VZCZCXRO1618
OO RUEHROV
DE RUEHJM #0102/01 0191041
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 191041Z JAN 10
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7315
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 8058
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 5011
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 4857
RUEHNC/AMEMBASSY NICOSIA 6345
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME 4776
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 3380

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JERUSALEM 000102 
 
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 (01/19): President Abbas continues 
to refuse negotiations with Israel without a full freeze on 
settlement activity 
 
------------- 
Main Stories: 
------------- 
The dailies report that recent Israeli excavations beneath the 
Al-Aqsa mosque are the cause of the latest collapse in the Wadi 
Hilweh neighborhood of Silwan in East Jerusalem. The Palestinian 
Authority (PA) expects more collapses in the area due to continued 
Israeli excavations. Jerusalem Mufti Mouhammad Hussein urged the 
international community to put pressure on the Israeli authorities 
to halt the excavations under the mosque. 
 
Independent daily Al-Quds leads with news on houses in Gaza affected 
by floodwaters yesterday. Civil defense forces in Gaza evacuated a 
number of families from their homes in Gaza City. 
 
Independent daily Al-Ayyam reports that Special Envoy George 
Mitchell will arrive in Beirut today for a two-day visit to discuss 
regional peace efforts. 
 
The dailies front page news of PA President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime 
Minister Salam Fayyad participating in the Armenian Christmas 
celebration in Bethlehem yesterday. Abbas is quoted in the PA 
official daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida reiterating that the PA will 
continue its efforts towards achieving peace. 
 
In its weekly meeting yesterday, the cabinet approved sending 
humanitarian aid to Haiti. The cabinet also urged the Quartet and 
the US to exert pressure on Israel to stop continued settlement 
activities. 
 
---------------- 
Weekend stories: 
---------------- 
 
Monday, January 18 
 
PA official daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida leads with news on President 
Abbas calling for greater European pressure on Israel to freeze 
settlement activity since the US backed off from calling for a full 
settlements freeze. 
 
The dailies report that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak stated that 
Egypt submitted suggestions to resume peace talks between 
Palestinians and Israelis, which are currently being reviewed by the 
US. Mubarak also stressed that the Palestinian state of division has 
to end, saying that it only serves the Israelis, giving them more 
time to contract new settlements. 
 
Sunday, January 17 
 
The three dailies run front page stories highlighting statements by 
President Abbas rejecting any return to peace negotiations before 
Israel completely freezes settlement activities in the Palestinian 
territories, including Jerusalem. Abbas also said he will not meet 
with Hamas before the group signs the Egyptian plan for Palestinian 
reconciliation. 
 
In related news, Al-Quds and Al-Ayyam quote French sources stating 
that Special Envoy Mitchell, who will visit the region next week, 
will not bring guarantees to the Palestinians on an Israeli 
settlement freeze, the future of East Jerusalem, or US recognition 
of a future Palestinian state. 
 
JERUSALEM 00000102  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
Al-Quds reports that the PA denied having any knowledge of the EU's 
reduction in assistance for the Palestinians. The PA statements came 
in response to media reports Saturday saying that the EU was 
conditioning support to the PA with achieving progress in the peace 
process. 
 
The dailies report that Israeli forces continued shelling the Gaza 
Strip and threatening a new war on Gaza after a rocket fired from 
Gaza landed in the Israeli city of Ashkelon. 
 
Saturday, January 16: 
 
The three dailies run front page stories of confrontation between 
peace activists and Israeli security forces in East Jerusalem's 
Shiekh Jarrah neighborhood during a weekly protest against the 
Israeli eviction of Palestinians from the area. In related news, 
Al-Ayyam and Al-Hayat Al-Jadida run front page stories, with photos, 
of confrontations between Palestinians and peace activists with the 
Israeli army near Ramallah yesterday where Israel is confiscating 
Palestinian land to expand the settlement of Halamish. The papers 
report that dozens of Palestinians suffered from suffocation after 
Israeli soldiers fired tear gas at the protestors. 
 
Al-Quds runs a separate front page story citing an interview first 
published Friday in Israeli weekly Col Hazam with Jerusalem 
Municipal Officer Yakir Segeb during which he said that "The 
Palestinians are a demographic threat, while Ellad [the Israeli 
settlement organization in Jerusalem] is doing a good work, and 
dividing Jerusalem is a catastrophe." 
 
Al-Ayyam runs a front page story on Jewish extremists performing 
religious rituals at Al Qattanin market close to the Al-Aqsa mosque 
in Jerusalem, where the Israeli police forced Palestinian shops to 
close to avoid any confrontation between the two sides. 
 
Al-Ayyam and Al-Hayat Al-Jadida run front page stories quoting 
sources in Paris warning the international community, including the 
US, that the EU will condition its support to the PA with achieving 
progress on the peace process. 
------------ 
BLOCK QUOTE: 
------------ 
Veteran analyst Hani Al-Masri, writing in Al-Ayyam under the title 
"What Does Abu Mazen Rely On?" opines that despite US and 
international pressure, President Abbas was able to stick to his 
position of refusing to pursue talks with Israel prior to the full 
cessation of settlement activities. According to Al-Masri, Abbas has 
to achieve national unity and end the state of internal Palestinian 
division in order to defend his positions. 
 
RUBINSTEIN