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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 TEL AVIV 000900 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/17/2018 
TAGS: PREL ECON KPAL IS JO TU GE JA
SUBJECT: GENERAL JONES' MEETING WITH SHIMON PERES 
 
REF: TEL AVIV 467 
 
Classified By: DCM Luis G. Moreno, Reason 1.4 (b) (d) 
 
¶1.  (C) Summary.  Special Envoy for Middle East Regional 
Security (SEMERS) General James Jones met with President 
Shimon Peres April 13.  General Jones briefed Peres on his 
mission, including the Jenin project that is being 
coordinated with Tony Blair.  Peres said he was skeptical 
that a political agreement could be reached with the 
Palestinian Authority this year, and therefore he suggested 
the U.S., Israel, the PA, and the international community 
redouble their efforts to promote economic development in the 
West Bank.  Part of this effort should involve a larger role 
for Jordan, which Peres said can cooperate economically 
without appearing to betray the Palestinians.  Peres reviewed 
his idea of transforming the Jordan Valley through an 
ambitious Peace Valley project, including a Red Sea to Dead 
Sea canal, water desalination, tourism, and infrastructure 
development projects, for which he said King Abdullah, 
President Abbas, and Prime Minister Olmert were all on board. 
 Peres also called for expedited implementation of plans for 
the three Blair-backed, foreign-financed industrial parks in 
the West Bank.  Peres commented that there was still time to 
have a signing ceremony for the three parks during President 
Bush's visit in mid-May.  Peres called for designating a 
project manager who would work with Defense Minister Barak 
and PA Prime Minister Fayyad to finalize the agreements on 
the industrial parks according to a strict timetable. 
General Jones said he agreed that stimulating the West Bank's 
economy was the best way to defeat Hamas, adding that we have 
reached a strategic moment and must give Palestinians hope 
for a better future.  Peres called for closer trilateral 
security cooperation among Israel, the PA and Jordan.  He 
dismissed the idea of an international security presence in 
the Jordan Valley, saying that none of the three parties 
would accept it.  Peres called oil "our greatest enemy" since 
it both pollutes the environment and finances terrorism. 
Calling for greater reliance on solar energy, Peres said, 
"the sun is more reliable than the Saudis."  General Jones 
noted his work with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on energy 
independence, adding that the U.S. now spends $400 billion a 
year on Persian Gulf oil.  Peres said he was ready to help 
General Jones in any way possible.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  (C) The Special Middle East Envoy for Regional Security, 
retired General James Jones, accompanied by SEMERS staff 
members John Raidt, Mike Durkee, Lt. Col. Kevin Schmiegel and 
Pol Couns, called on President Shimon Peres April 13.  Peres 
was joined by his military aide BG Shimon Hefetz, policy 
adviser Orry Ben Porath, adviser BG (res) Baruch Spiegel, and 
MOD West Bank coordinator BG (res) Udi Dekel.  They discussed 
General Jones' mission and the Jenin project, Peres' 
brainchild known as the Peace Valley project, the status of 
the Tony Blair-sponsored industrial parks in the West Bank, 
and Peres' view of the key role of Jordan in stabilizing the 
West Bank. 
 
General Jones' Mission 
---------------------- 
 
¶3.  (C) General Jones began by explaining the SEMERS mission, 
noting that Secretary Rice had asked him last November to 
prepare an assessment of the security capabilities of a 
Palestinian state, taking into consideration the equities of 
Israel, Jordan, and Egypt.  in the course of his work, 
General Jones said it became clear that security issues could 
not be separated from economic factors.  He and Quartet Envoy 
Tony Blair had decided to develop a series of integrated 
projects in the West Bank that would build trust and 
confidence.  The first such project would focus on the Jenin 
area, and would capitalize on the security training of PASF 
in Jordan.  This also provided an opportunity to bring 
together various elements of the USG, including USAID, into a 
coordinated effort which, if successful, could be duplicated 
in other areas of the West Bank. 
 
No Political Deal, Emphasize Economics 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (C) Peres said he appreciated General Jones' efforts. 
The Israeli-Palestinian negotiations face a short timeline 
since the U.S. presidential elections and the transition to a 
new Administration will mean a long delay.  We should 
therefore do everything we can to achieve tangible results by 
the fall.  Peres noted that the situation in Gaza could flare 
up at any time, which would have a negative effect on the 
negotiations and the position of President Abbas.  Even if 
Israel and the PA reach an agreement by the fall, not only 
 
TEL AVIV 00000900  002 OF 003 
 
 
will they not be able to implement it, they probably will not 
be able to sign it since the leaders on both sides have to 
consider the reaction of their public opinion.  Peres opined 
that the Palestinians' problem was that they failed to build 
a nation.  During the Oslo process, Israel recognized the 
Palestinians as a nation but the Palestinians are deeply 
divided between Hamas and Fatah.  Iran is trying to establish 
a religious empire in the Middle East and has established 
bases in Lebanon, Syria and now Gaza.  Given this situation, 
there was little Israel could do.  Since it could no longer 
govern the Palestinians, the Palestinians' weakness had also 
become Israel's problem. 
 
¶5. (C) Israel, the U.S. and the international community 
should therefore focus on redoubling economic development 
efforts in the West Bank and bring in Jordan in a more direct 
fashion.  This would inject dynamism into both the PA and 
Jordanian economies, and should include addressing the water 
needs of both.  Peres commented that Hamas is also Jordan's 
bitter enemy.  Israel enjoys excellent security relations 
with Jordan, but the Jordanians cannot align themselves 
openly with Israel.  Jordan could, however, cooperate 
economically without appearing to betray the Palestinians. 
The QIZ industrial parks in Jordan were a great success, 
since they now employ 130,000 workers and produce $1.5 
billion in exports.  This success should be duplicated in the 
West Bank. 
 
