Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06TELAVIV299
2006-01-20 16:52:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Tel Aviv
Cable title:  

OLMERT TO CODEL KERRY: "I AM COMMITTED TO CARRY ON"

This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 TEL AVIV 000299 

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/20/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER KWBG KPAL CH IR IS SY ETTC ISRAELI PALESTINIAN AFFAIRS PEACE PROCESS GOI EXTERNAL
SUBJECT: OLMERT TO CODEL KERRY: "I AM COMMITTED TO CARRY ON"


Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Gene A. Cretz for reasons 1.4 (b
,d).

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 TEL AVIV 000299

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/20/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER KWBG KPAL CH IR IS SY ETTC ISRAELI PALESTINIAN AFFAIRS PEACE PROCESS GOI EXTERNAL
SUBJECT: OLMERT TO CODEL KERRY: "I AM COMMITTED TO CARRY ON"


Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Gene A. Cretz for reasons 1.4 (b
,d).


1. (C) Summary: Alternate Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told
Senator John Kerry in a January 17 meeting that he is
committed to carrying on Sharon's vision of setting the
"political outcomes within the broad context of the roadmap."
Olmert highlighted his commitment to pursue a serious
dialogue with Palestinian Authority President Mahmud Abbas,
but stressed that Israeli public opinion would not allow for
negotiations if terrorist attacks occur. He said that he
intends to give Abbas two-to-three months after the January
25 Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) elections to "change
the constitution" (read: change the PA basic laws to require
groups to renounce violence before they are allowed to
participate in the political process) and to disarm terrorist
groups before the GOI decides how to deal with the PA.
Olmert said he decided to allow Palestinians to vote in East
Jerusalem so as not to give the PA an excuse to postpone the
elections, although he gauged that it was a mistake for the
U.S. and Israel to "acquiesce" to Hamas participation. The
GOI will not deal with a PA that includes terrorists, even if
such terrorists are only in the parliament, Olmert said. He
claimed that while Hamas has been relatively quiet with
respect to terrorist activity, it has been building up its
terrorist infrastructure and clandestinely helping terrorist
groups like Palestinian Islamic Jihad in their operations.



2. (C) Summary cont: In response to Senator Kerry's query,
Olmert assessed that Russia could play a significant role in
addressing Iran's nuclear program and stressed that Iran is
an international issue, not just Israel's problem. Senator
Kerry underscored the broad international concern over Iran's
nuclear program, as evidenced in part in Kerry's recent

meetings with the political leadership of India and
Afghanistan. Olmert maintained that the recent problem
between the U.S. and Israel over Israel's China sales was
caused by a misunderstanding on both sides. End Summary.

--------------
Olmert in Good Form and Spirits
--------------


3. (C) An upbeat, joking, and confident Alternate Prime
Minister Ehud Olmert met Codel Kerry in his Ministry of Trade
Office -- across the street from the Prime Minister's office.
At one point toward the end of the meeting, Olmert received
a note. When Senator Kerry asked if Olmert was under
pressure to "run away" to another meeting, Olmert winked and
said, "The Prime Minister never has to run away." Sharon's
Foreign Policy Advisor, Shalom Tourgeman, MFA Deputy
Director for North America Yoram Ben Ze'ev, North American
Department for Congressional Affairs Director Eyal Sela, PM
Office Chief of Protocol Edna Halabani, and Ministry of Trade
assistant Rachel Risby-Raz attended the meeting. Senator
Kerry was joined by his senior foreign policy advisor, Nancy
Stetson, military congressional liaison John Ulrich, the DCM,
and Poloff notetaker.


4. (C) At the start, Olmert stressed how little time he has
had to prepare for taking over the responsibilities of prime
minister, and underlined that although "we are very sad,"
Israel has demonstrated strength, stability, and continuity.
He noted that he had assumed responsibility for 15 ministries
from Sharon, given the number of vacancies then in the
Cabinet. Olmert joked that in the morning he has to ask his
wife what he has to do today and his wife says, "Go to work."
Olmert expressed the hope that Sharon would recover fully,
but added that chances are "remote" that Sharon will return
full force to politics. Senator Kerry conveyed U.S. concern
over Sharon's condition as well as admiration for the
dignified way Olmert had conducted himself during the
difficult time surrounding Sharon's stroke.

--------------
Olmert Tops Kadima
--------------


5. (C) Olmert noted that the Kadima party has three weeks to
submit its Knesset list to the elections commission, and
added that he will "lead the party to the next elections."
Olmert claimed that a recent poll shows that if elections
were held today, Kadima would win some 50 Knesset seats and
enjoy a 30-seat lead over the party with the next highest
number of seats, Likud. (Note: Olmert is likely referring to
a Brain Trust poll published in Rishon Leziyon Globes on
January 16 that shows Kadima winning 52 seats, followed by
Likud with 21, and then Labor with 12. End note.)

--------------
Carrying on Sharon's Vision
--------------


6. (C) In response to Senator Kerry's question as to how
Olmert sees the way forward, Olmert underscored that, as
Sharon's closest political ally, he intends to carry on what
Sharon had envisioned for the country. "I encouraged
(Sharon) to go for disengagement," Olmert said. He added
that Sharon left Likud because he needed "flexibility for
what he wanted to achieve," even though, Olmert assessed,
Sharon could have won the Likud chairmanship over Binyamin
Netanyahu by a 40 point margin. "(Sharon) really hoped
(that) in his lifetime he could set the parameters for
dictating the inevitable political outcome within the broad
framework of the roadmap," Olmert said, "I am committed to
carry on."

