Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06TELAVIV3791
2006-09-22 12:30:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Tel Aviv
Cable title:
LIKUD READS QUARTET STATEMENT AS A DIPLOMATIC
how-tonull Carol X Weakley 09/22/2006 05:07:18 PM From DB/Inbox: Carol X Weakley Cable Text: C O N F I D E N T I A L TEL AVIV 03791 SIPDIS CXTelA: ACTION: POL INFO: IMO IPSC PD RES ECON DCM DAO AMB AID ADM RSO CONS DISSEMINATION: POL CHARGE: PROG APPROVED: POL/C:MSIEVERS DRAFTED: POL:PHVROOMAN CLEARED: NONE VZCZCTVI685 OO RUEHC RUEHXK RHEHNSC DE RUEHTV #3791 2651230 ZNY CCCCC ZZH O 221230Z SEP 06 FM AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6532 INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L TEL AVIV 003791
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/22/2007
TAGS: PREL PGOV UN IS KPAL
SUBJECT: LIKUD READS QUARTET STATEMENT AS A DIPLOMATIC
DEFEAT; THE GOI DISAGREES
Classified By: Political Counselor Marc Sievers. Reason 1.4 (B/D)
C O N F I D E N T I A L TEL AVIV 003791
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/22/2007
TAGS: PREL PGOV UN IS KPAL
SUBJECT: LIKUD READS QUARTET STATEMENT AS A DIPLOMATIC
DEFEAT; THE GOI DISAGREES
Classified By: Political Counselor Marc Sievers. Reason 1.4 (B/D)
1. (SBU) PM Olmert's plans to meet West Bank settlers next
week and his quest to shore up his coalition no doubt
prompted some Likud leaders to take issue with the September
20 Quartet statement as a way to flex their political muscles
before the Jewish High Holidays begin on September 22.
Former Knesset Chair of the Foreign Affairs and Defense
Committee, MK Yuval Steinitz, reportedly called on the Olmert
government to resign, saying "the decision of the Quartet to
support a Hamas government is an unprecedented diplomatic
crisis." Steinitz went on to claim that the world is
embracing a government comprised of terrorist organizations
that are seeking the destruction of Israel.
2. (SBU) Former Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said the
Quartet statement represented a "diplomatic defeat" for
Israel on the grounds that it did not contain an explicit
restatement of the three Quartet requirements demanded of a
PA government. Shalom's reaction is undoubtedly an effort to
tarnish Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni's image, which remains
bright in the eyes of the Israeli public according to recent
public opinion polls -- even as Olmert and Peretz suffer a
precipitous drop in popularity in the aftermath of the
Lebanon war.
3. (SBU) Olmert's Kadima loyalists, notably Interior
Minister Roni Bar-On, quickly responded to Likud accusations
about a U.S. retreat by noting no change in President Bush's
message to PA President Abbas on September 20 on the need for
the PA government to recognize Israel. Foreign Ministry
Spokesman Mark Regev, speaking to Israel radio September 22,
downplayed the significance of the matter by stating that the
Quartet conditions are so well known there was no need for
the Quartet to repeat them.
4. (C) Comment: The GOI appears to have opted to take the
high road in its low-key official reaction to the
Likud-inspired brouhaha concerning the September 20
statement. We believe this reflects a policy-level/political
decision on the part of the Olmert government to avoid any
public appearance of a difference of views with the U.S.
administration.
********************************************* ********************
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
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/22/2007
TAGS: PREL PGOV UN IS KPAL
SUBJECT: LIKUD READS QUARTET STATEMENT AS A DIPLOMATIC
DEFEAT; THE GOI DISAGREES
Classified By: Political Counselor Marc Sievers. Reason 1.4 (B/D)
1. (SBU) PM Olmert's plans to meet West Bank settlers next
week and his quest to shore up his coalition no doubt
prompted some Likud leaders to take issue with the September
20 Quartet statement as a way to flex their political muscles
before the Jewish High Holidays begin on September 22.
Former Knesset Chair of the Foreign Affairs and Defense
Committee, MK Yuval Steinitz, reportedly called on the Olmert
government to resign, saying "the decision of the Quartet to
support a Hamas government is an unprecedented diplomatic
crisis." Steinitz went on to claim that the world is
embracing a government comprised of terrorist organizations
that are seeking the destruction of Israel.
2. (SBU) Former Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said the
Quartet statement represented a "diplomatic defeat" for
Israel on the grounds that it did not contain an explicit
restatement of the three Quartet requirements demanded of a
PA government. Shalom's reaction is undoubtedly an effort to
tarnish Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni's image, which remains
bright in the eyes of the Israeli public according to recent
public opinion polls -- even as Olmert and Peretz suffer a
precipitous drop in popularity in the aftermath of the
Lebanon war.
3. (SBU) Olmert's Kadima loyalists, notably Interior
Minister Roni Bar-On, quickly responded to Likud accusations
about a U.S. retreat by noting no change in President Bush's
message to PA President Abbas on September 20 on the need for
the PA government to recognize Israel. Foreign Ministry
Spokesman Mark Regev, speaking to Israel radio September 22,
downplayed the significance of the matter by stating that the
Quartet conditions are so well known there was no need for
the Quartet to repeat them.
4. (C) Comment: The GOI appears to have opted to take the
high road in its low-key official reaction to the
Likud-inspired brouhaha concerning the September 20
statement. We believe this reflects a policy-level/political
decision on the part of the Olmert government to avoid any
public appearance of a difference of views with the U.S.
administration.
********************************************* ********************
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