SASSON CALLS FOR U.S. TO "SAVE ISRAEL FROM

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TEL AVIV 006021

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/01/2015
TAGS: PREL PGOV KWBG IS SETTLEMENTS
SUBJECT: SASSON CALLS FOR U.S. TO "SAVE ISRAEL FROM
HERSELF" - PRESS GOI TO IMPLEMENT HER REPORT


Classified By: DCM Gene A. Cretz for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) Summary: EconCouns met with Talia Sasson (strictly
protect) on September 28 to discuss implementation of her
recommendations on curbing illegal settlement activities in
the West Bank. Sasson reported a lack of progress in the
inter-ministerial committee charged with implementing her
recommendations, and said that the impediments to taking
action are political, not legal. Finally, she stressed that
U.S. pressure created the impetus for her report, and only
U.S. pressure can move the GOI to implement its
recommendations. End Summary.

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Sasson Recommendations Unlikely to be Fully Adopted
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2. (C) Talia Sasson, the attorney who, at the request of the
Prime Minister, wrote the March 2005 report on illegal
outpost activity in the territories, told EconCouns and
EconOff on September 28 that she has participated in all of
the inter-ministerial committee meetings from March through
July that discussed her report, and fully explained her
recommendations on curbing outpost activity to committee
members. Noting that she was often put on the defensive, she
said that her recommendations are unlikely to be fully
adopted in the face of strong opposition from many committee
members. Sasson surmised that Justice Minister Tzipi Livni,
who chairs the committee, will reformulate her
recommendations to make them "less stringent," but Sasson
would not speculate on the result.

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USG Should &Save Israel From Herself8
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3. (C) In response to EconCouns' question as to the source
of opposition to the recommendations in her report, Sasson
replied that the "right-wingers don't like the report and
will do whatever they can to stop the government from
stopping outposts." She remarked that actions taken on
outposts are connected to the larger political situation, and
noted that the Prime Minister,s win in the Likud Central
Committee vote gives him time to figure out how to approach
the issue. Sasson said she does not know the Prime
Minister's intentions, but for now, "it's a time out." She
confirmed that the Ministry of Defense (MOD) can dismantle or
stop the expansion of outposts at any time, since the legal
infrastructure to do so already exists. She stressed again
that it is not a legal but rather a political issue, and that
the MOD can act when it receives orders from the Prime
Minister. When EconCouns mentioned that the MOD had earlier
told emboffs that outposts would be dealt with in a different
way after disengagement, Sasson was skeptical, commenting
that the MOD people &have to defend themselves to U.S.
officials.8 She said that her report was commissioned
because of U.S. pressure, and that the GOI will not take any
actions against outposts unless the U.S. pressures Israel
again. She suggested that the USG "save Israel from
herself."


4. (C) Sasson reported that none of her recommendations have
to go through the Knesset to be implemented because the MOD
and not the Knesset has jurisdiction over activity that takes
place in the territories. (Note: MOD Adviser said to the
Ambassador Septel that some of the the recommendations would
require Knesset approval. End Note) Noting that her
suggestions deal with both evacuating outposts and stopping
new construction in them, she maintained that they ought not
to be problematic, since the outposts are acknowledged to be
illegal. However, she cited the Amona outpost as an example
of where the MOD has yet to enforce a High Court ruling
ordering the dismantling of nine permanent homes. Sasson
commented that the inter-ministerial committee considering
her report has not met since July, because committee members
were busy tracking the disengagement plan, and said she does
not know when the committee will propose its own legislation.
She indicated that the committee has already written some
informal recommendations, but she has not been permitted to
see them.

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Give the Defense Minister the Power to Approve Building
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5. (C) According to Sasson, her most controversial
recommendation suggests that the Defense Minister be the sole
authority empowered to approve construction in the
territories. Those opposing the idea claim that this would
subject the Minister to heavy pressure from settlers. When
asked if the Defense Minister did not already have to approve
all West Bank building plans, Sasson responded that the
Defense Minister's signature is not required for building on
land that was privately owned before 1948. (Note: Post will
follow-up to determine the accuracy of Sasson's claim. End
note.)

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Does the GOI Really Want to Evacuate Outposts?
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6. (C) In response to EconCouns' question on whether a
stronger legal framework would provide political cover to
make removing outposts easier, Sasson responded that the
question presumes that the GOI actually intends to remove
outposts in the first place. She said that if watered-down
legislation is passed, it could indicate a lack of political
will to deal with the issue. She went on to say that she is
unsure whether anyone in the government knows exactly what to
do with the West Bank. She commented that Sharon's ideas and
strategies seem to change depending on which group is
pressuring him at a particular time.

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Deadlines Keep Getting Extended
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7. (C) Sasson remarked that the committee continues to
extend the deadline for issuing its recommendations, and is
now 30 days past its original 60-day extension. (Note: The
committee was supposed to issue its recommendations in late
June, but received an extension through late August. End
note.) Sasson said that Livni will act if there is negative
press, because she does not respond well to bad publicity.
In addition, Sasson said that several well known reporters
have assured her that they will not let her report drop from
public discussion.

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