ISRAELI OFFICIALS TRAVEL TO CAIRO TO WORK ON

C O N F I D E N T I A L TEL AVIV 004321

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/12/2015
TAGS: PREL PGOV EG IS GOI EXTERNAL
SUBJECT: ISRAELI OFFICIALS TRAVEL TO CAIRO TO WORK ON
PROPOSED BILATERAL ISRAELI-EGYPTIAN COMMITTEE


Classified By: Ambassador Daniel C. Kurtzer for reasons 1.4 (B) and (D)
.


1. (C) Summary: During a July 10 trip to Cairo, two senior
MFA officials were unable to reach agreement with the
Egyptians on an MOU to establish a bilateral committee. The
GOI is waiting for an Egyptian reply to an Israeli letter
proposing biannual meetings of the foreign ministers and
ad-hoc sessions of subcommittees on political, economic,
consular/legal and people-to-people issues. The Israelis
said they had been hopeful of reaching agreement in light of
recent improvements in bilateral relations and suggested that
the USG consider raising the issue. End summary.


2. (C) Staffdel Talwar discussed Israeli-Egyptian relations
with Jacob Dayan, FM Shalom's chief of staff, on July 11.
Dayan said that he and MFA Director General (D-equivalent)
Ron Prosor had traveled to Cairo on July 10 at the invitation
of the Egyptians in the hope of concluding an MOU to
establish a bilateral committee. Uri Gotman, the director
for Egyptian Affairs at the MFA, told poloff on July 12 that
Intelligence Chief Omar Soliman had first mentioned the
possibility of a civilian committee in March 2004. FM Shalom
quickly adopted the idea as part of his campaign to improve
ties with the Arab world. Dayan said the bilateral committee
would mirror the existing committee of military personnel
that has proven successful in coordinating security issues.


3. (C) Gotman noted that little progress was made until
September 2004, when FM Shalom discussed the idea with the
Egyptians at the UNGA in New York. At that time the GOI
presented a letter proposing biannual meetings of the foreign
ministers as well as four ad-hoc subcommittees on: 1)
political issues, international organizations and
multilateral affairs; 2) economic issues, tourism,
agriculture, and international development; 3) consular,
protocol, and legal issues; and 4) people-to-people
dialogues.


4. (C) According to Gotman, the GOI had expected a response
to their proposal on July 10, but had not received one,
possibly because the Egyptian FM was out of town. Dayan said
he had been hopeful of concluding the MOU following recent
improvement in the bilateral relationship, including the QIZ
agreement, the natural gas agreement, Egyptian assistance
with disengagement and the return of the Egyptian ambassador
to Tel Aviv. Gotman explained that the GOI is generally
pleased with its relations with Egypt, but is concerned that
recent improvements may be linked to Cairo's interest in
deploying border guards along the Philadelphi Strip. He said
that in negotiations on the bilateral committee, the
Egyptians continue to stall and "are driving a hard bargain,
maybe because they do not believe in it." He suggested that
the USG consider raising the issue with the Egyptians to help
move the process forward.

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KURTZER