AMBASSADOR'S MEETING WITH MOD SPECIAL ASSISTANT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TEL AVIV 000914

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/22/2017
TAGS: PREL ECON KWBG IS
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S MEETING WITH MOD SPECIAL ASSISTANT
HERZOG


Classified By: Ambassador Richard H. Jones for reasons 1.4 (b/d)


1. (C) Summary: Chief of Staff to the Minister of Defense,
Mike Herzog, told the Ambassador that as soon as a
replacement was found for General Spiegel, the bilateral
dialogue on settlements and outposts could be restarted. In
the meantime, Herzog confirmed, he was the day-to-day point
of contact on settlement and outpost issues and data
collection efforts begun by Gen. Spiegel were ongoing. The
Ambassador raised the recent construction of new housing at
Alfe Menashe and Herzog said he would investigate and report
back to clarify its status. While agreeing that signing the
Customs Protocol with the Palestinians would help in
controlling the Rafah crossing, Herzog said the issue was
still under consideration by the Prime Minister's office and
they hoped to have a decision soon. End Summary.

Renewal of Dialogue on Settlements and Outpost
-------------- -


2. (C) In a March 9 meeting with Herzog, the Ambassador
requested that the GOI restart the bilateral dialogue on
settlements and outposts called for in the 2003
Rice-Weissglass letter. The dialogue, formerly led on the
MOD side by Gen.Baruch Spiegel (ret) has been in abeyance
since shortly after Minister Peretz took office and General
Spiegel retired. The Ambassador also requested that a
working level point of contact be designated for discussion
of issues related to settlements and outposts that arise
almost weekly.


3. (C) Herzog responded that it was the intention of the
Ministry to revive the dialogue but that could not occur
until a suitable replacement for Gen. Spiegel had been
appointed. He hoped that in the near future they would add
someone to the Minister's staff for this purpose.
Originally, the Embassy was told that Herzog was to take
charge of this issue but he countered that his duties with
the Minister had left him little time to devote to becoming
an expert on this subject. However, Herzog said that in the
interim, he would be available to answer questions about
settlement and outpost activity when it occurs.


4. (C) In answer to the Ambassador's question about who in
the ministry was continuing the data collection on
settlements and outposts previously overseen by Gen. Spiegel,
Herzog confirmed that a team of technical staff continued to
compile this information. Though the data collection is
being continued on the ground and by reconnaissance aircraft
it was difficult to interpret this data into something useful
for policy purposes until a replacement for Gen. Spiegel is
appointed.


Trouble with Nof HaSharon
--------------


5. (C) The Ambassador raised the issue of the new
construction at Nof HaSharon, saying that the position of the
new housing units at a significant distance from two existing
settlements indicated new settlement construction rather than
natural expansion of Alfe Menashe. Herzog claimed not to
know the details of this new construction and promised to
investigate the circumstances and get back to the Ambassador.
(Note: MOD Advisor Lt. Col. Oded Herman told EconOff that the
Nof HaSharon master plan was approved in 2003, and called for
building 59 individual villa style houses in a "neighborhood"
that would be part of Alfe Menashe's administrative district.
EconOff visited the site on March 19, and observed that
travel between Alfe Menashe and Nof HaSharon required a 15
minute drive along a circuitous route that crossed the
separation barrier twice. End Note.)


Rafah Customs Protocol
--------------


6. (C) In a discussion on the operation of the Rafah
terminal, Herzog confirmed that the MOD endorsed the renewal
of the EU-BAM. He said that concerns on the smuggling of
money and the movement of terrorists through the passage
still needed a solution. The Ambassador raised the signing of
the Customs Protocol with the Palestinians as am important
step for creating efficient and effective control of the
border. He asked about the status of the agreement. Herzog,
agreeing that the Customs Protocol would be a helpful tool
for controlling the border, said that the issue is still
under internal discussion, had been raised with the Prime
Minister, and would be resolved soon.


TEL AVIV 00000914 002 OF 002


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