ISRAELI MFA IO HEAD RONNY YA'AR OUTLINES POSSIBLE

C O N F I D E N T I A L USUN NEW YORK 000218 SIPDIS SIPDIS C O R R E C T E D COPY (ADDREESE ADDED) E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/14/2017 TAGS: PREL UNSC KPKO KPAL LE SY IS SUBJECT: ISRAELI MFA IO HEAD RONNY YA'AR OUTLINES POSSIBLE 1701 FOLLOW-UP AND IO PRIORITIES Classified By: Ambassador Alejandro D. Wolff, per 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary. During a lunch meeting with IO A/S Silverberg, NEA DAS Danin, and Ambassador Wolff on March 13, senior Israeli MFA official Ronny Ya'ar expressed concerns about SYG Ban Ki-Moon's planned travel to Damascus in April, possible references to new UN conclusions about the sovereignty of Sheba'a Farms in the SYG's March report on UNSCR 1701, and a UNESCO report about construction near the Mughrabi Gate of the Temple Mount / Haram al-Sharif. A/S Silverberg and DAS Danin shared Ya,ar,s concerns and undertook to raise them with UN official Michael Williams later that day (septel). If the UNSC cannot respond to the March 1701 report with a resolution, Ya'ar advocated a strong Council statement asking the SYG to take additional measures to enforce the arms embargo, measures which he hoped would set the stage for a UNSC resolution in August. Ya'ar also appealed to the USG to work against proposed anti-Israel resolutions in the Human Rights Council (HRC) and to support Israeli membership in UN regional groupings as well as on the boards of several UN organizations. End Summary. ¶2. (U) IO A/S Silverberg, NEA DAS Danin, Ambassador Wolff, and Poloff (notetaker) joined Israeli MFA IO Deputy Director-General Ronny Ya'ar, Israeli MFA Legal Adviser Tal Becker, and Israeli Mission DPR Danny Carmon and Political Counselor for lunch on March 13. Earlier that day, Ya'ar had met SYG Ban's Chief of Staff Ambassador Kim, and he planned to see SYG Special Adviser on the Middle East Michael Williams after the lunch. SYG Middle East Trip -------------- ¶3. (C) Ya'ar expressed concern that SYG Ban Ki-Moon plans to visit Damascus in April and said he had urged the Secretariat to cancel the trip. A/S Silverberg agreed the Damascus visit was ill-advised and also undertook to urge the Secretariat to reconsider (septel). As for the SYG's March 24-27 trip to Israel and the Palestinian territories, Ya'ar said the SYG would at least meet the Israeli Prime Minister, Foreign Minister, and Acting President. He reported that the focus of the SYG's visit to the Palestinian territories would be mostly humanitarian, to include meetings with UN agencies in the field and possibly travel to Palestinian refugee camps. Ya'ar cautioned that the Secretariat had not ruled out a visit to Palestinian institutions in East Jerusalem, such as former SYG Annan's visits to PLO Headquarters at Orient House. UNSCR 1701 Report -------------- ¶4. (C) Looking towards the Council's reaction to the SYG's March report on the implementation of resolution 1701 (which had not yet been released),Ya'ar suggested that if the Council could not approve a resolution now, that it should adopt a strong statement asking the SYG to take additional measures to enforce the arms embargo. Such a statement could set the stage for a UNSC resolution in August, Ya'ar opined. In the meantime, Ya'ar reported that IDF BG Baidatz, who briefed UNSC members and Secretariat officials on arms smuggling into Lebanon in early March, would send a representative to give the same briefing to German officials in Berlin. Ambassador Wolff underscored the importance of maximizing the impact of the UNSCR 1701 and 1559 reports as well as the Brammertz report. The momentum behind the 1701 and Brammertz reports should help apply significant pressure on Syria through the April UNSCR 1559 report. ¶5. (C) Ya'ar and Becker expressed deep concern that the paragraphs on the Sheba'a Farms in the March 1701 report would suggest that the UN is trying to determine the sovereignty of the disputed area rather than define its geographical scope. They argued that making such a finding is not part of the cartographer's mandate under UNSCR 1701 and that doing so would question both the UN's delineation of the Blue Line in 2000 and the logic of UNSCR 1680's call for Syria and Lebanon to delineate their border. Ya'ar emphasized that it would not be possible for Israel to advance on the Sheba'a issue now and that it would therefore be necessary to buy more time before the UN releases any major findings. A/S Silverberg and DAS Danin promised to raise the issue with UN official Michael Williams to ensure the March report avoids drawing conclusions about sovereignty over Sheba'a farms (septel). Ya'ar agreed to urge FM Livni to raise the issue during her meeting with SYG Ban on March ¶14. UNESCO Report on Mughrabi Gate -------------- ¶6. (C) Ya'ar reported that UNESCO's report on the Mughrabi Gate construction near the Temple Mount / Haram al-Sharif would confirm that no damage had been done to the mosque structure, but it would also urge the GOI to halt all construction there and consult with the Waqf authorities and the Jordanian Government on future such work. While the GOI and the Jerusalem Municipality had already suspended work there and was willing to consult with the Waqf, Ya'ar said Israel could not publicly accept the UNESCO report's conclusions on such a sensitive issue. He urged the USG to pressure the Chinese Chair of UNESCO not to convene a special UNESCO session to discuss the Mughrabi Gate issue, as many Arab countries have requested, but instead to discuss the issue during UNESCO's regular session in April. Ya'ar added that Israel could accept a UNESCO information session on the Mughrabi Gate issue, but objected to a special session. A/S Silverberg agreed to talk to the Chinese about the special session. Human Rights Council -------------- ¶7. (C) A/S Silverberg explained the USG decision not to run for a seat on the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) for 2008 and confirmed that Canada was re-thinking its own posture on the HRC. Acknowledging that the USG would not be a member of the HRC, Ya'ar said Israel was concerned about several new proposed HRC resolutions on Jerusalem, human rights, and Israeli military operations in the Beit Hanoun section of Gaza. Ya'ar was also concerned that the HRC's Special Rapporteur for Jerusalem, currently a South African official who reportedly favors a one-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, would be made a permanent HRC rapporteur. Noting that Israel had been promised that the rapporteur would be replaced in 2007, Ya'ar warned that if that turns out not to be the case that Israel might decide to deny the official entry into Israel. He explained that the rapporteur in this case is appointed by the HRC's Chairman, a position which will transfer to Romania this summer. UN Regional Groups and Elections -------------- ¶8. (C) Ya'ar asked the USG to help persuade New Zealand to support Israel's membership in the JUSCANZ (Japan, USG, Canada, New Zealand, etc.) regional grouping at the UN. Noting that Swiss MFA officials were more amenable to including Israel in WEOG (Western European and Other Group), Ya'ar predicted the issue could be resolved if New Zealand dropped its objections. Proposing a gradual approach to integrating Israel into the group's deliberations in different UN bodies, Ya'ar suggested focusing first on UN's Fifth Committee, then the Third Committee, and lastly UN bodies in Geneva. Turning to upcoming elections for UN bodies, Ya'ar said Israel wanted a seat on the board of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW),but understood that the USG was running for the same seat. If the USG really wanted the seat, Israel would withdraw. Ya'ar also said that Israel seeks a seat on the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Board. Lastly, he urged support for fellow Israeli MFA official Rony Adom's candidacy to become the next chair of the UN Committee for Program and Coordination (CPC),which A/S Silverberg promised. ¶9. (U) A/S Silverberg cleared this message. WOLFF