Cablegate: Jerusalem Media Reaction (09/17): Negative Reporting About

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FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6106
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RUEHTU/AMEMBASSY TUNIS 7862
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 4834
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 4684
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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 (09/17): Negative reporting about
Special Envoy Mitchell's Meetings

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Main Stories:
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The local press leads with stories calling Special Envoy George
Mitchell's meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a
failure. The coverage notes that Mitchell did not reach an agreement
with Netanyahu during their meeting yesterday and that they will
continue discussions tomorrow. The reports question the possibility
of a meeting in New York between Netanyahu, President Obama and
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Al-Hayat Al Jadida
quotes Netanyahu saying "No arrangements for a tri-lateral meeting
were made, and I've decided to cut short my visit to New York."
Netanyahu also stated that Israel will never withdraw to the 1967
borders, according to coverage.

The three dailies run coverage of Israel's announcement that they
will remove 100 dirt barriers in the West Bank. Reports quote an
Israeli military official claiming that this step is part of the
ongoing efforts to improve the West Bank economy. The dailies note
that the UN estimates there are over 600 obstacles in the West
Bank.

The dailies report that over 300,000 Palestinians prayed at Al Aqsa
Mosque last night ("Laylat al-Qadr" - "Night of Destiny"). The
reports note that this huge number of people who turned out despite
Israeli restrictions on who can enter Jerusalem from the West Bank
demonstrates the importance of Al-Aqsa Mosque to Palestinians.

In continued coverage of the UN report on Israeli and Hamas actions
during the recent conflict in Gaza, all three dailies note that
Washington has some "concerns" about the report's recommendations
and noted Israel's campaign to counter the report's findings.
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BLOCK QUOTES:
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1) In the Column "Hadeeth Al-Quds" (Jerusalem Talk) in
Al-Quds independent daily under the title "War Crimes since Sabra
and Shatila: We Want the Criminals to Be Put on Trial" (09/17): "The
meetings of U.S. Special Envoy George Mitchell and Israeli Prime
Minister Netanyahu reached the stalemate that Netanyahu has been
planning for ... The Arab states, Palestinians and the international
community wonder if President Obama is unable to achieve a temporary
freeze of settlement activities, how will he achieve a peace
agreement, which must include the removal of settlements?"

2) Omar Al-Ghoul opines in Al-Hayat Al-Jadida independent
daily under the headline "Who Is More Obstinate than Netanyahu?"
(09/17):"Modern history has not seen a conflict as ugly as the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict for several reasons. One is the
complexity of the settlements. Israel's leaders have exceeded the
limits of logic with its immoral actions. There's a saying that
applies to the situation that says "we accepted the oppression but
the oppression didn't accept us."

RUBINSTEIN

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