TRANSPORT MINISTER LIEBERMAN SLAMS SHARON IN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TEL AVIV 001689

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/17/2014
TAGS: PREL ECON IS GOI INTERNAL GAZA DISENGAGEMENT ISRAELI PALESTINIAN AFFAIRS
SUBJECT: TRANSPORT MINISTER LIEBERMAN SLAMS SHARON IN
MEETING WITH AMBASSADOR


Classified By: Ambassador Daniel C. Kurtzer for Reasons 1.4 (b,c)


1. (C) Summary. Transportation Minister and National Union
leader Avigdor Lieberman on March 17:
-- Called PM Sharon and his unilateral disengagement plan "a
failure," which was not supported by the majority of Israelis
and which appeared to give in to terror;
-- Said the National Union would bolt the coalition should
the Cabinet sign off on the plan;
-- Claimed that forward movement towards peace with the
Palestinians was not possible with Arafat in power;
-- Said that the GOI's role in Negev development should be
limited to current plans to construct a rail line from Tel
Aviv to Dimona;
-- Called the Israeli-Arabs the "key issue for Israel" and
asked for U.S. ideas on how to work with them;
-- Noted the GOI planned to upgrade transportation security
in the wake of the recent Ashdod attack;
-- Said that he had rescheduled his visit to the U.S. for
late April, when he hoped to continue building on good
bilateral transportation cooperation with Secretary Mineta;
and
-- Urged more U.S. companies to bid on the USD 8 billion in
contracts under his ministry's authority. End Summary.

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Unilateral Disengagement: Go Ahead, Make My Day
-------------- --


2. (C) Lieberman, who had asked to see the Ambassador,
savaged the Prime Minister and his unilateral disengagement
plan: "Sharon has failed. On the roadmap, on Abu Mazen, on
Tannenbaum, and now on the new plan." He said the plan came
at the wrong time, both for Israel and for the U.S. At the
very least, Sharon should have waited for the U.S. elections
to pass. He claimed the PM faced intense opposition, within
Likud, the Coalition, the Cabinet, and within Israeli society
as a whole. "Sharon does not have a majority for the plan."
As for his party, Lieberman stressed: "if the Cabinet
approves the plan, the National Union will leave the
government."


3. (C) Lieberman said his opposition stemmed from his belief
that the Palestinians would view a withdrawal from Gaza as a
victory for terror. "They will see it as weakness, not as an
effort to compromise." Gaza settlement evacuation would also
leave Israel exposed: "What if they target Ashkelon's power
generation plants from north Gaza with Qassam rockets? That
represents five percent of Israeli power generation."


4. (C) Lieberman asked for U.S. views of the plan. The
Ambassador noted the USG was engaging closely with the GOI,
and referred to the recent visits to Israel of Deputy NSA
Hadley and A/S Burns. The Administration was interested in
the Israeli ideas. Until we saw "the plan" in detail,
however, the USG would not be able to take a position on it.
He noted the concept of settlement evacuation had points in
common with the President's vision for the region. Also, it
could potentially increase security for Israel while testing
Palestinian seriousness. The Ambassador also cautioned
Lieberman not to underestimate the divisions within
Palestinian society: "There are Palestinians who want a
better life for themselves and want forward movement."

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Lieberman: Get Rid of Arafat; Reform
Palestinian Society; Bring in Egypt/Jordan
--------------


5. (C) Lieberman claimed that forward movement was not
possible with Arafat in power. "We need a partner. Until
Arafat is out, it is impossible to negotiate. Abu Mazen made
that clear." He said Arafat had no interest in a Palestinian
state, but wanted to destroy "our state." He said that any
solution involved Egypt and Jordan: "The Jordanian dynasty
would have a serious problem with an independent Palestinian
state." Aside from Arafat, necessary reform of Palestinian
society would be complex and long-term. "The evolution in
Palestinian society is very dangerous. Hamas is winning
because it is the only organization that helps the people.
The PA is corrupt; even Salaam Fayyad cannot control the
situation." Lieberman outlined a three-step process to
reform Palestinian society: 1. end terror; 2. reform the
economy; 3. reform the society overall (politically,
culturally and educationally).


6. (C) The Ambassador responded that Lieberman's ideas left
few avenues for forward progress. He emphasized that,
although the U.S. fully agreed with Israel that Arafat
impeded the search for peace, eliminating him was not an
option the U.S. supported. It would greatly complicate our
regional efforts.

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Israel Needs to Make Choices, Including
Improving Palestinian Living Conditions
--------------


7. (C) It was important that Israel face up to the hard
choices it had to make going forward, the Ambassador
stressed. Was it viable for Israel to maintain 225,000
settlers in the West Bank, many of whom were in the midst of
areas densely populated by Palestinians? Was having 7,500
Gaza settlers live amongst 1.5 million Palestinians a wise
idea? Although Israel should not take decisions "under
fire", it should also not avoid facing the contradictions
inherent in perpetuating the settler problem while
simultaneously wanting to solve it by pulling out of Gaza.
Israel could take two simple steps that would immediately
improve the Palestinian economy: lift the back-to-back
shipping requirement and improve freedom of movement for
people. The resulting improvement could pay dividends for
Israel.

--------------
Making the Desert Bloom:
Developing the Negev and the Galilee
--------------


8. (C) The Ambassador noted he had told Effie Eitam that,
although they had agreed to disagree on settlements, he was
still interested in Eitam's development efforts within Green
Line Israel, such as in the Negev and Galilee. What was
Lieberman's take? The Minister insisted the GOI should play
only a limited and very specific role in these areas, with
infrastructure development. The key was the newly planned
railroad line to Dimona, which would reduce travel time to
Tel Aviv to an hour and twenty minutes. As for the rest,
"the market will do the job."

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Israeli-Arabs
--------------


9. (C) As the meeting drew to a close, a pensive Lieberman
said "our key issue really is the Israeli-Arabs. What does
the U.S. think?" The Ambassador said he thought
Israeli-Arabs were burdened by leaders focused on everything
but improving their constituents' daily life. Lieberman
claimed the GOI "already invested more per capita in
Israeli-Arabs than in other Israelis." The Ambassador said
he would welcome receiving more information on this.

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Transport Security
--------------


10. (C) Responding to the Ambassador's question about how
the GOI planned to increase transportation security in the
wake of the Ashkelon bombing, Lieberman said his government
would increase investments in new security equipment,
starting at the Karni crossing. The GOI would also improve
security in Israeli ports.

--------------
Visit to the U.S.
--------------


11. (C) Lieberman noted he was rescheduling his planned visit
the U.S. to meet his counterpart, Secretary of Transportation
Mineta. It would probably take place at the end of April,
and he requested the Ambassador alert him to any issues the
Secretary was likely to raise. The Ambassador said he would

SIPDIS
do so. Lieberman stressed the good bilateral cooperation on
transportation security issues.

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Trade Issues
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12. (C) Lieberman said he was disappointed that more U.S.
companies were not participating in tenders falling under his
aegis. "I have USD 8 billion in tenders out there and I want
U.S. companies." He said he was tired of just Siemens and
Bombardier constantly competing for the same tenders -- there
was not enough competition.

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