US embassy cable - 05ROME3827

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ROME 003827 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/20/2015 
TAGS: PREL, XF, IT, EUN 
SUBJECT: ITALIANS WELCOME LEAD ROLE IN EU MISSION AT RAFAH 
 
Classified By: POL M/C David Pearce for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
1. (C) Summary.  NEA DAS Elizabeth Dibble held consultations 
with senior GOI officials on Middle East issues November 15. 
The GOI officials welcomed the recent agreement between 
Israel and the Palestinian Authority on reopening the Rafah 
crossing and noted that an Italian general would lead the EU 
monitoring mission at Rafah.  The officials said Syria should 
change its behavior, but they did not want to see an internal 
power struggle bringing the Muslim Brotherhood to power. 
Dibble stressed that Syria must cooperate on Iraq, ending its 
support for Palestinian rejectionist groups, and Lebanon, as 
well as the Mehlis investigation.  On Palestinian elections, 
the GOI officials felt Hamas had no positive agenda and was 
not ready to govern.  Dibble said Hams must choose:  violence 
was incompatible with participation in the political process. 
 End summary. 
 
Italy to Lead EU Mission in Rafah 
--------------------------------- 
 
2. (SBU) NEA DAS Dibble met with PM Berlusconi Diplomatic 
Advisors (Francesco Talo and Marco Carnelos) and with MFA 
Middle East officials (Deputy Director General Luca Del 
Balzo, BMENA Coordinator Sergio Scarantino, Acting Office 
Director for the Eastern Mediterranean Luca Sorgi, and Desk 
Officer for Syria and Lebanon Giorgia DeParolis) in separate 
meetings on November 15. 
 
3. (C) Dibble's visit coincided with the Secretary's 
announcement of an "Agreement on Movement and Access" between 
Israel and the Palestinian Authority.  FM Fini hailed the 
agreement, termed it a "turning point" and welcomed the EU 
role.  The GOI said an Italian, Italian Carabinieri General 
Pietro Pistolese, had been selected to lead the EU monitoring 
mission of the Rafah border crossing.  General Pistolese is a 
highly respected officer who was heading the Center for 
Police Excellence and Stability (COESPU) in Vicenza.  His 
appointment is a gain for the EU Rafah mission.  Text of FM 
Fini's statement is reprinted in paragraph 15 below. 
 
4. (C) Carnelos pointed out that historically Israel has not 
trusted the EU on security issues.  Talo added that the 2003 
Italian EU Presidency marked a turning point in EU-Israel 
relations when the EU, at Italy's prodding, designated Hamas 
as a terrorist organization. 
 
Dibble:  Hamas Must Choose 
-------------------------- 
 
5. (C) Both the Chigi and MFA officials, noting Italian press 
reports on sharp disagreement between the Secretary and PM 
Sharon over Hamas, asked for clarification.  Dibble explained 
that, as reflected in Quartet statements, there is an 
inherent contradiction between participating in a democratic 
process and maintaining the use of violence as a political 
tool.  However, this is a Palestinian process and the 
Palestinians must decide who is eligible to participate in 
their elections.  If Hamas officials are elected, the 
organization will have to choose which path it intends to 
take.  The U.S. position is that Hamas is a terrorist 
organization and we will not meet with its members. 
 
6. (C) Talo, citing Abu Mazen's argument during his recent 
visit to Washington, speculated that participation in the 
democratic process might induce Hamas to choose to lay down 
its arms in an effort to gain support.  He noted, however, 
that Hamas was not ready to govern, since it has no positive 
agenda to offer on a national level, would find it easier to 
attack Israel from outside the government, and the 
Palestinians themselves recognize that a Hamas government 
would receive decreased international assistance. 
 
Israeli Help with Palestinian Elections Key 
------------------------------------------- 
 
7. (C) The MFA officials agreed that Israel needs to 
cooperate with the Palestinians in the upcoming elections by 
facilitating access to the West Bank and Gaza.  Scarantino 
noted that, paradoxically, if Israel doesn't facilitate 
access in the West Bank, Hamas (which is stronger in Gaza) 
would reap a high percentage of the votes.  Dibble said 
another issue was access in Jerusalem, without which the 
election would not be considered valid in the eyes of the 
Palestinians. 
 
