CHILE: NO CHANGES LIKELY IN ISRAEL/PALESTINE UNGA

UNCLAS SANTIAGO 001043 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR IO/UNP ANDREW MORRISON E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL UNGA IS PA CI SUBJECT: CHILE: NO CHANGES LIKELY IN ISRAEL/PALESTINE UNGA VOTES REF: A. STATE 123081 ¶B. SANTIAGO 996 ¶1. (SBU) Poloff delivered ref A demarche Nov. 24 to Patricio Powell, Acting Head of the MFA's Multilateral Affairs Department. Powell promised to examine the issue closely and to forward the points to the MFA's Middle East desk and the Chilean Mission to the UN. However, Powell held out no hope of changing Chile's votes--even from a "yes" to an abstention. Powell noted that Chile's support for the three institutions in question is well-established Chilean policy. Decisions about Chile's position on these sensitive issues have been made by the Foreign Minister and the President, Powell noted, and there were no political grounds for a change now. (Note: Ref B includes a recent CODEL's discussion with President Bachelet on this topic. End Note.) ¶2. (SBU) Powell emphasized that Chile always endeavors to support a balanced approach to these contentious Middle East issues, and will take the same approach with upcoming UN meetings to be held in Santiago. The Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People is meeting in Santiago Dec. 11-13, in conjunction with meetings of the UN Latin American and Caribbean Meeting in Support of Israeli-Palestinian Peace. Powell said that the Chilean government has been very purposeful in avoiding one-sided anti-Israel meetings. The meeting is being organized by the UN, not the Chilean government, but to the extent that the Chilean government has been able to provide input, it has suggested pro-Israeli voices as well. Prominent invited guests include former British Prime Minister Tony Blair; Fouad Twal, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem; Barry Chazan, a well-known Jewish educator; Riyad al-Malki, the Foreign Affairs Minister of the Palestinian National Authority; PLO Negotiations Affairs Department; Palestinian Delegation to France; and the Toledo Center for Peace. The Government of Israel does not participate in these meetings. ¶3. (SBU) Chile is home to substantial Jewish and Palestinian communities, Powell noted, and so must take their views into account just as the U.S. does when making its foreign policy. (Note: Five percent of Palestinians living outside the Middle East live in Chile. Most of these Palestinian-Chileans are Christians whose ancestors arrived between 1900 and 1930 and now live in the northern town of Iquique. More recently, the government has agreed to receive Palestinian refugees under a plan coordinated with the Catholic Church and the UN. In addition, there are 10,000 to 17,000 Jews in Chile, 95% of whom live in Santiago. They tend to be well-integrated into Chilean society, firmly pro-Israeli, and many are politically or socially prominent. End Note.) SIMONS