VZCZCXRO4826
OO RUEHROV
DE RUEHJM #2311 3580511
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 240511Z DEC 09
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7089
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 8013
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 4980
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 4830
RUEHNC/AMEMBASSY NICOSIA 6318
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME 4749
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 3353

UNCLAS JERUSALEM 002311 
 
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 (12/23): President Abbas says he 
will not allow another uprising to take place 
 
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Main Stories: 
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The lead stories in the Palestinian media today focuses on the 
reported lack of progress in the prisoner exchange deal between 
Hamas and Israel. The German mediator is quoted in the press urging 
Israel to reconsider its reservations regarding the deal. 
 
Independent dailies Al-Quds and Al-Ayyam front page news citing 
Israeli TV Channel One that the Israeli cabinet approved the release 
of 125 out of 170 prisoners from Hamas' list of names. The German 
mediator will meet with Hamas leaders today in Gaza to pass them the 
Israeli response. Independent news outlet Maan reports that Abu 
Mujahid, spokesperson for the Popular Resistance Committees, said 
that the Palestinian armed groups holding Shalit will meet today as 
soon as the groups receive the Israeli response from the German 
mediator. 
 
The dailies run headlines accusing Israel of obstructing the deal by 
its insistence on expelling a number of prisoners after being 
released. 
 
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' interview with the 
Wall Street Journal published on Tuesday receives front page 
coverage in the dailies. Abbas is quoted saying that he stopped a 
third Palestinian intifada from occurring during the Israeli war in 
Gaza last winter and said he will not allow another uprising to take 
place as long as he is in office. 
 
Abbas also reiterated his call for a complete settlement freeze in 
the West Bank and East Jerusalem prior to holding direct talks with 
Israel, and warned of the increased depression among Palestinians 
due to the continued settlers' attacks and stalled negotiations. 
 
The dailies front page news and photos of the third European 
humanitarian aid convoy for Gaza arriving in Amman yesterday from 
London with hundreds of British, Syrian, Turkish, Jordanian and 
European volunteers. 
 
Al-Quds reports on the Al-Aqsa Institute for Cultural Heritage 
condemning Israel's widespread excavations under the mosque, 
including stealing stones and monuments from the Ummayad palaces 
near the mosque. The paper runs a front page photo of Israeli 
workers stealing the stones from the Ummayad palaces. 
 
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BLOCK QUOTES: 
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Al-Quds runs an editorial under the title "Why is Israel Hesitant to 
Conclude the Prisoner Exchange Deal?" questioning why the right wing 
in Israel is not willing to make a decisive decision in the prisoner 
exchange deal three and a half years after Shalit was kidnapped. The 
writer finds no justification for the Israeli hesitance in 
concluding the deal after all these years and questions why the 
government would allow Israeli right-wing extremists to have the 
final say in such a deal. The writer also believes that in addition 
to the limited number of prisoners that would be released in this 
deal, all Palestinian prisoners should be freed if a genuine peace 
process is to start. 
 
MARCHESE 
E