US-ISRAEL CONSULTATIONS ON UN AFFAIRS

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 04 TEL AVIV 002591

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/21/2018
TAGS: PREL UNEP MOPS KPKO UN LE PA IS
SUBJECT: US-ISRAEL CONSULTATIONS ON UN AFFAIRS

Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Luis Moreno, reason 1.4 (b) and
(d)


1. (S) SUMMARY: On October 28, Assistant Secretary Brian Hook
and MFA Deputy DG for International Organizations Evyatar
Manor led a bilateral consultation on United Nations Affairs
with the Foreign Ministry. The discussions covered the
Security Council role in the ongoing peace negotiations,
Lebanon and UNSCR 1701, and normalizing Israel's role within
the UN system. Regarding ongoing peace negotiations, Tal
Becker, FM Livni's chief political advisor, underlined that
the process is working and the UNSC must continue to allow it
to work. If the UNSC tries to pre-empt matters by taking up
the settlement issue in isolation, it could jeopardize the
talks. Becker explained that should the Palestinians think
they will get a better deal from the UNSC, they will pull
back from the negotiating table. On UNSCR 1701, the GOI
believes the lack of implementation, and UN over-reporting of
Israeli violations while ignoring Hizballah violations, is
undermining the credibility of the UN and legitimizing
Hizballah. While respecting UNIFIL Force Commander Gen.
Claudio Graziano, Israel believes that due to the political
situation and wishes of the troop contributing countries,
Graziano must continue to avoid confrontations with Hizballah
and allow it to operate. Finally, the Israelis detailed
their efforts to normalize their role within the UN system,
with the ultimate goal of becoming full members of the
Western European and Others Group (WEOG). END SUMMARY.

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UNSC Should Support Talks, Not Establish a Separate Channel
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2. (C) After opening remarks by DG Manor, Tal Becker, FM
Livni's chief political advisor, and Daniel Taub, MFA Deputy
Legal Advisor, briefed A/S Hook and the U.S. delegation on
the role Israel believes the UN should play in the peace
negotiations. They emphasized that the UN should
consistently support the parties, who are engaged in a real
process, and not undermine them by suggesting to the
Palestinians seemingly more attractive alternatives to what
were on offer in the talks.


3. (S) In response to A/S Hook's question, Becker noted the
negotiations are progressing well, even if the parties must
keep them secret, so the challenge is to manage the voices
that say nothing is happening. Becker noted there will be a
Quartet briefing on the process, but not the substance, of
the talks in November (NOTE: This took place on November 9).
He underlined that the two sides are making real progress
towards a blueprint for a two-state solution, and the process
includes all core issues, including Jerusalem. In addition
to the high-profile senior level talks, working committees
have been formed on a host of issues, with maps and some
treaty elements worked out. "We do not want just a cosmetic
achievement," Becker emphasized, adding that the negotiators
hoped to deliver a "complete package" as the outcome of their
talks, not a "progress report" that one or the other party
could walk back.


4. (C) To keep this progress on track, Becker said the
Security Council should limit itself to saying to the
Palestinians: "get back to the table." Unfortunately the
Council kept dabbling with the idea of a one-sided resolution
focused on Israeli settlement activity. This had many
negative implications. First, these efforts could keep the
Palestinians from committing completely to talks on borders,
as they think they might get a better deal from the UN.
Second, such talk could only force Israeli politicians to
comment publicly on this difficult issue during the Israeli
election season, and they would be forced to be more hawkish
than normal. Finally, the condemnations of Israel hurt the
Palestinian Authority (PA) (more than the GOI) by reinforcing
Hamas' message that the PA cannot appropriately deal with
Israel.


5. (C) Taub briefed A/S Hook on the GOI view of the
settlements issue, emphasizing that negotiations related to
them were tied sequentially into the roadmap, and that awards
of tenders do not necessarily reflect actual construction on
the ground as four levels of approval are required before
construction can begin (COMMENT: Our understanding is that
all four of these approvals have been granted before the
tenders are issued. Building permits for actual construction
are still required after tenders are issued and granted. END
COMMENT). He claimed that there had been no new settlements
(in the West Bank, not including East Jerusalem) for the past
ten years.


