VZCZCXRO3592
OO RUEHROV RUEHTRO
DE RUCNDT #0799/01 2401406
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 281406Z AUG 09
FM USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7124
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 USUN NEW YORK 000799 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL KPKO KBIO UN IS LE
SUBJECT: UNSC : MONTHLY MEETING ON THE MIDDLE EAST AUGUST 
2009 
 
REF: STATE 86157 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  Assistant Secretary-General for Political 
Affairs (A/SYG) Oscar Fernandez-Taranco briefed the Security 
Council during its monthly meeting on the Middle East on 
August 19.  He focused on evictions of Palestinians from East 
Jerusalem homes, the continuing difficulties at the border 
crossing points with Gaza, the situation in Lebanon, and 
upcoming meetings and reports on the Middle East.  Noting the 
August 2 eviction of Palestinian families from homes in East 
Jerusalem, Fernandez-Taranco said that 450 other residents of 
the neighborhood are "at risk of displacement."  The A/SYG 
said that the fact-finding mission led by Justice Goldstone 
is drafting its report and will present it at the September 
29 meeting of the Human Rights Council.  He informed Council 
members of the planned September meetings of the Ad Hoc 
Liaison Committee and Quartet.  On Lebanon, Fernandez-Taranco 
said that the situation in the UNIFIL area of operations 
remains quiet and tensions in Khirbat Silim and Kfar Shouba 
have subsided.  The Security Council issued a press statement 
on the bombings in Iraq at the conclusion of the meeting. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Summary Continued:  In closed consultations, most 
Council members called on Israel to stop settlement activity 
and to cease evictions of Palestinians from homes in East 
Jerusalem.  The French PermRep termed recent Israeli actions 
"unacceptable, illegal under international law, and negative 
to the peace process."  Council members expressed concerns 
about the ongoing difficulties in moving goods and people 
into or out of Gaza and echoed support for implementation of 
UNSCR 1860.  The Libyan Deputy PermRep called for the 
international community to engage with Hamas and cited "no 
indication of hope for a Palestinian state." He called for 
consideration of a one-state solution with equal rights for 
all citizens - Israeli and Palestinian - as an alternative. 
End summary. 
 
 
Assistant Secretary-General's Briefing 
 
 
¶3. (SBU)  Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs 
(A/SYG) Oscar Fernandez-Taranco briefed the Security Council 
during its monthly meeting on the Middle East on August 19 
focusing on evictions of Palestinians from East Jerusalem 
homes, the continuing difficulties at the border crossing 
points with Gaza, the situation in Lebanon, and upcoming 
meetings and reports on the Middle East. (Note: The full text 
of the briefing can be found at 
http://www.un.org/Depts/dhl/resguide/scact200 9.htm ). 
Fernandez-Taranco informed council members of the planned 
September meetings of the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee and the 
Quartet; the latter will include consultations with members 
of the Arab League's Follow-Up Committee on the Arab Peace 
Initiative. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Fernanez-Taranco recognized the Israeli announcement 
of expanded hours of operation at the Allenby crossing 
between the West Bank and Jordan, but called on Israeli 
authorities to take a number of additional steps to ease 
movement and access in the West Bank, given the 614 obstacles 
to movement present.  He also called for the easing of 
restrictions in Area C.  Noting the August 2 forcible 
eviction of nine Palestinian families (a total of 53 people) 
from homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East 
Jerusalem, Fernandez-Taranco said that 450 other residents of 
the neighborhood are "at risk of displacement" and called for 
evictions to cease and be reversed.  He underscored that 
unilateral actions cannot prejudge final status issues. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Fernandez-Taranco highlighted the radicalization of 
certain elements in Gaza and the dangers of continued 
smuggling of weapons into Gaza by describing the August 14 
confrontation between a radical group calling itself "Jund 
Ansar Allah" with Hamas forces in Gaza, after Jund Ansar 
Allah armed radicals took refuge inside a Rafah mosque and 
criticized Hamas for insufficient efforts to launch attacks 
against Israel.  He also noted two rocket and mortar attacks 
against Israel by militant groups in Gaza, including one at 
the Erez crossing during the transfer of medical patients, 
and six recent Israeli ground incursions.  He called for the 
release of Gilad Shalit. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Despite the continuing difficulties at the 
crossings into Gaza, Fernandez-Taranco noted an average of 87 
trucks per day, mostly of food and sanitation items, were 
allowed into Gaza, compared to 
78 trucks per day in July but contrasted that to the 475 
trucks per day in May 2007.  He positively cited the 
shipments of diesel and gasoline into Gaza for private use 
for the first time in 10 months, as well as the shipment of 
 