--------------
Hamas and the PLC Elections
--------------


7. (C) Turning to the PLC elections, Olmert said that the
GOI "felt from the beginning" that the U.S. made a mistake by
acquiescing to Hamas participation in the PLC elections,
since Hamas never altered its agenda calling for the
liquidation of Israel. He said the GOI "told the USG" that
it was a mistake, including to NEA A/S Welch and DAPNSA
Abrams during their recent visit. Olmert said that he made
up his mind just a few hours after Sharon's hospitalization
to allow PLC elections to take place in East Jerusalem -- but
without Hamas participation -- so as not to give the PA an
excuse to postpone the elections. Olmert stressed that he
did not want to wait for a call from Secretary Rice to make a
decision on this issue, and that in taking this decision, he
risked political criticism, especially from Likud leader
Binyamin Netanyahu, who has opposed this move. Olmert
asserted that Netanyahu "runs his entire political fortune on
Jerusalem" and the issue of who will divide it. He added
that he does not care about this criticism since "U.S.
cooperation is very important to us... " and that "President
Bush is committed to having (PLC) elections on time." Olmert
thanked Senator Kerry for signing a letter along with other
Senators against Hamas participation in the elections.
Senator Kerry expressed support for Olmert's stand on
Jerusalem voting and urged him to remain as flexible as
possible on remaining issues to prevent Israel from being
blamed for any failure to hold the elections.

--------------
After the PLC Elections
--------------


8. (C) Olmert made it clear that the GOI will have no
tolerance for dealing with a PA that is made up even partly
of Hamas, even if Hamas representation is only in the PLC; he
saw no major distinction between the executive and
legislative branches. He asserted that Hamas "will penetrate
the fabric of the (Palestinian) government," even if it is
only represented on the PLC, he underlined. Olmert said that
Secretary Rice and President Bush agree with Olmert on this

SIPDIS
point.


9. (C) Olmert said that the GOI needs to define a timetable
with benchmarks for Abbas to: 1) "change the constitution"
(note: we read this as a change in the PA basic laws to
require groups to renounce violence before they are allowed
to participate in the political process),and 2) disarm
terrorist groups. In response to Senator Kerry's query,
Olmert said that the GOI would likely give Abbas two-to-three
months to accomplish the two goals. Olmert underscored that
he is committed to pursuing "serious dialogue" with Abbas,
adding that they know each other, but he stressed that if
Abbas does not disarm the terrorists, daily confrontations
will continue and negotiations cannot go forward.


10. (C) Senator Kerry noted that in a meeting with Abbas one
year ago, Abbas had complained that he lacked the resources
necessary to deal with security threats and had claimed that
he could disarm the terrorist by coaxing them into the
political process. Senator Kerry agreed with Olmert's
assessment that Abbas had not accomplished anything in the
last year to address security issues. Noting the ongoing
terrorist threats against Israel, Olmert stressed that if
terrorist attacks continue, Israeli public opinion will not
support GOI negotiations with the PA leadership.

--------------
Ongoing Terrorism
--------------


11. (C) Senator Kerry asked whether Hamas has respected the
period of calm and whether the Palestinian Islamic Jihad
(PIJ) is the group responsible for terrorist activity.
Olmert agreed that Hamas has been relatively calm, but
stressed that Hamas continues to build its terrorist
infrastructure and is waiting for an opportunity to become
active. Olmert underlined that the GOI "invested much" in
the peace process and had undergone political changes.
"Sharon made a revolution," he stressed. "I will likely take
the next step...but I don't want to invest all this effort
with the U.S. and the international community and then have
Hamas renew its terrorist operation and have to break the
whole process," he underlined. Olmert asserted that Hamas is
using other terrorist groups, such as PIJ, as proxies to
carry out terrorist acts.


12. (C) In response to Senator Kerry's query, Olmert said
that Syrian President Assad is "stretching his rope and
coming close to the limits." He said that Syria will have to
pay the price. Israel is looking to the U.S. now for
leadership in addressing Iran's nuclear program, Olmert said.
Senator Kerry stressed U.S. bipartisan support for a tough
policy on Iran and asked whether Olmert believes Russia could
play an important role in dealing with Iran. Olmert said
that the Russians could play a significant role, but assessed
that Russian President Putin is "wavering." He underlined
his concern that Iran not appear to be mainly Israel's
problem. Senator Kerry assured Olmert that broad
international concern exists about Iran, noting that in
recent meetings, the political leadership of India and
Afghanistan expressed concern to him about Iran. Olmert said
that one tactic beyond economic sanctions -- such as those
employed against South Africa for its apartheid policy --
could include prohibiting Iranians from traveling to the U.S.
The Iranian leadership needs to be exposed to pressure from
within, by the Iranian population, he said. UK Prime
Minister Blair, French President Chirac and German Chancellor
Merkel are all on the "same wavelength" with the GOI on this
matter, he claimed.

--------------
The China "Misunderstanding"
--------------


13. (C) In response to Senator Kerry's query, Olmert said he
views the GOI-USG issue over GOI military sales to China as a
mistake on Israel's part and a misunderstanding on the USG
part. Olmert said that the GOI perhaps did not properly
understand the "sensitivity" of this issue to the U.S. With
regard to the incident in question, Olmert asserted that
Israel had not violated any GOI-USG understanding and that
the GOI had "acted honorably." Olmert said he views the
misunderstanding as a "gap in expectations between the two
sides." Olmert recommended that both sides continue to
discuss the issue, but underlined that there are "no better
friend to the U.S. than Israel."


14. (C) Senator Kerry and Olmert spent a few minutes
one-on-one after the meeting concluded. Senator Kerry later
told the DCM that Olmert said he is ready and willing to take
formidable risks to move the process forward. Olmert said,
however, that he would require strong U.S. support. Senator
Kerry told the DCM that on his return, he would raise with
the Secretary and with NSC Advisor Hadley the issue of how
the U.S. could support Olmert .


15. (U) Codel Kerry cleared this message.


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