Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09TELAVIV605
2009-03-12 13:16:00
SECRET
Embassy Tel Aviv
Cable title:  

ACTING A/S FELTMAN,S DISCUSSIONS WITH MFA FOCUS ON

Tags:  PREL PGOV KWBG EAID EG QA MR MU JO LE IS 
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VZCZCXRO7553
OO RUEHROV
DE RUEHTV #0605/01 0711316
ZNY SSSSS ZZH
O 121316Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0958
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 04 TEL AVIV 000605 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/12/2019
TAGS: PREL PGOV KWBG EAID EG QA MR MU JO LE IS
SUBJECT: ACTING A/S FELTMAN,S DISCUSSIONS WITH MFA FOCUS ON
LEBANON, ENGAGEMENT WITH SYRIA, ISRAEL'S RELATIONS WITH THE
GULF STATES

Classified By: Political Counselor Marc J. Sievers, reason 1.4 (b) and
(d)

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 04 TEL AVIV 000605

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/12/2019
TAGS: PREL PGOV KWBG EAID EG QA MR MU JO LE IS
SUBJECT: ACTING A/S FELTMAN,S DISCUSSIONS WITH MFA FOCUS ON
LEBANON, ENGAGEMENT WITH SYRIA, ISRAEL'S RELATIONS WITH THE
GULF STATES

Classified By: Political Counselor Marc J. Sievers, reason 1.4 (b) and
(d)


1. (C) Summary: NEA Acting Assistant Secretary Jeffrey
Feltman met with MFA officials on March 4 to discuss his
upcoming visit to Syria, the GOI talks on Ghajjar with the
UN, the status of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, and
Israel's relations with Mauritania and the Gulf states.
Deputy Director General (DDG) for North America Baruch Bina
said that U.S. engagement with Syria could be positive, as
long as the U.S. avoided the European mistake of increasing
relations even as Syria does nothing. Deputy Director of the
Center for Policy Research Ya'acov Amitai added that
President al-Assad is satisfied with his policies of the past
two years, including support for Hizballah and Hamas, so the
U.S. should be careful not to reward them for their negative
actions. On Ghajjar, DDG for International Organizations
Eviator Manor said technical talks were progressing well but
there could not be a political deal until the new Israeli
government was in place. Israel has also not dropped its
desire for Lebanon to be directly involved in the process,
but said this involvement is not a "deal breaker." DDG for
the Middle Easy Ya'acov Hadas-Handelsman told A A/s Feltman
that Israel continues its quiet relationship with the Arab
states, and is pleased with the UAE and Bahrain's stand
against Iran, as well as Egypt's increased willingness to
speak out on the Iranian threat. However, Hadas sees Oman
and Qatar as continuing their move toward Iran, and believes
Qatar is also pushing Mauritania away from the West. Hadas
noted that Arab states are telling him they are concerned
about U.S. engagement with Iran, and the USG should reassure
the Arabs that we understand Iran and will not give too much
away with little in return. END SUMMARY.

-------------- --------------
Israel Supports Appropriate Engagement with Syria

-------------- --------------


2. (C) Ya'acov Amitai, Deputy Director of the MFA Center for
Policy Research (INR equivalent),emphasized that any U.S.
engagement with Syria must be focused on results. Damascus
has reaped benefits from the EU, he explained, while doing
very little. There is a gap in perception between Syria and
the West, Amitai said, as President Bashar al-Assad thinks
his policies over the last two years-- including support for
Hizballah and Hamas, and closer alignment with Iran-- have
been successful. Now, Syria wants to consolidate its gains
at the upcoming Doha Arab League summit by drawing closer to
Egypt and Saudi Arabia, and thereby looking good for the new
U.S. administration, without making real concessions. Amitai
concluded by saying that if he were to talk to the Syrians,
he would warn them about sending advanced arms to Hizballah,
supporting the Palestinian, Al-Qaida-linked Fatah al-Islam
organization in Lebanon, and destabilizing the region through
its support for Hamas and other groups.


3. (S) AA/S Feltman replied that the U.S. analysis is almost
identical to Israel's views, and his message to Syria will be
that results matter; we are not interested in engagement for
its own sake. Feltman outlined three areas where we believe
Syria can make progress quickly. The first is on foreign
fighters entering Iraq through Syria, which is critical
because American lives are directly at stake. We will also
be watching Syria's support for Hamas as the international
community works to rebuild Gaza, and finally we will work to
ensure Syria does not transfer advanced surface-to-air
missiles to Hizballah. These are areas where we hope Syria
can make progress in the near term to show seriousness, as
none of them threaten the regime's survival. Isolating Syria
from Iran, Feltman added, will be more complicated, despite
Arab assertions that they can move Syria away from Iran in
the near future.


