VZCZCXRO0432
OO RUEHROV
DE RUEHJM #1692 2550917
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 110917Z SEP 08
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 2750
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
RUENAAA/CNO WASHINGTON DC//POLAD//
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE
RUEHTU/AMEMBASSY TUNIS 7314
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 4296
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 4149
RUEHNC/AMEMBASSY NICOSIA 5643
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME 4064
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 2630

UNCLAS JERUSALEM 001692 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE PASS BBG 
STATE FOR NEA, NEA/IPA, NEA/PPD 
WHITE HOUSE FOR PRESS OFFICE, SIT ROOM 
NSC FOR ABRAMS 
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 (9/11):  "ENDLESS NEGOTIATIONS ARE 
NONSENSE" 
 
------------- 
Main Stories: 
------------- 
The three dailies lead with different topics on their front pages. 
Al-Quds leads with a Reuters' story about a September 10 report 
issued by Israel's B'Tselem human rights organization stating that 
Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank have annexed tens of 
thousands of acres of land, some of it privately owned by 
Palestinians.  The story also features on other front pages and 
continues with a quote by Israeli settler leader Yishai Hollander, 
"It must be clear to B'Tselem that if their demands are heeded, it 
will be easier to murder Jews."  Related coverage on all front pages 
reports that the West Bank village of Jayus, located near the 1967 
border, has been sent a notice from the Israeli court requiring them 
to cede land for the construction of the "Apartheid Wall in order to 
limit the mobility of the Palestinian villagers," the reporting 
notes. 
 
Al-Ayyam leads on its front page with an exclusive interview by U.S. 
Consul General Jake Walles, granted on September 10.  Walles touches 
on the topics of borders, U.S. role in negotiations, refugee issues, 
settlement expansion, and the missions of General Frazer and Jones 
in the region.  Al-Ayyam reports the same news on page 7. 
 
Al-Hayat Al-Jadida leads with news from Wafa that one Palestinian 
was killed and another wounded by Israeli military gunfire, as the 
army "invaded" the West Bank city of Nablus on September 10, in an 
attempt to kidnap an Al Aqsa Brigades militant.  The same news is 
highlighted on other front pages. 
 
The September 10 meeting between U.S. Consul General Walles and 
Palestinian Authority President Abbas is front page news in Al-Hayat 
Al-Jadida.  Citing Wafa, the story explains that Abbas briefed 
Walles on the latest developments in the Palestinian Territories, 
Israeli-Palestinian negotiations and efforts by the Palestinian side 
to push the peace process forward. The news also appears on the 
second page of Al-Quds. 
 
News of the U.S. Consulate's book donation to a girls' school in 
Akraba, near the West Bank city of Nablus on September 8, appears in 
Al-Quds on page 14. 
 
------------ 
BLOCK QUOTES: 
------------ 
¶1.  Independent Al-Ayyam runs an editorial by daily columnist 
Abdullah Awwad entitled, "What comes after Negotiations?!" (9/11): 
"[T]he conflict in Palestine since the beginning [has been a]... 
conflict rooted in several clashes:  between an old and new 
history...between the geographic contours of settlements and 
Palestinian [land], between Palestinian demographics and settlement 
demographics.  This is the core of the conflict that has not changed 
since the beginning of negotiations in Madrid and Oslo...the 
presence of Israeli forces and settlements is part of the 
conflict...the endless negotiations...the endless truce...are 
nonsense...they are only a means to implement the Zionist project 
based on a status-quo that has existed since the beginning..." 
 
WALLES