UNSC: MIDDLE EAST OPEN DEBATE - NON-MEMBERS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 USUN NEW YORK 000928

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL KWBG KPAL UN IS LE
SUBJECT: UNSC: MIDDLE EAST OPEN DEBATE - NON-MEMBERS
CRITICIZE ISRAEL FOR GOLDSTONE REPORT AND EAST JERUSALEM
TENSIONS

REF: A. STATE 106424

B. USUN NEW YORK 500


1. (SBU) Summary: On 14 October, the Security Council held
its Open Debate on the Middle East. Under Secretary-General
Pascoe briefed the Council on recent events, noting that
there had been no significant progress on the peace process.
He referred to recent tensions in East Jerusalem as well as
within the Palestinian community in reactions to the Human
Rights Council's (HRC) decision to defer the Goldstone
report. The Palestinian Foreign Minister briefed the Council
and focused on what he termed Israel's intransigence and
defiance on the peace process. He called for the HRC to
endorse the Goldstone report and convey it to the pertinent
UN bodies. The Israeli Perm Rep specifically referred to the
continuing rocket fire from GAZA and the recent explosion in
southern Lebanon and described both areas as occupied by
terrorists. She called for the international community to
recognize Israel's right to self-defense. All 15 Security
Council members spoke, with all maintaining their usual
positions on the subject and many calling for the Goldstone
report discussion to be first concluded in the Human Rights
Council before being discussed in the Security Council.
Twenty-seven non-Council member delegations spoke; many
criticized Israel's actions in the region. (Note: Lebanon
chose not to speak at the debate. Usually, Lebanon
participates in Open Debates but was running in the next
day's (October 15) election as Security Council elected
member candidate. End note.) End summary.

Secretariat briefing
--------------


2. (SBU) On October 14, Under Secretary-General for
Political Affairs Lynn Pascoe briefed the Security Council at
the start of the Council's regular monthly meeting on the
Middle East, which this month took the form of an Open
Debate. He noted that there had been no significant progress
on the peace process, though Special Envoy Mitchell has been
back in the region. He emphasized the need for greater
political will from the two parties. He then turned to
recent developments in the region since the Secretariat's
last briefing to the Council on September 17, including the
incidents in East Jerusalem and on the Haram al-Sharif/Temple
Mount compound and the tensions within the Palestinian
community in reaction to the Human Rights Council's deferral
of the Goldstone report. He repeated the Secretary-General's
call for all sides to exercise restraint. On the Goldstone
report, he referred to the Secretary-General's repeated
statements that "peace and justice are two sides of the same
coin" and his call for credible domestic investigations into
the conduct of the conflict. He noted the continuing rocket
fire from GAZA and the lack of an Israeli response to the
UN's pilot reconstruction project proposal for Gaza. On
Lebanon, he said that Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri
continues to engage in intense consultations to form a
government and that the UN believes the early formation of
such a government is critical to enabling the country to face
important challenges. He referred to the recent explosions
in Tripoli and said that UNIFIL is investigating the October
12 explosion in Tayr Filsay in southern Lebanon.

Palestinian FM: Israel's intransigence
and defiance jeopardize peace prospects
--------------


3. (SBU) Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad al-Malki
highlighted what he termed Israel's intransigence and
defiance in not returning to the peace process and in
continuing to obstruct the reconstruction of Gaza. He called
the Goldstone report another wake-up call which needs the
Human Rights Council's (HRC) urgent attention. He detailed
the conclusions of the report against Israel and acknowledged
the allegations against the Palestinian side. He
underscored, "While we reject any equation of the occupying
power's aggression and crimes with actions committed in
response by the Palestinian side, we wish to reaffirm that
there is no symmetry or proportionality between the occupier
and the occupied." He reaffirmed that domestic legal
investigations would be pursued on the Palestinian side. He
called the Goldstone report "another damning record of the
Israeli crimes" and referred to previous investigations,
including the Secretary-General's GAZA Board of Inquiry and
investigations by various NGOs. He said he hoped the HRC
would endorse the report and formally convey it to the
pertinent UN bodies, in conformity with the report's
recommendations. He called for a break in the cycle of
Israel's impunity. He then turned to recent events in East
Jerusalem and called the situation "highly volatile due to

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Israel's illegal and provocative actions and incitement." He
referred to Palestinian efforts to draw the Council's
attention to "the increasing and unprecedented levels of
Israeli aggression in occupied East Jerusalem." (Comment: We
understand that if Council action is not forthcoming on the
Goldstone report, the Palestinians and Arabs may pursue a
Council resolution on Israeli activities in East Jerusalem.
End comment.)

