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O 090829Z NOV 09
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6612
RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHDC
RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NSC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RUEKJCS/DIA WASHDC
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RUEAHQA/CSAF WASHINGTON DC//POLAD//
RHMFIUU/CMC WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/CNO WASHINGTON DC//POLAD//
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE
RUEHTU/AMEMBASSY TUNIS 7939
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 4906
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 4756
RUEHNC/AMEMBASSY NICOSIA 6244
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME 4675
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 3267

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 JERUSALEM 002023 
 
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 (11/9): Palestinians want 
President Abbas to reconsider his decision not to run for 
re-election 
 
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Main Stories: 
------------- 
All three dailies continue to report on local Palestinian reactions 
to Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas' announcement 
that he will not run for re-election. President Abbas conducted a 
visit to Hebron and Bethlehem yesterday to inaugurate a number of 
projects with the presence and support of thousands of Palestinians 
urging him to run in the next elections. The headlines quote Abu 
Mazen reiterating that "Israel doesn't want peace and Hamas doesn't 
want reconciliation." 
 
Al-Quds leads with and Al-Ayyam and Al-Hayat Al-Jadida front page 
news citing the Israeli daily Haaretz on Israel fearing a possible 
international endorsement of PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad's plan 
calling for a "unilateral announcement of a Palestinian state on the 
borders of 1967." The coverage reports that Fayyad reached a secret 
agreement with President Obama that the US would recognize an 
independent Palestinian state. The reports note that Netanyahu asked 
President Obama to veto any such proposal. 
 
The dailies also run front page news on Kadima leader Shaul Mofaz 
presenting a plan for negotiations with Hamas and establishing a 
Palestinian state on 60% of the West Bank land within a year. Maan 
reports that Hamas leader Mushir Al-Masri told the Israeli news 
website Ynet that the plan represented "a very important step, but 
we are interested in its translation from talk into action." 
Al-Ayyam, however, front pages news on Al-Masri saying that Hamas 
"rejects the Mofaz plan since it doesn't ensure the Palestinians' 
rights of having a complete independent state with full 
sovereignty." Hamas spokesperson Fawzi Barhoum said that the 
proposal was "a malicious Israeli attempt to take advantage of the 
state of Palestinian disunity, to beautify the occupation, and to 
exploit opportunities to divide us." Al-Hayat Al-Jadida front pages 
news on the PA presidency spokesperson Nabil Abu Rundeina saying 
that such plan will "never see the light" and reiterated that any 
solution that excludes Jerusalem is unacceptable. 
 
Al-Quds front pages news on the Israeli municipality handing out 17 
demolition orders yesterday against Palestinian houses in East 
Jerusalem. 
 
---------------- 
Weekend Stories: 
---------------- 
 
Sunday, November 8: 
 
The three dailies run front page stories on President Obama 
reiterating his full support for a solution that is based on the 
principle of "two states that live side by side in peace and 
security." In a recorded message to commemorate the anniversary of 
the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, President 
Obama said that "Israel will not enjoy security if Palestinians 
continue to live in desperation." President Obama added, "We will 
never give up on our joint objective: just and permanent peace in 
Israel, Palestine, and the Arab world." 
 
Al Ayyam runs a front page story on the intensive contacts by many 
Arab and Western countries in the hopes of convincing President 
Abbas to run for re-election. Hours before giving his speech last 
Thursday, President Abbas received several phone calls and messages 
 
JERUSALEM 00002023  002 OF 003 
 
 
from different countries asking him not to announce his decision. 
According to a Western diplomat, many people thought that President 
Abbas was manoeuvring to confront US pressure to resume negotiations 
after what he considered was an unprecedented change in position 
regarding the cessation of settlement activities. The diplomat who 
spoke under the condition of anonymity said that "after 8:30 pm that 
Thursday evening, it became obvious that things were more serious 
than just a manoeuvre, thus forcing a new pace and approach in terms 
of actions to deal with it." 
 
Al Quds runs a front page story on continued settler aggression 
against Palestinians, their land, and their properties, preventing 
people from harvesting their crops. Palestinians from the village of 
Bourin near Nablus are subject to almost weekly attacks by settlers 
from the nearby settlements of Yitzhar and Brakha. In the most 
recent attack, eye-witnesses said that the settlers reached one 
resident's home but the villagers were able to stop them. As the 
settlers retreated from Bourin, they attacked the village of Irak 
Bourin. Meanwhile, in Hebron, a group of settlers attempted to seize 
by force a building in the city center. Local sources said that 
armed settlers barged into a three-story building of office space 
and clinics trying to take control and transform it into a 
settlement outpost. The settlers' attempt failed. The sources 
confirmed that Israeli soldiers reached the area and evacuated the 
settlers as large numbers of Palestinians gathered around the 
building. 
 
Saturday, November 7: 
 
The three dailies lead with stories on factions, organizations and 
unions outside and inside the country asking President Abbas to 
reverse on his decision not to run for re-election. The groups 
expressed support for President Abbas as the leader of the 
Palestinian people and the sole leader in expressing the people's 
ambitions to attain their legitimate rights and establish an 
independent state with Jerusalem as the capital. 
 
In related news, the dailies quote Israeli sources saying that 
President Obama will offer his commitment to the Palestinian 
leadership that East Jerusalem is not part of Israel and that 
settlement construction in East Jerusalem is illegal. These 
commitments, according to Israeli sources, aim to solve the current 
crisis and convince President Abbas to reverse his decision not to 
run for re-election. 
 
The dailies also highlight President Abbas telling the Central 
Election Commission to move forward with its preparations to hold 
elections on January 24, 2010 in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and 
Jerusalem. 
 
The three dailies run stories on Prime Minister Fayyad expressing 
hope that the external and internal conditions that led President 
Abbas to take his decision not to run for re-election would change. 
In statements to the press, Fayyad stressed that in order to restore 
credibility to the peace process and achieve its goals, Israel 
should be forced to end all settlement activities and construction 
in the occupied territories, including Jerusalem. 
 
Al Quds runs a front page story citing Israeli daily Kol Hasman that 
Israel plans to intensify settlement activity and construction in a 
number of settlements in Jerusalem. The Israeli Ministry of Housing, 
the Jerusalem City Council and Israel's Land Authority allocated a 
 
JERUSALEM 00002023  003 OF 003 
 
 
number of plots to construct an estimated 1800 housing units within 
the next few months, according to coverage. 
 
Al Ayyam runs a front page story on seven US senators pushing for 
the adoption of a bill that would force President Obama to move the 
US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Fourteen years ago Congress 
passed a law that stipulates the US Embassy should be in Jerusalem, 
but gave the president the power to refrain from implementing this 
for security reasons. The new bill proposes to strip the president 
of that power and to postpone the transfer of funds from the State 
Department to the Embassy in Israel until it is moved to Jerusalem, 
according to coverage. 
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BLOCK QUOTES: 
------------- 
 
Al-Quds independent daily runs an editorial under the title "America 
and Europe are requested to take immediate actions" (11/9): "The US 
and European reactions to President Abbas' decision not to run for 
re-election raises many questions and concerns. What are the real 
intentions of Western countries regarding the peace process and 
preserving the rights of the Palestinians? ... If the US and Europe 
want to protect their credibility, they have to take immediate 
action to tackle the issues that made Abbas take this decision." 
 
 
 
RUBINSTEIN