EU/GERMANY/BLAIR MISSION/U.S. INFORMAL MEETING ON

C O N F I D E N T I A L LONDON 000949

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/26/2018
TAGS: PREL MEPP KPAL UK
SUBJECT: EU/GERMANY/BLAIR MISSION/U.S. INFORMAL MEETING ON
SUPPORT FOR PALESTINE, MARCH 26, 2008

Classified By: PolMinCouns Maura Connelly, reasons 1.4 b, d


1. (C) Summary. The international community's efforts to
support the Palestinian Authority through security sector
reform, justice sector capacity building, and targeted
project assistance need to be better integrated to achieve
demonstrable results, representatives of the EU, Germany, the
U.S. and the Office of Quartet Representative Tony Blair
agreed March 26 at an informal meeting in London. EU, German
and U.S. representatives updated participants on the status
of projects they are sponsoring in these sectors. Tony
Blair, who attended part of the meeting, proposed that he,
along with Palestinian PM Salam Fayyad and Israeli Defense
Minister Ehud Barak, announce a broad package of confidence
building measures (CBMs) at the time of the May 2 Ad Hoc
Liaison Committee meeting in London. This package would
provide concrete benchmarks on which to judge Palestinian and
Israeli progress, as well as specific CBMs for Jenin, where
the international community would focus the bulk of its
development efforts. It would also build toward a conference
on Palestinian Security Sector Reform scheduled for June 24
in Berlin. On Gaza, Blair said the situation threatens to
wreck current efforts at peace and development, and proposed
reopening the border under PA control to restore the flow of
goods. End summary.


2. (SBU) Representatives of the EU, Germany, the U.S., and
the Office of Quartet Representative (OQR) Tony Blair, met at
the OQR office in London March 26 to discuss the current
state of international efforts to support the Palestinian
authority. NEA A/S David Welch led the delegation,
accompanied by Deputy Legal Adviser Jonathan Schwartz,
Assistant Legal Adviser Linda Jacobson, NSC Legal Adviser
David Sullivan, and an Embassy London poloff. EU Middle East
Special Envoy Marc Otte and Rosemary Davis attended for the
EU. MFA Director General for Near and Middle Eastern Affairs
and the Magreb Andreas Michaelis represented Germany. OQR
Chief of Staff Nick Banner and staff member Rebecca Guthrie
represented Blair's office; Blair himself attended part of
the meeting.

Need for an Integrated Plan
--------------


3. (C) The international community now has an opportunity to
fit security sector reform into the larger package of three
tracks, A/S Welch said. The first track is the political
negotiations in which the U.S. has the leading oversight
role; second are Israeli and Palestinian actions on the
ground, where, despite good intentions, there is not a lot of
progress and where a concerted strategy with respect to
Israel is needed; and third is the international community's
role in support, A/S Welch said. The lack of demonstrable
results on the ground is contributing to downward momentum
and hindering further donations, especially from Arab
governments. The U.S. will revise its integrated plan,
looking at the situation on the ground. Once the decision is
made to focus on a particular site, likely to be Jenin,
project support, security efforts, and Israeli cooperation
will be needed.


4. (C) Marc Otte and Andreas Michaelis agreed with the need
for better integration of efforts. Otte noted the idea of an
integrated plan, "State-building for Peace in the MidEast,"
had been adopted in November 2007. He updated meeting
participants on the EU-POLCOPPS program, noting that its
mission has expanded to include training for judges and
prison governors. EU-POLCOPPS is working well on the ground,
including with the U.S. Security Coordinator (USSC) mission,
Otte said. On the other hand, the efforts of EU member
states need closer coordination within the EU. Based on a
recently-completed inventory of both the Palestinian security
and prison systems, the EU is looking for 100 million euros
over three years in donations from EU member states for
security-related projects, and 50 million euros in prison
reform projects.


5. (C) Michaelis described German planning on a security
sector reform conference scheduled for June 24 in Berlin. At

the conference, Germany's aim is to roll out a well-balanced
package of measures for prison and judicial reform targeted
at the second half of 2008, Michaelis said. Experts are
holding a pre-meeting in the region on April 4 with
Palestinian and Israeli experts, and will hold a second
pre-meeting in Berlin about two weeks before the conference
itself. Germany will be asking the U.S., OQR, UK and EU to
press possible donors for contributions in the month leading
up to the conference, Michaelis said.


6. (C) Banner said the key was integration on the ground of
all elements. Jenin presents an opportunity to show we can
rapidly move pieces into place, after which we can move onto
the wider institution plan. Fund raising needs should be
factored into any integrated plan that emerges, he said.

Packaging Development Assistance
--------------


7. (C) A/S Welch updated participants on the desire to help
sustain security improvements by providing economic
assistance in areas where security forces are being deployed.
The first NSF battalion will graduate from its training
program at the Joint International Police Training Center
(JIPTIC) in Jordan in May and will subsequently be deployed
to Jenin. The USG will therefore concentrate its economic
assistance efforts on Jenin, Welch said. Michaelis described
a German industrial park project near Jenin that would
complement these efforts. Assistant Legal Adviser Jacobson
briefed participants on USSC activities.


8. (C) Tony Blair proposed that he, along with Palestinian
PM Salam Fayyad and Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak,
announce a broad package of confidence building measures
(CBMs) at the time of the May 2 Ad Hoc Liaison Committee
meeting in London. The package has to make an impact, and
should signal a significant shift in Israeli attitudes toward
Palestinian state-building, Blair said. He argued that
monitoring Phase I of the Road Map was impossible at this
point; this package, on the other hand, would provide
concrete benchmarks on which to judge Palestinian and Israeli
progress. It would also build toward the June 24 conference
in Berlin. Blair agreed that achieving demonstrable results
in Palestine would make it easier to get more funding,
especially from Arab governments, who are not currently
convinced that their donations are worthwhile. He agreed
with Israel that Jenin is preferable to Hebron because of the
settler issues in Hebron and the security capability of the
Palestinians.

Gaza
--------------


9. (C) The situation in Gaza cannot remain as it is, Blair
said. The Israeli government doesn't want to go back in, but
fears domestic pressure and events on the ground will make
this inevitable. The Israelis therefore are in the market
for a new idea, Blair said. Blair suggested the opening of
crossings under PA control to resume the flow of goods.
Otherwise Gaza could capsize all other efforts. How we
resolve Gaza will be very important for Arab donors, he said.
Also, the Israelis and Palestinians have to agree on a
communications strategy. Blair said that Barak is looking
for ways change his position on the issue. Otte said Olmert
had also confided in him that the situation cannot remain as
it is. Otte suggested that projects in Gaza could be
identified that would directly affect the lives of ordinary
people in Gaza, such as the sanitation plant. Blair noted
that a constituency for progress in Gaza would need to be
developed.

Next Steps
--------------


10. (C) Participants agreed on the following next steps:
-- the U.S. will update a current draft paper on Palestinian
security, clearly listing what is needed from both the
Israelis and Palestinians for the success of development
projects in Jenin, with the aim of providing clear guidance

to potential donors on financial support requirements.
-- OQR will produce a draft list of CBMs to be announced o/a
the AHLC.
-- OQR will produce a paper with proposals on presentation of
these steps, including how best to ensure and demonstrate
buy-in from both the Israelis and Palestinians, within the
broader context of the political track.


11. (U) A/S Welch has cleared this cable.

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