US embassy cable - 05TELAVIV1833

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 TEL AVIV 001833 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/23/2015 
TAGS: PREL, PTER, MARR, KWBG, KPAL, EG, SY, IS, ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN AFFAIRS, GOI EXTERNAL 
SUBJECT: ISRAELI DEFMIN DISCUSSES PA SECURITY PERFORMANCE 
WITH A/S WELCH AND DEPUTY NSA ABRAMS 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Daniel C. Kurtzer; Reasons: 1.4 (B) and (D). 
 
1.  (C) Summary: On March 23, 2005, Israeli Defense Minister 
Shaul Mofaz told NEA Assistant Secretary David Welch, Deputy 
National Security Advisor Elliott Abrams and the Ambassador 
that arms smuggling continues into both Gaza and the West 
Bank.  Despite success by Palestinian Authority (PA) security 
forces in prohibiting certain attacks and discovering 
tunnels, Mofaz maintained that they are not taking any steps 
against the terrorists' infrastructure and that some 
Palestinian groups continue to plan and carry out terror 
attacks.  He listed the GOI measures to ease Palestinian life 
and turn over cities to PA security responsibility, but 
complained about the PA's failure to honor its agreement in 
the first two cities transferred.  Mofaz described PA 
President Mahmoud Abbas as a "one man show" who has yet to 
generate any real results in the security field.  He labeled 
the PA minister of National Economy a Hamas member and 
provided a personal assessment of the role of the PA minister 
of the Interior.  Mofaz summarized his negotiations with 
Egypt on deployment of border guards to the Philadelphi Strip 
and urged continuing U.S. pressure on Syria.  End Summary. 
 
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IDF Security Cooperation with the PA 
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2. (C) Israel's Defense Minister, Shaul Mofaz, met March 23 
with NEA Assistant Secretary David Welch, Deputy National 
Security Advisor Elliott Abrams, and the Ambassador.  Mofaz 
assistant Ami Shafran, military secretary Brigadier General 
Eitan Dangot, and the U.S. Defense Attache also attended. 
Mofaz said that the PA is effective in stopping terror 
activity it knows about and has been successful in locating 
and destroying tunnels in the Philadelpi Strip.  He added, 
however, that the security forces are not active at all in 
counter-terror operations, leaving the terror groups' 
infrastructure intact and even growing.  He opined that 
Abbas' counter-terror strategy is simply to contain Hamas by 
capturing the organization within the political process. 
 
3. (S) According to Mofaz, Abbas recently told him that it 
would take four-to-six months to reform the PA's security 
forces, a time frame Mofaz said is far too long in light of 
the need to immediately address a number of serious threats. 
First, he noted that smugglers continue to move automatic 
weapons, rocket-propelled grenades, and other weapons into 
Gaza.  He claimed that terrorist groups had moved five 
surface-to-air "Strela" missiles into Gaza, warning that the 
use of these weapons would ruin recent progress in 
Israeli-Palestinian relations.  Second, he said the same 
types of weapons are being smuggled from Egypt through the 
Negev into the West Bank, adding that the GOI fears that 
terrorists will use a surface-to-air missile there if such a 
weapon can successfully be transferred.  Third, Mofaz 
complained that terror groups continue to dig tunnels under 
IDF posts and settlements in Gaza with the aim of planting 
explosives beneath them.  Fourth, he mentioned that Israel 
has information on suicide attacks being prepared from Jenin, 
Nablus, and "other locations" in the West Bank, where he 
claimed the recent bombing in Tel Aviv had also been planned. 
 Fifth, he said that support for Palestinian terror from 
outside groups continues.  Finally, he added that the GOI has 
detected ongoing efforts to transfer knowledge on 
surface-to-surface rockets from Gaza to the West Bank and 
fears their use against Israeli cities within the green line 
or settlements in the West Bank. 
 
