ABU MAZEN: "ONE POLICY FOR PA"

C O N F I D E N T I A L AMMAN 001848 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/13/2016 TAGS: PREL KWBG PGOV IS JO SUBJECT: ABU MAZEN: "ONE POLICY FOR PA" Classified By: Ambassador David Hale for reasons 1.4 (b and d). ¶1. (C) Summary. Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) met with foreign ambassadors in Amman, March 12. Abu Mazen told the ambassadors that there is only one policy for the Palestinians - to pursue peace through the Quartet-led roadmap. He signaled he would not back down if Hamas failed to meet his demands that it honor the Palestinians' previous international obligations. He warned, however, that without the support of donor countries, the PA will crumble. End Summary. ¶2. (C) PA President Mahmoud Abbas visited Amman, where he maintains a residence, and gave separate briefings March 12 to Arab and non-Arab ambassadors. Saeb Ereikat attended the meeting and translated freely for Abu Mazen. During the latter meeting which included the Ambassador and over two-dozen other chiefs of mission, Abu Mazen repeatedly stressed that there is only one policy for the PA and for the Palestinian people - to resist peacefully "occupation" and to pursue the two-state solution proposed under the Quartet-led roadmap. Abu Mazen said that Hamas must transform itself. He told the ambassadors that in his letter of designation to Hamas, he emphasized that the PA's policy did not change with Hamas's victory. The soon-to-be-formed cabinet must comply with the PA's internal and international obligations and must pursue peace with Israel. Abu Mazen said he told Hamas that they need to be realists. If Hamas did not meet its obligations, Abu Mazen would not be able to "market them" to either the international or the Arab community. The PA is "totally dependent on assistance for survival," he told Hamas. ¶3. (C) South African Ambassador Barend Leendert Geldenhuys asked what would happen if Hamas failed to form a cabinet that met these criteria. Citing the approach of the March 28 deadline for Hamas to name a cabinet, Abu Mazen said he preferred not to speculate on how he would react to this scenario. If Hamas failed to meet his conditions, his "answer will be clear". ¶4. (SBU) Abu Mazen told the ambassadors that while the Palestinian people are not free, their elections were both free and fair. Palestinians chose democracy, he said, and they are firmly committed to serving as a democratic model for the region. The result of the elections was a Hamas victory, but that did not mean that Palestinians supported radicalism. The majority of Palestinians are committed to peace. It dismayed him that donor countries began talking, as soon as the Hamas victory became apparent, about a cessation of aid. "The Palestinian people should not be punished for their democratic choice." A cessation of aid would lead to the collapse of the PA. Abu Mazen stressed that the days leading up to March 28 were crucial. He was exerting "maximum effort" to help "the inexperienced people now in power" understand and meet their obligations to Israel and the international community. The international community's support was essential, he said, if he was to succeed in this task. Abu Mazen said that the PA's situation was intertwined with Israel's, so as a practical matter, PA ministers would have to deal with Israelis. The PA needed good relations with all states as well, and in a reference to Iran, he said that the PA did not want any "privileged" relations to the exclusion of others. ¶5. (SBU) Responding to questions from British Ambassador Christopher Prentice, Abu Mazen said that the PA's relations with Jordan and Egypt are central to the future of Palestine. He said that Jordan, Egypt, and the PA share the same position toward Hamas. The PA enjoyed the full support of both Jordan and Egypt. Abu Mazen said that at the upcoming Arab Summit in Cairo, he will ask Arab countries to support him, to stay the course, and to continue financially supporting the PA. He will emphasize the importance of supporting the roadmap. ¶6. (C) Abu Mazen claimed that he had seen indications of "serious attempts by Al Qaeda to establish cells in the West Bank". He said that he would not allow this; the PA was cooperating with Arab and other friendly governments, and doing everything in its power to derail these attempts. HALE