US embassy cable - 05TELAVIV6021

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TEL AVIV 006021 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/01/2015 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, KWBG, IS, SETTLEMENTS 
SUBJECT: SASSON CALLS FOR U.S. TO "SAVE ISRAEL FROM 
HERSELF" - PRESS GOI TO IMPLEMENT HER REPORT 
 
 
Classified By: DCM Gene A. Cretz for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
1.  (C) Summary:  EconCouns met with Talia Sasson (strictly 
protect) on September 28 to discuss implementation of her 
recommendations on curbing illegal settlement activities in 
the West Bank.  Sasson reported a lack of progress in the 
inter-ministerial committee charged with implementing her 
recommendations, and said that the impediments to taking 
action are political, not legal.  Finally, she stressed that 
U.S. pressure created the impetus for her report, and only 
U.S. pressure can move the GOI to implement its 
recommendations.  End Summary. 
 
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Sasson Recommendations Unlikely to be Fully Adopted 
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2.  (C) Talia Sasson, the attorney who, at the request of the 
Prime Minister, wrote the March 2005 report on illegal 
outpost activity in the territories, told EconCouns and 
EconOff on September 28 that she has participated in all of 
the inter-ministerial committee meetings from March through 
July that discussed her report, and fully explained her 
recommendations on curbing outpost activity to committee 
members.  Noting that she was often put on the defensive, she 
said that her recommendations are unlikely to be fully 
adopted in the face of strong opposition from many committee 
members.  Sasson surmised that Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, 
who chairs the committee, will reformulate her 
recommendations to make them "less stringent," but Sasson 
would not speculate on the result. 
 
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USG Should &Save Israel From Herself8 
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3.  (C) In response to EconCouns' question as to the source 
of opposition to the recommendations in her report, Sasson 
replied that the "right-wingers don't like the report and 
will do whatever they can to stop the government from 
stopping outposts."  She remarked that actions taken on 
outposts are connected to the larger political situation, and 
noted that the Prime Minister,s win in the Likud Central 
Committee vote gives him time to figure out how to approach 
the issue.  Sasson said she does not know the Prime 
Minister's intentions, but for now, "it's a time out."  She 
confirmed that the Ministry of Defense (MOD) can dismantle or 
stop the expansion of outposts at any time, since the legal 
infrastructure to do so already exists.  She stressed again 
that it is not a legal but rather a political issue, and that 
the MOD can act when it receives orders from the Prime 
Minister.  When EconCouns mentioned that the MOD had earlier 
told emboffs that outposts would be dealt with in a different 
way after disengagement, Sasson was skeptical, commenting 
that the MOD people &have to defend themselves to U.S. 
officials.8  She said that her report was commissioned 
because of U.S. pressure, and that the GOI will not take any 
actions against outposts unless the U.S. pressures Israel 
again.  She suggested that the USG "save Israel from 
herself." 
 
4.  (C) Sasson reported that none of her recommendations have 
to go through the Knesset to be implemented because the MOD 
and not the Knesset has jurisdiction over activity that takes 
place in the territories.  (Note: MOD Adviser said to the 
Ambassador Septel that some of the the recommendations would 
require Knesset approval. End Note)  Noting that her 
suggestions deal with both evacuating outposts and stopping 
new construction in them, she maintained that they ought not 
to be problematic, since the outposts are acknowledged to be 
illegal.  However, she cited the Amona outpost as an example 
of where the MOD has yet to enforce a High Court ruling 
ordering the dismantling of nine permanent homes.  Sasson 
commented that the inter-ministerial committee considering 
her report has not met since July, because committee members 
were busy tracking the disengagement plan, and said she does 
not know when the committee will propose its own legislation. 
 She indicated that the committee has already written some 
informal recommendations, but she has not been permitted to 
see them. 
 
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Give the Defense Minister the Power to Approve Building 
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5.  (C) According to Sasson, her most controversial 
recommendation suggests that the Defense Minister be the sole 
authority empowered to approve construction in the 
territories.  Those opposing the idea claim that this would 
subject the Minister to heavy pressure from settlers.  When 
asked if the Defense Minister did not already have to approve 
all West Bank building plans, Sasson responded that the 
Defense Minister's signature is not required for building on 
land that was privately owned before 1948.  (Note:  Post will 
follow-up to determine the accuracy of Sasson's claim.  End 
note.) 
 
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Does the GOI Really Want to Evacuate Outposts? 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
6.  (C) In response to EconCouns' question on whether a 
stronger legal framework would provide political cover to 
make removing outposts easier, Sasson responded that the 
question presumes that the GOI actually intends to remove 
outposts in the first place.  She said that if watered-down 
legislation is passed, it could indicate a lack of political 
will to deal with the issue.  She went on to say that she is 
unsure whether anyone in the government knows exactly what to 
do with the West Bank.  She commented that Sharon's ideas and 
strategies seem to change depending on which group is 
pressuring him at a particular time. 
 
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Deadlines Keep Getting Extended 
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7.  (C) Sasson remarked that the committee continues to 
extend the deadline for issuing its recommendations, and is 
now 30 days past its original 60-day extension.  (Note:  The 
committee was supposed to issue its recommendations in late 
June, but received an extension through late August.  End 
note.)  Sasson said that Livni will act if there is negative 
press, because she does not respond well to bad publicity. 
In addition, Sasson said that several well known reporters 
have assured her that they will not let her report drop from 
public discussion. 
 
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