VZCZCXRO3724
OO RUEHROV
DE RUEHJM #0132 0210746
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 210746Z JAN 10
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7355
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 8061
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 5014
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 4860
RUEHNC/AMEMBASSY NICOSIA 6348
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME 4779
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 3383

UNCLAS JERUSALEM 000132 
 
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 (01/21): Local press report that 
Special Envoy George Mitchell arrives without any new guarantees 
 
------------- 
Main Stories: 
------------- 
Independent daily Al-Ayyam leads with news citing well informed 
Palestinian sources saying that the Palestinian leadership is under 
pressure to return to negotiations with Israel. The leading headline 
says that Special Envoy George Mitchell isn't bringing anything new 
this time and wants to pursue negotiations without a full settlement 
freeze. Independent daily Al-Quds front pages news on Mitchell 
saying from Syria that the US is committed to comprehensive peace in 
the region. 
 
The dailies highlight stories on Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak 
approving upgrading a college in the Ariel settlement to a 
university. The headlines all state that this will be the first 
Israeli university in the West Bank. 
 
In related news, dozens of settlers attacked Awarta village near 
Nablus on Tuesday night, destroying tomb stones and the door of a 
school. The dailies also report that the Israeli authorities 
submitted notices to the Bedouins of Ka'abneh in Jericho yesterday 
notifying them that the Israelis will demolish a mosque and a school 
no later than February 4, 2010, claiming that the Bedouins lack the 
appropriate building permits and that the buildings are located in 
Area C. 
 
Citing Israeli daily Ha'aretz, Al-Quds front pages a report that the 
Israeli Ministry of Interior stopped giving work permits to 
foreigners who work with international NGOS in the Palestinian 
Territories and Jerusalem. The Al-Quds headline says that Israel 
will move the offices of the international organizations from 
Jerusalem to the West Bank. 
 
The dailies report that the Fatah Revolutionary Council issued a 
statement yesterday at the conclusion of its meetings in Ramallah 
renewing its support for Palestinian Authority (PA) President 
Mahmoud Abbas and all PA institutions. The council called for 
promoting the popular resistance against the wall and settlement 
activities. The council also stressed that Hamas should sign the 
national reconciliation plan without amendments. 
------------ 
BLOCK QUOTE: 
------------ 
Al-Quds runs an editorial under the title "After a Year of Promises, 
Nothing Will Change if We Ourselves Don't Change" which talks about 
President Obama after his first year in office. The editorial argues 
that none of Obama's promises were achieved, but says that the 
problem is not with President Obama or the pressure that he is being 
exposed to, but rather with the weak Palestinian and Arab leadership 
that lacks the strategic vision to defend Palestinians' rights. The 
editorial concludes that Palestinians should not wait for others to 
help them solve their problems. 
 
RUBINSTEIN