BARUCH SPIEGEL DISCUSSES QASSAMS, KARNI, OUTPOSTS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TEL AVIV 002414

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/19/2016
TAGS: PREL PTER ECON ETRD KWBG KPAL ASEC EG IS ISRAELI PALESTINIAN AFFAIRS GOI INTERNAL
SUBJECT: BARUCH SPIEGEL DISCUSSES QASSAMS, KARNI, OUTPOSTS
AND OBSTACLES

REF: TEL AVIV 2301

Classified By: Ambassador Richard H. Jones for reasons 1.4(b) and (d).

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SUMMARY
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1. (C) In a June 19 meeting with the Ambassador, reserve
Brigadier General (BG) Baruch Spiegel reported that the
Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee had agreed that
the Qassam rocket launches from Gaza must be stopped "at all
costs." Spiegel was interested, but hesitant, about the
effect an international monitoring group might have on Qassam
fire. Spiegel repeated a request for U.S. assistance in
procuring tunnel detection technology for use at the Karni
Terminal. Spiegel promised to check on the Ambassador's
concerns regarding the alleged corruption of Israeli
officials at Karni, the accumulation of demurrage charges on
empty shipping containers, and the unwillingness to employ
U.S.-leased container-scanning devices at the terminal.
Spiegel confirmed that Defense Minister Peretz had appointed
his political advisor to review the route of the separation
barrier around Jerusalem and Ariel. He also discussed GOI
intentions to act against illegal outposts and admitted that
the number of Israeli checkpoints and roadblocks in the West
Bank had increased to 381 from about 350 over the past month.

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QASSAM ROCKETS
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2. (C) BG Spiegel (res) opened the meeting by saying that he
had just returned from a three-hour meeting of the Knesset
Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee dominated by discussion
of continued firing of Qassam rockets from Gaza into Israel's
western Negev desert. Spiegel said that the Qassam situation
is grave and that the Committee had agreed that the rocket
firing must be stopped "at all costs."


3. (C) The Ambassador sought Spiegel's views on the
establishment of an international mechanism -- such as the
Israel-Lebanon Monitoring Group (ILMG) of 1996 -- to help
neutralize the Qassam launches. The Ambassador suggested
that either the Egyptians or Jordanians might be able to play
a positive role in such a body. Spiegel agreed that the
Qassam problem is analogous to the Katyusha threat from
Lebanon. He said that Israel would not accept such a
mechanism if its purpose was to be an "international
referee," but might see value in having such a body to
provide crisis management and serve as a confidence-building
measure. Spiegel said that he could informally raise the
Ambassador's idea with GOI officials, but he believed that at
this point it was premature for the GOI to offer any
conciliatory measures on the Qassam issue. The Ambassador
agreed that there would have to be agreed principles before
such a mechanism could succeed. He suggested that proposing
the creation of such a mechanism at the proper time might
strengthen the hand of Palestinians willing to take
cooperative steps towards solving the Qassam problem.
Spiegel also revealed that Defense Minister Amir Peretz was
scheduled to meet with PLO chief negotiator Sa'eb Erekat
later that evening.

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GAZA CROSSING ISSUES
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4. (C) Regarding the Karni Terminal, Spiegel said that the
second deployment of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's
Presidential Guard to secure the Palestinian side of Karni
had begun. Spiegel reported that 262 truckloads had passed
into Gaza and 40 had left Gaza through Karni today. He asked
for Embassy help to follow up on the Israeli request for
tunnel detection technology. He said that the Israeli
defense attach was working this issue from Washington, and
that three IDF officials have prepared to visit the U.S. in
July to discuss such technology.


5. (C) The Ambassador raised the issue of corruption on the
Israeli side of Karni, describing allegations from American
companies that Israeli officials have demanded bribes to
schedule their goods to cross into Gaza. The Ambassador also
raised the issue of empty containers, used to ship
humanitarian goods to Gaza, that are being delayed at Karni.
The containers are accumulating demurrage charges for UNRWA
and WFP, among other NGOs. The Econ Counselor reminded
Spiegel that the USG leased high-power container-scanning
devices specifically to screen containers while maintaining
terminal security, but that the GOI had not yet employed them
to full capacity at Karni. Spiegel said that he would check
on the scanners and the containers. The Ambassador agreed
with Spiegel's suggestion that he meet with Transportation
Minister Shaul Mofaz and the Chief of the Israeli Airports
Authority, Gadi Ophir, to discuss these issues in the coming
weeks.


6. (C) Spiegel was generally pessimistic about Rafah, saying
that the situation is "very bad" and that "no one could stop
the flow of money through Rafah." The Ambassador suggested
that the GOI would benefit from the adoption of the long-ago
drafted customs protocol governing the Rafah crossing, which
would help limit the amount of cash brought across the
Egyptian border. Spiegel recommended that the Ambassador
raise the Rafah customs protocol issue with Foreign Minister
Tzipi Livni and Finance Ministry Director General Yossi
Bachar.

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PERETZ REVIEWING ROUTE OF SEPARATION BARRIER?
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7. (C) The Ambassador asked Spiegel about the recent media
report that Peretz had ordered a comprehensive review of the
route of the separation barrier. Spiegel said that it would
be "impossible" for Peretz to conduct a complete review, but
that he had heard that Peretz had appointed his political
advisor, Hagai Alon, to meet with several NGOs, such as Peace
Now, to discuss their concerns for the barrier's route around
Ariel, Maale Adumim, the E-1 neighborhood, and other
locations near Jerusalem. Spiegel said that the decision on
the barrier's final route would be one of the many decisions
to be taken as part of the "realignment" plan.

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DISMANTLING OUTPOSTS AND CHECKPOINTS
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8. (C) Spiegel reported that Justice Minister Haim Ramon and
Peretz are in agreement that illegal outposts and settlements
in the West Bank constitute "criminal activity" that must be
stopped. He said that the inclusion of settlers from such
illegal outposts in the government's discussions has yielded
productive results in earning settlers' trust. Spiegel
hinted that future actions to dismantle outposts could occur
quite soon, once the government's lawyers reach an agreement
on where to relocate the settlers. The government is
exploring options to relocate settlers on "legal settlements"
and in communities within green-line Israel.


9. (C) The Ambassador queried Spiegel about the latest GOI
plans to remove obstacles to Palestinian movement in the West
Bank. Spiegel admitted that the number of checkpoints and
roadblocks has actually increased in the past month to 381
from about 350. Spiegel told the Ambassador that despite
this increase, he is confident that Peretz has a "clear
philosophy" about removing obstacles to movement and
encouraged the Ambassador to discuss this with Peretz.
Spiegel said that the GOI understands that removing obstacles
to movement would be a complementary part of the
"realignment" plan.

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