VZCZCXRO4132
OO RUEHROV
DE RUEHJM #2028 3140812
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 100812Z NOV 09
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6621
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 7942
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 4909
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 4759
RUEHNC/AMEMBASSY NICOSIA 6247
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME 4678
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 3270

UNCLAS JERUSALEM 002028 
 
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 (11/10): Questions about where the 
peace process goes from here. 
 
------------- 
Main Stories: 
------------- 
The three dailies lead with Palestinian Authority (PA) President 
Mahmoud Abbas' meeting yesterday with Palestinian businessmen in 
Ramallah. The dailies quote Abbas reiterating that the PA will not 
return to negotiations with the Israelis before the cessation of 
settlement activity and noted that an agreement with the Israeli 
government was very close before Netanyahu took office. 
 
In related news, the dailies report on marches in Ramallah yesterday 
with participants urging President Abbas to run in the upcoming 
elections. Al-Hayat Al-Jadida front pages news on Kadima leader 
Tzipi Livni calling President Abbas yesterday to discuss the latest 
developments in the peace efforts. 
 
Al-Hayat Al-Jadida and Al-Ayyam front page news on the meeting 
between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President 
Obama at the White House yesterday. The dailies quote spokesperson 
Robert Gibbs stating before the meeting that "the US policy for 
decades has been no more settlements and that it is nothing new." 
 
The local press continues to report contradicting reactions from 
Hamas officials to the peace proposal by Kadima leader Shaul Mofaz. 
Al-Hayat Al-Jadida reports on Hamas leader in Gaza Mahmoud Zahhar 
saying that "Hamas does not object to negotiating with the Israelis 
to solve a national problem." However, Hamas newspaper Al-Resalah 
quotes Zahhar pointing out that the call for negotiations with 
Israel is "unrealistic," as it will be perceived as normalization. 
 
The dailies report on the Jerusalem municipality distributing 10 
demolition orders against Palestinian houses in East Jerusalem. This 
is in addition to the 17 demolition orders that were reported 
yesterday. 
 
The dailies run photos of Palestinians and foreign peace activists 
dismantling a part of the wall near Qalandia checkpoint yesterday in 
commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the fall the Berlin Wall. 
------------- 
BLOCK QUOTES: 
------------- 
 
1) Adel Abdel Rahman opines in Al-Hayat Al-Jadida official daily 
under the title "Obama and the Palestinians' Despair" (11/10): "Over 
the course of history, none of the US administrations have met the 
expectations of the Palestinian people to end their misery and 
achieve their state. President Obama has to introduce new mechanisms 
to weaken the impact of the Israeli lobby in the US in order to 
achieve his vision and support the Palestinians." 
 
2) Al-Quds independent daily runs an editorial under the title 
"Israel and the Fake Fears" (11/10): "After more than 16 years of 
useless negotiations, we found that settlements expanded, the number 
of settlers increased, and provocative measures against Jerusalem 
intensified ... In addition all this, we hear the Israelis fear a 
Palestinian unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state. They hope 
that the US will support them as if we are supposed to stay under 
the will of the Israelis and their fears!!" 
 
 
RUBINSTEIN