Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09RABAT931
2009-11-25 13:58:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Rabat
Cable title:  

TZIPI LIVNI,S VISIT TO MOROCCO

Tags:  PREL PGOV PNAT KPAL XF IS MO 
pdf how-to read a cable
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PP RUEHROV RUEHTRO
DE RUEHRB #0931/01 3291358
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 251358Z NOV 09
FM AMEMBASSY RABAT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0853
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUCNMGH/MAGHREB COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 RABAT 000931 

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/MAG AND NEA/IPA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/25/2029
TAGS: PREL PGOV PNAT KPAL XF IS MO
SUBJECT: TZIPI LIVNI,S VISIT TO MOROCCO

REF: RABAT 0864 (NOTAL)

Classified By: Political Counselor Gregory Thome for reasons 1.4 (b) an
d (d).

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 RABAT 000931

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/MAG AND NEA/IPA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/25/2029
TAGS: PREL PGOV PNAT KPAL XF IS MO
SUBJECT: TZIPI LIVNI,S VISIT TO MOROCCO

REF: RABAT 0864 (NOTAL)

Classified By: Political Counselor Gregory Thome for reasons 1.4 (b) an
d (d).


1. (C) Summary: Moroccan Foreign Minister Fassi Fihri met
with Israel's Tzipi Livni Nov. 20 in Tangier and emphasized
three points: (1) Livni's Kadima Party ought continue to
push the Netanyahu government toward peace negotiations even
though it faces an uphill battle as an opposition party; (2)
previous negotiations -- initiated while Livni was in
government -- ought to be the basis of talks in the future
instead of beginning from scratch; and (3) Arab leaders need
to make a better case for their peace proposals directly to
the Israeli public if they hope to reduce Israeli radicals'
influence on the peace process. The GOM also expressed
strong support for Special Envoy for Middle East Peace George
Mitchell. Livni,s presence in Morocco prompted some street
protests and heavy press criticism from Moroccan Islamists,
but the GOM managed the domestic controversy well and again
highlighted its quiet diplomacy on the peace process. End
Summary.


2. (C) Israeli Kadima Party leader and former Foreign
Minister Tzipi Livni visited Tangier November 19-21 to
participate in MEDdays, an international affairs symposium
organized by the Amadeus Institute, a nascent Moroccan NGO.
Amadeus President Brahim Fassi Fihri is the son of Foreign
Minister Taieb Fassi Fihri, and there is no doubt that the
Moroccan MFA played a role in ensuring that Livni figured
among the Israelis invited to the conference. FM Fassi Fihri
traveled to Tangier to open the event and met with Livni,
among others, on the margins. On November 24, Ambassador
Nasser Bourita, Moroccan MFA Chief of Staff and Director for
Multilateral Relations and Global Coopeation, gave a readout
to PolCouns, Poloff and a visiting Staffdel from House
Committee on Foreign Affairs.

--------------
Peace Negotiations Must Resume
--------------


3. (C) Fassi Fihri told Livni that the Kadima Party should
not retreat from pressing for peace with the Palestinians,

reported Bourita. Kadima and Livni needed to put their
"moral authority" on the table to push for renewed
negotiations despite the difficult political situation she
faced as an opposition member, he added. Bourita opined that
Livni appeared reluctant to use Kadima's weight to press for
renewed peace talks, given the difficult domestic political
environment it faces currently. Nevertheless, Fassi Fihri
had emphasized that what former Israeli Prime Minister Olmert
and Palestinian President Abbas had already achieved (while
Livni was in government) ought to be the starting point for
future negotiations rather than beginning from scratch after
each Israeli election.

--------------
Influencing Israeli Public Opinion
--------------


4. (C) Fassi Fihri also underscored that Arab leaders needed
to not only try to play to Arab public opinion, but must
begin trying to influence Israeli public opinion as well.
Fassi Fihri said that the Arab peace initiative was put
together as "a consensus for the Arabs. We never sold it to
the Israelis," Bourita reported. Fassi Fihri further
stressed that no Arab country had tried to make clear to the
Israeli public how vital peace is to everyone. The result,
in the Moroccan analysis, is that radicals in Israel have
gained traction, because no coherent Arab arguments have
reached -- and empowered -- Israeli moderates. Arabs should
not complain about the ascendency of Israelis like Foreign
Minister Lieberman when they have done nothing to outline
other options in a way that the wider, more moderate Israeli
public can digest.

--------------
Strong Support for U.S. Peace Efforts
--------------


5. (SBU) Separately, in response to a Staffdel Silverberg
question, Bourita expressed Morocco's strong support for
Special Envoy for Middle East Peace George Mitchell.
"Mitchell is the right man and he's on the right track,
although the situation on the ground is difficult," Bourita
said. Mitchell enjoys enormous respect and credibility
thoughout the region. Moreover, he also has something no
previous envoy had enjoyed: a clear and determined mission
-- which Arab leaders accept and support -- that comes

RABAT 00000931 002 OF 002


directly from the U.S. President. Bourita underscored that
Mitchell was "the only hope for Middle East peace at this
time, because nothing will come out of Israel or Gaza or
Cairo or the other Arab states," -- or even out of Europe or
the Quartet -- without the Obama administration's direct and
forward-leaning engagement.

--------------
Comment
--------------


6. (C) Inviting Livni to the MEDays conference and awarding
the Amadeus Institute,s annual Peace Prize to Senator
Mitchell are part of Morocco's strategy of quiet diplomacy on
the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Even with Moroccan
Islamists protesting loudly, as approximately 150 did outside
of the MEDays conference, Morocco managed its domestic
controversy well and also offered an opportunity not only for
Livni to debate issues with regional leaders, but also the
GOM to continue to show that it can be counted on to make
small but positive contribution to the peace process.


7. (C) We believe that the Amadeus Institute,s decision to
award its peace prize to Senator Mitchell was actually
decided at the highest levels of the GOM. Moreover, reaction
to Mitchell,s videotaped message was overwhelmingly
positive. End Comment.


*****************************************
Visit Embassy Rabat's Classified Website;
http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Moro cco
*****************************************

JACKSON