FM LIVNI DISCUSSES LEBANON, SYRIA, AND HAMAS WITH

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TEL AVIV 002950 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/28/2016 TAGS: PREL PTER UN LE IS SUBJECT: FM LIVNI DISCUSSES LEBANON, SYRIA, AND HAMAS WITH CODEL WEXLER Classified By: DCM Gene A. Cretz for reasons 1. (B) and (D). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni told Congressman Robert Wexler July 26 that, when hostilities between Israel and Hizballah conclude, the international community must keep Hizballah out of southern Lebanon and must prevent arms from reaching the group via Iran. Livni suggested that an international military force could be deployed in Lebanon to implement these objectives. Livni said she was leery of any attempts by others to reach out to Syria, assessing that Syria knew what it had to do to be part of the international community. Livni also rejected the notion of strengthening any moderate elements within Hamas while stressing that unilateralism is simply the result of having no partner. Finally, Livni discussed Israel's quiet efforts to increase ties with Indonesia. END SUMMARY. -------------- -------------- INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY MUST ACT AGAINST HIZBALLAH -------------- -------------- ¶2. (C) FM Livni told Rep. Wexler that, when Israeli-Hizballah hostilities end, the international community must prevent Hizballah from reoccupying southern Lebanon and must keep Iran from re-arming Hizballah. Livni said that the international community must act because the GOL is too weak and because Israel does not want to stay in southern Lebanon to prevent Hizballah from reoccupying the south. She also stressed that Israel cannot deploy near the Lebanon-Syria border to prevent arms shipments from reaching Hizballah via Syria. Livni said that UNSC resolutions could establish an arms embargo on Lebanon and authorize an international force to deploy in the south. The force could be comprised of NATO members "who have experience fighting, not just supervising," according to Livni. Livni added that countries that supported UNSCR 1559 should "put their money where their mouths are" by including their soldiers in the international force. Livni claimed that there are no border disputes or misunderstandings between Israel and Lebanon and that each country shares the same goal of dismantling Hizballah and having Lebanon exercise its full sovereignty. "For the first time, I'm looking for the UN to implement a Security Council resolution, but the UN is impotent," she said. ¶3. (C) Rep. Wexler asked how degraded Hizballah would have to be before Israel halted operations against the group. Livni did not respond directly, but stressed that Israeli operations depended in part on the international community's willingness to act against Hizballah. She said that if Israel halts now and Hizballah begins receiving money and arms from Iran, then nothing would have changed. "What has this all meant if we go back to first base," she asked. -------------- SKEPTICAL OF ANY EFFORT TO REACH OUT TO SYRIA -------------- ¶4. (C) Livni told Wexler that it is too early to comment on the advisability of other states reaching out to Syria to lure that country away from its alliance with Iran, but added that she is skeptical. She explained that Syria hosts Hizballah and Hamas and continues to meddle in Lebanese affairs. "Syria is playing an active, dangerous role and it is not good to embrace them," Livni said. She added that Syria knows what is expected of it and if Syria wants to be on the "good side" and be part of the international community, then its leaders must demonstrate that. -------------- NO DESIRE TO PEEL AWAY HAMAS "MODERATES" -------------- ¶5. (C) Livni said that Israel tried to separate the "good Palestinians" from the bad for many years. The problem, she continued, is that the "good Palestinians," like Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmud Abbas, are weak. She noted the similarities between Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora and Abbas and said their weakness comes at Israel's expense. Livni stressed that an effort to split Hamas by strengthening PA Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh would give legitimacy to a terrorist. She then referenced an op-ed piece that Haniyeh wrote, saying that his ideas -- including his statements on Palestinian refugees -- take the conflict all the way back to ¶1947. (Note: Livni probably was referring to Haniyeh's op-ed piece that appeared in the Washington Post on July 11. END NOTE). Instead of legitimizing Haniyeh, she said, we should press him to accept the three requirements stipulated by the Quartet declaration of January 30, calling for Hamas to renounce violence, accept previous Palestinian-Israeli agreements, and recognize Israel. If they accept these requirements, they will be a partner, according to Livni. ¶6. (C) Livni also discussed Israel's broader policy on dealing with its neighbors. Livni said that unilateralism is not Israel's ideology; it is the result of having no partner. Israel prefers to end the conflict with the Palestinians with an agreement or with a stable process in place and wants an agreement that has support of the international community, according to Livni. She stressed, however, that time is working against a two-state solution and said that stagnation hurts Israel. Livni said Israel is looking for any new idea, "whether imaginative or boring." -------------- - DISCREET EFFORTS TO INCREASE TIES TO INDONESIA -------------- - ¶7. (C) Rep. Wexler concluded the meeting by asking about Israel's relations with Indonesia. Livni replied that Israel sees some positive signs but that the situation is very sensitive right now. Recently, she said, a delegation of businessmen from Indonesia visited Israel, but the visit was not publicized so that the businessmen were "not embarrassed." She added that if Israel is discreet enough, the two sides can get closer and have a more formal and public relationship. Livni and her aides suggested that a trilateral approach in which Israeli agricultural experts would work on USAID projects in Indonesia would be a good way to discreetly increase ties with the Muslim country. ¶8. (C) Livni was relaxed and affable, despite the meeting occurring on a day in which there were significant IDF casualties and Israel was condemned for bombing a UN post in Lebanon. Livni earlier met with UN Undersecretary General for Humanitarian Affairs Jan Egeland, who has been critical of Israel at times. The meeting took place in Haifa, where Hizballah rockets have hit regularly since the outbreak of hostilities. Livni commented that she chose to meet with Egeland in Haifa so "he can feel for himself" what it is like to be under threat of missile attack and so that he understood that the humanitarian impact of this conflict is not one-sided. ¶9. (U) Congressman Wexler did not have the opportunity to clear on this cable before departing the country. ********************************************* ******************** 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