KADIMA NEGOTIATIONS CONTINUE ON WHETHER TO JOIN

C O N F I D E N T I A L TEL AVIV 002846

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/29/2019
TAGS: PREL PGOV IL
SUBJECT: KADIMA NEGOTIATIONS CONTINUE ON WHETHER TO JOIN
COALITION GOVERNMENT

REF: TEL AVIV 2813

Classified By: A/DCM DAVID BURNETT, REASONS. 1.4(b)(d).


1. (C) Summary: Prime Minister Netanyahu met December 28
with Kadima head Tzipi Livni to discuss the possibility of
Kadima joining a coalition government, and Kadima held an
internal meeting to review its options. Kadima MKs Ronit
Tirosh and Otniel Schneller, who are both identified in press
reports as part of the faction interested in splitting from
the party, told Embassy contacts December 29 that Kadima must
join the government in order to further Israel's national
interest and enable Abu Mazen to join negotiations.
Schneller, who is one of the prominent Kadima opponents of
Livni's refusal to join the coalition, said the coalition
must have more centrist elements in order to get a serious
peace process going. End summary.


2. (C) As reported reftel, the Israeli media has been
reporting in detail on Prime Minister Netanyahu's efforts to
splinter opposition party Kadima and recruit some of its
members into his coalition government. Contrary to some of
those press reports, Kadima MK Ronit Tirosh told Ambassador
December 28, she and most of the other potential Kadima
defectors had never initialled any agreement to leave the
party. Tirosh, who had been a supporter of Shaul Mofaz in
the party primary, thought Kadima should join the Netanyahu
government. According to Tirosh, all the members of the
potential splinter group, with the exception of Eli Aflalo,
believed that Kadima should enter the government under
conditions that would allow them to be "co-partners" in peace
talks with the Palestinians. (Note: So far, Aflalo has stuck
to his December 23 announcement that he intends to leave
Kadima.)


3. (C) Kadima MK Otniel Schneller echoed Tirosh's comments
in a separate conversation with A/DCM December 29. Schneller
said that the main point is that Israel's national interest
requires a unity government in order to enable Abu Mazen to
join negotiations. Abu Mazen wants to resume talks from the
point at which they ended with Olmert, but this will not
happen. Schneller said that there were steps that Netanyahu
could take that would enable Abu Mazen to enter negotiations,
but they would result in splitting the current coalition (he
did not elaborate). Schneller highlighted that the real
problem is that Livni remains opposed to joining Netanyahu,
apparently under any conditions. In his view, Netanyahu does
not need to offer Kadima more ministerial positions, but
rather a genuine partnership in managing negotiations. If he
does so, either Livni will have to go along, or Kadima will
split. In Schneller's view, the coalition must have more
centrist elements in order to get a serious peace process
going.

CUNNINGHAM