MDA: EGYPT AND ARAB LEAGUE LOOKING FOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 CAIRO 003752

SIPDIS

GENEVA FOR RMA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/16/2015
TAGS: PREL KPAL EG IS ICRC MDA
SUBJECT: MDA: EGYPT AND ARAB LEAGUE LOOKING FOR
"CONCILIATORY GESTURES" FROM ISRAEL

REF: A. STATE 89991 (NOTAL)

B. CAIRO 2515 (NOTAL)

C. CAIRO 2481

D. CAIRO 2058 (NOTAL)

E. CAIRO 1798 (NOTAL)

Classified by Charge Gordon Gray for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

--------------
Summary
--------------


1. (C) In the absence of the Foreign Minister, who has been
in Brazil and is now in Libya, the Acting DCM delivered ref A
demarche on May 16 to MFA Assistant Minister for Arab Affairs
Hani Khallaf, stressing that senior U.S. officials may raise
the Third Protocol/Magen David Adom (MDA) issue this week
during the visit to Washington of Prime Minister Nazif.
Khallaf said that Egypt was willing to be constructive but
wanted evidence that Israel was prepared to make conciliatory
gestures to improve the current atmosphere in the regional
peace process. Khallaf further requested to know which Arab
governments were ready to move forward on the conference
issue, as he understood Egypt's position to be entirely in
keeping with all other Arab and Muslim states. Responding to
concerns that Egypt was leading efforts to block progress on
the issue, Khallaf directed blame toward Turkey and other
states for their hard-line positions on convening a
diplomatic conference.


2. (C) Post has also engaged senior Arab League staff, who
shared USG concerns directly with Secretary General Amre
Moussa. The League position on the topic, as embodied in a
March 2001 Council of Ministers Resolution rejecting Israeli
inclusion in the Red Cross/Red Crescent Movement, remains
fixed, and it would take considerable effort by the League
and members to amend the League's position ahead of its next
Council meeting in September. League Spokesman Zaki shared
with us that Moussa was not opposed to resolution of the
issue but believed it encumbent upon Israel to create a
"conducive atmosphere" through conciliatory gestures to the
Palestinians and the Arabs on the peace process. Post
understands Swiss envoy Didier Pfirter will return to Cairo
in late May for meetings with senior Egyptian officials,
including the Foreign Minister. Likewise, the Charge intends
to raise our concerns with the Egyptian Foreign Minister as
soon as he returns to Egypt and we can arrange an
appointment. End summary.

--------------
Egyptians Insist "Time Not Right"
--------------


3. (C) With the Charge awaiting a meeting with Foreign
Minister Aboul Gheit upon the latter's return from Libya, and
with MFA Assistant Minister for Multilateral Affairs Fathalla
on extended travel in New York for the NPT Revcon, the Acting
DCM delivered ref A demarche to MFA Assistant Minister for
Arab Affairs Hani Khalaf on May 16. The Acting DCM described
our interest in resolving the Third Protocol/MDA issue and
requested Egypt's assistance within the Organization of
Islamic Conferences (OIC),in Geneva, and with the Arab
League. We advised Khallaf that Washington had taken on
board Foreign Minister Aboul Gheit's comment to the Charge
during their March 30 meeting (ref B) that Egypt would "try
to be helpful" on this topic. The Acting DCM called for the
GOE to support the convening of a diplomatic conference later
this year aimed at bringing the Magen David Adom (MDA) into
the International Red Cross/Red Crescent Movement.


4. (C) Khallaf, who mentioned that earlier in his career he
was responsible for multilateral humanitarian issues, said
that Egypt had for some time been interested in resolving the
Third Protocol/MDA issue but was now particulary concerned
with the question of timing being discussed by the Swiss and
the USG. The international situation with respect to the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict, he said, was currently not
conducive to changing what he described as unanimous Arab and
Muslim opposition to MDA membership. Listing general Arab
concerns over Israeli policies toward the Palestinians,
Khalaf questioned assertions that other Arab states were
willing to move forward on the Swiss and U.S. proposals.
Asking for specific names, Khalaf said that Egypt believed
that opposition among Arab states to the Swiss efforts was
unanimous. Egypt did not specifically oppose eventual
resolution of the issue, but did share the general Arab
position that the timing was not right. Second, Khalaf
questioned what "positive steps" had been taken by Israel to
signal that the atmosphere for resolving this issue was
right. Evidence that other Arab states were more
forward-leaning on the subject, he continued, would help to
change Egypt's current stance. In light of the lack of
progress on consideration by the Swiss of holding a separate
conference dealing with Israeli behavior vis-a-vis the Fourth
Geneva Convention, the Arab position will likely remain
consistent, he argued. Still, other countries within the OIC
such as Turkey have been more hard-line on the MDA issue,
Khalaf stated, sourcing MFA reports from his diplomat son
based in Geneva. The most effective information that the
U.S. could provide, he concluded, was evidence that the
Israelis were taking steps to resolve outstanding issues
related to the peace process.

