NORWAY FOCUSED ON THE MIDDLE EAST: AID,

C O N F I D E N T I A L OSLO 000909

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/21/2016
TAGS: PREL PGOV IS NO KPAL
SUBJECT: NORWAY FOCUSED ON THE MIDDLE EAST: AID,
EVACUATION, AND THE PEACE PROCESS


Classified By: A/DCM Maria Rudensky Silver, reason 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: The Norwegian government has focused all of
their energy on the situation in the Middle East, hosting an
emergency donor conference for Palestinians in Geneva on 14
July, calling in the Israeli Ambassador to Norway to demand
an end to hostilities, and promising to engage the US and EU
at the "highest levels". The Norwegian Ministry for Foreign
Affairs notes that all but a handful of Norwegians have been
successfully evacuated from Lebanon, except for approximately
100 citizens who are trapped in south Lebanon. Norwegian
newspapers report that Norwegian UN envoys Terje Roed Larsen
and Geir O. Pedersen are working "in secret" with UN envoy
Vijay Nambiar to come up with a new plan for peace in the
Middle East and are engaged in shuttle diplomacy throughout
the region to sell the plan as a way out of the current
conflict. The outgoing Israeli DCM in Oslo says that Norway
needs to focus on the bilateral relationship before moving on
the peace process. END SUMMARY.

THE DONOR CONFERENCE AND AID


2. (SBU) On July 14, the Norwegian government hastily
convened a conference on increasing humanitarian assistance
to address needs in the Palestinian territory. Spain,
Sweden, and UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland
joined Norway as the conference hosts. As a result of the
conference, the financial goal of the UN's appeal for
humanitarian aid rose from 215 to 385 million USD, of which
only one-third is currently funded. On 21 July, Prime
Minister Jens Stoltenberg announced that Norway will donate
32.5 million USD to Lebanon and the Palestinian Territories.

EVACUATIONS


3. (SBU) The Norwegian government has managed to get most of
its citizens safely out of Lebanon by bus and by boat. In
doing so, they also assisted US citizens on July 18 by taking
them on board the car ferry owned by the Norwegian company
Leif Hoegh to Cyprus. Only a handful of Norwegian citizens
are left in Lebanon, mostly families of Lebanese origin who
are trapped in south Lebanon. Norway has announced that they
are working with the Israeli government to ensure the safety
of these individuals.

NORWEGIAN UN ENVOYS LOOKING FOR A PLACE IN THE PEACE PROCESS


4. (SBU) Norwegian UN envoys Terje Roed Larsen and Geir O.
Pedersen have made comments to the press that they are
engaged in "secret" diplomacy to resolve the conflict in the
Middle East. On 21 July, the daily newspaper Dagbladet noted
that Syria has rebuffed Terje Roed Larsen, claiming that he
overstepped his UN mandate in 2004 and is not welcome in
Damascus, but that the other high-level UN diplomats,
including Vijay Nambiar, are welcome.

ISRAELI VIEWS


5. (C) On 19 July, PolOff met with the outgoing DCM for the
Israeli Embassy in Oslo, Tamar Rahamimoff-Honig. She stated
that relations with the current GON were better than
expected, and that FM Stoere in particular has made it clear
that he is interested in involving Norway in a multilateral
peace process. However, she noted disappointment with how
the bilateral relationship between the two countries has been
neglected over the years. She said that Norway should focus
on establishing closer bilateral ties before it tries to jump
back into the peace process. She stated that there have been
no approaches made to the Israeli Embassy in Oslo concerning
the new UN peace initiatives.


6. (SBU) COMMENT: The donor conference initiative underscored
GON determination to continue to aid the Palestinians through
humanitarian relief. The situation in Gaza was quickly
eclipsed in the press by the military situation in Lebanon,
but the GON's interest in the area is not likely to abate.
Whatever the result of UN diplomacy may be, the debate on
whether or not the Norwegians would take part in any peace
enforcement mission has already commenced. Jan Peterson,
head of the Defense Committee in Parliament and a member of a
conservative opposition party, has already gone to the press
to state that Norway does not have the resources to take part
in any military action in the Middle East. Their resources,
he noted, must be focused on maintaining the Norwegian
mission to Afghanistan and then participating in Darfur.
However, another member of the committee, Marit Nybakk from

the ruling coalition's Labor party disagrees and states that
despite the limited resources available, it's important that
Norway take part in any future force, even if it is a token
number of military members. END COMMENT
Visit Oslo's Classified website:
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/oslo/index.cf m

WHITNEY