Peace Valley Project 
-------------------- 
 
¶6.  (C) Peres outlined his ideas for a Peace Valley project, 
including a canal from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea, related 
desalination and irrigation projects, and the development of 
tourism and infrastructure.  The project would help save the 
Dead Sea from drying up, and had great potential for 
developing tourism.  Peres admitted that no government was 
prepared to bear the $2.3 billion cost of the water conduit, 
but developing the entire region would bring in private 
financing.  King Abdullah, President Abbas, and Prime 
Minister Olmert were all on board in principle, but this 
needed to be translated into real development.  Peres 
commented that Jordan was focused on the water needs of 
Amman, not the Dead Sea area, while with the exception of 
Prime Minister Fayyad, the Palestinian leadership was not 
interested in economics.  Peres said he had briefed both 
President Bush and Vice President Cheney during their visits. 
 According to Peres, the President was so impressed that he 
called King Abdullah to discuss it.  Peres said he hoped an 
MOU could be signed with Jordan in time for the President's 
next visit. 
 
West Bank Industrial Parks 
-------------------------- 
 
¶7.  (C) Peres said economic conditions were improving in the 
West Bank but remained far from what could be achieved. 
There could not be true peace with the Palestinians without 
greater economic equality with Israel.  Plans by Turkey, 
Japan and Germany to finance industrial parks would help 
modernize the West Bank.  The Japanese project was the best 
organized, but the Turkish project was also well conceived. 
Peres said Israel had a strategic stake in including Turkey 
in improving Palestinian living conditions since Turkey was 
under political pressure as a result of its close military 
and security cooperation with Israel.  Peres noted that he 
had urged President Bush to provide $150 million in U.S. 
funding for infrastructure, including scanners. 
 
¶8.  (C) As he had done previously in a February meeting with 
the Ambassador (reftel), Peres stressed that it was still not 
too late to have agreements on the industrial parks ready in 
time for President Bush's mid-May visit.  He suggested the 
President hold a signing ceremony involving the Japanese, 
Turkish, and German ambassadors, PM Fayyad and PM Olmert. 
This would help mobilize private investment in the West Bank, 
since Peres observed that it was uncertain how much of the 
post-Annapolis $7 billion in pledges to the PA would ever 
materialize.  This would also demonstrate to the people of 
Gaza that working cooperatively with Israel produces tangible 
results.  What was needed was for the U.S. to bring Fayyad 
and Defense Minister Barak to the table to finalize the 
details.  There was also a need for a project manager to 
ensure that everything was accomplished according to a 
timetable. 
 
A Strategic Moment 
------------------ 
 
 
TEL AVIV 00000900  003 OF 003 
 
 
¶9.  (C) General Jones said he agreed that economic 
development was the key to defeating Hamas.  There was 
necessarily a military element in fighting terrorism, but 
military means alone could not solve the problem.  Noting 
that he had grown up in France during the reconstruction of 
Europe after World War II, Jones said that while the military 
piece was important, there must be a vision of what will come 
after the establishment of a Palestinian state.  We are 
facing a strategic moment in which it is essential to give 
people on both sides hope for a better future.  We are 
working with Tony Blair and his team on the economic piece, 
which could make a real difference if the results are 
tangible. 
 
¶10.  (C) Peres noted that in order to make the projects work, 
Palestinian workers would need to be able to move freely. 
There would also need to be joint security coordination among 
Israel, Jordan and the PA.  General Jones asked about the 
possibility of an international security presence in the 
Jordan Valley.  Peres said there was no need for such a 
presence since none of the parties would agree to it. 
Security cooperation among the three parties was a better 
approach, especially since likely European troop-providing 
countries would find their mandates tied up in knots by their 
parliaments.  Commenting on the Europeans, Peres noted that 
the EU believes deeply in "soft power" without recognizing 
that European soft power only works when it is backed by 
American hard power.  Peres cautioned against revealing the 
extent of Jordanian security cooperation, noting that the 
three-way cooperation should appear to be strictly economic. 
Peres praised Jordan as part of a  broader effort among 
modern-minded Muslims to counter the tide of Islamic 
extremism.  Jordan's problem was that it had too many 
refugees, not just Palestinians but now also Iraqis, and not 
enough water or energy. 
 
Energy Policy 
------------- 
 
¶11.  (C) General Jones noted his work for the U.S. Chamber of 
Commerce on the development of a more comprehensive U.S. 
energy policy.  Peres commented that oil was our greatest 
enemy since it both pollutes the environment and finances 
terrorism.  Solar energy held great promise, he said, 
quipping that "the sun is more reliable than the Saudis." 
The fight against terrorism begins at the oil wells.  Israel 
is developing an electric car that will be on the roads in 
two to three years.  It is also working to combine solar 
energy with nanotechnology.  General Jones said the U.S. is 
spending $400 billion a year for Persian Gulf oil. 
 
¶12.  (C) Peres said he was prepared to support General Jones' 
work in any way he could, adding that he wanted to see 
something tangible accomplished in time for the President's 
visit.  Jones thanked Peres for his support and reiterated 
that he was focused in the short term on developing synergies 
between security and economic development in the Jenin area. 
 
¶13.  (U) SEMERS staff has cleared this cable. 
 
 
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