Israeli Perm Rep: international community
must recognize Israel's right to self-defense
--------------


4. (SBU) Israeli Perm Rep Shalev opened her remarks by
stressing that Israel seeks a genuine, defensible, and
permanent peace with two states living side-by-side in peace
and security. She then turned to recent events and referred
to the 13 rockets fired at Israel in September, as well as
the multiple attempts to infiltrate it from Gaza, the rockets
launched from Lebanon, and the recent explosion in southern
Lebanon. She called for UNIFIL to promptly and thoroughly
investigate that explosion and commented that southern
Lebanon is occupied by Hizballah's terrorists. She noted
that behind Hizballah stands Iran, which had recently
acknowledged the presence of a uranium enrichment plant. She
said, "The world's most dangerous weapons are quickly falling
into the hands of the most dangerous regime in the world" and
that is the real threat to peace and security. She referred
to Israel's WITHDRAWAL of settlements from GAZA and its high
hopes for GAZA turning into a nightmare with Hamas'
construction of an infrastructure of terror. She referred to
Gaza as occupied by Hamas terrorism and its open rejection of
Israel's right to exist. She referred to the fact that the
date of the Open Debate had been moved forward in response to
Libya's urgent request for a meeting and said that such a
request should be in reference to the continuous shelling of
Israel from GAZA and Lebanon, not in response to a request
from Council member who was responsible for Lockerbie and
calling the Security Council the Terror Council in his
statement during the General Debate. She termed the
Goldstone report biased, one-sided, and wrong, and a "prize"
for terrorist organizations. She ended by noting that if
Israel is to take further risks for peace (as it did with its
disengagement from Gaza),then the international community
must recognize Israel's right to self-defense.

Security Council members:
maintain usual positions
--------------


5. (SBU) Most Council members reiterated their usual
positions - calling for both parties to fulfill their
obligations under the Roadmap, including a freeze of
settlement construction by Israel, and for the implementation
of resolutions 1850 and 1860. The majority welcomed U.S.
efforts on the peace process, as well as Egyptian efforts to
achieve intra-Palestinian unity. Several also called for the
release of Gilad Shalit. (Note: Ambassador Wolff drew his
remarks from ref A. End note.)


6. (SBU) Regarding heightened tensions in East Jerusalem,
the Perm Reps of Austria, Russia, and the UK urged both
parties to diffuse tensions around the holy sites. Russia
urged both sides not to use religion for political reasons or
to exacerbate the situation. On Gaza, Mexico and the UK
warned that life there will become harder as winter sets in,
and called on Israel to ease its restrictions. The Libyan
Perm Rep assailed Israel for its continuing blockade of Gaza.
On Lebanon, most called for the full implementation of UNSCR
1701 and voiced support for a Lebanese government to be named
soon. Costa Rica called upon all regional states to take an
active role in the peace process by reducing the number of
provocative statements and recognizing Israel's right to
exist. Russia referred to the peace conference to be held in
Moscow to address the situation; Vietnam later supported this
proposal. The French Perm Rep reiterated President Sarkozy's
call with President Mubarak for a summit under the Union for
the Mediterranean.


7. (SBU) Concerning the Goldstone Report, the UK concurred
that the report was biased and noted its support of Israel's
right to self-protection, while acknowledging that there were
instances in which Israel went too far. Austria, Burkina
Faso, Costa Rica, Japan, Mexico, Russia, and the United
Kingdom referred to the fact that the report should be
discussed first by the Human Rights Council and some noted
the Human Rights Council session scheduled for the next day
in Geneva. Other delegations voiced appreciation for the
work of the Goldstone fact-finding commission and its efforts

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to seek balance. Libya termed the report a "wake-up call,"
stating that "the rules of procedure cannot sail on seas of
blood." The Libyan Perm Rep thoroughly detailed in his
intervention the allegations from the Goldstone report and
called for ending the culture of impunity, bringing the
guilty to justice, compensating victims, and ending the
collective punishment of the Palestinian people. In
addition, he condemned the destruction of water supplies and
poultry farms in Gaza, as well as Israeli targeting of
ambulances.

Non-Council Members:
many criticize Israel
--------------


8. (SBU) Twenty-seven non-Council members also spoke at the
Open Debate. Egypt spoke on behalf of the Non-Aligned
Movement (NAM); Syria spoke on behalf of the Organization of
the Islamic Conference (OIC); Sudan spoke on behalf of the
Arab Group; and Sweden spoke on behalf of the European Union
(EU). (Note: Lebanon chose not to speak at the debate.
Usually, Lebanon participates in Open Debates but was running
on October 15 for a Security Council seat. End note.) Many
delegations continued the condemnation of Israeli actions.
Most called upon Israel to immediately cease all settlement
activity and lift the blockade imposed on Gaza. Egypt and
Cuba described the settlers as "extremists," citing attacks
on mosques as well as on Palestinian civilians. Several
countries condemned the destruction of homes and eviction of
Palestinians in the West Bank. Egypt and Indonesia called
the Israeli blockade of GAZA a "collective punishment"
enforced upon the entire Palestinian population. The
delegations of Egypt and Liechtenstein called upon Israel to
comply with the terms outlined in UNSC Resolution 1860; Syria
and Cuba called for compliance with UNSC Resolution 497 on
the Golan. Many delegations called for immediate action by
the Security Council and an end to the "culture of impunity."
In a sentiment later echoed by the Permanent Observer of the
League of Arab States in a call for perpetrators to be
brought to the International Criminal Court, the Sudanese
Perm Rep contended that "Israel has always been above the
law," while Egypt declared that "criminal justice must take
its course." The Venezuelan Perm Rep emphasized that
Venezuela will continue to suspend its diplomatic relations
with Israel.


