CODEL LIEBERMAN'S NOV 16 MEETING WITH PRIME

C O N F I D E N T I A L TEL AVIV 002525 SIPDIS H PASS TO CODEL LIEBERMAN E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/19/2019 TAGS: PREL PGOV IR SY TU KWBG IS SUBJECT: CODEL LIEBERMAN'S NOV 16 MEETING WITH PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU Classified By: Ambassador James B. Cunningham, Reason 1.4 (b) (d) ¶1. (C) Summary. While in Israel participating in the Saban Forum, CODEL Lieberman met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on November 16 in Jerusalem. They discussed the PM's recent meeting with President Obama in Washington, restarting negotiations with the Palestinians, and regional issues with Iran, Syria and Turkey. The PM cast the Washington meeting with the President in a positive light and expressed his appreciation for what he said was a frank and honest meeting. The PM outlined the positive steps he believed the GOI has taken in order to re-launch negotiations and cast the Palestinian Authority as the recalcitrant party. Specifically, he complained about their setting of preconditions, Erekat's attempt to open a back channel rather than formal talks, and their handling of the Goldstone Report. Finally, the PM briefly discussed Iran, saying that the "crunch time" was now. End Summary. ¶2. (SBU) The CODEL included Senator Joe Lieberman, Senator Ted Kaufman, Senator Lindsey Graham, Chairwoman Nita Lowey, Chairman Howard Berman, Representative Henry Waxman, Representative Susan Davis, and Representative Jane Harman. The Ambassador, Mrs. Lieberman, Mrs. Waxman, Dr. Harmon, CODEL staffers, CODEL MilEscort, Ambassador's Staff Aide and CONOFF (notetaker) also attended the meeting. Ari Harow, the PM's Bureau Manager, and Mark Regev, Foreign Media Advisor, joined on the Israeli side. -------------- Recapping the Obama - Netanyahu meeting -------------- ¶3. (C) The PM briefly recapped his November 9 meeting with President Obama in the White House, saying it had been the best of their several discussions. The Prime Minister said that early in the U.S. Presidential campaign he met with then- Senator Obama in Washington, and had enjoyed a frank and honest discussion. At that meeting Obama stated that although people attach a lot of "ideological baggage" to the PM and himself, both of them are pragmatic problem solvers. At the conclusion, Netanyahu said he had predicted that Senator Obama would win the general election. The PM regretted that until November 9, their subsequent discussions had not been of the same nature. ¶4. (C) The PM reported that the meeting with the President was "open and honest." The Prime Minister was impressed by how "unbelievably informed" the President was of the situation in Israel. The PM reported that he had assured the President that he was ready for negotiations, and serious about reaching an agreement. He had relayed to the President three specific steps that he had taken in the seven months that he had been in office: 1) he endorsed the two-state solution in his speech at Bar Ilan University; 2) he and his government have eliminated more roadblocks and checkpoints in the West Bank in seven months than have been removed since the Second Intifada; and 3) his administration has taken unprecedented steps on restraining the growth of settlements. The PM stated that there are 2,600 units under construction in existing settlements and 500 recently proposed new units. He stated that after all these were complete, that they were "prepared to stop - for a while" in order to support the prospects for negotiations. He said that the rate of construction was the "lowest it had been" and that they were willing to "restrain" further growth. He also told the President that he "can deliver the bulk of the Israeli public." Finally, he said that he told the President that he had "one and two" on board for negotiations, referring to Israel and the US, but asked the President if he had "three" - referring to the Palestinians. -------------- Getting to Negotiations with the PA -------------- ¶5. (C) The PM expressed to the CODEL his frustration with the Palestinian Authority. "What have they done?" he asked, and then answered himself: "Precondition upon precondition." He also stated that the Palestinians have tried to damage Israel by using the Goldstone Report, which he described as an "affront to truth and decency." Finally, he mentioned that the Palestinians are now talking about a unilateral declaration of statehood. (NOTE: The PM talked about unilateral moves in his speech at the Saban Forum, but did not say anything more about this in his meeting with the CODEL. END NOTE.) The PM accused the Palestinians of using "the stereotype that Netanyahu is a peace obstructionist." The CODEL relayed that PA official Saeb Erekat stated in their meeting with him that he "has gone to the Israelis three times to negotiate and each time was told no." The PM said that Erekat had