Cablegate: Peretz Calls for Mnf Able to Block Hizballah

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Carol X Weakley 07/27/2006 01:06:19 PM From DB/Inbox: Carol X Weakley

Cable
Text:

S E C R E T TEL AVIV 02915

SIPDIS
CXTelA:
ACTION: POL
INFO: RES ECON DCM DAO AMB AID ADM IPSC RSO CONS PD
IMO

DISSEMINATION: POL
CHARGE: PROG

APPROVED: AMB:RHJONES
DRAFTED: POL:BBERNSTEIN-ZABZA
CLEARED: DCM:GCRETZ, POL/C:NOLSEN, DAO:TWILLIAMSON

VZCZCTVI215
OO RUEHC RUEHXK
DE RUEHTV #2915/01 2080612
ZNY SSSSS ZZH
O 270612Z JUL 06
FM AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5204
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 TEL AVIV 002915

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/27/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER EG IS IR LE
SUBJECT: PERETZ CALLS FOR MNF ABLE TO BLOCK HIZBALLAH
WEAPONS SUPPLIES

REF: TEL AVIV 2879

Classified By: Ambassador Richard H. Jones for reasons 1.4 (b,d).

1. (C) Summary: Minister of Defense Amir Peretz told U.S.
Representatives Peter Hoekstra, Jane Harman, Rick Renzi, and
Darrell Issa, and the Ambassador July 23 that the GOI's goals
in Lebanon are to secure the release of the two kidnapped IDF
soldiers, see the implementation of UNSCR 1559, and give a
multinational force (MNF) the mandate to block any re-supply
of weapons to Hizballah. Peretz accused Hizballah of using
Lebanese civilians for cover and to harbor Hizballah weapons.
He highlighted Israeli efforts to minimize harm to the
Lebanese civilian population. Peretz characterized Hizballah
as the "vanguard of Iran" in the Middle East and said that
Iran influences events throughout Lebanon. He asserted that
the connection between sovereignty and responsibility has
been broken and that this has allowed governments to deny
responsibility for the rocket attacks against Israel. Even
if the "certificate of origin" of the rocket attacks was
Hizballah/Hamas, he argued, it was the "post office;" i.e.,
the Lebanese government and the Palestinian Authority (PA)
that should be held responsible for each delivery. End
Summary.

---------------------
Hizballah and Lebanon
---------------------

2. (C) DefMin Peretz told CODEL Hoekstra that military
operations alone would not be sufficient to end the conflict
with Hizballah, and that well-planned next steps are
critical. According to Peretz, if after defeating Hizballah
in battle, Israel then released Hizballah prisoners, then
Hizballah would still be the winner. Peretz argued strongly
that both Hamas and Hizballah must be made to understand that
there is no connection between the situations in Gaza and in
Lebanon, and he emphasized that Hizballah must not be given
any standing on Palestinian issues. Peretz outlined three
key GOI goals in its conflict with Hizballah: 1) to secure
the release of the two IDF soldiers kidnapped by Hizballah;
2) to establish a multinational force to implement UNSCR
1559; and 3) to give the MNF a mandate to block any weapons
re-supply of Hizballah. The CODEL stressed the strong U.S.
Congressional support for GOI efforts. In response to a
question from Rep. Renzi, Peretz said that the MNF should be
a force capable of controlling southern Lebanon and the
borders with Syria -- "not like the current UN Force."

3. (C) Peretz highlighted his view that the connection
between a country's sovereignty and its responsibility has
been broken, allowing governments to deny responsibility for
actions taken within their borders, such as Hizballah's
launch of rockets from Lebanon against targets in Israel. He
argued that the Lebanese government and the Palestinian
Authority bear responsibility for rocket attacks originating
in their territories. Peretz emphasized the connection
between Hizballah and Iran, and Iran's influence in Lebanon.

----------------------------
Hizballah's Use of Civilians
----------------------------

4. (S) Peretz told the CODEL that the GOI is trying to limit
harm to civilians, but he made the point that when civilians
harbor missiles "in their living rooms," they are involving
themselves in the conflict. He characterized as "demonic"
what he claimed was Hizballah's use of the Lebanese civilian
population to hide its rockets and stressed that Israel could
not allow Hizballah to protect itself this way. In response
to Rep. Hoekstra's query as to whether evidence exists of
Hizballah hiding missiles in civilians' residences, Peretz
said that he would provide further information in a few
hours, and added that the evidence was a result of years of
careful work with highly sensitive intelligence sources -- "a
carefully guarded secret." Hoekstra stressed that it is
"very important" that the GOI share this information in order
to help solidify support from the U.S. Congress for GOI
actions. Peretz noted that it is hard to provide physical
evidence, which was either destroyed by IDF attacks or is
beyond reach behind enemy lines. The Ambassador suggested
that Mossad Director Meir Dagan could provide the requested
brief to the CODEL at their meeting (see reftel).

5. (C) Rep. Harman said it is important for Israel to stress
to the international community all of its efforts to minimize
civilian casualties. Peretz said the GOI has been
consistently providing advance warning to civilians to leave
before attacks, dropping leaflets, and sometimes even through
telephone calls, e.g., to private machine shops in Gaza
making parts for Qassam rockets. Peretz also said that the
GOI had opened humanitarian corridors between Cyprus and
Lebanon at Secretary Rice's request.

6. (C) Rep. Issa urged that Peretz establish "green lines"
for the safe transit of displaced persons throughout Lebanon
as soon as possible. He recognized that these lines might
have to shift over time, but the IDF could advise of these
changes through leaflets. Peretz admitted that Israel was
aware of the IDP issue and the need to protect them. He
agreed to consider Issa's proposal, but noted that the IDF is
not on the ground and thus cannot guarantee anyone's complete
safety. He suggested that the IDF could coordinate with the
UN on the matter and might designate some such areas in the
northern part of the country.

------------
Gilad on MNF
------------

7. (C) In a side conversation after the meeting, MOD
political advisor Amos Gilad described Israel's ideas for the
MNF. He told the Ambassador that Israel "wants a reliable
force "like in Afghanistan," where the NATO framework allowed
"even Dutch troops" to kill 13 terrorists recently. Gilad
underlined that having another force such as UNIFIL would
mean "we're cooked." He also criticized what he referred to
as a Ukrainian model, which he characterized as countries
"only in (peacekeeping operations) for the money."
Unofficially, Gilad said, the GOI supports Arab/Muslim
participation, even by Egypt, although, he said, the German
Foreign Minister had told the GOI that the Egyptians were not
interested. Saudi Arabia could also help substantially,
Gilad added. Their participation, for example, could help
prevent Iran from playing a major role in Lebanese
reconstruction, Gilad said, underlining that "We must not let
that (Iranian participation) happen."

8. (U) CODEL Hoekstra did not have the opportunity to clear
this message before departing the country.

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