GHAJAR DISCUSSIONS WITH UNIFIL TO RESUME DECEMBER

C O N F I D E N T I A L TEL AVIV 002627 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/04/2019 TAGS: PREL PGOV UN LE IS SUBJECT: GHAJAR DISCUSSIONS WITH UNIFIL TO RESUME DECEMBER 21 Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Luis G. Moreno, Reason 1.4 (b) (d) ¶1. (C) Summary. According to a briefing by MFA IO A/S-equivalent, the GOI inner cabinet voted in favor of the MFA's proposal that Israel accept the UNIFIL "temporary" plan for the divided village of Ghajar on the border between Lebanon and the Israeli-occupied Golan. MFA Director General Gal briefed UNSCO Williams and UNIFIL commander Graziano December 3 on the inner cabinet's decision and guidelines, and they agreed to resume discussion of the modalities for implementing the agreement the week of December 21. Graziano will brief Lebanese PM Hariri and report back to the Israelis. Manor said he did not know how long it would take to conclude the discussions with the UN, though he estimated that it would likely be over a month, but he stressed the GOI's desire to conclude the discussions and withdraw the IDF presence on the Lebanese side of the village as soon as the details of continuing to provide full GOI services after the IDF's withdrawal could be resolved. Manor stressed the GOI's concern that leaving Israeli citizens under the security protection of a foreign body could establish a precedent for the West Bank, and therefore the GOI would take a meticulous approach to discussions with the UN. End Summary. ¶2. (C) MFA Deputy Director General for the UN and International Organizations Eviatar Manor briefed PolCouns December 3 on the latest developments regarding the village of Ghajar, which is bifurcated by the Blue Line between Lebanon and the Golan Heights, and whose Syrian Alawite residents were accorded Israeli citizenship in the 1970s. Manor confirmed that the GOI inner cabinet, at its November 22 session, approved the MFA's recommendation that Israel accept a "temporary solution" based on the UNIFIL plan for IDF withdrawal from the northern section of the village. The inner cabinet established the following four guidelines: the temporary arrangement with UNIFIL must be in accordance with Israel's political, security, and civil interests; there will be no specific time limit for the temporary arrangement; the transition to a permanent arrangement cannot be imposed by any party and may only happen with the concurrence of Israel and Lebanon; and following the IDF withdrawal, the UN will issue a statement declaring that Israel has fully met the requirements of UNSC Resolution 1701. 
¶3. (C) Manor said that MFA Director General Yossi Gal met with UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Michael Williams and UNIFIL Commander Graziano earlier on December 3 and presented them with the guidelines, to which they reportedly did not offer any objections. Manor confirmed that Gal told them that the GOI will be ready to resume engagement with the UN on the modalities of implementing the UNIFIL plan the week of December 21. General Graziano expressed interest in completing the discussions before the end of his tour of duty at the end of January. Manor said the Israeli side is sympathetic to Graziano's desire to see the agreement through to implementation, but could not make a commitment to conclude the talks by January 31. He added that the Israeli side assured the UN that once the discussions start, Israel is committed to working as intensively as possible with the aim concluding the discussions as soon as possible. Graziano said he would brief PM Hariri and report back to the Israelis. Manor said Gal, Williams and Graziano agreed that at this point there would be no public announcement by either Israel or the UN, and in the event of leaks, both would merely comfirm that they were engaged in discussions on Ghajar. ¶4. (C) PolCouns asked Manor why it the Israelis thought it would take over a month to work out the modalities given the small size of the population of the northern side of Ghajar and the fact that the GOI and UNIFIL already discussed the UNIFIL plan over several months last spring. Manor said the GOI was taking a meticulous approach because of concern that the Ghajar arrangement, in which Israeli citizens would live under the security protection of a foreign body (in this case UNIFIL) while the GOI remains responsible for providing all non-security government services, could serve as a precedent in the event of a final status agreement with the Palestinians. Manor added that the GOI expects the Ghajar residents, who have full rights as Israeli citizens and have made clear that they do not want the IDF to withdraw, are likely to appeal to the High Court of Justice. The Ministry of Justice has already advised that the level of services to be provided after implementation of the UNIFIL plan must meet the standards within Israel, another complicating factor. ¶5. (C) Manor noted that PM Netanyahu insists that the final agreement with UNIFIL be reviewed and approved by the inner cabinet (known here as the forum of seven),but Manor assured PolCouns that the GOI has made its decision and wants to withdraw as soon as the modalities can be worked out. MORENO