requested a meeting with National Security Adviser Uzi Arad three times, but these offers were for back channel discussions "behind closed doors." The PM does notQant to hold secret discussions via Erekat, but rather a formal negotiating process. He added that the Palestinians "have to decide what they want to do. They rely on a reflexive response. They assumed that the U.S. will deliver Israel. They have made conditions that cannot be fulfilled by any Israeli government and they know that. There is no legal way to stop ongoing construction nd they know this but don't care. We want to neotiate; they don't." ¶6. (C) The PM suggested tw reasons why the Palestinian Authority does not ant to negotiate: the "internecine rivalries between Hamas and Fatah" and the prospect of election. The PM acknowledged it is much easier to negoiate after elections than before or during them. he PM stated that "they have inflated expectatios about what the U.S. will and will not do for them. So they go to the UN." ¶7. (C) Responding to several questions about Abbas, the PM said that Abbas was sulking and that sulking is "not good policy." He stated that the PA's stance on settlements was illogical, and that he did not understand why a settlement freeze has become a precondition when it had not been in the past. Regarding the Fatah concerns about the release of prisoners to Hamas, the PM said, "I used the release of twenty women prisoners to get full validation of Shalit's health." He stated that after he came into office, he changed the team working on Shalit, brought in a German mediator, and worked to get Hamas to provide Shalit on film to prove he was alive. He thought the price of the tape was "relatively inexpensive" with no political intention. ¶8. (C) The PM said that six months ago Fayyad initiated an effort to have the International Criminal Court investigate Israel for war crimes in Gaza. The PM said that he sent a message to Abbas that this would kill the peace process. Nonetheless, the Palestinians moved forward. Then came Abbas' handling of the Goldstone Report. The PM noted that Goldstone could result in Barak, Livni and Olmert being treated as war criminals. "And Barak was just stopped in London. No PM will agree to this. We will take risks for peace but we won't be suckers for peace." -------------- A Kitchen Cabinet that Does Not Leak -------------- ¶9. (C) The PM joked: "What is the difference between on and off the record in Israel?" He paused then answered, "Two weeks." He said there has been an exception: his inner cabinet does not leak. He described his kitchen cabinet as a group with widely diverse and passionately held views. He said that despite this diversity and seeming division among the cabinet members, they meet and discuss the issues, track their thoughts on a low-tech white board and work to gain consensus. He said it is a transparent process and the only notes taken are on the erasable white board. He said that while there is a difference as to where the group thinks a negotiation will go, all agree that the government should negotiate with the PA, and all but him agree that the best Israel can get at this point is an interim agreement. "But I am the sole dissenter. I believe we can bring a total package, and prefer to go all the way." The PM said he told President Obama, "Once you have confidence with what you are going to do, we will do it." The PM concluded that he was opposed to arguments for buying time, and assured the CODEL he wants to get on with the peace process and dealing with Iran. -------------- Iran, Syria, and Turkey -------------- ¶10. (C) Turning to other regional issues, the PM stated that "Assad says he wants to re-launch negotiations without preconditions. Then he says we have plans to tear down Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem." He questioned the bone fides of Turkey as an intermediary between Syria and Israel, suggesting that given Prime Minister Erdogan's rhetoric and attacks on Israel in Turkey, Turkey's good faith is questionable. He relayed that when Erdogan recently met with Sudanese President Omar Bashir, a man charged with war crimes, Erdogan reportedly had stated that he "would rather meet with Bashir than with Netanyahu." ¶11. (C) Regarding Iran, the PM said that he told President Obama that the crunch is now. Iran's failed elections changed the regime's international image. "Ahmadinejad a man of the people?" the PM asked rhetorically, "What people?" The PM mentioned that the "exposure of the Qom facility" and the P-5 plus One offer on enriched uranium should serve to clarify the situation. He said that the Iranians' response has been confused, but that "the threat of sanctions hangs in the air." (NOTE: This discussion was cut short as the CODEL needed to depart for Senator Lieberman's chairing of a panel at the Saban Forum. END NOTE) ¶12. (U) CODEL Lieberman's party has cleared this cable. CUNNINGHAM