BAHRAIN: DEMARCHE IN ADVANCE OF AUGUST 20 ARAB

C O N F I D E N T I A L MANAMA 001534 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/19/2016 TAGS: PREL BA LE IS REGION OFFICIALS SUBJECT: BAHRAIN: DEMARCHE IN ADVANCE OF AUGUST 20 ARAB LEAGUE MINISTERIAL REF: STATE 136507 Classified By: CDA Susan L. Ziadeh for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) The Charge August 19 delivered reftel demarche concerning the August 20 Arab League Ministerial meeting in Cairo to MFA Assistant Under Secretary for Coordination and Follow Up Shaikh Abdul Aziz bin Mubarak Al Khalifa. Before responding to the points delivered, Shaikh Abdul Aziz asked if the USG had received any news from the Israeli government about the incursion near Baalbek that had occurred earlier in the day. He said the GOI obviously felt it had to carry out this operation, but the fact of the raid raises questions about respecting UNSCR 1701. "People look at things how they want," he said, and there are those (read Hizballah and Syria) who will use this to impede implementation of the resolution. The Charge replied that the situation demonstrated the importance of implementing the resolution fully and developing confidence-building measures, including preventing the flow of arms to Hizballah and securing the border. ¶2. (C) The Charge stated that the United States had already pledged $50 million in humanitarian aid for Lebanon and asked what Bahrain planned to do. Shaikh Abdul Aziz said the GOB had earmarked a $5 million donation for Lebanon. The GOB had also announced a few days earlier an additional $1 million donation to UNICEF. This grant was made in response to a request by the Lebanese Embassy in Bahrain as part of a special appeal to the GCC countries. The GOL requested $25-30 million for UNICEF from the GCC countries, with contributions in proportion to their GNPs. Shaikh Abdul Aziz noted that Lebanese PM Siniora had written to King Hamad and Prime Minister Shaikh Khalifa requesting their support for the Lebanese government. The Bahrainis had replied favorably. He said he would pass the USG views on the Arab League summit to Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid, who would depart later in the day for Cairo. ¶3. (C) Shaikh Abdul Aziz said the focus of Western press reporting over the past few days had been about the possibility of aggressive measures against Iran and Syria, and Hizballah disarmament. "You are losing the point," he said. The crux of the problem is the Palestine issue. Any politician who takes the initiative to make peace between Israel and the Palestinians and establish a Palestinian state would go down in history as a remarkably successful leader. Syria and Iran, he said, were trying to take advantage of the situation just a few days after the ceasefire in Lebanon. "We want to pull the rug out from under their feet," he said. By making peace, 90 percent of the Arab street and almost all Arab countries would be on the side of the United States. ¶4. (C) The Charge affirmed that the United States is committed to achieving peace between Israel and the Palestinians, but stressed that Iran and Syria have worked against that aim. The Syrian government gives shelter and support to the Palestinian rejectionists. Shaikh Abdul Aziz said that if the United States is not getting the support it needs to achieve its goals, then perhaps the goals are not in the right priority order. Palestine should be the top objective, not Syria and Iran. "Don't make them the issue," he recommended. Rather, the U.S. should channel its energy and resources into the Palestinian issue, and so "water down" the rejectionist stances of Syria and Iran. ********************************************* ******** Visit Embassy Manama's Classified Website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/manama/ ********************************************* ******** ZIADEH