VZCZCXRO7701
OO RUEHROV
DE RUEHJM #1700 2600730
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 170730Z SEP 09
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6106
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 7862
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 4834
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 4684
RUEHNC/AMEMBASSY NICOSIA 6175
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME 4601
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 3187

UNCLAS JERUSALEM 001700 
 
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 (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