Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06MUSCAT554
2006-04-05 14:15:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Muscat
Cable title:  

BIN ALAWI CONVOKES U.S., EU AMBASSADORS TO REVIEW MESHAAL VISIT

Tags:  MU NOTAG 
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 MUSCAT 000554 

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA, NEA/IPA, NEA/ARPI

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/05/2016
TAGS:
SUBJECT: BIN ALAWI CONVOKES U.S., EU AMBASSADORS TO REVIEW
MESHAAL VISIT

REF: MUSCAT 527

Classified By: Ambassador Gary A. Grappo. Reason: 1.4 (b, d)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 MUSCAT 000554

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA, NEA/IPA, NEA/ARPI

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/05/2016
TAGS:
SUBJECT: BIN ALAWI CONVOKES U.S., EU AMBASSADORS TO REVIEW
MESHAAL VISIT

REF: MUSCAT 527

Classified By: Ambassador Gary A. Grappo. Reason: 1.4 (b, d)


1. (C) Summary: The Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs
delivered a three-point message to visiting Hamas Political
Chief Khalid Meshaal on April 3-4: Hamas must concentrate on
building a viable and stable Palestinian state; must join the
PLO and (implicitly) submit to previous PLO agreements with
Israel; and must communicate more positive messages to the
international community in order to be taken and treated
seriously. Bin Alawi told Meshaal that Oman would not alter
its current relationship with Israel, consisting largely of
continuing contacts and communications. No direct request
for financial assistance was made by Meshaal, and Oman
offered none. Bin Alawi predicted "significant movement" on
the part of the Hamas government "within the month" but
shared no specifics. Oman, whose officials have never before
met with Hamas, is still assessing Hamas and the new
Palestinian government, but bin Alawi said he believes that
"engagement" with Hamas may be having a moderating effect on
Hamas' attitudes. End Summary.


2. (C) The MFA convoked U.S. and EU Ambassadors/Charges on
April 5, 2006, to receive a briefing from Minister
Responsible for Foreign Affairs Yusuf bin Alawi (bin Abdulla)
(YBA),on the recent visit of Hamas Political Chief, Khaled
Meshaal. The EU was represented by ambassadors of the U.K.,
Germany, France, Spain, Italy, and Austria and the Dutch
Charge. MFA Under Secretary Sayyid Badr al-Busaidi also
attended. The meeting lasted approximately one hour and was
devoted entirely to the recent visit of Meshaal.

--------------
First Contact
--------------


3. (C) YBA said that he met Meshaal at the airport and spoke
with him extensively in his car and at a meeting location
that he did not disclose. He conditioned his remarks to the
assembled ambassadors by saying that this was the first time
that an Omani official had met with a representative of
Hamas. Moreover, the Omanis, after this initial meeting,
continue to gauge and "take the measure of" Hamas and the new
Hamas government. However, he said, his first impression of
Meshaal was that he was a "pragmatic thinker" and a person of
strong character. He opined that the time Meshaal had spent
in Jordan in the 1990s and his apparent relationship with
then King Hussein had had a moderating effect on his thinking

and political outlook. YBA also said that Meshaal appeared
to advocate a moderate Islamist vision for the region and
recognized the need for stability. YBA said that Meshaal's
other meetings with Omani officials were largely ceremonial,
including that with Deputy Prime Minister for Ministerial
Council Affairs, Sayyid Fahd bin Mahmud al Sa'id.

--------------
Oman's Message to Hamas
--------------


4. (C) Bin Alawi said that he communicated three important
messages to the Hamas representative.

-- First, in the view of Oman, all the thinking and planning
of the Hamas government must focus on building a viable
Palestinian state. Hamas must show that it is able to
establish a proper governing system to both Palestinians and
to the international community in order to be taken seriously.

-- Second, Hamas must join the PLO. The PLO had embraced the
Oslo process and subsequent measures in the peace process.
It is important that Hamas, as the elected government, join
the PLO now. YBA said that he applied "serious pressure" on
Meshaal for Hamas to join the PLO and that Meshaal voiced no
objections to this. However, he said, Meshaal argued that
the PLO must reform before Hamas may join it. YBA countered
that this would take too long and Hamas must join the PLO
now. Meshaal listened and said that Hamas would take Omani
views into consideration.

-- Third, the Hamas government must begin to communicate
"positive messages" to the rest of the world. This was
critically important to the international community's ability
to take the new government seriously.

--------------
Meshaal: Need Israeli Concessions
--------------


5. (C) YBA said that he found Meshaal "forthcoming," not only
because of Hamas' need for financial aid, but also because
Hamas has begun to see that Arab support for the new
Palestinian government will be based on positive actions on
the three points communicated by the Omanis. Nevertheless,
bin Alawi acknowledged that Hamas has a great deal of
skepticism regarding the peace process. He said that Hamas
believes the Palestinian Authority (PA) has heretofore made
"all the concessions" with little reciprocation by the
Israeli side, citing the example of discussions and
negotiations that Arafat and, more recently, Abu Mazen have
had with the Israelis with little result. Meshaal reportedly
repeatedly complained that the absence of Israeli concessions
is making life "miserable for the Palestinian people." YBA
said that he did not argue with Meshaal on this point but
interjected that the Palestinians have not been blameless and
that there have been many mistakes made on both sides.

