US embassy cable - 04TELAVIV1689

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TEL AVIV 001689 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/17/2014 
TAGS: PREL, ECON, IS, GOI INTERNAL, GAZA DISENGAGEMENT, ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN AFFAIRS 
SUBJECT: TRANSPORT MINISTER LIEBERMAN SLAMS SHARON IN 
MEETING WITH AMBASSADOR 
 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Daniel C. Kurtzer for Reasons 1.4 (b,c) 
 
1.  (C) Summary.  Transportation Minister and National Union 
leader Avigdor Lieberman on March 17: 
-- Called PM Sharon and his unilateral disengagement plan "a 
failure," which was not supported by the majority of Israelis 
and which appeared to give in to terror; 
-- Said the National Union would bolt the coalition should 
the Cabinet sign off on the plan; 
-- Claimed that forward movement towards peace with the 
Palestinians was not possible with Arafat in power; 
-- Said that the GOI's role in Negev development should be 
limited to current plans to construct a rail line from Tel 
Aviv to Dimona; 
-- Called the Israeli-Arabs the "key issue for Israel" and 
asked for U.S. ideas on how to work with them; 
-- Noted the GOI planned to upgrade transportation security 
in the wake of the recent Ashdod attack; 
-- Said that he had rescheduled his visit to the U.S. for 
late April, when he hoped to continue building on good 
bilateral transportation cooperation with Secretary Mineta; 
and 
-- Urged more U.S. companies to bid on the USD 8 billion in 
contracts under his ministry's authority.  End Summary. 
 
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Unilateral Disengagement: Go Ahead, Make My Day 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
2.  (C) Lieberman, who had asked to see the Ambassador, 
savaged the Prime Minister and his unilateral disengagement 
plan: "Sharon has failed.  On the roadmap, on Abu Mazen, on 
Tannenbaum, and now on the new plan."  He said the plan came 
at the wrong time, both for Israel and for the U.S.  At the 
very least, Sharon should have waited for the U.S. elections 
to pass.  He claimed the PM faced intense opposition, within 
Likud, the Coalition, the Cabinet, and within Israeli society 
as a whole.  "Sharon does not have a majority for the plan." 
As for his party, Lieberman stressed: "if the Cabinet 
approves the plan, the National Union will leave the 
government." 
 
3.  (C) Lieberman said his opposition stemmed from his belief 
that the Palestinians would view a withdrawal from Gaza as a 
victory for terror.  "They will see it as weakness, not as an 
effort to compromise."  Gaza settlement evacuation would also 
leave Israel exposed: "What if they target Ashkelon's power 
generation plants from north Gaza with Qassam rockets?  That 
represents five percent of Israeli power generation." 
 
4.  (C) Lieberman asked for U.S. views of the plan.  The 
Ambassador noted the USG was engaging closely with the GOI, 
and referred to the recent visits to Israel of Deputy NSA 
Hadley and A/S Burns.  The Administration was interested in 
the Israeli ideas.  Until we saw "the plan" in detail, 
however, the USG would not be able to take a position on it. 
He noted the concept of settlement evacuation had points in 
common with the President's vision for the region.  Also, it 
could potentially increase security for Israel while testing 
Palestinian seriousness.  The Ambassador also cautioned 
Lieberman not to underestimate the divisions within 
Palestinian society: "There are Palestinians who want a 
better life for themselves and want forward movement." 
 
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Lieberman: Get Rid of Arafat; Reform 
Palestinian Society; Bring in Egypt/Jordan 
------------------------------------------ 
 
5.  (C) Lieberman claimed that forward movement was not 
possible with Arafat in power.  "We need a partner.  Until 
Arafat is out, it is impossible to negotiate.  Abu Mazen made 
that clear."  He said Arafat had no interest in a Palestinian 
state, but wanted to destroy "our state."  He said that any 
solution involved Egypt and Jordan: "The Jordanian dynasty 
would have a serious problem with an independent Palestinian 
state."  Aside from Arafat, necessary reform of Palestinian 
society would be complex and long-term.  "The evolution in 
Palestinian society is very dangerous.  Hamas is winning 
because it is the only organization that helps the people. 
The PA is corrupt; even Salaam Fayyad cannot control the 
situation."  Lieberman outlined a three-step process to 
reform Palestinian society: 1. end terror; 2. reform the 
economy; 3. reform the society overall (politically, 
culturally and educationally). 
 
