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.

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