INDONESIAN RESPONSE TO MESSAGE ON PALESTINIAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L JAKARTA 002107 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/19/2016 TAGS: PGOV KDEM PTER KISL ID SUBJECT: INDONESIAN RESPONSE TO MESSAGE ON PALESTINIAN ASSISTANCE REF: STATE 21256 (PALESTINIAN ASSISTANCE) Classified By: Political Officer John Rath. Reason: 1.4 (d). ¶1. (SBU) We delivered and discussed reftel points February 15 with Wahib, DFA Deputy Director for Middle Eastern Affairs. Wahib replied that the GOI is cautiously optimistic that Hamas will behave differently as a ruling coalition partner than it behaved as an opposition group. He said the GOI thought it likely that Hamas would abandon its past positions and make necessary compromises with Fatah now that it has governing responsibility. He declined to foretell GOI reaction in the event that Hamas did not change its stripes. ¶2. (SBU) Wahib reiterated statements made by GOI Foreign Minister Wirajuda after the Hamas electoral victory by calling for the international community to respect the will of the Palestinian people in electing Hamas to office and to withhold judgment on the Hamas approach to negotiations because, as Wirajuda claimed, history has shown that hard-liners in the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations have proven more amenable to settlement than liberals. Wahib affirmed GOI support for Palestinian sovereignty through peaceful negotiations. ¶3. (C) Wahib opined that the travel of Hamas representatives to Russia and other European nations should not be viewed as signs of support for Hamas, but rather as opportunities for the international community to persuade Hamas that it must abandon violence and accept peaceful negotiations. He stated that he had read a press article in which a senior Hamas official claimed a Hamas representative would visit Malaysia, though Wahib said the Malaysian Embassy in Jakarta had told him the Malaysians had not extended a formal invitation to Hamas. If a Hamas representative were to travel to Malaysia, Wahib said that the GOI might consider inviting him to Jakarta to discuss the importance of Palestinian sovereignty through a peace process. PASCOE