6.  (C) The Ambassador responded that Lieberman's ideas left 
few avenues for forward progress.  He emphasized that, 
although the U.S. fully agreed with Israel that Arafat 
impeded the search for peace, eliminating him was not an 
option the U.S. supported.  It would greatly complicate our 
regional efforts. 
 
--------------------------------------- 
Israel Needs to Make Choices, Including 
Improving Palestinian Living Conditions 
--------------------------------------- 
 
7.  (C) It was important that Israel face up to the hard 
choices it had to make going forward, the Ambassador 
stressed.  Was it viable for Israel to maintain 225,000 
settlers in the West Bank, many of whom were in the midst of 
areas densely populated by Palestinians?  Was having 7,500 
Gaza settlers live amongst 1.5 million Palestinians a wise 
idea?  Although Israel should not take decisions "under 
fire", it should also not avoid facing the contradictions 
inherent in perpetuating the settler problem while 
simultaneously wanting to solve it by pulling out of Gaza. 
Israel could take two simple steps that would immediately 
improve the Palestinian economy: lift the back-to-back 
shipping requirement and improve freedom of movement for 
people.  The resulting improvement could pay dividends for 
Israel. 
 
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Making the Desert Bloom: 
Developing the Negev and the Galilee 
------------------------------------ 
 
8.  (C) The Ambassador noted he had told Effie Eitam that, 
although they had agreed to disagree on settlements, he was 
still interested in Eitam's development efforts within Green 
Line Israel, such as in the Negev and Galilee.  What was 
Lieberman's take?  The Minister insisted the GOI should play 
only a limited and very specific role in these areas, with 
infrastructure development.  The key was the newly planned 
railroad line to Dimona, which would reduce travel time to 
Tel Aviv to an hour and twenty minutes.  As for the rest, 
"the market will do the job." 
 
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Israeli-Arabs 
------------- 
 
9.  (C) As the meeting drew to a close, a pensive Lieberman 
said "our key issue really is the Israeli-Arabs.  What does 
the U.S. think?"  The Ambassador said he thought 
Israeli-Arabs were burdened by leaders focused on everything 
but improving their constituents' daily life.  Lieberman 
claimed the GOI "already invested more per capita in 
Israeli-Arabs than in other Israelis."  The Ambassador said 
he would welcome receiving more information on this. 
 
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Transport Security 
------------------ 
 
10.  (C) Responding to the Ambassador's question about how 
the GOI planned to increase transportation security in the 
wake of the Ashkelon bombing, Lieberman said his government 
would increase investments in new security equipment, 
starting at the Karni crossing.  The GOI would also improve 
security in Israeli ports. 
 
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Visit to the U.S. 
----------------- 
 
11. (C) Lieberman noted he was rescheduling his planned visit 
the U.S. to meet his counterpart, Secretary of Transportation 
Mineta.  It would probably take place at the end of April, 
and he requested the Ambassador alert him to any issues the 
Secretary was likely to raise.  The Ambassador said he would 
 
SIPDIS 
do so.  Lieberman stressed the good bilateral cooperation on 
transportation security issues. 
 
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Trade Issues 
------------ 
 
12. (C) Lieberman said he was disappointed that more U.S. 
companies were not participating in tenders falling under his 
aegis.  "I have USD 8 billion in tenders out there and I want 
U.S. companies."  He said he was tired of just Siemens and 
Bombardier constantly competing for the same tenders -- there 
was not enough competition. 
 
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KURTZER