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TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6776
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
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RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC PRIORITY C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 JERUSALEM 002130 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE AND IPA; NSC FOR SHAPIRO/KUMAR; JOINT 
STAFF FOR LTGEN SELVA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/25/2019 
TAGS:            
SUBJECT: PALESTINIAN OFFICIALS, ISRAELI SETTLERS CRITICIZE 
GOI WEST BANK CONSTRUCTION MORATORIUM 
 
Classified By: Consul General Daniel Rubinstein 
for reasons 1.4 (b,d). 
 
SUMMARY 
-------- 
 
 1.  (C)  Summary:  In the build-up to Israeli Prime Minister 
Netanyahu's early-evening November 25 address announcing a 
ten-month moratorium on new West Bank settlement 
construction, senior Palestinian Authority (PA) and 
Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) officials issued a 
flurry of public statements labeling the upcoming GOI 
proposal as an insufficient basis for a return to 
negotiations.  Following PM Netanyahu's televised remarks, 
most reiterated their disappointment with the initiative, 
focusing on the exclusion of East Jerusalem from the 
construction freeze.  Many said this move appeared to 
pre-judge the outcome of final status negotiations.  Some 
anti-settlement NGO contacts voiced cautious optimism about 
the outcome of the GOI decision, while others were caustic. 
West Bank settler leaders were harshly critical of the 
freeze, which they attributed to U.S. pressure.  End Summary. 
 
PLO, PA CONTACTS PREDICT DISAPPOINTMENT IN RUN-UP 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
 2.  (U)  In response to a trickle of preliminary press 
reports, PA and PLO interlocutors issued statements during 
the afternoon of November 25 in anticipation of the GOI's 
evening announcement of a ten-month moratorium on new 
settlement construction in the West Bank.  PA Prime Minister 
Salam Fayyad, speaking from Ramallah, told wire services that 
any settlement freeze must be accompanied by a halt to new 
Israeli construction in East Jerusalem.  "What has changed to 
make something that was not acceptable a week or ten days ago 
acceptable now?" he asked.  "The exclusion of Jerusalem is a 
very serious problem for us."  Fayyad also told reporters, 
"We are not looking for peace talks to resume for the sake of 
it.  We want to see talks strong enough and capable enough to 
deliver the goods." 
 
 
 3.  (U) From Latin America, where President Abbas is 
traveling, PA Presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh told 
the international press that "any resumption of negotiations 
must be based on total cessation of settlement activities in 
the West Bank and East Jerusalem," and that "any arrangement 
that does not include Jerusalem is unacceptable."  PLO chief 
negotiator Saeb Erekat claimed the proposed moratorium would 
allow the construction of 3,000 new settlement units in the 
next ten months, and called it a "dangerous political step." 
Erekat argued that the GOI must instead "implement its 
obligations under the Roadmap and stop the building of 
settlements, including building in East Jerusalem, and 
including natural growth,"  adding that the GOI "must commit 
itself to resuming peace talks from the point at which talks 
stopped in December 2008." 
 
 4.  (C)  PLO Executive Committee (EC) Chair Yasir Abd Rabbo 
called a special EC meeting at his Ramallah office to discuss 
the impending GOI announcement.  PLO EC members Saleh Rafat 
and Hana Amireh told Post that most attendees concluded that 
the offer did not constitute a reason to restart 
negotiations.  They noted that Abd Rabbo told PLO EC members 
that the PLO needed to appreciate the sensitivity of 
relations between the USG and GOI, and "leave room" for the 
USG to negotiate.  Regardless, they said, the PLO EC resolved 
to issue a statement that the Israeli announcement was 
insufficient, that the USG should require the GOI to halt 
settlement in all areas occupied in 1967, including East 
Jerusalem, and that the PLO refused to resume negotiations. 
Abd Rabbo has scheduled a press conference for 11:30 a.m. 
local time on November 26. 
 
