U.S. AMBASSADOR TO ISRAEL DISCUSSES OLMERT VISIT,

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 003689

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 5/22/2016
TAGS: PREL IS KPAL FR
SUBJECT: U.S. AMBASSADOR TO ISRAEL DISCUSSES OLMERT VISIT,
PALESTINIAN ASSISTANCE WITH FRENCH MFA


Classified By: Acting Political Counselor Bruce Turner, reasons 1.4 (b)
and (d).


1. (C) Summary: Visiting U.S. Ambassador to Israel Richard
Jones briefed French MFA A/S-equivalent for NEA Jean-Francois
Thibault May 26 on the PM Olmert visit to Washington; he also
stressed the need to maintain consensus on Palestinian
assistance, while reiterating U.S. opposition to payment of
PA salaries. Thibault welcomed President Bush's appeal for
Olmert to engage with PA President Abbas, but expressed
concern that both Israel and the Hamas-led PA may be moving
towards unilateral approaches. Thibault also noted that
President Chirac will stress the importance of direct
Israeli-Palestinian negotiations during Olmert's expected
June 13-14 visit to France. On Palestinian assistance,
Thibault reiterated GoF attachment to finding a way to pay PA
salaries in health/education sectors at minimum, but conceded
that such piecemeal proposals could be difficult to implement
without crossing Quartet red-lines or fueling
inter-Palestinian tensions. End summary.

OLMERT VISIT, ISRAEL'S RELATIONS WITH FRANCE, EUROPE
-------------- --------------


2. (C) U.S. Ambassador to Israel Richard Jones, accompanied
by Acting Pol M/C and poloff, reviewed the just-concluded PM
Olmert visit to Washington with French MFA A/S-equivalent for
North Africa and Middle East Jean-Francois Thibault May 26.
Thibault commended President Bush's appeal to Olmert to
engage in direct negotiations with PA President Abbas, and
expressed hope that Olmert's Washington visit would be the
prelude to a revival of the political process. At the same
time, Thibault expressed concern that the Israeli PM might
set excessively tough pre-conditions which would preclude
direct talks with Abbas in the near term. MFA Acting
DAS-equivalent for Egypt/Levant Martin Juillard noted
comments in Olmert's May 23 press conference, for instance,
in which the Israeli PM suggested that dismantling of
terrorist militias could be a precondition of sitting down
with Abbas. Without offering direct criticism of Olmert's
realignment plan, Thibault expressed concern that both the
Israelis and Palestinians were moving in the direction of
unilateral approaches. He observed that, in anticipation of
possible, Israeli unilateral declarations on the West Bank,
Hamas might be tempted to pursue a unilateral approach,
focusing on social (vice external) issues, as a means
consolidating its grip on Palestinian society.

3, (C) Ambassador Jones, in response, cited the recent
meeting between Abbas and FM Livni in Egypt and ongoing
Israeli contacts with Sa'eb Erekat and Muhammad Dahlan as
signs of continued GOI willingness to talk to Palestinians
outside the Hamas government. Jones also noted Israeli
public support for a significant withdrawal from the West
Bank and Olmert's desire to move quickly, before other issues
overtake his agenda. Thibault agreed with Jones on the need
for Europe and the U.S. to send consistent messages to both
the Israelis and Palestinians; he noted that President Chirac
would reinforce the importance of direct talks with Abbas
during Olmert's June 13-14 visit to France to launch the new
"France-Israel Foundation." Thibault described the
foundation -- a GoF funded entity intended to boost civil
society contacts -- as the latest in a series of GoF
initiatives to improve the image of France in Israel, and
vice-versa. Jones described the Olmert visit to France as
well-timed, and indicative of Israel's desire to broaden its
support base beyond the U.S. He commended the EU border
assistance monitoring mission in Rafah, which Thibault
concurred was indicative of a much improved European-Israeli
relationship, compared to just one year ago.

PALESTINIAN ASSISTANCE/SALARIES , FUNDING MECHANISM
-------------- --------------


4. (C) On Palestinian assistance, Thibault noted that the EU
was working hard to formulate and reach agreement by mid-June
on a temporary international funding mechanism, which should
include measures to pay salaries in the health and education
sectors. Thibault stressed President Chirac's desire to find
a solution with the "broadest possible" parameters, not
limited to humanitarian aid only. He reiterated the GoF view
that a severe humanitarian and security crisis in the
Palestinian territories was looming, if quick action was not
taken on salaries.


5. (C) Ambassador Jones agreed with Thibault's assertion that
the international community should not punish the Palestinian
people for "exercising their democratic choice," and added
that this was precisely why the U.S. had increased
Palestinian aid by 57 percent. The U.S. was not cutting off

PARIS 00003689 002 OF 002


the Palestinian people; we were simply redirecting aid so it
did not reach the Hamas-led government. Jones reiterated
continued U.S. opposition to payment of PA salaries, noting
that salaries made up the major portion of the PA budget, so
relief on this point would eliminate our primary pressure
point on the PA. Payment of salaries to select groups of PA
employees would create an invidious situation which other
categories of unpaid employees, particularly security forces,
would find hard to tolerate -- a point conceded by Thibault,
who also noted the difficulty of remaining within Quartet
red-lines as long as the PA Ministry of Finance remained in
charge of delivering salaries.


6. (C) In closing comments, Thibault expressed hope that the
U.S. was not convinced that continued pressure on the Hamas
government would lead to its rapid downfall and a Fatah
comeback. He asserted that Arab nationalist and socialist
movements like Fatah were disappearing throughout the Arab
world, with Islamists gaining the upper hand. Thibault
concluded that figures like PA PM Haniyeh would be on the
scene for a long time, and the international community would
need to learn how to cope with them. Ambassador Jones
responded that the U.S. had no illusions that the balance of
power between Hamas and Fatah would shift overnight, and
that, in the meantime, we were looking to Fatah to reform
itself. At the same time, the international community must
remain firm in putting stark choices before the Hamas-led PA.
Thibault agreed on the latter point, and noted that the
Quartet principles were not conditions imposed from the
outside, but represented the basic principles for government.
The problem remained, however, that the timetable for Hamas'
political evolution did not match the fast-deteriorating
situation on the ground.

COMMENT
--------------


7. (C) Although Thibault tends towards a non-confrontational
approach, we were surprised by his lack of probing questions
on the realignment plan, given traditional French neuralgia
on unilateral approaches. In follow-up discussions,
Thibault's MFA subordinates told us the GoF was pleased with
the Olmert visit to Washington, because of the President's
strong emphasis on negotiations, and because the U.S. had not
offered the full endorsement of realignment the GoF had
feared. End comment.


8. (U) Ambassador Jones cleared this message.


Please visit Paris' Classified Website at:
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/paris/index.c fm

STAPLETON