PALESTINIAN PRESIDENT MEETS MISH'AL IN DAMASCUS

C O N F I D E N T I A L DAMASCUS 000079 SIPDIS SIPDIS PARIS FOR WALLER, LONDON FOR TSOU E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/22/2017 TAGS: KPAL PREL PGOV SY SUBJECT: PALESTINIAN PRESIDENT MEETS MISH'AL IN DAMASCUS CLASSIFIED BY: CHARGE D'AFFAIRES MICHAEL H. CORBIN FOR REASONS 1.4 B/D ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: VISITING PALESTINIAN PRESIDENT MAHMOUD ABBAS MET WITH DAMASCUS-BASED HAMAS LEADER KHALID MISH'AL FOR ABOUT THREE HOURS ON JANUARY 21 IN THE SYRIAN CAPITAL, FOLLOWING A SERIES OF SEPARATE MEETINGS BETWEEN TOP SYRIAN OFFICIALS AND THE TWO FIGURES, ACCORDING TO PRESS REPORTS AND CONTACTS. AT A PRESS CONFERENCE FOLLOWING THE MEETING, ABBAS AND MISHAAL CALLED FOR AN END TO PALESTINIAN BLOODSHED AND PROMISED FURTHER DIALOGUE WITHIN TWO WEEKS TO OVERCOME OBSTACLES TO THE CREATION OF A NATIONAL UNITY GOVERNMENT. CONTACTS TELL US ABBAS AND MISHA'AL DISAGREED OVER WHETHER OR NOT HAMAS WOULD CONTINUE TO HOLD THE MINISTRY OF INTERIOR SEAT, AS WELL AS OVER LANGUAGE INDICATING THE NEW GOVERNMENT'S POSITION TOWARD PAST PLO AGREEMENTS. WHILE LOCAL MEDIA PLAYED UP WHAT IT CALLED SHARA'A "SHUTTLE DIPLOMACY" TO BRING ABBAS AND MISHA'AL TOGETHER, WE HAVE NO DIRECT INFORMATION ABOUT THE NATURE OF THE DISCUSSIONS BETWEEN SARG OFFICIALS AND THE TWO PALESTINIAN LEADERS. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (SBU) ABBAS (ABU MAZEN) MET WITH MISH'AL IN THE MERIDIAN HOTEL FOR ABOUT THREE HOURS ON JANUARY 21, ACCORDING TO MEDIA REPORTS AND CONTACTS. FOLLOWING THE MEETING, ABBAS AND MISHA'AL HELD A JOINT PRESS CONFERENCE, STATING THAT THEY OPPOSED FURTHER PALESTINIAN BLOODSHED AND WERE COMMITTED TO FURTHER DIALOGUE WITHIN TWO WEEKS OVER DIFFERENCES THAT HAVE PREVENTED THE FORMATION OF A NATIONAL UNITY GOVERNMENT, ACCORDING TO PRESS REPORTS. IT WAS ABBAS FIRST MEETING WITH MISHA'AL SINCE JUNE 2005. ¶3. (C) DAMASCUS-BASED AL-HAYAT CORRESPONDENT TOLD A/DCM THAT THERE WERE TWO KEY STICKING POINTS TO THE FORMATION OF A NEW GOVERNMENT. FIRST, MISHA'AL INSISTED THAT HAMAS MAINTAIN ITS MINISTRY OF INTERIOR SEAT, GIVEN FATAH CONTROL OVER SECURITY FORCES IN THE TERRITORIES, WHILE ABBAS WAS SEEKING AGREEMENT ON A NEW AN INDEPENDENT MINISTER, HAMIDI SAID. SECOND, ABBAS INSISTED THAT HIS LETTER CHARGING A NEW PM MENTION THE GOVERNMENT'S "COMMITMENT TO" PLO AGREEMENTS, INTERNATIONAL LEGITIMACY, AND ITEMS AGREED UPON AT ARAB SUMMITS, HAMIDI SAID. MISHA'AL WOULD ONLY ACCEPT A REFERENCE TO "RESPECT" FOR SUCH ELEMENTS, A FORMULA THAT ABBAS REJECTED AS NON-BINDING AND INSIGNIFICANT, HAMIDI ASSERTED. ¶4. (C) THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE TWO PARTIES ALMOST PREVENTED THE MEETING, ACCORDING TO PRESS REPORTS FOCUSED ON MEDIATION BETWEEN THE TWO PARTIES BY SYRIAN VP FAROUK AL-SHARAA AND SYRIAN FM WALID MUALLIM THROUGHOUT JANUARY ¶21. DURING THEIR DISCUSSIONS, MU'ALLIM URGED ABBAS TO MEET MISHA'AL EVEN IF THERE WERE NO AGREEMENT ON A UNITY GOVERNMENT, FOR FEAR THAT NO MEETING WOULD LEAD TO INCREASED VIOLENCE IN THE OCCUPIED TERRITORIES AND TO BLAME BEING CAST ON THE SARG FOR THE VISIT'S FAILURE, HAMIDI SAID. PRIOR TO THE MEETING, DAMASCUS-BASED HAMAS OFFICIAL ABU MARZOUK BLAMED ABBAS FOR THE BREAKDOWN OF TALKS, HINTING THAT ISRAEL AND THE U.S. HAD PRESSURED HIM NOT TO MEET MISHA'AL, ACCORDING TO THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. ¶5. (C) ABBAS ARRIVED JANUARY 20 AND WAS GREETED BY MU'ALLIM AT THE AIRPORT BEFORE GOING DIRECTLY TO THE PRESIDENTIAL PALACE FOR TALKS AND LUNCH WITH SYRIAN PRESIDENT BASHAR AL-ASAD, WHOM HE HAD NOT SEEN SINCE 2005, ACCORDING TO PRESS REPORTS. ABBAS LATER MET SEPARATELY WITH MU'ALLIM AND WITH SEVERAL DAMASCUS-BASED PALESTINIAN LEADERS, INCLUDING DFLP HEAD NAYEF HAWATMEH AND PFLP OFFICIAL TALAL NAJI, HAMIDI SAID. WHILE IN DAMASCUS, ABBAS ALSO REPORTEDLY RECEIVED A MESSAGE FROM LIBYAN LEADER MUAMMAR QADHAFI, WHICH WAS DELIVERED BY QADHAFI'S COUSIN, AHMAD QADDAF AL-DAM, WHO WAS VISITING SYRIA, ACCORDING TO LOCAL MEDIA. AL-DAM ALSO DELIVERED A MESSAGE TO MISHA'AL, ACCORDING LOCAL MEDIA REPORTS. (COMMENT: POST HAS NO INFORMATION ABOUT THE NATURE OF THE MESSAGE.) ABBAS DEPARTED SYRIA FOR BEIRUT THE AFTERNOON OF JANUARY 22, ACCORDING TO PRESS REPORTS. ¶6. (C) COMMENT: WHILE LOCAL MEDIA PLAYED UP WHAT IT CALLED SHARA'A "SHUTTLE DIPLOMACY" TO BRING ABBAS AND MISHA'AL TOGETHER, WE HAVE NO DIRECT INFORMATION ABOUT THE NATURE OF THE DISCUSSIONS BETWEEN SARG OFFICIALS AND THE TWO PALESTINIAN LEADERS. WHAT SEEMS APARARENT, HOWEVER, IS THAT THE MEETING THAT FINALLY OCCURRED WAS SHORT AND WITHOUT IMMEDIATELY APPARENT RESULTS. CORBIN