AMBASSADOR RICE'S MEETING WITH ISRAELI AMBASSADOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 USUN NEW YORK 000072 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/29/2019 TAGS: EG IR IS KPAL KWBG LE PAL SY UNSC SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR RICE'S MEETING WITH ISRAELI AMBASSADOR SHALEV Classified By: Ambassador Rice, For Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Israeli Permanent Representative to the United Nations Gabriela Shalev on January 28 welcomed Ambassador Rice to her new post during their initial meeting. During the hour-long meeting, Shalev stressed Israel's commitment to the peace process while isolating Hamas and ending smuggling to Gaza; her hope of broadening Israel's engagement with the UN; and Israel's assessment of the potential dangers of possible U.S. outreach to Iran. End Summary. Gaza and the Peace Process ¶2. (C) In Ambassador Rice,s initial meeting with Israeli PR Gabriella Shalev on January 28, Shalev stressed that Israel still believes that a peaceful outcome to the Gaza crisis and the implementation of the two-state solution are achievable goals. Referring to the upcoming elections in Israel, she said that the resulting coalition, regardless of its makeup, would continue negotiations with the Palestinian Authority and would not talk with Hamas in any case. Ambassador Rice noted that the President was already making good on his promise to engage early on the peace process by naming Senator George Mitchell as special envoy. Mitchell was in the region right now, and his first challenge would be to work to advance a durable ceasefire. ¶3. (C) Ambassador Shalev said she had recently met with John Holmes, the UN Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs, and with Karen AbuZayd, the Commissioner-General for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA),with whom she said the Israeli Mission had "open and good" relations. Ambassador Shalev underlined that Israel currently allows humanitarian and reconstruction supplies into Gaza and wants to expand its deliveries, but is hesitant to broaden its list of goods allowed into Gaza to include items such as cement because of fears that Hamas will appropriate them. Ambassador Shalev said Israel's entire operation in Gaza will have been in vain if smuggling into Gaza is not stopped, and she highlighted the Memorandum of Understanding signed between former Secretary of State Rice and Israeli Foreign Minister Livni, which aims to stem the flow of smuggled weapons and explosives into Gaza, as an important step. Ambassador Rice said she understood Israel's dilemma in delivering supplies to Gaza, and said that UNRWA appears to have a good record of getting its supplies to the intended recipients. Rice said she too had recently met with John Holmes and Karen AbuZayd and emphasized that their key points to her were that border crossings need to be opened--while preventing smuggling and resupply of arms-- in order to increase the volume of trucks and supplies to Gaza, and that the list of permissible goods needs to be expanded. She added that she had been with President Obama when he visited Sderot last July, and had seen firsthand the complex topography, geography, and the complexity and difficulty of the situation. ¶4. (C) Shalev said that the goals of the military operation in Gaza were to achieve the release of imprisoned Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit and to stop the rocket attacks into Israel. She stressed that peace and security cannot be forced upon Israel or decided by anyone else; they must be decided by the parties in the context of peace negotiations. Israel cannot accept any international pressure to replace the negotiations between the parties, she said, noting that Israel preferred not to have any Security Council products coming out of meetings on the Middle East because the Security Council cannot take the place of actions and progress on the ground. She then said that she was speaking confidentially, but wanted to note that during the negotiations surrounding the drafting of Resolution 1860 (which calls for "an immediate, durable and fully respected cease-fire, leading to the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza"),the Israeli delegation,s experience was that the UK and France were not trustworthy and that the U.S. was a more helpful and honest friend of Israel. Broadening Israel's Role in the UN ¶5. (SBU) Ambassador Shalev said one of her priorities when she arrived in New York in September, and one of the Israeli Mission's core goals, was to move the Israeli delegation beyond being what she called a "one-issue mission," which was perceived as focusing only on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. However, she said her arrival coincided with a host of Middle East issues, including Gaza, which undermined her goal of broadening Israel's work in the UN. Israel has felt an increase in its isolation at the UN in recent months, USUN NEW Y 00000072 002 OF 002 Shalev stated, but still hopes to change that and hopes to offer assistance to African nations and cooperate with the UN on a range of issues. She recognized that the U.S. is often placed in a difficult position by supporting Israel at the UN and expressed her appreciation for our continued support and friendship. Ambassador Rice responded that the U.S. attaches great importance to its relationship with Israel, and that we share Israel's goals of expanding cooperation at the UN and believe there will be opportunities coming up on a broad range of issues, including energy and climate change. Iran ¶6. (C) Ambassador Shalev said she recognized the Obama administration's desire to consider opening dialogue with Iran. She emphasized, however, that Iran supports Hamas to Israel's south and Hizballah to Israel's north, and with regard to its potential for nuclear weapons, Israel would be Iran's first target. Ambassador Rice said a nuclear-armed Iran would be a grave security threat to the region, the U.S., and the world, and that the U.S. will continue to work to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. Nonetheless, she said the Obama administration does not accept the view that there are can be only two outcomes regarding Iran's nuclear program -- a nuclear-armed Iran or a war to keep that from happening. Either of those would be a very bad outcome, and we want to work to avoid them. Although there are currently no plans for outreach with Iran, she said, any effort would combine pressure with diplomacy, including the possibility of direct diplomacy, working with the P5 1. Ambassador Rice was quick to assert that the USG is realistic that any dialogue with Iran would be difficult, and success was far from assured. RICE Rice