6. (C) Becker added that some credit should be accorded
Israel for what it has done. On the ground the object was to

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create "pockets of stability." He claimed 100 checkpoints
had been removed, including six major ones. Significant
progress had occurred in Jenin, which was becoming a model
for access and movement. Israel had also gone out of its way
to avoid highlighting Palestinian failures, such as Israel's
frequent need to interdict to prevent potential terror
attacks. Early in the negotiation process, FM Livni was
faced with terrorist bombings that in the past might have
been used as a reason to suspend talks, but she persisted.
Becker assured A/S Hook that Israel would continue in the
negotiations "no matter what." He said he believes the
Palestinians are often dragged into condemning Israel at the
UN, and do not lead the criticism, an assessment with which
Hook agreed. Becker said Israel would like the Arab world to
be more proactive by supporting Abu Mazen, paying on their
pledges to the PA, and keeping the focus on the talks.

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Lebanon and UNSCR 1701: Lack of Balance Threatens Mission
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6. (S) Nimrod Barkan, Head of the MFA Policy Research
Division, then briefed A/S Hook on the situation in Lebanon.
He described Hizballah as both strengthened by its
participation in the democratic process and moderated in its
militancy. Barkan explained that Hizballah's multiple
identities -- Iranian proxy, Lebanese Shi'a political party,
Jihadist terror group -- forces them to restrain their
military actions both against Israel and internally. If
Lebanon is prosperous, that also moderates Hizballah because
they do not want to keep developing along the political track
and do not want to provoke a civil war or another war with
Israel. This showed that efforts to promote democracy in
Lebanon had worked to a certain extent. At the same time,
due to its superior morale and experience, Hizballah is in
many ways a superior fighting force than the Syrian Army; it
does not want to lose that superiority. Barkan added that
Israeli threats also restrain Hizballah; however, he
cautioned, any attack on Iran would likely change this
calculation immediately.


7. (C) A/S Hook asked about Israeli views on the quality of
the periodic UN reports on Lebanon. Barkan replied that
reports by UNIFIL and the Secretary General's reports on
implementation of UNSC resolution 1701 are strengthening
Hizballah by only reporting Israeli air violations. This
grants legitimacy to Hizballah and its arguments. Meanwhile,
he said, Hizballah has been able to completely rebuild in
Southern Lebanon, only being forced to lower its profile
slightly. He said that Israel expects the next 1701 report
will also be one-sided. However, he agreed with State/IO
political officer Andrew Morrison, who noted that the latest
report on UNSC resolution 1559 and the report of the Lebanon
Independent Border Assessment Team (LIBAT) were much more
realistic in pointing out ongoing, unconstrained weapons
smuggling from Syria and the dangers of Hizballah rearming.
Both delegations agreed that it would be worthwhile to point
out the inconsistencies in the two reporting streams if the
next 1701 report met Barkan's negative expectations.


8. (C) On the ground, Barkan continued, Israel is trying to
work with UNIFIL Gen. Graziano to provide accurate overflight
numbers and to engage on Ghajar. UNIFIL's claim of 700
overflights in the latest reporting period is ridiculous,
Barkan opined, as the Israeli Air Force does not fly that
many missions. The LAF and UNIFIL overcount by citing each
dip above and below the border by a single aircraft on a
single mission as a separate "violation", this providing a
seriously distorted picture. Reducing the numbers to a more
realistic count should be win-win, because then Graziano can
then take credit for the reduction. A/S Hook said he would
take this up with the General during his upcoming meeting
with him in Lebanon.


9. (C) Turning to Ghajar, Manor said Israel is "preparing the
necessary positions" for progress. This would require
political leadership on all sides, he said. The key
difficulty that Israel perceived, he noted in response to A/S
Hooks inquiry, was that even if the GOL and March 14 tried to
take initial credit for achieving a Ghajar withdrawal via
negotiations, in the current environment it would be
Hizballah who would actually move into the area, take control
of the positions on the ground, and claim the final credit.


10. (S) Manor and Barkan encouraged Hook to arrange for the
U.S. to share with the UN intelligence on arms smuggling
across the Syrian border, to the extent this was possible.
The UN often rejects Israeli intelligence with the
explanation that if it were really happening, they would be
hearing about it from more countries. Hizballah is also
persisting in efforts to persuade Syria to transfer to it

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better anti-aircraft weapons. While Israel temporarily
stopped this by sending strong messages through UNDOF, Barkan
said Syria is reconsidering it imminently because the Syrians
see Hizballah as more effective than the Syrian Army. In
response to A/S Hook's question, Manor noted that
communication with UNIFIL was not a problem, so there are no
immediate plans to open a local UNIFIL office in Tel Aviv.
He said MOD Barak had raised the smuggling issue in his
recent meeting with Graziano.


