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TAGS: PREL KMDR KPAL KWBG KPAO IS
SUBJECT: JERUSALEM MEDIA REACTION (11/9): Palestinians want
President Abbas to reconsider his decision not to run for
re-election
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Main Stories:
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All three dailies continue to report on local Palestinian reactions
to Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas' announcement
that he will not run for re-election. President Abbas conducted a
visit to Hebron and Bethlehem yesterday to inaugurate a number of
projects with the presence and support of thousands of Palestinians
urging him to run in the next elections. The headlines quote Abu
Mazen reiterating that "Israel doesn't want peace and Hamas doesn't
want reconciliation."
Al-Quds leads with and Al-Ayyam and Al-Hayat Al-Jadida front page
news citing the Israeli daily Haaretz on Israel fearing a possible
international endorsement of PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad's plan
calling for a "unilateral announcement of a Palestinian state on the
borders of 1967." The coverage reports that Fayyad reached a secret
agreement with President Obama that the US would recognize an
independent Palestinian state. The reports note that Netanyahu asked
President Obama to veto any such proposal.
The dailies also run front page news on Kadima leader Shaul Mofaz
presenting a plan for negotiations with Hamas and establishing a
Palestinian state on 60% of the West Bank land within a year. Maan
reports that Hamas leader Mushir Al-Masri told the Israeli news
website Ynet that the plan represented "a very important step, but
we are interested in its translation from talk into action."
Al-Ayyam, however, front pages news on Al-Masri saying that Hamas
"rejects the Mofaz plan since it doesn't ensure the Palestinians'
rights of having a complete independent state with full
sovereignty." Hamas spokesperson Fawzi Barhoum said that the
proposal was "a malicious Israeli attempt to take advantage of the
state of Palestinian disunity, to beautify the occupation, and to
exploit opportunities to divide us." Al-Hayat Al-Jadida front pages
news on the PA presidency spokesperson Nabil Abu Rundeina saying
that such plan will "never see the light" and reiterated that any
solution that excludes Jerusalem is unacceptable.
Al-Quds front pages news on the Israeli municipality handing out 17
demolition orders yesterday against Palestinian houses in East
Jerusalem.
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Weekend Stories:
----------------
Sunday, November 8:
The three dailies run front page stories on President Obama
reiterating his full support for a solution that is based on the
principle of "two states that live side by side in peace and
security." In a recorded message to commemorate the anniversary of
the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, President
Obama said that "Israel will not enjoy security if Palestinians
continue to live in desperation." President Obama added, "We will
never give up on our joint objective: just and permanent peace in
Israel, Palestine, and the Arab world."
Al Ayyam runs a front page story on the intensive contacts by many
Arab and Western countries in the hopes of convincing President
Abbas to run for re-election. Hours before giving his speech last
Thursday, President Abbas received several phone calls and messages
JERUSALEM 00002023 002 OF 003
from different countries asking him not to announce his decision.
According to a Western diplomat, many people thought that President
Abbas was manoeuvring to confront US pressure to resume negotiations
after what he considered was an unprecedented change in position
regarding the cessation of settlement activities. The diplomat who
spoke under the condition of anonymity said that "after 8:30 pm that
Thursday evening, it became obvious that things were more serious
than just a manoeuvre, thus forcing a new pace and approach in terms
of actions to deal with it."
Al Quds runs a front page story on continued settler aggression
against Palestinians, their land, and their properties, preventing
people from harvesting their crops. Palestinians from the village of
Bourin near Nablus are subject to almost weekly attacks by settlers
from the nearby settlements of Yitzhar and Brakha. In the most
recent attack, eye-witnesses said that the settlers reached one
resident's home but the villagers were able to stop them. As the
settlers retreated from Bourin, they attacked the village of Irak
Bourin. Meanwhile, in Hebron, a group of settlers attempted to seize
by force a building in the city center. Local sources said that
armed settlers barged into a three-story building of office space
and clinics trying to take control and transform it into a
settlement outpost. The settlers' attempt failed. The sources
confirmed that Israeli soldiers reached the area and evacuated the
settlers as large numbers of Palestinians gathered around the
building.
Saturday, November 7:
The three dailies lead with stories on factions, organizations and
unions outside and inside the country asking President Abbas to
reverse on his decision not to run for re-election. The groups
expressed support for President Abbas as the leader of the
Palestinian people and the sole leader in expressing the people's
ambitions to attain their legitimate rights and establish an
independent state with Jerusalem as the capital.
In related news, the dailies quote Israeli sources saying that
President Obama will offer his commitment to the Palestinian
leadership that East Jerusalem is not part of Israel and that
settlement construction in East Jerusalem is illegal. These
commitments, according to Israeli sources, aim to solve the current
crisis and convince President Abbas to reverse his decision not to
run for re-election.
The dailies also highlight President Abbas telling the Central
Election Commission to move forward with its preparations to hold
elections on January 24, 2010 in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and
Jerusalem.
The three dailies run stories on Prime Minister Fayyad expressing
hope that the external and internal conditions that led President
Abbas to take his decision not to run for re-election would change.
In statements to the press, Fayyad stressed that in order to restore
credibility to the peace process and achieve its goals, Israel
should be forced to end all settlement activities and construction
in the occupied territories, including Jerusalem.
Al Quds runs a front page story citing Israeli daily Kol Hasman that
Israel plans to intensify settlement activity and construction in a
number of settlements in Jerusalem. The Israeli Ministry of Housing,
the Jerusalem City Council and Israel's Land Authority allocated a
JERUSALEM 00002023 003 OF 003
number of plots to construct an estimated 1800 housing units within
the next few months, according to coverage.
Al Ayyam runs a front page story on seven US senators pushing for
the adoption of a bill that would force President Obama to move the
US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Fourteen years ago Congress
passed a law that stipulates the US Embassy should be in Jerusalem,
but gave the president the power to refrain from implementing this
for security reasons. The new bill proposes to strip the president
of that power and to postpone the transfer of funds from the State
Department to the Embassy in Israel until it is moved to Jerusalem,
according to coverage.
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BLOCK QUOTES:
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Al-Quds independent daily runs an editorial under the title "America
and Europe are requested to take immediate actions" (11/9): "The US
and European reactions to President Abbas' decision not to run for
re-election raises many questions and concerns. What are the real
intentions of Western countries regarding the peace process and
preserving the rights of the Palestinians? ... If the US and Europe
want to protect their credibility, they have to take immediate
action to tackle the issues that made Abbas take this decision."
RUBINSTEIN