--------------
Swiss Envoy Expects to Return to Cairo in May
--------------


5. (C) Speaking to Swiss Embassy officer Peter Nelson May
12, poloff learned that the Swiss envoy handling the MDA
issue, Didier Pfirter, is expected in Cairo for his second
official visit toward the "end of May" for consultations with
the GOE. (Note: Assistant Minister Khalaf confirmed to the
Acting DCM during their meeting that Pfirter would be in
Egypt possibly May 27 or 28. End note.) The Swiss envoy
hopes to meet with Egyptian Foreign Minister Aboul Gheit, who
was out of town during Pfirter's last Cairo visit. Nelson
welcomed poloff's readout on recent talks in Washington
between Pfirter and Department officials, as well as readouts
of post's ongoing dialogue with GOE and Arab League contacts
on this topic. While tracking the issue closely, Nelson
admitted that Pfirter was controlling exclusively the MDA
portfolio for his government, and that the Swiss Embassy was
not engaged with GOE or Arab League officials on the topic.

-------------- --------------
Arab League Resolution Defines Opposition to MDA Membership
-------------- --------------


6. (C) Poloff met Arab League Deputy Secretary General for
Palestinian Affairs Said Kamal May 10, and again on May 11 in
the company of League official Soheil Bseiso, to explore
League thinking on the MDA/Third Protocol issue. Kamal,
generally reasonable and cooperative toward the U.S., was
categoric in his rejection of Arab League flexibility on the
subject, arguing that the Israeli side "deserved no
concessions" while it pursued expansion of West Bank
settlements, construction of its security wall, and targeted
violence toward the Palestinians. Bseiso, like Kamal a
Palestinian, had attended Pfirter's April meeting with Amre
Moussa and described the latter's position as adhering to
League policy. Generally inflexible and doctrinaire on the
issue, Bseiso sought to link resolution of the MDA issue to
Swiss efforts to address discussions on the 4th Geneva
Convention. Bseiso asserted that Moussa was bound by a
resolution adopted by the Arab League Council of (foreign)
Ministers in March, 2001, and that he was merely implementing
Arab League policy. Bseiso shared a copy of that resolution
and asserted that only a new resolution could amend the
League's position.


7. (C) In a separate meeting May 15 with League Spokesman
Hossam Zaki, poloff raised USG concerns over reports that
Secretary General Amre Moussa was spearheading opposition to

SIPDIS
the Swiss effort to convene a diplomatic conference to
address the Third Protocol/MDA issue. Stressing that the
Swiss intended to move forward with the diplomatic
conference, and that Moussa himself was being increasingly
identified as an impediment, poloff stressed that the issue
was important to the USG and an issue we were committed to
resolving. Zaki responded defensively, arguing that the
League was only reflecting member views, but committed to
sharing our concerns with Moussa. The same afternoon, Zaki
called poloff back twice after discussing with Moussa to say
that the Secretary General believed the issue should and will
be resolved. Moussa felt that the Arabs would respond in
kind to "positive gestures" from Israel, that is, if Israel
created a "conducive atmosphere" of respect and cooperation
on the peace process, Zaki relayed. Such respect and
cooperation are so far absent from the Israeli side, he
asserted.


8. (C) During a May 16 meeting with Arab League Secretariat
Chief of Staff Hesham Youssef on other topics, Youssef raised
the Third Protocol issue with poloff, noting that the USG
position on the subject had been conveyed to his office by
Said Kamal. Youssef largely repeated what other senior
League officials had said, requesting the USG to show as much
interest in the issue of the Fourth Geneva Convention as it
was showing in the MDA issue. To poloff's assertion that
regional Red Crescent Societies had indicated willingness to
be constructive on this issue, Youssef asserted that the
Federation of Red Crescent Societies sent the Arab League a
letter "very recently" in which it argued that the time was
not right to address MDA membership in the Red Cross/Red
Crescent movement.
-------------- --------------
Suggestions on Next Steps With GOE and Arab League
-------------- --------------


9. (C) We recommend that the Department consider approaching
Egyptian Assistant Minister Fathallah in New York to press
our concerns and relay USG positions, as he is responsible
for the multilateral portfolio within the MFA. Secondly, for
the Charge's next meeting with the Foreign Minister, post
would welcome cleared talking points that address GOE
concerns expressed above and specific steps we recommend the
GOE take. Lastly, we will seek a readout from the Swiss
Embassy of the expected Pfirter visit to Cairo later this
month.


Visit Embassy Cairo's Classified Website:
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/cairo

You can also access this site through the
State Department's Classified SIPRNET website.

GRAY