11. (S) Barkan complained that on the ground, it seems that
UNIFIL has a tacit agreement with Hizballah to not discover
violations of UNSC resolutions. The GOI does not blame
Graziano, whom it believes is not biased against Israel, but
rather political instructions of the troop contributing
countries (including Italy) who want to keep their soldiers
safe. Barkan gave the example of a stalled truck carrying
weapons in southern Lebanon that was spotted by on Israeli
drone. Israel notified UNIFIL, but forces arrived 6 hours
later. He said the drone had to leave after about 4 hours,
and the smugglers used that window to transfer the weapons;
by the time UNIFIL was on-site, the truck was empty.

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Western Groups allow Israel to continue UN normalization
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12. (C) Manor explained that while the Israeli public and
many politicians remain wary of the UN, the MFA has continued
to work to normalize their relations within the UN system.
In addition to participation in WEOG for electoral purposes
in New York, Israel has hosted conferences, like a workshop
for the UN Economic Commission for Europe (ECE),and is
serving in more committees, including chairing an experts
group for the ECE. To expand on this, MFA/IO Human Rights
chief Simona Halperin explained that Israel would pursue an
incremental approach leading to full participation in WEOG in
New York (not merely voting rights) and ultimately becoming
full members in WEOG (or its equivalent) in every UN
institution. The three immediate priorities are JUSCANZ
membership for the Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva, full
JUSCANZ membership in the Convention to Combat
Desertification (CCD) in Bonn, and WEOG participation in the
Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). Israel's lack
of full participation in consultative groups often causes
problems at the working level, such as at UNEP and HABITAT,
when Israel was elected to be the WEOG representative to the
respective organizations but was barred from participating in
the governing board meetings of the respective organizations
for several months.


13. (C) Halperin noted that Israel is also trying to get
better results at UNGA by focusing on specific countries, and
believes they have had success with El Salvador. A/S Hook
added that the United States is doing the same, taking a more
"whip-like" approach to UNGA votes and getting Congress
involved in contacting Heads of State. Manor mentioned as
well that Israel would consider increased participation in UN
peacekeeping operations where possible.

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Israel Concerned about HRC, Durban 2, Special Rapporteur
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14. (C) Manor pointed out that Israel is up for HRC Universal
Periodic Review (UPR) on December 4 and has seen the HRC's
report, which it finds troubling. Israel has sent its own
report to the HRC, and will only answer questions on its
report. The UK set this precedent, Manor explained, when it
refused to answer questions on Iraq during its UPR, saying it
was outside the scope of the report. A/S Hook also expressed
concerns about the HRC and explained that the President has
asked for a review of the council as soon as possible, ahead
of the mandatory 2011 review. The USG is still developing
its plans, but will offer a vision for a more effective and
less biased body.


15. (C) Israel would also like to see a change in the mandate
of the Special Rapporteur on the Palestinian Territories,
Manor noted, explaining that the 1992 mandate predates the
Oslo accords and the Palestinian Authority, and even the new
Special Rapporteur Richard Falk has said it is outdated. The
HRC brought up the idea of mandate review, but took no action
on it. Israel remains deeply unhappy with the many
anti-Israeli statements made by Professor Falk. As a result,
while it had allowed the previous Rapporteur, John Dugart, to
enter Israel using his UN Laissez Passer to access the
territories in the course of his work, it would not allow
Falk to enter as a UN official. He is still able to come as
a U.S. citizen, on unofficial visits, however, and recently
lectured at Abu Dis University in the West Bank.

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16. (C) On the Durban 2, to be held in Geneva in April 2009,
Manor said Israel would not participate unless it was much
better than Durban 1 (Note: Israel subsequently announced it
will not attend Durban 2),adding that Canada has already
said it would not go and France and Europe have both
expressed concerns. He noted that the Asia group statement
is already posted and sounds just like pre-Durban 1
statements with references to racism, apartheid and genocide
in Israel and nowhere else. A/S Hook noted the Congressional
resolution on the matter and said that he shared Manor's
concerns. While UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Judge
Pillay has stated her determination to improve the conference
and get more participation, it was difficult to see how this
could possibly occur.


17. (C) Finally, A/S Hook asked about Israeli views of the
recent UNSC elections. Manor said that Israel sees Turkey,
Japan, and Uganda as improvements over the members they are
replacing, with Austria likely to vote much the same as did
Belgium. Only Mexico might be possibly worse than Panama
with respect to Israeli interests. On Turkey in particular,
Israel believes it will likely not want to be seen as
"troublemakers" and thus will follow consensus, pay close
attention to the EU position, and not force any dramatic
actions.


18. (SBU) A/S Hook cleared this cable.

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