leaders and analysts echoed this reaction, also criticizing Mishal 
for postponing the national reconciliation agreement date. 
 
Fatah leader Fathallah Abu Samhadana noted that Hamas is only 
looking for justifications to evade the national reconciliation 
agreement and the national dialogue. He stressed that if it wasn't 
the Goldstone report, Hamas would have invented other reasons to 
avoid signing the national reconciliation agreement. 
 
Fatah leader Hussein Al-Sheikh said that Mishal's speech complicates 
the national reconciliation efforts. In reference to Mishal's 
statement that they keep resistance as an option, Al-Sheikh 
inquired, "Where is the resistance that you are talking about when 
you agreed to a truce with Israel in Gaza?" 
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BLOCK QUOTES: 
------------- 
 
1) Omar Hilmi Al-Ghoul opines in Al-Hayat Al-Jadida under the title 
"What did Mishal start the auction with?"  (10/13): "Comparing the 
two speeches of President Abbas [Abu Mazen] and Khaled Mishal, we 
notice a big difference between the two. We have a balanced and wise 
man [Abu Mazen] and a selfish narrow minded man [Mishal] who is 
ready to do anything in order to become the leader of the PLO ... 
Mishal could have done much better if he abdandoned the hatred and 
selfishness. He could have criticized Abbas and the leadership but 
in an objective manner ... The auction is open to everyone, Mishal 
can keep raising the ceiling to destroy national unity and ruin the 
political regime." 
 
2) Rajab Abu Sirriyeh opines in Al-Ayyam independent daily under the 
title: "Abbas/Mishal : Parallel Speeches" (10/13): "While the Abbas 
speech was very well written and focused ... Mishal had an emotional 
speech that addressed the political instincts of the public, a 
typical third world leader. Abbas and Mishal represented two 
different worlds. One belongs to the modern world who seeks to 
become a member of the democratic regime, while the other still 
belongs to a world that disappeared a long time ago ... Mishal's 
speech will serve Netanyahu and ... unfortunately, the Palestinian 
state exists between the weakness of the PA and the stubbornness and 
selfishness of Hamas." 
 
3) Oraib Rintawi opines in Paltoday.com under the title 
"An honest analysis of Abbas speech" (10/13): "How did you, Mr. 
President, allow your people - including Yasser Abed Rabbo - to 
 
JERUSALEM 00001813  003 OF 003 
 
 
speak on your behalf and admit that you made a mistake in postponing 
the vote on the Goldstone report if you say that there wasn't a 
mistake? ... You could have solved all of this with one statement of 
apology to your people ... Such a sentence could have rescued the 
national reconciliation." 
 
RUBINSTEIN