4. (S) Feltman explained that Syria probably wants to
"pocket" three things: U.S. engagement, the return of a U.S.
Ambassador, and U.S. involvement in Syrian/Israeli talks.
Feltman said the first one will not be fulfilled by his
visit, as the Syrians are expecting someone higher, and the
second issue is not a done deal. The third, U.S. involvement
in Syrian/Israeli peace talks, will be in large measure up to
Israel as the U.S. will get involved if the new Israeli
government asks us, but not before. Therefore, there is room
for the USG to calibrate its engagement with Syria. Feltman
underlined that we will not promise any follow-on meetings
while in Damascus, and we will be looking carefully at Syrian
actions following the meeting. Feltman asked that Israel
also watch Syria carefully and let the Embassy know if they
detect any change in behavior.

--------------

TEL AVIV 00000605 002 OF 004


Israel Engaging UN on Ghajjar
--------------


5. (C) In the meeting with Deputy Director General for
International Organizations Eviatar Manor (A/S IO
equivalent),Manor asserted that Israel is engaged in a
serious effort with the UN to resolve the issues related to
continued Israeli occupation of the northern (Lebanese) side
of the village of Ghajjar, which straddles the Blue Line
between Lebanon and the Golan. Israel has already had two
rounds of talks with UN 1701 Envoy Michael Williams, Manor
said, with UNIFIL Commander Graziano attending one of those
meetings. Manor then introduced David Walzer, former
Ambassador to Denmark, who has been named Ghajjar coordinator
and is leading the negotiations for Israel. Walzer
underlined that the most critical factor for Israel is
ensuring that the UN will continue to provide the full range
of services, including security, to the Israeli citizens in
northern Ghajjar after Israel withdraws , and said there will
be a technical meeting with the UN on March 5 to discuss
these arrangements (NOTE: these citizens are ethnic Alawite
Arabs. END NOTE.).


6. (C) Manor pointed out that while the technical
discussions were progressing well, Israel will not be able to
finalize a deal until a new Israeli government is in place,
despite the push from the UN to get a deal done immediately.
Both Manor and Walzer said that the GOI would also require a
clear public statement from the UN that Israel has fulfilled
its territorial obligations once it withdraws from the
Lebanese side of Ghajjar. Furthermore, Israel will likely
seek some international guarantees, possibly from the United
States, to ensure that Hizballah will not replace the UN if
UNIFIL pulls out without a follow-on agreement. Manor also
emphasized that this agreement would be an interim one, and
Israel would need either a deadline or at least an idea of
the end state for a final agreement.


7. (C) In addition, Manor said, Israel has not dropped its
desire to get the Government of Lebanon more directly
involved in the negotiations over Ghajjar. However, Walzer
added, this is not a "deal breaker." Feltman underlined that
Israel is better off without direct GOL involvement, because
Lebanese PM Siniora would need to take a much harder line on
anything that looks like limits of Lebanese sovereignty if he
were directly involved in talks. As it stands, Feltman said
an agreement on Ghajjar may spark greater cooperation in the
future, especially after the Lebanese elections. Feltman
noted that the U.S. supports the establishment of a
Lebanon-Israel negotiating track at the appropriate time.


8. (S) Manor also raised the draft text of the next 1701
report, due to the Security Council on March 10, which he
called "transitional" due to its timing ahead of Lebanese
elections. He said that the latest report continues to
ignore the issues important to Israel: arms smuggling and
Hizballah disarmament. Manor believes UN 1701 Envoy Michael
Williams is trying to help the situation in Lebanon by
soft-peddling the report, but in reality he is making it
worse. Manor noted that the new report refuses to identify
Syria specifically for aiding arms smuggling, referring only
to "regional powers." The report also blames "citizens," and
not Hizballah, for hindering UNIFIL movements in Southern
Lebanon, and it does not contain the line from the previous
report expressing concern over the possibility of advanced
arms transfers to Hizballah. Feltman agreed that an increase
in the quality of weapons smuggled to Hizballah would
jeopardize 1701, especially if it included advanced
surface-to-air missiles.


9. (C) On other IO issues, Feltman raised Farouk Hosni's
UNESCO Director General candidacy and the Durban II
conference. With regard to UNESCO, Feltman said that during
the Sharm al-Sheikh conference, Egyptian FM Aboul Gheit
requested a few more weeks to make Hosni look better before
the U.S. publicly opposes his candidacy. Aboul Gheit said he
would work with U.S. organizations (presumably Jewish
organizations) and the GOI to clean up Hosni's image. Manor
was skeptical, but said he was open to any Egyptian ideas as
long as we don't let them stall too long.