4. (C) In contrast, Mofaz said, the IDF is doing all it can 
to support and strengthen the PA.  He insisted that Israel 
has worked hard on the transfer of towns to the PA.  He also 
complained that the PA has not fulfilled its responsibilities 
after transfer of Jericho and Tulkarm.  For example, Mofaz 
said the two sides had agreed that the PA would disarm 
fugitives, end their participation in terrorist groups, 
require them not to leave the respective towns "for a while" 
(which Mofaz acknowledged was an undetermined period), and 
remain under PA supervision.  To date, Mofaz claimed, the PA 
has not implemented these measures against any of the 17 
fugitives in Jericho or 35 in Tulkarm.  Mofaz said the GOI 
would not transfer Qalqilya or any other towns until the PA 
fulfilled these agreements.  He listed other steps the GOI 
has taken to assist the PA, including improving freedom of 
movement (Mofaz claimed the IDF has reduced the number of 
roadblocks in the West Bank from "288 to just 12"), allowing 
workers to enter Israel, releasing PA vehicles from the port 
in Ashdod, and saying "'yes' to anything Abbas asked from 
me."  Finally, Mofaz said he offered Abbas a coordinated 
disengagement from Gaza and the northern West Bank, but the 
PA has yet to start the process.  He urged the USG to 
emphasize this point to the PA to prevent disengagement from 
turning into a "high friction" IDF operation. 
 
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Assessments of Abbas, Nasser Yussef, and Mazen Sinokrot 
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5. (C) In Mofaz's view, PA President Mahmoud Abbas is a "one 
man show," with all authority and responsibility centered on 
him alone.  The Defense Minister added that he does not 
believe that Prime Minister Ahmed Qure'i supports Abbas, 
resulting in an isolation of authority in the President's 
office with little progress in the security realm. 
 
6. (C) Deputy NSA Abrams asked Mofaz if PA Interior Minister 
Nassir Yussef is really in charge.  Mofaz replied that he has 
known Yussef for ten years since they were counterparts when 
Mofaz commanded the IDF Southern Command.  Then, he said, 
Yussef was weak because Arafat had "put him in a corner". 
Today, he conjectured, Yussef may take more difficult actions 
because he has President Abbas' backing.  Mofaz said, 
however, that he believes Yussef is unpopular among the 
competing security groups, adding that without "troops of his 
own," he may be ineffective.  Mofaz reiterated that the GOI 
is willing to give the PA time, but Israel expects to see 
results from the PA security forces. 
 
7. (C) Mofaz mentioned the importance of upcoming PA 
elections and noted that the current PA minister for National 
Economy, Mazen Sinokrot, is a Hamas member who has 
transferred funds from his private business to the 
organization.  The Ambassador responded that the GOI had 
promised to provide additional information on the issue, but 
we have not yet received it.  Picking up a paper on the 
table, Mofaz said, "I have it right here, we'll translate it 
and give it to you tomorrow." 
 
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Details on the Deployment of Egyptian Border Guards 
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8. (C) Turning to negotiations on the deployment of 750 
border guards along the Egyptian-Gazan frontier, Mofaz said 
he had met with Egyptian Defense Minister Mohamed Hussein 
Tantawi and urged the GOE to view the issue in a broader 
context than a mere border issue.  According to Mofaz, the 
Egyptians need a "full-scale" effort using intelligence to 
stop weapons from entering Egypt and interdicting weapons in 
the Sinai; they should not expect the 750 guards on the 
border to stop smuggling.  Mofaz mentioned that an IDF team 
was in Egypt on March 23 working on the details of his 
agreement with Tantawi.  He said the key principles include 
an annual review on continuing the deployment, the use of 
arms and equipment consistent with the border guards' 
mission, and concluding the negotiations as an agreement 
between militaries that does not alter the peace treaty.  In 
answer to a question from the Ambassador, Mofaz said he and 
Tantawi had agreed to local coordination on the border 
between military commanders; the meeting on March 23 would 
work out the details. 
 
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Keep Pressure on Syria for Full Compliance with UNSCR 1559 
--------------------------------------------- ------------- 
 
9. (C) Mofaz lauded the U.S. position on Syria and urged 
continued pressure, with the goal being not only a Syrian 
withdrawal from Lebanon, but also full compliance with UNSCR 
1559.  Mofaz said this includes disbanding Hizballah's forces 
and restoring the Lebanese Army's control in southern 
Lebanon.  He expressed some skepticism that Syria would 
actually withdraw from Lebanon, noting that Damascus prefers 
to keep it as a platform for launching terror against Israel 
and also fears the loss of employment opportunities for the 
one million Syrians in the country. 
 
10. (U) NEA Assistant Secretary Welch and Deputy National 
Security Advisor Abrams have cleared this message. 
 
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KURTZER