ISRAELI CABINET DISCUSSES "BOYCOTT" OF PA AND

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TEL AVIV 001469

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/11/2016
TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER KWBG KPAL IS GOI EXTERNAL ISRAELI PALESTINIAN AFFAIRS
SUBJECT: ISRAELI CABINET DISCUSSES "BOYCOTT" OF PA AND
STATUS OF GAZA CROSSINGS

Classified By: Ambassador Richard H. Jones; Reasons 1.4 (B) and (D).


1. (C) Summary: The Israeli Cabinet announced April 11 that
it will "hold no ties" with the Palestinian Authority, but
that "there will be no personal disavowal" of PA President
Mahmud Abbas. The Cabinet also imposed a "boycott" of
foreign officials who plan to meet with Hamas and GOI
officials on the same trip to the region. PMO foreign policy
adviser Shalom Tourgeman told the Ambassador that this means
USG and other foreign officials will still be able to meet
with both Abbas and GOI officials during visits to the
region. Tourgeman added that the GOI will not discuss any
substantive issues with Abbas. Acting Prime Minister Ehud
Olmert said that he had made it clear to DefMin Shaul Mofaz
that the Karni crossing is to remain open unless there is a
concrete and specific threat against the facility. Tourgeman
once again pushed for PA acceptance of Kerem Shalom. End
summary.

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GOI Boycott of the PA
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2. (C) The Israeli Cabinet approved April 11 a number of
measures meant to isolate the PA. After the GOI meeting
Olmert announced:

-- the PA is a "terrorist authority that is hostile to
Israel;"
-- the GOI and its representatives "will not hold ties with
the Palestinian Authority or its elements;"
-- the PA is one authority, "therefore neither the
Palestinian Authority Chairman nor his office will be treated
any differently;"
-- however, "there will be no personal disavowal" of Abbas;
-- foreign officials who meet with "Hamas elements" will not
be received on the same visit by the GOI; and
-- the GOI will coordinate humanitarian assistance for the
Palestinians with the international community but not with
the PA.


3. (C) The Ambassador discussed the boycott provisions with
Tourgeman later that day. Tourgeman said the point on the PA
President had been left intentionally vague to allow USG and
other foreign officials to meet with Abbas and the GOI during
the same visit. He insisted that the GOI would have no
substantive discussions with anyone in the PA -- including
Abbas and his staff -- because it deemed them to be both
irrelevant and part of the Hamas-led "terrorist authority."
The exception for Abbas was personal rather than for the
office of the Presidency. The GOI could not exclude the
possibility that some of the Presidency's staff might have
ties to Hamas. During a meeting with Senator Lieberman and
the Ambassador (prior to the discussion with Tourgeman),
Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said that he had spoken
with Abbas by phone a few days earlier. Olmert reiterated
previous criticism that Abbas is unwilling to take the steps
needed to get back to serious negotiations (septel).


4. (C) Tourgeman told the Ambassador that GOI concerns about
upcoming visits by the South Africans and Russians had led to
the "boycott" of foreign officials who meet with Hamas.
Hillel Newman (protect),a policy adviser on FM Livni's
staff, told poloff on April 10 that the boycott provisions
are similar to ones the GOI imposed upon foreign government
contact with Yassir Arafat during the Intifada. The GOI will
still meet with foreign officials who have had contact with
Hamas, provided these discussions occur on separate trips to
the region or abroad. Newman noted that the GOI prefers a
more robust boycott of those who have met with Hamas, but
realizes that such a step would be impractical (he
specifically mentioned the need to retain contacts with
Russian FM Lavrov).

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Karni and Kerem Shalom Crossings
--------------


5. (C) The Cabinet also announced that "subject to security
considerations, the Gaza Strip crossings will be open in
order to allow the entry of humanitarian assistance into the
Gaza Strip." Following Olmert's meeting with Senator
Lieberman, the Ambassador stressed the importance of keeping
the crossings, especially Karni, open. Olmert said he had
made a similar point at the Cabinet meeting and reiterated it
directly to DefMin Mofaz. Tourgeman insisted that the PA
must also accept Kerem Shalom as an alternative crossing.
Olmert assured the Ambassador that he agreed that the
crossings should remain open barring concrete and specific
security threats.

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