SENEGAL: WADE CONTINUES TO INJECT HIMSELF INTO

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DAKAR 000733 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR AF/W AND NEA/IPA E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/20/2018 TAGS: PGOV PREL KISL IS SG SUBJECT: SENEGAL: WADE CONTINUES TO INJECT HIMSELF INTO MIDDLE EAST PEACE PROCESS REF: DAKAR 501 Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Jay T. Smith ¶1. (C) Summary: Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade continues to insert himself into the Middle East peace process (reftel). He recently held the first of seven rounds of talks with representatives from Fatah and Hamas with the goal of bringing about Palestinian reunification. He claims that he has secured the release of an Israeli held prisoner by Hamas as a result of the efforts. Wade has proposed visiting Israel, as well as Ramallah and the Gaza Strip, to conduct shuttle diplomacy. The Israelis continue to characterize Wade,s efforts as poorly prepared, unwanted and unhelpful. End summary. ¶2. (U) A June 12 communiqu issued by President Wade,s spokesman stated that President Wade had managed to secure the release of an Israeli prisoner of French origin who was being held by Hamas. The communiqu proclaimed that the President has secured this concession during talks that he hosted between Hamas and Fatah in Dakar on June 12. ¶3. (C) On June 19, Israeli Ambassador Gideon Behar told the Charge d,Affaires that President Wade called Israeli President Shimon Peres on June 10 to offer his good offices to conduct shuttle diplomacy between the Israelis and the Palestinians, including Fatah and Hamas. President Wade told President Peres he intended to travel to Israel, as well as Ramallah and the Gaza Strip. ¶4. (C) Ambassador Behar said the Israelis informed President Wade that Israel is negotiating directly with the Palestinians and does not wish for anyone to intercede. Moreover, they made the President aware that Israel has a policy of not speaking with countries and people that speak with Hamas. The Israelis further pointed out that a visit by Wade to Israel and the occupied territories should not be undertaken lightly noting the importance of properly preparing the ground if such a visit were to succeed. President Peres called President Wade on June 13 and had a tightly-focused discussion that did not stray beyond the welfare of the Israeli being held prisoner by Hamas. Fatah and Hamas Representatives Visit Dakar -------------- ¶5. (U) This latest episode is only the latest in a series of moves by Wade to insert himself into the Middle East peace process. June 7-8, President Wade held talks with representatives from Fatah and Hamas to launch an effort to reunify the Palestinians. These talks were the first round of seven which President Wade plans to conduct which the presidency is calling the &Dakar Process.8 According to a presidential communiqu, the Fatah delegation was led by Dr. Hikmat Zeid and that of Hamas was led by Emad Kahil Alamy. According to the communiqu, the representatives of Fatah and Hamas both share a desire to rebuild Palestinian unity under the uncontested authority of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. ¶6. (U) In the communiqu, President Wade calls for a cease-fire between the Israel and Hamas and asks that he be informed in case of violations of the cease-fire. President Wade, who is currently serving as chair of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC),calls on the Arab League and all countries of the Islamic ummah to &avoid all unilateral acts8 and to associate themselves with his efforts and to coordinate with him. He goes on to ask the &great powers8 and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to assist him. President Wade also announced a donation of three trucks with of food supplies, water, and medicine to the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and requested Egyptian assistance in delivering the supplies. Finally, he called on Egypt &to facilitate the free circulation of Palestinian citizens.8 ¶7. (C) According to the President,s diplomatic adviser, Omar Demba Ba, who participated in the talks, there was no hostility between the Palestinian representatives and both sides seemed equally open to President Wade,s mediation efforts. However, Israeli Ambassador Behar described Alamy of Hamas and Zeid of Fatah as low-level representatives. Behar speculated that Hamas was participating in these talks merely to send a message to Egypt that there are alternatives to using Egypt as a go-between with Israel. Similarly, he suggested that Fatah wanted to send a message to the West that the Palestinians could go elsewhere to pursue negotiations with Israel. Behar reiterated his opinion that DAKAR 00000733 002 OF 002 President Wade is attempting to win a Nobel Peace Prize through his efforts. COMMENT -------------- ¶8. (C) President Wade appears to be blissfully unaware that Israel does not care to take advantage of his good offices, in spite of Israeli efforts to convey this message to him and his advisors. Wade seems to be on a mission to succeed where no one has succeeded before thus securing for him a place in history and a legacy of glory in the Islamic ummah. Unfortunately, it is painfully evident that Wade does not have the faintest clue of the complexity of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and negotiations or that of the Palestinian split. His efforts appear to be ad hoc and poorly prepared. This is part of a pattern. He similarly went off half-cocked into the Zimbabwean crisis with little knowledge of the background (Senegal doesn,t even have an embassy in Harare) and his mediation efforts between Chad and Sudan almost blew up in his face during the recent Senegalese-hosted OIC summit. SMITH SMITH