10. (C) On Durban II, Manor said that he understood why the
U.S. engaged to try and fix the agenda and expressed
appreciation for the U.S. decision that we would not attend
unless the agenda is improved. However, Manor fears the
Europeans are hanging on the "unless" statement and are still
engaged in futile attempts to save the agenda rather than
boycott outright. He urged the U.S. to make clear to the
Europeans that the chances of changing the agenda are
minimal.

TEL AVIV 00000605 003 OF 004



--------------
Israel and the Arab World
--------------


11. (C) During A A/S Feltman's final meeting, with Deputy
Director General for the Middle East Ya'acov
Hadas-Handelsman, Feltman explained that the U.S. is
wondering whether the Arabs' fear of Iran might be leveraged
into more Arab openness to Israel. Hadas explained that
Egypt seems more ready to openly oppose Iran if it can
succeed in "dragging" Saudi Arabia along with it, while the
UAE is getting tougher on Iran. However, he cautioned that
Oman and Qatar are moving in the wrong direction.


12. (C) Hadas complained about Mauritania's decision to
expel the Israeli ambassador, who had been given three days'
notice to depart Nouakchott before the arrival of Qadhafi for
an official visit. Hadas noted that Mauritania seems to be
following Qatar's approach. Citing press reports that Qatar
gave Mauritania USD 10 million to "finance elections," Hadas
surmised that Qatar is pushing Mauritania to distance itself
from the West.


13. (C) Hadas added that Qatar needs cooperation from Israel
to help rebuild Gaza, but has already tried to circumvent the
GOI. Hadas explained that Qatar sent a shipload of pasta to
Egypt, hoping that the Egyptians would allow it through
Rafah. When that did not happen, Qatar tried sending the
pasta through Israel under the cover of an NGO. Hadas
asserted that there is a lot of aid waiting to enter Gaza, so
donations from countries which do not have relations with
Israel will not get priority handling in processing.


14. (S) According to Hadas, Qatar is being careful on Iran
because it believes it will suffer collateral damage in any
action against Iran, either by an errant missile or Iran's
response. Qatar sees the natural gas field it shares with
Iran as especially vulnerable. However, Qatar also believes
only military action will stop Iran, leading to some
contradiction between Qatar's actions and its private
statements. Hadas also pointed out that Israel's relations
with Qatar are influenced by the Qatari belief that Saudi
Arabia maintains secret, deep ties with Israel. (Note:
Hadas acknowledged that Israeli contacts with Saudi Arabia
are handled in other channels.) On Oman, Hadas said he
recently talked with Omani officials in the foreign ministry,
and is discouraged by their continued efforts to accommodate
Iran. Hadas contrasted Qatari Prime Minister Hamad bin
Jassim's views, which he characterized as privately scathing
regarding Iran's regional ambitions while accommodating of
Iran in public, with Oman Foreign Minister Yusuf bin Alawi,
who appears to believe that Iran is not a threat. Hadas also
praised the Bahrainis. Hadas added that Kuwait will follow
the Gulf consensus, while Yemen would be viewed as an
upstream country in the Iran-Gaza smuggling route, so Oman
and Qatar are the keys. The moderate Arab countries, Hadas
said, must counter the perception on the Arab street that
Hamas won in Gaza and the Palestinian Authority is weak.


16. (C) Feltman explained that the USG expended a lot of
effort at the Sharm al-Sheikh conference trying to convince
the GCC to support the PA and not to take a neutral stand in
rebuilding Gaza. This included efforts to stop the GCC from
establishing an independent mechanism for their donations.
Only time will tell if we succeeded in changing these plans,
Feltman noted, but much of what he heard from the GCC was not
encouraging.


17. (C) Hadas asserted that the Arabs privately tell
Israelis things they will not say to the USG, including
concerns about the U.S. engaging with Iran. The Arabs accept
U.S.-Iranian talks, Hadas said, but are worried that any
engagement before the June Presidential elections will
strengthen Ahmadinejad. The Arabs have also told Israel that
they are not convinced the U.S. knows what it is doing with
regard to Iran and are afraid the USG will give up too much
for too little in return. He urged the U.S. to engage the
Gulf Arabs, and make clear that Washington understands how
Iran operates.


18. (S) Finally, Hadas said that the new Foreign Minister in
Jordan, Nasser Judeh, is an improvement for the GOI, as the
last FM virtually froze relations with Israel. Hadas hopes
to convince Judeh that engagement with Israel should be
strategic, and not just focus on one issue at a time, like
the "four prisoners" or the Muhgrabi gate. Hadas opined that
Jordan is now asking for "payment" for keeping its internal
security situation under control during the Gaza operation.
Hadas said that Israel has done a lot for Jordan, including

TEL AVIV 00000605 004 OF 004


promoting the extension of the QIZ with Congress on Jordan's
behalf and giving Jordan an increased water allotment,
without any payment.


19. (U) Acting Assistant Secretary Feltman has cleared this
cable.

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