VZCZCXRO5537
OO RUEHROV
DE RUEHJM #0288 0481105
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 171105Z FEB 10
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7597
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 8086
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 5043
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 4885
RUEHNC/AMEMBASSY NICOSIA 6373
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME 4807
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 3408

UNCLAS JERUSALEM 000288 
 
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 (02/17): President Abbas says 
there will not be peace without Jerusalem as the capital of a 
Palestinian state 
 
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Main Stories: 
------------- 
 
The dailies highlight Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud 
Abbas' and Prime Minister Fayyad's separate meetings with the 
Austrian Foreign Minister yesterday in Ramallah. Al-Quds quotes 
President Abbas saying "settlement activities must be halted before 
the resumption of negotiations. There will be no solution or peace 
without an Arabic Jerusalem as the capital of the Palestinian 
state." Al-Ayyam quotes Prime Minister Fayyad saying "We allocated 
$40 million to develop the Jordan valley area...we're focusing on 
developing rural and marginalized areas." Fayyad is also quoted in 
Al-Quds saying "supporting the existence and survival of 
Palestinians on their land is resistance." 
 
The dailies run front page stories reporting that the Dubai 
authorities are questioning two Palestinian suspects in the murder 
of Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Mabhouh. Al-Quds reports that Hamas 
retreated from accusing the PA for the murder and is now blaming 
Israel. The headline in Al-Hayat Al-Jadida claims that some of the 
suspects are in Israel carrying Israeli IDs. Ma'an and Al-Ayyam 
report that an Israeli man holding a British passport was shocked to 
see his face on the suspects' list. He says his identity was 
stolen. 
 
Al-Hayat Al-Jadida and Ma'an report on a number of changes in the PA 
cabinet. Ma'an reports that three ministers were fired: Justice 
Minister Khashan Ali, Education Minister Lamis Al-Alami, and 
Agriculture Minister Ismail Deiq. Reports also note that the current 
Minister of Interior, Saeed Abu Ali, was offered the position of 
Chief of Staff. Abu Ali denied the existence of such an offer. 
Al-Quds and Al-Ayyam report that these changes were not made. 
 
------------ 
BLOCK QUOTE: 
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Hani Habib opines in Al-Ayyam under the title "Moscow's 'Maybe'... 
and Tel-Aviv's 'If'" saying: "Secretary of State Clinton arrived in 
the Gulf to say that the region should be worried about Iran's 
nuclear program. This concern is translated into more US weapons 
that the Gulf countries waste their oil money on buying, and the 
expansion of US military bases on their lands." 
 
 
 
RUBINSTEIN