PRIME MINISTER OLMERT DISCUSSES HAMAS, PALESTINIAN

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 TEL AVIV 000380

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/13/2024
TAGS: PREL PTER MOPS TU SY KPWG IS
SUBJECT: PRIME MINISTER OLMERT DISCUSSES HAMAS, PALESTINIAN
AUTHORITY, AND SYRIA WITH CODEL SMITH

Classified By: Classified by Ambassador James B. Cunningham for reasons
1.4 (B/D).


1. (S) SUMMARY. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert met with
Ambassador Cunningham and members and staff of the House
Armed Services Committee and House Permanent Select Committee
on Intelligence on January 29 to discuss Israel's recent
military operation in Gaza, peace talks with the
Palestinians, and the possibility of conducting negotiations
with Syria. Olmert assessed that Operation Cast Lead's
results had some promise but confided that some challenges
remained. He defended Israel's conduct, stressing that
Israel worked hard to avoid harming civilians. He credited
the 2006 war in Lebanon with discouraging Hizballah to
intercede during the operation in Gaza, claiming that
Hizballah knew it lost the war. Olmert explained that it was
important that any rebuilding done in Gaza be seen as
benefiting the moderate Palestinian Authority (PA)
leadership. More importantly, he said, it was necessary to
reach a negotiated settlement with the Palestinians. He then
outlined what he said he proposed to PA President Mahmud
Abbas and said he has been waiting more than four months for
a response from the Palestinian leader. Turning to Syria,
Olmert told his interlocutors that Israeli officials were in
Ankara, Turkey in January to finalize the agenda for formal
Israeli-Syrian negotiations, but he averred that Syrian
President Bashar al-Asad scuttled the process. Nevertheless,
he explained that he still favored pursuing talks with Syria
and encouraged the U.S. to lead international efforts while
requiring Syrian actions before providing Damascus with any
tangible benefits. End Summary.


2. (SBU) Attending the meeting on the Israeli side were
Olmert, foreign policy adviser Shalom Turgeman, Israel's
ambassador to the U.S. Sallai Meridor, government spokesman
Mark Regev, Ministry of Foreign Affairs official Yaron
Siderman, and Yael Apter. The U.S. delegation consisted of
the Ambassador; Reps. Adam Smith (D-WA),Susan Davis (D-CA),
Ted Poe (R-TX),Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD),Gabrielle
Giffords (D-AZ),Frank Kratovil (D-MD),and Glenn Nye (D-VA);
staff members Bill Natter, Alex Kugajevsky, John Bohanon, and
Robert Minehart; military escorts David Colberg and David
Silverman; and Poloff.

GAZA


3. (SBU) Olmert began the meeting with an assessment of the
recent conflict in the Gaza Strip. He said that the
operation there could help change the reality, but that
Israeli leaders knew the hostilities ended at a fragile point
and it did not take long for rocket fire to resume. Olmert
defended Israeli actions, stressing that most countries had
forgotten that dozens of rockets fell on Israeli cities in
the days leading up to the Israeli incursion. He contrasted
Israeli tactics he said were designed to minimize civilian
casualties with HAMAS's attacks that target civilians.


4. (SBU) Olmert assessed Hizballah's response to Israel's
military operation in Gaza, suggesting that Hizballah
refrained from targeting Israel during Operation Cast Lead
because the terror group remained chastened from its conflict
with Israel in 2006. He cited as evidence of Hizballah's
fears that Hizballah's leader Hassan Nasrallah "has been in a
bunker for the last two years - with good reason." He
continued: "Israeli newspapers told Hizballah that they won,
but their leaders know they lost the war in 2006."


5. (C) Olmert told the delegation that it was important that
the moderate Palestinian leadership get credit for the
rebuilding that would take place in Gaza. He added, however,
that he was "not optimistic" that all countries -
specifically Arab nations - would make good on their pledges
to aid Palestinians in Gaza, pointing out that much of the
money pledged as part of the Annapolis process had failed to
be delivered.

NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE PALESTINIANS


6. (S) More important than the conflict in Gaza, he
continued, was the need to reach a lasting agreement with the
Palestinians. Olmert then sketched out for the delegation
the outlines of the proposal he offered to PA President
Abbas, specifying that an agreement reached based on these
proposals would not be implemented while HAMAS controlled
Gaza. The plan, which he said would give the Palestinians a
realistic vision of what a state would look like, included a
contiguous Palestinian state "based on" the 1967 lines, with
Israel keeping a small portion beyond the Green Line and
compensating the Palestinians with land in Israel and
providing for safe passage between Gaza and the West Bank.

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Olmert said he also offered to divide Jerusalem into Arab and
Jewish sectors with universal access to the Holy Basin, which
would be administered jointly by the U.S., Israel, Palestine,
Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. He rejected a right of return for
Palestinian refugees (though he allowed for the possibility
of "some" humanitarian cases over the course of five years),
and said a fund would compensate both Palestinians for their
"suffering" and Jews who left Arab countries for Israel.
Olmert told the delegation that he has been waiting more than
four months for a response from Abbas and wondered whether
the worst scenario for Palestinian leaders would be for
Israel to accept their demands, forcing them to decide
whether they really want peace. "I made my choice," he
concluded.

THE SYRIA TRACK


7. (S) When asked about negotiations with Syria, Olmert
informed the delegation that he had gone to Ankara in
December hoping to finalize an agenda for formal negotiations
with Syria. However, the talks fizzled after Turkish premier
Tayyip Erdogan spoke with Syrian President Bashar al-Asad,
according to Olmert, and Asad established new conditions for
going forward. He added that he was disappointed by Syria's
cooperation with Iran and HAMAS during Operation Cast Lead,
but that he was in favor of pursuing peace with Damascus if
it showed it can deliver on its pledges. He encouraged the
U.S., rather than Europe, to lead international efforts to
moderate Syria, but he stressed that Damascus "should not be
given anything until they act first."


8. (U) CODEL Smith did not review or clear this message.

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