ISRAELIS STILL SEEKING ACCESS TO POLITICAL LEVEL

C O N F I D E N T I A L ANKARA 001767

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/SE AND NEA/IPA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/09/2014
TAGS: PREL PGOV TU IS SY
SUBJECT: ISRAELIS STILL SEEKING ACCESS TO POLITICAL LEVEL

REF: TEL AVIV 2588

Classified By: POL Counselor Daniel O'Grady, for reasons 1.4(b,d)


1. (C) During a recent conversation with us, Israeli Embassy
DCM Menahem Kanafi described Ministry of Industry, Trade and
Labor Binyamin Ben Eliezer's November 23 - 24 visit to Ankara
as a modest step towards his government's goal of
re-establishing a reliable communication channel to the GoT's
senior political level. Given the harshness of PM Erdogan's
repeated criticisms of Israel since the Israel Defense
Force's "Cast Lead" Gaza operations of a year ago, Kanafi was
relieved the GoT permitted the visit at all. He was pleased
President Gul agreed to receive Ben Eliezer, "a relatively
junior minister," but worried that meeting may have been
granted more out of deference to prominent Turkish Jewish
businessman Jak Kamhi, who brokered it, rather than to a GoT
decision to improve public discourse with Israel. During
that meeting, according to Kanafi, Gul urged Ben Eliezer to
relieve Gazans' humanitarian plight, but did so "without
hostility."


2. (C) MFA Israel Affairs Department Head Ali Reza Guney said
Gul's reception of Ben Eliezer was, indeed, intended as a
positive signal. "We value the relationship," he said. "Our
criticism is that of a friend; it's not a policy
reorientation." He emphasized, however, the Turkish public's
keen interest in improving the humanitarian situation in
Gaza. He described Israel's willingness to improve that
situation as one of two prerequisites for improved relations.
The other is an Israeli invitation to Turkey to resume its
suspended mediation effort between Israel and Syria. Guney
interpreted Ben Eliezer as actively exploring the potential
for such an invitation with his Turkish interlocutors. That
would "motivate us," he said, towards serious consideration
of a calendar for senior-level visits. Kanafi said Ben
Eliezer had not extended a mediation invitation. "He had no
mandate." The Israeli cabinet would have had to authorize an
invitation and it has not yet done so.


3. (C) Kanafi said the GoI's intermediate goal now becomes a
visit to Turkey by Defense Minister Ehud Barak. In January,
the Israeli MFA Director General (deputy
secretary-equivalent) will come to Ankara hoping to lay the
groundwork for a Barak visit. Barak, Kanafi confirmed, is
the cabinet member most committed to the relationship with
Turkey.


4. (C) COMMENT: The Israeli Embassy is acutely aware it has
no one at senior GoT levels to whom it can turn to manage a
crisis. Unfortunately, in this region, the next crisis is
always just around the corner.
Silliman

"Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.intelink.s
gov.gov/wiki/Portal:Turkey"