Cablegate: Un Envoys and Goi Discuss Unscr 1701, Disagree On

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Leza L Olson 08/24/2006 03:29:24 PM From DB/Inbox: Leza L Olson

Cable
Text:

C O N F I D E N T I A L TEL AVIV 03369

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

DISSEMINATION: POL
CHARGE: PROG

APPROVED: POL/C:NOLSEN
DRAFTED: POL:SCROWLEY
CLEARED: NONE

VZCZCTVI013
OO RUEHC RUEHXK RUEHRL RUEHMD RUCNDT
DE RUEHTV #3369/01 2361153
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 241153Z AUG 06
FM AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5860
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE
RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN 0273
RUEHMD/AMEMBASSY MADRID 2054
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 3965

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TEL AVIV 003369

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/24/2016
TAGS: PREL MOPS PTER UN LE IS
SUBJECT: UN ENVOYS AND GOI DISCUSS UNSCR 1701, DISAGREE ON
SHEBAA

REF: USUN NEW YORK 1611

Classified By: Political Counselor Norman Olsen; Reasons: 1.4 (B and D)
.

1. (C) Summary: UN Special Envoy Terje Roed-Larsen and UN
Under Secretary General Vijay Nambiar met with Israeli PM
Ehud Olmert, FM Tzipi Livni, DefMin Amir Peretz, Vice PM
Shimon Peres, PM Chief of Staff Yoram Turbowicz, and PM
Prisoners Envoy Ofer Deckel during a visit to Jerusalem and
Tel Aviv on August 21-23. Both sides characterized the talks
as productive, except on the Shebaa farms, an issue Livni
insisted the GOI will not discuss until after the border is
demarcated. Larsen urged the GOI to pass any information on
attempted resupply by Hizballah to the UN prior to taking
military action, while Olmert and Livni cautioned that if the
international community fails to maintain an arms embargo,
then Israel will enforce one itself. Larsen expressed
frustration with the Europeans for failing to contribute
troops to an enhanced UNIFIL, while the GOI reiterated its
hope that Germany and Spain will assist in actively
monitoring the Syrian-Lebanese border. The Israelis
expressed appreciation for the UN's efforts to free captured
IDF soldiers, despite the lack of progress on the issue.
UNSYG Kofi Annan will visit Jerusalem and Ramallah on August
29-30 to discuss UNSCR 1701, but also to seek support for a
renewed effort to reach a comprehensive settlement in the
Middle East. End summary.

--------------------------------------------- --
Productive UN-Israeli Talks -- Except on Shebaa
--------------------------------------------- --

2. (C) UN officials and Livni's staff both characterized the
meetings as productive, with the exception of the Shebaa
farms issue. UN staff said that Nambiar had urged the
Israelis to withdraw from the Shebaa farms and place the area
under UN administration until Syria and Lebanon agree on
ownership. In what they called a "very strong message,"
Livni insisted that there could be no discussion of Shebaa
until after the border is demarcated. Livni's staff said she
had accused Nambiar of "not working in the spirit of the
resolution."

--------------------------
Status of Israeli Blockade
--------------------------

3. (C) According to the UN and GOI, Larsen and Nambiar raised
the lifting the Israeli blockade of Lebanon, but did not
press the point, except for a request to allow flights into
Beirut International Airport. Larsen urged the GOI to pass
any information on attempted resupply by Hizballah to the UN
prior to taking military action, but the GOI was noncommittal
on this point. GOI staffers said both Olmert and Livni
cautioned that if the international community fails to take
the necessary steps to maintain an arms embargo against
Hizballah, then Israel will enforce one on its own.

--------------------------------------------- -------
UN Frustration with Some European Troop Contributors
--------------------------------------------- -------

4. (C) The UN staff said that Larsen had been "extremely
frustrated" with -- unnamed -- European states for their
failure to provide troops for an enhanced UNIFIL. The UN
also said that the Israelis are looking to Germany and Spain
to provide personnel to monitor the Lebanese-Syrian border
and prevent resupply for Hizballah. (Note: FM Livni will
travel to Berlin on August 27 to discuss this and other UNSCR
1701 issues with the Germans. End note).

--------------------------------------------- ------------
GOI Pleased with Trilateral Meetings/UN Work on Prisoners
--------------------------------------------- ------------

5. (C) The UN staff reported that trilateral UNIFIL-IDF-LAF
meetings are "going well," noting that cooperation continued
even after the Israeli commando raid in the Bekaa Valley on
August 19. They said that the GOL and GOI still disagree on
the justification for such meetings, with Lebanon basing its
participation on the 1949 armistice and Israel maintaining
that this agreement is no longer valid.

6. (C) The UN staff admitted that there is "not much
movement" on the issue of the IDF soldiers kidnapped by
Hizballah. Livni's staff said that the GOI is generally
pleased with the UN's work on the prisoners; Livni told
Larsen that the GOI appreciated his raising the issue
publicly on August 21 while in Beirut.

--------------------------------------------- ---
Annan Visit and a Push for a Comprehensive Peace
--------------------------------------------- ---

7. (C) The UN staff said that UNSYG Annan will visit
Jerusalem and Ramallah on August 29-30 to meet with Olmert,
Livni, Peretz, and Palestinian Authority President Mahmud
Abbas. While the trip is intended to focus on UNSCR 1701,
the UN staff noted that the prevailing view among UN
bureaucrats is that a new and comprehensive initiative must
be started to bring peace and stability to the entire region.
They quoted UNUSYG Ibrahim Gambari, who told the UNSC on
August 22 (reftel) that "the stalled state of the peace
process should ... be regarded as unacceptable -- both on its
own merits and because of its broader regional implications."

8. (SBU) Note: The third member of the UN's Middle East
triumvirate, Special Envoy to the Middle East Alvaro de Soto,
chose not to interrupt his vacation to attend the talks. End
note.

********************************************* ********************
Visit Embassy Tel Aviv's Classified Website:
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/telaviv

You can also access this site through the State Department's
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