US embassy cable - 05TELAVIV4321

C O N F I D E N T I A L TEL AVIV 004321 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/12/2015 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, EG, IS, GOI EXTERNAL 
SUBJECT: ISRAELI OFFICIALS TRAVEL TO CAIRO TO WORK ON 
PROPOSED BILATERAL ISRAELI-EGYPTIAN COMMITTEE 
 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Daniel C. Kurtzer for reasons 1.4 (B) and (D) 
. 
 
1. (C) Summary: During a July 10 trip to Cairo, two senior 
MFA officials were unable to reach agreement with the 
Egyptians on an MOU to establish a bilateral committee.  The 
GOI is waiting for an Egyptian reply to an Israeli letter 
proposing biannual meetings of the foreign ministers and 
ad-hoc sessions of subcommittees on political, economic, 
consular/legal and people-to-people issues.  The Israelis 
said they had been hopeful of reaching agreement in light of 
recent improvements in bilateral relations and suggested that 
the USG consider raising the issue.  End summary. 
 
2. (C) Staffdel Talwar discussed Israeli-Egyptian relations 
with Jacob Dayan, FM Shalom's chief of staff, on July 11. 
Dayan said that he and MFA Director General (D-equivalent) 
Ron Prosor had traveled to Cairo on July 10 at the invitation 
of the Egyptians in the hope of concluding an MOU to 
establish a bilateral committee.  Uri Gotman, the director 
for Egyptian Affairs at the MFA, told poloff on July 12 that 
Intelligence Chief Omar Soliman had first mentioned the 
possibility of a civilian committee in March 2004.  FM Shalom 
quickly adopted the idea as part of his campaign to improve 
ties with the Arab world.  Dayan said the bilateral committee 
would mirror the existing committee of military personnel 
that has proven successful in coordinating security issues. 
 
3. (C) Gotman noted that little progress was made until 
September 2004, when FM Shalom discussed the idea with the 
Egyptians at the UNGA in New York.  At that time the GOI 
presented a letter proposing biannual meetings of the foreign 
ministers as well as four ad-hoc subcommittees on: 1) 
political issues, international organizations and 
multilateral affairs; 2) economic issues, tourism, 
agriculture, and international development; 3) consular, 
protocol, and legal issues; and 4) people-to-people 
dialogues. 
 
4. (C) According to Gotman, the GOI had expected a response 
to their proposal on July 10, but had not received one, 
possibly because the Egyptian FM was out of town.  Dayan said 
he had been hopeful of concluding the MOU following recent 
improvement in the bilateral relationship, including the QIZ 
agreement, the natural gas agreement, Egyptian assistance 
with disengagement and the return of the Egyptian ambassador 
to Tel Aviv.  Gotman explained that the GOI is generally 
pleased with its relations with Egypt, but is concerned that 
recent improvements may be linked to Cairo's interest in 
deploying border guards along the Philadelphi Strip.  He said 
that in negotiations on the bilateral committee, the 
Egyptians continue to stall and "are driving a hard bargain, 
maybe because they do not believe in it."  He suggested that 
the USG consider raising the issue with the Egyptians to help 
move the process forward. 
 
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KURTZER