US embassy cable - 05TELAVIV3524

C O N F I D E N T I A L TEL AVIV 003524 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/07/2010 
TAGS: IS, KPAL, PREL, XF, ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN AFFAIRS 
SUBJECT: (C)  ISRAELI PRIME MINISTRY AND DEFENSE MINISTRY 
OFFICIALS COMMENT ON UP-TICK IN PALESTINIAN VIOLENCE 
 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Daniel Kurtzer for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
1.  (C)  BG Eitan Dangott, Defense Minister Mofaz's Military 
Secretary, told the Ambassador late afternoon June 7 that the 
 
SIPDIS 
IDF is on alert and will act immediately if Palestinians are 
seen preparing further mortar or Qassam attacks in Gaza. 
Dangott hinted, but would not be pinned down, that the IDF 
would not retaliate for the numerous attacks perpetrated 
during the day by Palestinians in Gaza.  After reviewing the 
Qassam attack by Hamas against the Israeli town of Sderot 
during the morning, which damaged a house and resulted in 
three people hospitalized for shock, and the late afternoon 
mortar attack, probably by Hamas, against the settlement of 
Ganei Tal which reportedly resulted in the deaths of a 
Palestinian and a Chinese worker, Dangott said that the 
situation cannot continue in which Hamas or the Palestine 
Islamic Jihad launches attacks and the Palestinian Authority 
does nothing.  He said that he had spoken directly during the 
day with Palestinian Interior Minister Nassir Yousef and had 
also reinforced the message in a conversation with 
Palestinian Civil Affairs Minister Mohammed Dahlan. 
 
2.  (C)  Dangott said that the Israeli Government is 
concerned that, since PA President Abbas' visit to 
Washington, Palestinian officials have conducted themselves 
as though they expected no pressure from Washington to act 
against terrorism.  The Ambassador disputed this strongly, 
saying that General Ward, Consulate General officials and 
Washington-based officials have made clear to the most senior 
levels of the PA that they must act against the terrorists 
and stop the Qassam and rocket attacks.  General Ward and our 
Acting Consul General had delivered strong messages today to 
Yousef and other senior Palestinian officials.  Dangott 
replied that Israel has not seen evidence of this, but he 
accepted the argument that the U.S. is trying to dispel 
Palestinian perceptions regarding U.S. attitudes.  Dangott 
also noted that Mofaz is weighing whether to cancel a 
scheduled meetingset for late night June 7 with Interior 
Minister Yousef.  The Ambassador said that the Secretary 
would very much like that meeting to take place, in that she 
has argued for using bilateral security channels to deal with 
these issues.  Dangott said he would pass this to Mofaz. 
 
3.  (C)  Previously, Prime Minister Sharon's Foreign Policy 
Advisor, Shalom Tourgeman, told the Ambassador that the 
attack on Sderot would likely evoke a prompt Israeli response 
and would lead the Israelis to question the utility of 
bilateral meetings with Palestinian officials.  He said, 
speaking on behalf of the Prime Minister, that President 
Abbas' travels made it appear that he was running away from 
the problem.  Also, Interior Minister Yousef was proving 
ineffective in dealing with Hamas attacks against Israel.  In 
response, based on consultations with Washington, the 
Ambassador urged Israel not to react to Palestinian attacks 
as though Israel did not have a partner.  He noted that this 
is not "the Arafat era" and that the Israelis should act in a 
restrained fashion and use their bilateral contacts with the 
Palestinians to try to deal with the security situation. 
Tourgeman subsequently called to say that he had passed this 
message to the Prime Minister, but the steady stream of 
rocket attacks throughout the day undermined the viability of 
pursuing this course.  Further, Tourgeman said, the 
Palestinians are tending to avoid progress in the bilateral 
channels in the belief that they can gain more by waiting for 
an outside envoy.  He pointed to the failure of the mid-level 
disengagement coordination meeting yesterday as evidence that 
Palestinians had no intention of making progress during the 
week when they expected meetings with Quartet envoy 
Wolfensohn. 
 
4.  (C)  Comment: While it appeared this morning that Israel 
would retaliate immediately for the Qassam attack against 
Sderot, following extensive consultations within the Israeli 
defense establishment the GOI appears to have decided to 
remain on alert in order to preempt further attacks.  There 
is no question, however, that tensions have heightened 
considerably as a result of persistent Hamas and PIJ attacks 
and the failure of the PA security forces to take any action 
to prevent those attacks or arrest those responsible.  It is 
only a question of when, not whether, an attack by Hamas or 
PIJ will cause enough casualties or damage to prompt a 
significant Israeli response. 
 
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KURTZER