ITALY SAYS CURRENT ICJ/SECURITY BARRIER RESOLUTION

UNCLAS ROME 002763 SIPDIS SENSITIVE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL IS IT UNGA ICJ SUBJECT: ITALY SAYS CURRENT ICJ/SECURITY BARRIER RESOLUTION LANGUAGE UNACCEPTABLE; WILL FOLLOW EU LINE ON VOTE REF: STATE 152014 ¶1. (SBU) MFA Director for Egypt, Israel and the Occupied Territories Luca Sorgi told poloff that Italy found unacceptable a number of paragraphs in the current Arab Group draft resolution calling for UNGA endorsement of the ICJ advisory opinion on the Israeli security barrier. He mentioned specifically that the general attempt to move the process away from a negotiated settlement and towards a legally binding decision was unhelpful. He said Italy shares the EU position as stated in the July 12 GAERC conclusions which endorses the Roadmap process and calls for enhanced EU participation through the Quartet. ¶2. (SBU) When pressed, Sorgi said that Italian objections to the draft were not sufficiently strong to promise a "no" vote. The draft was under "careful scrutiny" by a group of experts under the guidance of the EU Presidency in New York. Italy also wanted to wait for the results of attempts in New York to convince the Arab Group to revise the draft. Such revisions would have to take into account reftel concerns, including acknowledgment of recent court decisions in Israel mandating changes in the barrier's route, with which the Government of Israel has indicated it will comply. When poloff further pressed Sorgi for Italy's vote should the draft be presented for an UNGA decision as currently written, he declined to speculate, saying only that the EU would coordinate a common position. ¶3. (U) MFA Office Director for UN/IO Alessandro Busacca reiterated that Italy and its EU partners were aware of and shared US concerns as outlined in reftel. He noted that Italy's delegation in New York was working actively on the issue. Visit Rome's Classified Website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/rome/index.cf m SEMBLER NNNN 2004ROME02763 - Classification: UNCLASSIFIED