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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel was at the White House for talks with President Barack Obama. The three newscasts had different assessments of the importance of the meeting. CBS mentioned it only in passing. In fact, CBS did not assign a single correspondent to any overseas story in its newscast. NBC had Savannah Guthrie file from the White House but filed no follow-up. ABC treated it most seriously, with Simon McGregor-Wood in Jerusalem and Jake Tapper in Washington.
The Obama-Netanyahu talks had two main agenda points: the prospect of a Palestinian state; and the prospect of nuclear-armed Iran. An unidentified "senior Israeli official" told ABC's Tapper that Obama told Netanyahu that "stopping Iran's nuclear program supersedes all other issues." NBC's Guthrie noted that ending Iran's nuclear ambition was certainly Netanyahu's "one urgent priority;" Obama merely restated his "commitment to pursue diplomatic talks with Iran."
As for the creation of a state of Palestine, NBC's Guthrie saw "key divisions remain" between the United States and Israel: Obama called for "a two-state solution" while "the Prime Minister pointedly did not use those words." ABC's Tapper also saw "clear differences" noting that "Netanyahu would not commit to any Palestinian state." The Israeli leader rejected any right to return home for descendants of Palestinians "who were expelled in 1948 when Israel was created" and he insisted that Palestinians "recognize Israel as a Jewish state" rather than an integrated one.
ABC's Tapper quoted Obama's demand--"Settlements have to be stopped"--while pointing out that Netanyahu supports their expansion. Tapper's colleague McGregor-Wood showed us one West Bank settlement, population 40,000, where "construction shows no sign of slowing down. Palestinians want this land for their state. Israel calls it natural growth and says the building must continue on land they insist will stay Israeli in any peace deal." Meanwhile, inside Jerusalem itself, Palestinians "are also losing ground. Dozens more homes are under threat to make way for more Israeli homes and parks."
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