AG GONZALES' MEETING WITH MINISTER OF PUBLIC

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TEL AVIV 002622 SIPDIS DOJ FOR BRUCE SWARTZ E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/29/2016 TAGS: PTER IS POL COUNTERTERRORISM ISRAEL RELATIONS SUBJECT: AG GONZALES' MEETING WITH MINISTER OF PUBLIC SECURITY DICHTER Classified By: Ambassador Richard H. Jones for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Summary: In the June 28 meeting, Avi Dichter told the Attorney General and the Ambassador that he fully supports U.S.-Israel cooperation on counter terrorism, and sees no reason to restrict information sharing when it can help save innocent lives. Dichter detailed Israel's response to recent terrorist attacks and underlined that the attack on June 25 at Kerem Shalom was the first attack launched from Gaza that resulted in Israeli fatalities since disengagement. The Attorney General thanked Dichter for cooperation on counter-terrorism issues and asked for continued cooperation from Israel in allowing Israeli officials to testify in two outstanding U.S. criminal trials -- the Salah case in Chicago and the Holy Land Foundation case in Dallas. The Attorney General proposed a bilateral dialogue to modernize Israeli biometric fingerprint systems to enable better information sharing with U.S. databases. Finally, the AG requested Dichter's assistance in allocating more GOI resources to improve Israeli response time on non-terrorism related Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) requests from the U.S. End Summary. ¶2. (C) Minister of Public Security Avi Dichter told the Attorney General that his experience until last year as the head of Shin Bet, as well as his time in office as a minister, has led him to believe that there should be "no reason to keep secrets in the counter-terrorism business." "We've paid with Israeli blood to learn lessons, and I don't think that the U.S. and other allies should have to pay with blood to learn the same lessons." Dichter highlighted cooperation with the FBI, including visits to Israeli (Shin Bet) interrogation centers. The Attorney General thanked Dichter for Israel's outstanding cooperation with the U.S. on these and other law enforcement matters. Commenting on his own frustrations with information sharing among Israeli agencies, Dichter said, "we have no chance to fight back against terrorism without sharing information." ¶3. (C) Dichter told the Attorney General that Sunday's militant attack against Kerem Shalom resulted in the first Israeli fatalities from terror attacks launched from Gaza since Israel's withdrawal during the August 2005 disengagement. Dichter said that over the course of the second Intifada, Israel had suffered more than 1,100 fatalities, most of them civilian. Speaking specifically of suicide bombers, Dichter said that suicide bombings represent less than one-half of one percent of all terrorist attacks, but that they are responsible for more than 60 percent of fatalities. Dichter told the Attorney General that this was why Israel decided to launch operation Defensive Shield in 2002, to make potential suicide bombers spend 90% of their time avoiding capture, leaving only 10% of their time for planning terror attacks -- rather than the other way around. Dichter also claimed that the construction of the separation barrier has slowed terrorist attacks. ¶4. (C) The Attorney General told Dichter that progress on prosecution of the Salah case in Chicago is moving forward thanks to Israel's willingness to send Shin Bet agents to testify in a U.S. court regarding interrogations that occurred in Israel. Dichter commented that when the request was first made by FBI Director Mueller, Dichter (then head of Shin Bet) promised that the answer to the request for Israeli testimony "would be forthcoming, and would not be no." The Attorney General told Dichter that the U.S. will be seeking further cooperation on the Holy Land Foundation (HLF) case in Dallas. Dichter said that U.S. action against the HLF is important because it shows that the U.S. will prevent terrorist funds from flowing from one state to another, adding that U.S. action on this case had pushed Germany to block transfers from the Al-Aqsa Fund. Dichter expressed disappointment however over the United Kingdom's lack of concrete action on the INTERPAL Fund saying "I hope they are not waiting for another terror attack before blocking a terrorist foundation." ¶5. (C) Highlighting another area for potential cooperation, the Attorney General raised the possibility of finding a way for Israel to improve its biometric system for taking fingerprints, with the goal of increased information sharing between U.S. and Israeli law enforcement agencies. Dichter replied that, while there are legal difficulties in turning over fingerprint data in cases where specific criminal charges are not pending, Israel is looking to improve collection of biometric data. For example, he said that Israel currently collects biometric information on temporary workers from outside Israel, but not other travelers. Dichter said that he is sponsoring legislation to change the law and allow broader collection of biometric data because "we have to deal with terrorists or criminals at our strong point and their weakest -- a crossing point." Dichter and the Attorney General agreed to have experts collaborate on the specific steps needed to better coordinate sharing of fingerprint information. ¶6. (C) The Attorney General concluded the meeting by asking Dichter for his assistance in allocating more resources to enable the Israeli National Police to respond more quickly to non-terrorism related Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) requests from the U.S. The Attorney General emphasized that "the U.S. dedicates resources to be able to respond quickly to all Israeli (MLAT) requests." Dichter promised to check into the matter and said that he looks forward to future meetings with the Attorney General again soon. ¶7. (C) Dichter was joined in the meeting by Ministry of Public Security Deputy Director General Eliezer Rosenbaum, Legal Advisor Yoel Hadar, International Relations Director Natan Rotenberg, Bureau Chief Mati Gil and Media Advisor Ofer Lefler. ¶8. (U) Attorney General Gonzales did not have an opportunity to clear this message before departing post. ********************************************* ******************** Visit Embassy Tel Aviv's Classified Website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/telaviv You can also access this site through the State Department's Classified SIPRNET website. ********************************************* ******************** JONES