--------------
Financial Assistance: No Request, No Offer
--------------


6. (C) On the subject of PA finances, Meshaal said that the
Palestinian Finance Ministry is broke and carrying 700
million USD in PLO and PA debt. The only current source of
funding for the PA is taxes and fees collected by the PA
itself, which average on the order of 35 million USD (NFI).
Meshaal also reportedly raised the question of U.S.
assistance, telling YBA that the Americans will channel all
of their aid through humanitarian organizations but that this
will take too long to meet the PA's immediate needs. Later
in the briefing, the French ambassador raised the question of
financial support for the Palestinians. YBA responded that
there was no direct request from Meshaal to the Omanis and no
Omani aid was offered. YBA told the chiefs of mission that
Oman recognizes the Palestinian Authority and works through
the Arab League to support the Palestinian Authority. All of
Oman,s assistance is channeled through the Arab League.

--------------
Quartet Conditions
--------------


7. (C) In response to a question from the British ambassador
on Hamas meeting the conditions of the Quartet for engagement
with the U.S. and EU, YBA said that Oman's approach is to
urge Hamas to become a member of the PLO, which has
recognized Israel's right to exist and has accepted all
previous commitments made to Israel. Oman believes that
getting Hamas to join the PLO is the proper mechanism for
Hamas' acceptance of the Quartet's conditions. Moreover, in
the view of the Omanis, Hamas' acceptance of these conditions
before joining the PLO would undermine the effectiveness and
integrity of the PLO.

--------------
Hamas, Abbas Working Well Together
--------------


8. (C) The Italian ambassador asked YBA for his sense of the
decision-making process of the Hamas government. YBA
indicated indirectly that the Hamas government and Abbas
appear to have a good working relationship, which probably
predated the Palestinian elections. Bin Alawi said that
Abbas may be philosophically and politically closer to Hamas'
thinking, particularly in areas like corruption. He said
that Hamas appears determined to stop corruption but
commented that, in his view, this will not be easy, although
Hamas probably will have a freer hand than does Abbas.

--------------
Omani-Israeli Relations Unchanged
--------------


9. (C) The French ambassador asked about Omani contacts in
dealings with the Israeli government. Bin Alawi said that
the Omanis hosted a very successful visit of an Israeli
delegation in February and that contacts and communication
are "almost daily" between the Omani and Israeli governments.
MFA Under Secretary Sayyid Badr al-Busaidi interjected that
he had just completed a phone conversation with an Israeli
official to review Meshaal's visit.

--------------
Hamas Determined To Control Violence
--------------


10. (C) The Ambassador asked if there had been a discussion
with Meshaal on the Quartet's requirement that Hamas renounce
violence and terrorism. YBA responded that Hamas recognizes
the practical necessity to address this critical issue and is
"determined" to control violence in Palestinian territories
as well as cross-border violence. However, bin Alawi
volunteered that he was skeptical in the near term that
Hamas, the organization, will renounce its "right to resist
the occupation." The Minister Responsible for Foreign
Affairs opined that treatment of this issue by Hamas will
require very skilled handling on its part and that Hamas will
attempt to link action on this particular condition to
further Israeli concessions. He said that Meshaal told him
Hamas wants an Israeli government that will negotiate
"seriously" with the Palestinians. In that vein, he said he
detected some optimism on Meshaal's part in the differing
positions of the Israeli political parties Kadima and Labor
with respect to Israeli withdrawal from West Bank settlements.


11. (C) YBA concluded his briefing of the ambassadors opining
that there may be important "positive movement" by the Hamas
government within the next month. The Ambassador asked if
there was something specific in Meshaal's comments that led
him to this view. YBA said that he "gathered" this as a
result of his extensive conversation with Meshaal and that
the purported action would be taken in coordination with
President Abbas. Bin Alawi said that the two sides agreed to
keep channels of communication open and that the Omanis will
continue to assess and take stock of Hamas. Hamas has begun
to moderate some of the positions it took immediately after
the Palestinian elections, said bin Alawi, and that this
clearly had come as a result of ongoing consultations with
Arab and other governments. In the Omani view, this
demonstrates that engagement with the Hamas government is
working.


12. (C) Comment: Several of the EU ambassadors told the
Ambassador that today's brief by bin Alawi was unprecedented
in their tenure in Oman. The ambassadors concluded that the
Omanis clearly wanted to alleviate possible concerns of the
U.S. and the EU with respect to the recent visit of Meshaal
and Oman's policy toward the Hamas government.

GRAPPO