DEMARCHE DELIVERED: ISRAEL'S RELATIONS WITH

C O N F I D E N T I A L TEL AVIV 000384 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/14/2018 TAGS: PREL PGOV IS ZI SUBJECT: DEMARCHE DELIVERED: ISRAEL'S RELATIONS WITH ZIMBABWE REF: STATE 11774 Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Luis Moreno, reason 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) On February 7, Poloff delivered reftel demarche to Yaacov (Jacques) Revah, Deputy Director General for the Africa Division (A/S AF equivalent). Revah said that Israel's non-resident Ambassador to Zimbabwe, based in South Africa, had also heard rumors of Israeli security support for the Mugabe regime. In response to a request from their Ambassador, the MFA had just completed a detailed interagency investigation and found there were no current official GOI operations involving Zimbabwe. ¶2. (C) Revah also said he was unaware of any former Israeli operatives, or any other Israeli citizens, involved in providing assistance to Zimbabwe, but pointed out that the GOI does not necessarily know the activities of Israeli citizens acting in a private capacity. Revah mentioned that he had recently received an inquiry from some Israeli diamond merchants that wanted to do business in Zimbabwe. Revah said the MFA recommended against the activity, but he did not know if the merchants heeded the MFA's advice. Revah promised to let the Embassy know if any new information came to light. ********************************************* ******************** Visit Embassy Tel Aviv's Classified Website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/telaviv You can also access this site through the State Department's Classified SIPRNET website. ********************************************* ******************** JONES