US embassy cable - 04DJIBOUTI974

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DJIBOUTI 000974 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR AF/E, NEA, AND IO 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/15/2014 
TAGS: PREL, IS, KPAL, DJ, ICJ 
SUBJECT: DJIBOUTI'S MINISTER OF COOPERATION COMMENTS ON 
ISRAELI SECURITY BARRIER AND ICJ ADVISORY OPINION DEMARCHE 
 
REF: STATE 152014 
 
Classified By: AMBASSADOR MARGUERITA D. RAGSDALE. 
REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D). 
 
1. (C) Ambassador delivered reftel demarche 7/15 to Minister 
of Cooperation in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mahmoud 
Ali Youssef.  She went over the points provided in reftel, 
tracking them by line item, while Youssef listened and took 
notes.  At the end of her presentation, the Ambassador said 
she would also provide a non-paper for the Government of 
Djibouti's use with its United Nations representative as we 
expected the vote on the proposed resolution to take place as 
early as the following day, 7/16. 
 
2. (C) Youssef then asked Ambassador what was her personal 
view, "as a human being," of the wall that Israel is 
constructing. Ambassador responded that she preferred to view 
the issue of Israel's security wall in terms of the parties 
most affected by it and in terms of the response the United 
States has already made to it. For Israel, she said, it is 
its view that the wall offers the best protection for its 
citizenry from the probability of suicide bombers.  Since the 
wall's construction began, the number of incidences of 
suicide bombings has decreased.  Constructing the wall to 
prevent such attacks is a judgment that Israel has made, 
based on its perceived needs.  The Palestinians, she 
continued, view it as disproportionately burdensome on them 
on humanitarian grounds and as a "land grab" by Israel of 
occupied territory.  Some Palestinians take the position that 
if the wall should be created at all, it should be created on 
land that is Israel proper, and not part of the West Bank. 
From the U.S. perspective, the Ambassador continued, there 
are continuing concerns about the route the wall is taking, 
and we have made known those concerns to Israel. 
 
3. (C) Youssef responded that he wanted to speak very frankly 
about this issue.  He recalled a statement attributed to 
Benazir Bhutto, former President of Pakistan, on the practice 
of the veiling of women.  "The only veil that truly exists," 
Youssef quoted Bhutto, "is the one that is in the eyes of 
individuals."  Applying this to the conflict between Israelis 
and Palestinians, he said he is convinced that there is a 
mindset in that region now that is becoming very closed -- 
both on the part of Israelis and Palestinians. He fears that 
mindset more than anything else because it could mean the 
eventual impossibility of future dialogue.  He said he was 
convinced that Israel could build another wall if it wished, 
and perhaps five more, but it will never achieve security for 
itself in the process.  The only way that Israel can have 
security, he stated, is to have a dialogue, not build walls. 
To continue to blame the lack of dialogue on the Palestinians 
is not accurate. 
 
4. (C) Youssef continued that the United States has to take 
the lead role in making this dialogue happen.  To constantly 
endorse the actions of Israel, regardless of the nature of 
the action, and whether that position is right or wrong, is 
not helpful to this process.  The U.S., he went on to say, 
has put forward a very interesting proposal called the Middle 
East Partnership Initiative, which raises some very 
interesting possibilities for our region. Yet it will be 
impossible for the U.S. to move forward on that issue until 
the problem between Palestinians and Israelis is resolved. 
Moreover, constantly taking positions that are clearly 
one-sided and imbalanced with respect to Israel, he 
continued, undermines U.S. moderate partners such as Egypt 
and Jordan.  Youssef said he failed to see, "as a human 
being," the sense sometimes in the positions the U.S. 
government is taking. 
 
5. (C) Youssef also said that it does not matter in the end 
whether Djibouti votes for the resolution calling for General 
Assembly endorsement of the International Court of Justice 
advisory opinion or abstains.  This resolution will be voted 
in the affirmative by the vast majority of U.N. members. 
This will leave, he said, the U.S. in the position of having 
to veto, which will ultimately be unhelpful for the U.S. and 
the eventual resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli problem. 
 
6. (C) Comment:  Djibouti has avoided taking public stances 
in its mainstream news media on the Palestinian-Israeli 
issue. However, sympathy for the Palestinian plight is 
revealed in official remarks, most recently in President 
Guelleh's speech on June 27 commemorating Djibouti's National 
Day.  In that message, Guelleh said "Djibouti will never 
accept the destructive policy aimed at failure, which guides 
Mister Sharon in leading the Palestinian conflict.  He has 
anchored himself into a unilateral vision, excluding 
completely the Palestinian people, with his firm will to 
install an Israeli state within Palestinian territory." 
 
7. (C) Comment continued: Minister of Cooperation Youssef, 
one of the most thoughtful and respected officials in 
Djibouti's government, has lived and served as Djibouti's 
diplomat in several countries and speaks five languages 
fluently -- French, English, Afar, Arabic, and Somali.  In 
his remarks, he attempted to convey a perspective that is 
deeply-felt and personal.  Yet it is also quite 
representative of the general position of Djibouti, an Arab 
League member, and its largely Muslim citizenry. End comment. 
 
8. (U) Khartoum minimize considered. 
RAGSDALE