AMIDST CALLS FOR THIRD INTIFADA, SYRIANS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DAMASCUS 000913 SIPDIS LONDON FOR TSOU, PARIS FOR WALLER E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/29/2018 TAGS: PREL KPAL PHUM SY SUBJECT: AMIDST CALLS FOR THIRD INTIFADA, SYRIANS DEMONSTRATE AGAINST ISRAELI GAZA BOMBINGS REF: DAMASCUS 000907 Classified By: CDA Maura Connelly for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Syrian President Bashar al-Asad has worked the phone in an effort to orchestrate a January 2 Arab League Emergency Summit in Doha. According to media reports citing anonymous Syrian officials, Syria has suspended its participation in indirect peace talks with Israel. Syrian demonstrators gathered in multiple locations throughout the country on December 28 to protest Israeli air strikes in Gaza. In Damascus, a large crowd burned Israeli and American flags. Damascus-based Hamas leader Khalid Mesha'al called for a "third intifada" and indirectly chided Egypt for failing to open the Rafah crossing. END SUMMARY. -------------- -------------- Gaza: Bashar Pushing Arab League Emergency Summit -------------- -------------- ¶2. (U) Syria reacted to Israel's Gaza raid by informing Turkish officials on December 27 of a decision to suspend indirect peace talks with Israel, according to local press reports and confirmed by Turkish Foreign Minister Babacan's December 29 public remarks following his meeting with Egyptian FM Aboul Gheit. In coordination with Qatar, President Asad (who currently holds the Arab League presidency) called for an emergency Arab League Summit to be held January 2 in Doha. It remains unclear whether this meeting will ultimately materialize, as Egypt and Saudi Arabia have expressed doubts about its utility. According to the local press, Asad has also communicated with Iranian President Ahmadinejad about convening an Organization of the Islamic Conference meeting to condemn Israeli military actions in Gaza. Asad urged U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon to ensure that the U.N. assumes its responsibilities in securing an immediate halt to the "Israeli massacre" against the "defenseless" Palestinians in Gaza. ¶3. (U) In a material gesture of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, the Syrian Arab Red Crescent pledged it would send 50 tons of food and medical aid overland to Gaza. The organization did not detail when the shipment would take place, nor how it would enter Gaza. -------------- Syrian Demonstrations -------------- ¶4. (C) As reported reftel, a large crowd gathered at Yousef �0A;al-Azme Square in downtown Damascus on December 28 at approximately 11:00 to protest the Israeli military action in Gaza. Local media outlets estimated the crowd to be between 6,000 and 10,000 people. International media outlets put the number closer to 5,000. Similar demonstrations took place in other parts of the city and in Aleppo, Hama, Lattakia, Tartous, Idleb, Suweida, and Daraa. ¶5. (U) The event, which lasted until approximately 15:00, was televised in its entirety. Among the images of chanting crowds and fluttering banners, was a scene of protesters burning American and Israeli flags. Banner wavers were in full force with slogans like "Enough Humiliation" and "Break the Siege and Aid Gaza." Flags and signs supporting specific political groups, including Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Syrian Socialist Nationalist Party, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP),were also on display. There were no reported acts of violence against persons or diplomatic property. Protesters did not march on any embassies, although there was a report of an abortive attempt to march to the Egyptian Embassy. -------------- Mesha'al Interview -------------- ¶6. (U) Damascus-based Hamas leader Khalid Mesha'al called upon Palestinians to wage a new intifada against Israeli occupation, including a return to martyrdom (suicide) operations in an interview on Al-Jazeera television. In the interview, Mesha'al characterized the Israeli strikes as political, stating that "Israeli leaders are seeking to win election by sacrificing the blood of Gazans." He added that "Hamas had agreed to a cease-fire in June, but the Israeli DAMASCUS 00000913 002 OF 002 blockade continued. Cease-fire now can only be in exchange for a halt to Israeli aggression and an end to the blockade." ¶7. (U) Mesha'al's statements swung from dovish to hawkish in tone. On the one hand, he exhorted Palestinians to wage a "third intifada--a peaceful intifada in the West Bank," and added that "we do not seek war; we seek to protect ourselves." On the other hand he forecast a return to "martyrdom operations" and that Israelis would be forced to "taste the cup from which they have made us drink." ¶8. (U) The interview also provided Mesha'al an opportunity to reiterate Hamas's position on Palestinian unity talks and to urge Egypt to play a more constructive role. Regarding the Palestinian talks, he affirmed Hamas's readiness to talk with the Palestinian Authority (PA),but only if the PA called for an internal Palestinian conference with no preconditions, released all Hamas detainees in the West Bank, and ended all negotiations and security cooperation with Israel immediately. As for Egypt, Mesha'al said the Eyptian people were great, but that President Mubarak faced an "historic responsibility." In reference to Egypt's continued blockade of the Rafah crossing, Mesha'al stated that the danger to Egypt was not from Gaza, but from Israel and the U.S. and that all blockades must be lifted. -------------- Other Demonstrations -------------- ¶9. (SBU) Also on December 28 a group of about 100 individuals protested the Israeli bombings in front of the United Nations Development Program office in Damascus concurrent with the demonstrations in Yousef al-Azme Square. On December 29 at 12:00 a group of approximately 20 women gathered in front of the International Red Cross office in Damascus to deliver a petition. Both gatherings ended peacefully. 10.(C) COMMENT: Post expects demonstrations to continue as long as military action in Gaza continues. END COMMENT. CONNELLY