TFLE01: ARAB LEAGUE OFFICIAL ALLEGES U.S. LOSING

C O N F I D E N T I A L CAIRO 004782 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/03/2016 TAGS: PREL UN PTER LE IS EG SUBJECT: TFLE01: ARAB LEAGUE OFFICIAL ALLEGES U.S. LOSING ALLIES OVER HANDLING OF LEBANON CRISIS Classified by ECPO Counselor Catherine Hill-Herndon for reasons 1.4(b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: Arab League Chief of Staff Hesham Youssef told poloff that in a meeting on August 2, the League's permanent delegates had expressed growing frustration with the failure to achieve a cease fire in Lebanon and agreed to seek an emergency meeting of the UN Human Rights Council to investigate the killing of civilians in Qana. Youssef also warned that Arab street support for Hizbollah was growing and warned that because of its support for Israel, the U.S. was losing allies in the region and beyond. End summary. ¶2. (C) Arab League Chief of Staff Hesham Youssef told poloff August 2 that in a meeting earlier that day, the League's permanent delegates faulted not just Israel, but also the U.S. for the "destruction" of Lebanon and signaled an increasing interest in supporting the Hizbollah "resistance" against Israel. The delegates complained specifically, Youssef said, of the U.S. failure to pressure Israel for a cease-fire and the ongoing supply of weapons to Israel. Even the delegates of nations that fear growing Iranian influence in the region agreed, Youssef argued, that the "Iran-Hizbollah" problem "can wait," but Israel must not be allowed to destroy Lebanon. ¶3. (C) Youssef described the UN's failure to call for a cease fire even after Qana as "unconscionable" and said the delegates agreed to call for an emergency meeting of the UN Human Rights Council. Youssef said that League Secretary General Amre Moussa left immediately following the meeting on a regional tour to meet government officials in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia, but noted that several League delegates voiced frustration that Moussa's trip was beginning "too late." ¶4. (C) Arab street support for Hizbollah and anger at the U.S. handling of the crisis are increasing by the day, Youssef said. More than 120 members of parliament marched to the Arab League Headquarters on August 1 to voice support for Hizbollah. Moussa had originally agreed to meet "five or six" parliamentarians, Youssef said; but he could not prevent the other members from joining the meeting. The parliamentarians also criticized Moussa and the League for failing to intercede to end the crisis. Support for Hizbollah and Nassrullah on the streets of Cairo should be a sign to the U.S., Youssef said, that Hizbollah has won public opinion. You have made him a "hero," Youssef said. ¶5. (C) Youssef also criticized the U.S. for its "premature" focus on a force composition meeting at the UN. Expecting nations to commit forces before their mandate is clear, Youssef said, is unreasonable. He stressed that achieving an immediate cease fire should be the focus of urgent attention, and the U.S.'s failure to pressure Israel on this issue has "lost the U.S. allies and friends" in the Arab world and beyond. The U.S. does not yet appreciate the damage that has been done, Youssef warned. RICCIARDONE