SETTLER LEADERS CRITICIZE MOVE IN ADVANCE, AFTERWARDS 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
 5.  (U)  Senior settler leaders were equally vocal in their 
opposition to the anticipated announcement ahead of Prime 
Minister Netanyahu's televised press conference.  Dani Dayan, 
chair of the Yesha Council, an umbrella organization of West 
Bank settlement municipal councils, told Israeli reporters, 
"This represents a total collapse of the policy of the 
Netanyahu government.  It was elected on a platform of 
renewing the development of the Jewish communities of Judea 
and Samaria.  As soon as it took office, it started to put 
difficulties and constraints on our communities.  Now it has 
 
JERUSALEM 00002130  002 OF 003 
 
 
reached the stage of drying them out." 
 
 6.  (C)  Netanyahu's speech appeared to do little to calm the 
anger of Post's contacts in the West Bank settler community. 
Pinchas Wallerstein, General Director of the Yesha General 
Council, told Post following the broadcast, "Netanyahu did 
not tell the Yesha Council, and they will stand against it. 
We're convening in the morning to figure out what the next 
steps of action are."  Hebron community leader David Wilder 
told Post, "We've had no concessions from the Arabs.  They're 
still shooting rockets from Gaza.  The tremendous pressure on 
us from Obama's administration is misplaced, and Netanyahu's 
caving in is embarrassing and disgusting.  Negotiations with 
the Arabs can only be catastrophic.  I don't think there is 
anything to negotiate about.  All the land is Israel." 
 
SETTLEMENT OBSERVERS DIVIDED 
---------------------------- 
 
 7.  (C)  Post contacts in the anti-settlement NGO and 
academic communities were divided in their view of the GOI 
and USG statements.  Dror Etkes of Israeli legal assistance 
NGO Yesh Din told Post shortly after the broadcast of 
Netanyahu's statements that, "This is a joke, a mockery.  Not 
(stopping construction in) Jerusalem, and not (stopping) 
natural growth, not (stopping) whatever was already started 
-- where is the restraint?  For the Palestinians, it's not 
going to be enough; for the settlers, not enough."  He 
continued, "the Israelis want the Palestinians to stop 
playing, and eventually, they did.  I think the Palestinians 
shouldn't go back to negotiations.  What do (negotiations) 
have to offer?" 
 
 8.  (C)  Israeli journalist, historian, and peace activist 
Gershom Gorenberg expressed skepticism about the 
announcement's impact on the ground.  "On the one hand," 
Gorenberg said, "it shows that Bibi is worried about 
relations with the U.S., and is responding to pressure.  On 
the other, it's more spin than reality.  As long as it 
doesn't apply to Jerusalem and projects already under 
construction, it will have minimal effect on settlement 
growth.  Meanwhile, it will infuriate those to Bibi's right. 
It takes me back to the Wye Agreement." 
 
 9.  (C)  Hagit Ofran of anti-settlement NGO Peace Now said, 
"We think it is 'unprecedented' -- a very positive 
development, and we hope that it will be conducive to the 
renewal of talks.  However, this declaration will be measured 
by deeds.  Not including Jerusalem is a big problem, and 
brings a question mark.  (The GOI) saying that after ten 
months we will resume building is a problem -- they should 
say we will consider not rebuilding, after ten months.  The 
Palestinians and Israelis still have many reasons not to 
believe, but we should focus on the positives.  And we are 
positive.  We say that this is historical, but we still have 
our doubts." 
 
JERUSALEM PALESTINIAN LEADER BEMOANS EXCLUSION OF THE CITY 
--------------------------------------------- ------------- 
 
 10.  (C)  Former PA Minister for Jerusalem Affairs Hatem 
Abdel Qader told Post later on November 25 that there could 
be no peace process without a cessation of Israeli building 
in East Jerusalem.  He argued, "Abu Mazen cannot be seen as 
having condoned a 'settlement freeze' that partially freezes 
settlement in the West Bank and allows and condones 
settlement building in East Jerusalem.  That would be 
political suicide for him, in the true sense of the 
expression."  Focusing on Netanyahu's labeling of the West 
Bank as "Judea and Samaria" and his reference to Jerusalem as 
the "eternal capital of Israel," Abdel Qader said, "this is a 
true declaration of war and the end of the peace process for 
a long time to come." 
 