9. (SBU) While most delegations did call for a two-state
solution to the conflict, with many advocating for the 1967
borders, a few delegations delivered more balanced
interventions than those cited above. In addition to
condemning ongoing settlement activity, the Perm Reps of
Brazil, Sweden, and Australia also called for Palestinians to
make their own efforts toward peace. They urged the PA to
increase its security efforts and build governmental capacity
with many referred in the PA Prime Minister Fayyad's two-year
state institution building plan. They also called for an end
to rocket attacks on Israel. Pakistan, among others, called
for the PA to "achieve intra-Palestinian reconciliation,
which is an essential pre-requisite for credible and
comprehensive peace." Iceland and Australia specifically
acknowledged Israel's right to self-protection. Brazil,
Indonesia, Australia, and Jordan expressed support for recent
Quartet action to find a solution, as well as for President
Obama's statements on the subject.


10. (SBU) Several delegations focused more on the problems
in East Jerusalem. Egypt, Brazil, Sweden, the League of Arab
States, Bangladesh, Iceland, Morocco (speaking on behalf of
the Arab League's al-Quds Committee),and Jordan all referred
to the incidents at holy sites, most notably the Haram
al-Sharif. These delegations urged both parties to refrain
from all provocative actions and statements concerning these
sites. A number of delegations condemned reports of Israeli
excavations at these sites. (Comment: It appeared that
Morocco asked to exchange places with Australia in order to
not have to sit next to Israel. We expect such behavior of
Iran (and Venezuela slid down in the order to accommodate
Iran this time) but not Morocco. End comment.)

Discussion of Goldstone report
by non-Council members
--------------


11. (SBU) The Egyptian Perm Rep, speaking on behalf of the
NAM, noted its "grave concern" over the details of the
Goldstone Report, as well as the reports of other
fact-finding missions sent to the area, including the GAZA
Board of Inquiry. He advocated that all appropriate legal
action be taken on the recommendations of the report,

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reminding the Security Council that it is necessary to
achieve a just solution to the problem. Indonesia, South
Africa, Pakistan, Tanzania, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Morocco,
Jordan, and Venezuela all aligned with the NAM statement.
Syria, speaking on behalf of the OIC, said that the report
confirmed that the root of the problem was the continued
Israeli occupation. It marked its regret at the
non-compliance of the Israeli government to allow for war
crimes investigations to be completed. Syria also supported
the Libyan request to convene a special meeting to discuss
the report. Indonesia, Pakistan, Malaysia, Morocco, and
Jordan aligned with the OIC statement.


12. (SBU) Most of the other delegations (Sudan, Nicaragua,
Indonesia, South Africa, League of Arab States, Switzerland,
Bangladesh, Malaysia, Iran,) expressed grave concern with the
findings of the Goldstone report. They urged that the
recommendations from the Report be adopted and enforced by
the Security Council. Sudan noted Israel's lack of
cooperation throughout the investigation, stating that
"Israel has always been above the law." Nicaragua asserted
that the report was "one more piece of evidence of all the
crimes committed by Israel," and Cuba noted that the Report
was unbiased and written by a team of the "utmost legal
rigor." Liechtenstein expressed its hope that impunity did
not prevail in light of the findings. Iran contended that
the Goldstone report reflected only partial, minimal examples
of Israeli crimes, and claimed that the Security Council's
ability to enforce the recommendations would be seen as a
test of its credibility. The Malaysian delegation also
brought up the question as to why the Security Council had
been silent on the findings of the GAZA Board of Inquiry's
report, issued in the spring. (Note: See USUN New York 500.
End note.)


13. (SBU) Sweden, speaking on behalf of the EU, stated that
it is still in the process of assessing the Goldstone report,
but that it deplores the civilian casualties mentioned.
Sweden stated that it would leave it to the Human Rights
Council to ensure the proper follow-up, conducting credible
investigations into the matter. Australia and Norway
expressed similar sentiments.


14. (U) The full text of the Provisional Verbatim Record of
the Open Debate can be found at
www.un.org/Depts/dhl/resguide/scact2009.htm.
Wolff