Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09RIYADH807
2009-06-17 14:51:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Riyadh
Cable title:  

SAUDIS OFFICIALLY IGNORE & SAUDI MEDIA CONDEMNS

Tags:  PREL SA IS 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO2249
OO RUEHROV
DE RUEHRH #0807 1681451
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 171451Z JUN 09 ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY RIYADH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1009
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
C O N F I D E N T I A L RIYADH 000807 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/17/2019
TAGS: PREL SA IS
SUBJECT: SAUDIS OFFICIALLY IGNORE & SAUDI MEDIA CONDEMNS
NETANYAHU SPEECH

Classified By: CDA Ambassador Richard Erdman,
Reasons 1.4 (b) & (d)

PEACE WON'T BE MADE BY NETANYAHU
---------------------------------

C O N F I D E N T I A L RIYADH 000807

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/17/2019
TAGS: PREL SA IS
SUBJECT: SAUDIS OFFICIALLY IGNORE & SAUDI MEDIA CONDEMNS
NETANYAHU SPEECH

Classified By: CDA Ambassador Richard Erdman,
Reasons 1.4 (b) & (d)

PEACE WON'T BE MADE BY NETANYAHU
--------------


1. (C) To date there has been no official Saudi Government
public comment on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's
June 14 speech, outlining Israeli policy towards possible
peace with the Palestinians. The lack of public comment is
consistent with Charge's June 13 meeting with Foreign
Minister Saud Al-Faisal, in which Charge urged the Saudis not
to overreact to the speech, and the Foreign Minister replied
they would be focusing not on what Netanyahu said, but on how
the U.S. reacted to it. "It's an open secret on the Arab
side," the Prince added, "that peace won't be made by
Netanyahu."

SAUDI MEDIA REACTION PREDICTABLY NEGATIVE
--------------


2. (U) Reaction in the Saudi media was uniformly dismissive
of Netanyahu's speech:

--Conservative Al-Madina opined "Arabs reject what Netanyahu
offered because it closes doors before any negotiations
begin. What the Israeli Prime Minister wants is a complete
Arab and Palestinian surrender to Israel's demands in
exchange for peace in the region."

--The Managing Editor of moderate/conservative Al-Jazira
wrote, "Netanyahu was attempting to deceive the Americans,
particularly President Obama, by claiming that he approved of
the establishment of a Palestinian state, but what kind of
state was he talking about? A Palestinian state that is not
related to Palestine except through its name."

--The Editor of influential Al-Riyadh wrote: "Listening to
Netanyahu's speech, it became very clear to me that Arab
rights will never be restored by dialogue and that Israel is
basically founded on aggression and obsession. Obsession
over Arab rights and over international resolutions to the
extent that anyone who denies the Holocaust is not considered
for open dialogue, while genocidal operations against the
Palestinians continue as if they are legitimate actions
against a certain kind of human being. This mentality will
not be confronted and the rights of the Palestinians will not
be restored except through courageous violence by the
Palestinians against it."

--Finally, reform-minded Al-Watan wrote, "For the EU to say
that Netanyahu's speech was a step in the right direction is
their business. For the White House to state that the
address was a step forward is their business also, but common
sense says the address was negative and further complicates
the unresolved issues of the Middle East, especially the
Palestinian question. The step in the right direction would
be to accept the Arab peace initiative."
ERDMAN