WEST BANK FATAH LEADERS EQUALLY FOCUSED ON EAST JERUSALEM 
--------------------------------------------- ------------ 
 
 11.  (C)  Senior and mid-level Fatah officials raised with 
Post the centrality of East Jerusalem to any moratorium. 
Fatah "Young Guard" leader Qaddura Faris told Post, "the 
danger in this is, no Palestinian official can accept 
settlement building in East Jerusalem.  This means in 
practice that we accept the pre-empting of final status 
negotiations over the status of East Jerusalem before they 
even start."  Faris continued, "If the U.S. were to recognize 
the conclusion that East Jerusalem would eventually serve as 
the capital of Palestine, then this partial deal could be 
 
JERUSALEM 00002130  003 OF 003 
 
 
entertained.  But as this is not attainable, it is impossible 
for the Palestinians to accept this (proposal).  This is an 
official Israeli announcement ending the bilateral process of 
negotiations." 
 
 12.  (C)  Palestinian Legislative Council (from Fatah) member 
Husam Khader asserted to Post that, "the Israeli announcement 
is one problem.  But the U.S. position is the real disaster. 
The U.S. has practically accepted the Israeli position that 
East Jerusalem is not negotiable.  This means the U.S. has 
given up its long-standing policy on Jerusalem."  Khader said 
he expected Abu Mazen to "refuse such a deal," arguing that 
"this shows there is no point to pursuing negotiations as a 
path to end the conflict at the current stage," and that the 
GOI proposal "does not give Abu Mazen the minimum he needs to 
stand in front of the Palestinian people." 
 
 13.  (C)  Palestine National Council (PNC) member Fathi 
al-Ardat echoed Abdel Qader's complaint that Netanyahu had 
referred to the West Bank as "Judea and Samaria," and 
predicted that the GOI would resume construction immediately 
following the end of the moratorium in ten months' time.  He 
was also critical of what he termed the unsatisfactory USG 
response, alleging that there was insufficient attention paid 
by the U.S. to the core issues.  Al-Ardat concluded that the 
Israeli government had managed to impose its will on the U.S. 
and the international community.  It wants to determine the 
end game on Jerusalem before the negotiations even start." 
 
PLO LEADERSHIP CITES QUARTET, INTERNATIONAL LAW 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
 14.  (C)  Late in the evening on November 25, PLO EC member 
Saleh Rafat told Post that "this Israeli announcement puts 
the Palestinians who believe in negotiations into deep 
crisis."  He argued, "we have no choice but to conduct a 
world-wide campaign to show that the Israeli and U.S. 
positions on this issue don't reflect the Quartet 
(principles) and the international community's position.  The 
Palestinian leadership is in a position that it must clarify 
by rejecting the Israeli deal and the U.S. acceptance of it." 
 Rafat remarked, "now that I have heard the ideological 
statements made by Netanyahu, I can say that no Arab country 
and no Palestinian official can accept these provocative 
positions." 
 
 15.  (U)  Following the completion of Netanyahu's and Senator 
Mitchell's remarks, PLO chief negotiator Erekat issued a 
final statement for the day, saying "there is nothing new in 
Netanyahu's speech.  His speech is very clear -- he has 
indicated he will continue settlement-building in Jerusalem 
and in the West Bank, and that settlement-building in 
Jerusalem will be more than it ever was 
before...settlement-building is illegitimate and illegal in 
all of its forms, it violates international law, and it 
cannot be allowed to continue."  He concluded, "Netanyahu's 
speech did not present a formula to resume final status talks 
-- and it did not respond to the minimal obligations of 
Israel under the Roadmap." 
 
COMMENT 
-------- 
 
 16.  (C)  Comment:  The onset of the Muslim holiday of Eid 
al-Adha may serve to take some steam out of the negative 
reactions from Palestinians.  The holiday will distract 
attention from the announcement, and media focus will 
decrease as Palestinian newspapers will only be published on 
the first day of the Eid (Thursday). 
 
RUBINSTEIN