Italians Anxious about Syria 
---------------------------- 
 
8. (C) The Chigi and MFA officials were also to eager to hear 
Dibble's assessment of the situation in Syria.  Dibble said 
much depended on Mehlis' upcoming report to the Security 
Council on Syrian cooperation with his investigation, but 
Syria still needs to change its behavior in terms of 
interference in Lebanon and Iraq and in providing support for 
Palestinian rejectionist groups.  Carnelos commented that the 
ruling Alawites are in the minority and that for them 
changing their behavior would be perceived as a sign of 
weakness.  This could lead to a power struggle, he said, 
adding that his "nightmare" was the Muslim Brotherhood taking 
control.  Ultimately, he argued, it was more important that 
the Syrians change their behavior in Iraq and Lebanon than 
that they be punished for the Hariri assassination. 
 
9. (C) Dibble countered that accountability was also 
important.  Syria must make measurable, not cosmetic changes. 
 The Lebanese deserved an answer on the Hariri killing, and 
the perpetrators needed to be brought to justice.  The 
Syrians know what they need to do, she said, and the 
international community should not tolerate horsetrading. 
Carnelos opined that, depending on how far into the circle of 
ruling elite the Mehlis investigation reaches, one 
face-saving option for Asad would be to give up a sacrificial 
lamb (presumably not a member of the innermost Asad family 
circle) and then make changes on the other fronts. 
10. (C) On Lebanon, Dibble reported progress on the economic 
front, but general nervousness about Syrian reaction to UNSCR 
1636 and uncertainty regarding the future of President Lahoud 
in light of the Mehlis report's implications of his 
involvement in the Hariri assassination.  Hizbollah is also 
still causing trouble, she added, emphasizing that U.S. 
officials will not meet with any of its members. (Comment. 
The Italian Ambassador in Lebanon did meet with Lebanese 
Energy Minister Fneish, a member of Hizbollah, for which FM 
Fini was sharply criticized by the Israelis during his 
November 1 visit to Israel.  End comment).  Scarantino 
responded that, unlike with Hamas, the EU had not yet taken a 
formal decision on designating Hizbollah as a terrorist 
organization, though Italy had pushed for one.  Dibble said 
she wished to take advantage of the opportunity to urge Italy 
to keep pressing that the EU do so. 
 
Forum for the Future: The Show Will Go On Without Egypt 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
11. (C) Scarantino, who did not attend the Forum for the 
Future in Bahrain due to illness, said it was a pity that the 
Forum failed to attain its main goal -- consensus on a 
declaration of principles -- because of Egypt.  Mubarak 
wanted to maintain a bipolar situation pitting the government 
against Islamists, leaving no other political option, whereas 
the goal of BMENA was to help develop that middle ground. 
Furthermore, he added, at the Democracy Assistance Dialogue 
(DAD) meeting in Rabat it had already been decided, in 
response to Egypt's concerns, that the Foundation would not 
be allowed to finance political parties.  Egypt's position 
was especially regrettable, he commented, because all of the 
other Arab states, including Saudi Arabia, were on board. 
However, he said it would be wrong to call the Forum a 
failure, in light of the "great work" done in the areas of 
education, literacy, democracy promotion, and advancing civil 
society, as well as the increasing involvement and more 
positive attitude of the Arab countries.  The Foundation 
would go ahead without Egypt, Scarantino said. 
 
12. (U) Begin text of Foreign Ministry statement on Rafah 
Agreement: 
 
Minister Fini welcomes appointment of Major General Pietro 
Pistolese 
 
15 November 2005 - Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for 
Foreign Affairs Gianfranco Fini has expressed his delight on 
receiving news of the appointment by the Political and 
Security Committee of the European Union, of Major General 
Pietro Pistolese, who leads the Center of Excellence for 
Stability Police Units, to head the European assistance 
mission at the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt. 
 
Minister Fini hailed the agreement reached today between 
Israel and the National Palestinian Authority on the border 
between Gaza and Egypt, saying that it marked a very 
significant turning point in the ongoing peace progress. 
The request advanced by both the Israeli and Palestinian 
parties for the European Union to play a third-party role in 
managing the border crossings had first been mooted by 
Israeli Prime Minister Sharon and the President of the 
Palestinian National Authority Abu Mazen during Minister 
Fini's recent visit to Israel and the Palestinian 
Territories. Minister Fini actively recommended the idea to 
the EU's High Representative for the Common Foreign and 
Security Policy, Javier Solana, and to his counterparts in 
the EU Member States, who debated it in the Council on 7 
November last, already reaching a positive stance at that 
time. 
 
End text. 
 
13. (U) DAS Dibble has cleared this cable. 
SPOGLI