USUN NEW Y 00000799  002 OF 003 
 
 
cement and steel bars for repair of the Palestinian Water 
Authority's north Gaza wastewater treatment plant. 
Consultations with Israeli authorities on the UN proposal to 
reconstruct schools, homes, and health clinics are ongoing, 
he noted, but said it is unacceptable that no reconstruction 
activities for the Gazan civilian population have been 
facilitated since the end of the conflict.  He called for a 
prisoner exchange to be pursued in good faith so that Shalit 
and Palestinian prisoners could be released.  He said that 
the report of the fact-finding mission led of Justice 
Goldstone is expected to be presented on September 29 to the 
Human Rights Council. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Fernandez-Taranco said the situation in the UNIFIL 
area of operations has remained quiet and that tensions in 
Khirbat Silim and Kfar Shouba have subsided.  He noted the 
August 17 removal by the Israel Defense Forces of a 
watchtower near Kfar Shouba which had been the site of a 
Lebanese protest and Blue Line violation.  He noted that the 
Golan had been quiet, aside from Israeli settlement 
activities. 
 
 
Council Consultations focus on East Jerusalem and Gaza 
Crossings 
 
 
¶8. (SBU) During follow-on closed consultations, the majority 
of Council members called on Israel to stop settlement 
activity and to cease home demolitions and evictions of 
Palestinians from homes in the East Jerusalem.  (Note: 
Ambassador Wolff delivered U.S. remarks drawn from reftel. 
End note.)  The French Deputy PermRep called recent Israeli 
actions "unacceptable, illegal under international law, and 
negative to the peace process."  The Ugandan PermRep said 
that evictions have increased tension in the region.  The 
Libyan Deputy Perm Rep criticized the Council for not making 
a statement condemning the evictions in East Jerusalem and 
alleged that it is only because the victims are Palestinian 
that the Council is not criticizing Israel.  The UK PermRep 
noted as positive the recent statement by Israeli Minister of 
Housing Atias that no new housing tenders have been approved, 
but cautioned on the need to wait to see real action in the 
West Bank.  The Austrian Deputy PermRep called for the 
"rapid" removal of obstacles to movement in the West Bank. 
 
¶9. (SBU) Members expressed concern about the impact of 
difficulties at the crossings into Gaza on reconstruction 
efforts, the humanitarian situation inside Gaza, and the 
Gazan economy.  The Croatian Charge called the situation in 
Gaza a "protracted human dignity crisis."  Council members 
called for opening the crossings with appropriate monitors 
and full implementation of UNSCR 1860. 
 
Intra- Palestinian tensions 
 
 
¶10. (SBU) The Ugandan PermRep noted that Fatah members in 
Gaza had been prevented by Hamas from departing Gaza to 
participate in the recent Fatah Sixth Party Congress and 
called for further efforts at reconciliation.  The Libyan 
Deputy PermRep called Hamas "no more extremist than the 
current Israeli government" and called on the international 
community to "engage with those who have popular 
support and are democratically elected." 
 
 
Peace process 
 
 
¶11. (SBU) Council members France, Japan, Costa Rica, and the 
UK praised U.S. leadership in the peace process, including 
President Obama's personal involvement and the work of 
Special Envoy Mitchell.  However, the Libyan Deputy PermRep 
said U.S. "pressure" on Arab states to make concessions or 
take steps towards normalization of relations with Israel, in 
order to support USG efforts to encourage an Israeli 
settlement freeze, places the entire burden on Arab states. 
He said this would not lead to peace but would just widen the 
gap between Arab rulers and the Arab people.  The Costa Rican 
Deputy Perm Rep raised EU HighRep for Common Foreign and 
Security Policy Javier Solana's proposal for the Council to 
assume responsibility for the establishment of Palestinian 
statehood and make it a member state of the United Nations 
within a certain period of time. 
 
¶12. (SBU) The Libyan Deputy PermRep said he saw "no 
indication of hope for a Palestinian state."  He continued 
that without the withdrawal of all settlements from the West 
Bank, including Jerusalem, the return of all Palestinian 
refugees or appropriate compensation, and the establishment 
 
USUN NEW Y 00000799  003 OF 003 
 
 
of equally sovereign entities ("not one with nuclear weapons 
and one demilitarized"), a one-state solution with equal 
rights for all citizens would be a more appropriate goal. 
The Russian Deputy PermRep said that Russia continues to plan 
for the Moscow conference to be held "hopefully before the 
end of the 
year."  Only the Vietnamese PermRep also referred to the 
potential Moscow conference. 
 
 
Lebanon 
 
 
¶13. (SBU) While the majority of council members reserved 
substantive comments on Lebanon for the August 20 UNFIL 
consultations, the Russian Deputy PermRep declared any 
violations of UN Security Council resolutions "unacceptable." 
 
 
Press statement on Iraq Bombings 
 
 
¶14. (SBU) At the conclusion of consultations, the Council 
adopted a press statement on the August 19 truck bombings of 
government ministries and other locations in Baghdad.  The 
Libyan Deputy PermRep initially objected to inclusion of 
expressions of consolation to the Iraqi government in the 
statement, but dropped objections when it was pointed out 
that the language mirrored previous Council press statements 
related to Iraq. 
RICE