NORWEGIAN MIDDLE EAST SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TEL AVIV 000799

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/02/2019
TAGS: PREL KWBG KPAL EG SA NO IS
SUBJECT: NORWEGIAN MIDDLE EAST SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE
OUTLINES AHLC EFFORTS

Classified By: Ambassador James B. Cunningham, reasons 1.4 (b),(d)


1. (C) Summary: In an April 2 meeting with the Ambassador,
Norwegian Special Representative for the Middle East Jon
Hanssen-Bauer and Ambassador to Israel Jakken Biorn Lian said
Norway, as chair of the Ad-Hoc Liaison Committee (AHLC),
continues to press donors to live up to pledges made at
conferences in Paris and Sharm el-Sheikh in order to bolster
the Palestinian Authority. Hanssen-Bauer, in meetings at the
Doha Arab League Summit, had urged his interlocutors to
provide immediate support for the PA budget, and not to
pursue the new funding mechanism proposed by the Gulf States
at Sharm. Hanssen-Bauer asked for Washington's views
regarding an Arab League request to participate in the next
AHLC to be held on May 4, a request which Norway is inclined
to support. He noted Norwegian FM Store will raise the AHLC
with Secretary Clinton and Sen. Mitchell during Store's
upcoming visit to Washington. Hanssen-Bauer also expressed
concern regarding Fatah's chances in the upcoming Palestinian
elections. End summary.


2. (SBU) Hanssen-Bauer described the Arab League Summit as an
"interesting circus," and said he had met with the Syrians,
Saudis, Emirates, and Kuwaitis, as well as the Arab League's
Secretary General Amre Moussa and UN SYG Ban Ki-moon.
Hanssen-Bauer stressed during these meetings the importance
of living up to pledges to the Palestinians made both in
Paris and during the donor's conference in Sharm el-Sheikh.
He emphasized that the priority now is to support the PA
budget, and argued against setting up new mechanisms to fund
projects in Gaza.


3. (SBU) Hanssen-Bauer outlined plans to convene the ALHC on
May 4, and said Norwegian Foreign Minister Store plans to
raise this with Secretary Clinton and Special Envoy Mitchell
during Store's visit to Washington next week. Hanssen-Bauer
said the challenge would be to convene the meeting at the
ministerial level, but he was not certain FM Lieberman would
attend. He said Palestinian Authority President Abbas
confirmed at Doha that he would attend an ALHC in May. The
Ambassador noted possible plans for PM Netanyahu to visit
Washington in early May.


4. (C) The Ambassador asked how the Saudis responded to
Hanssen-Bauer's pitch for budget support for the Palestinian
Authority. Hanssen-Bauer said the Saudis were in "more of a
listening mode." They made no commitment, but "took note of
the problem," he said. Hanssen-Bauer said he suggested that
if there were to be a new mechanism for Gulf States'
assistance, it would be useful to create a standing committee
to coordinate pledges, but the Saudis were "non-committal"
regarding participation. He noted that the Palestinian
reconciliation process potentially could endanger funding for
the Palestinian Authority as donors would be likely to
postpone donations while waiting to see whether Fatah and
Hamas will reconcile. He speculated that working out the
details of a funding mechanism for the Gulf States, and the
uncertainties of the reconciliation process, might mean that
the pledged assistance for Gaza from the GCC might never
arrive. In that case, he suggested, those funds should be
used to support the PA budget, where the money was really
needed at the moment. The Ambassador said the USG has been
urging both budget support, and that all assistance to Gaza
go through the PA and existing mechanisms. He welcomed that
Norway was doing the same. On reconciliation, he noted that
the US had made clear that any PA needs to be acceptable to
the international community, and for the U.S. that means
acceptance of the Quartet Principles and the integrity of the
PA security forces. Hamas is currently opposed to both.
Hanssen-Bauer agreed, and replied that Norway supports
reconciliation, but not at any price.


5. (C) Hanssen-Bauer said the Arab League has requested to
be included in the next AHLC ministerial meeting in May. He
described this request as "tricky," and likely a result of
Arab League Secretary-General Moussa's ambitions. He added
that Egypt also was pushing for Moussa's participation.
Hanssen-Bauer said the Arab League request was not
well-received by the Israelis, although he suspected that had
more to do with a reaction to Moussa personally than to the
Arab League. Biorn Lian said Norway was aware of misgivings
regarding Moussa, but this should not be exaggerated and
added that it might be better to have Moussa "inside than
outside."


6. (C) Hanssen-Bauer asked for Washington's views on
potential Arab League participation in the next AHLC. He
said that while he did not discuss the notion during his
recent visit to Washington, he did raise it with former FM
Livni, who did not dismiss it out of hand but did express
concern that Moussa might use it as a platform.

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Hanssen-Bauer also raised it with MFA Deputy Director General
for Economic Affairs Irit Ben Abba, who did not reject the
idea. That said, Hanssen-Bauer was quick to acknowledge the
need to check with the new Israeli government regarding its
views on Arab League participation. At the very least, he
noted the USD 100 million donation threshold required to
participate would be a helpful contribution from the AHLC's
perspective.


7. (C) Turning to the PA, Hanssen-Bauer expressed concern at
the failure thus far of Fatah reform efforts. In Ramallah he
had heard about Fatah plans to convene a party conference in
April, but had not seen evidence of any preparations, which
he termed a "bad sign." Hanssen-Bauer said he was reaching
the conclusion that the conference would not take place, and
expressed concern regarding Fatah's chances in the upcoming
elections, which Hamas appears to now want to postpone for as
long as two years. The Ambassador asked what Hamas had to
gain from postponing the elections. Hanssen-Bauer cited
polling data suggesting that Hamas support was increasing, so
by delaying the elections, their chances of an outright
victory would increase if present trends continued.

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CUNNINGHAM