This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 TEL AVIV 004894 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/05/2015 
TAGS: MOPS PGOV PREL KWBG IS GAZA DISENGAGEMENT GOI INTERNAL ISRAELI SOCIETY
SUBJECT: IDF CHIEF OF STAFF SAYS DISENGAGEMENT HAS NOT 
HARMED THE IDF, BUT RAISED PROBLEMS OF STATE VS. RELIGIOUS 
AUTHORITY 
 
(U) Classified by Ambassador Daniel C. Kurtzer for reasons 
1.4. (B) and (D). 
 
¶1. (S) SUMMARY. In an August 3 meeting with Deputy National 
Security Adviser Abrams, the Ambassador and Gen. Ward, the 
IDF Chief of the General Staff, Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz, said 
that disengagement has not harmed the IDF as an institution. 
It has, however, created problems, particularly in the area 
of defining personal responsibilities to religion and to the 
state, which will take time to heal.  The PA is saying all of 
the right things, according to Halutz, but there remains a 
gap between words and actions on the ground.  Halutz 
explained that he will recoMmend a policy of no tolerance in 
response to attacks emanating out of Gaza following 
disengagement.  The PA, he stressed, must understand that 
disengagement is not a one-time test and that Israel will 
expect the PA to exert continuous action against terrorism. 
Mahmud Abbas, he stated, risks his regime by not confronting 
Hamas, which seeks to replace the PA as the authority in 
Gaza.  Concerning Iran, Halutz stated that there is no 
diagreement between the USG and Israel that Tehran seeks a 
nuclear weapon capability; any disagreement is over how much 
time before it happens.  END SUMMARY. 
 
------------------------- 
Disengagement is Underway 
------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (S) Disengagement started, for all intents and purposes, 
in mid-July, when the IDF closed the Gaza Strip to Israeli 
visitors, Lt Gen Danny Halutz, Chief of the General Staff, 
stated.  It is a confusing situation, he commented, for the 
soldiers and the Israeli families who live in the Gaza 
settlements.  In the past, the IDF assisted and protected the 
settlers.  While the IDF continues that same mission today, 
soldiers are now restricting settlers, travel and preventing 
other Israelis from visiting them in their homes.  Most Gaza 
residents are "digesting" the new situation, he stated, and 
realize that disengagement is going to happen.  Nonetheless, 
protests against the disengagement will likely continue up to 
and during the operation.  The situation is difficult, more 
so since virtually everyone in Israel either has relatives or 
friends in Gaza or knows of people living there. 
 
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Refusal 
------- 
 
¶3. (S) The IDF, Halutz stated, has not been harmed by the 
disengagement as an institution.  However, there are some 
problems that have surfaced that will take some time to heal. 
 Thus far, there have been some 50 refusers, mostly 
religious, he stated, suggesting that this might only be the 
tip of the iceberg.  The issue of personal responsibilitiy to 
religion and to the state, he opined, is the only major issue 
dividing the people.  As a result, the IDF will have to deal 
with this issue after the disengagement.  Halutz stated that 
refusal to participate in the evacuation has mostly been an 
individual issue, with only one instance of a group of nine 
members from the same unit refusing orders.  There have been 
few officers, he stated, who have refused.  This is a red 
line for the IDF, he stated, which treats refusal among the 
officer corps much more seriously, as officers have 
volunteered to serve the state and institute its decisions. 
 
-------------- 
PA Performance 
-------------- 
 
¶4.  (S) The situation is difficult for the Palestinians as 
well, Halutz continued.  Hamas will likely hold to the 
"quiet", but a few gangs that continue to plan and carry out 
attacks will not.  If they hurt civilians then it will add 
another burden, he commented.  The IDF is making 
preparations, he said, and has deployed a large force to keep 
terror from interfering with disengagement.  If terror 
increases prior to 15 August, he said, the IDF will take 
steps to prevent attacks against the disengagement, 
particularly during the evacuation of civilians.  Responding 
to a question concerning PA security performance, Halutz 
stated that the PA was saying the right things, but noted the 
gap between PA words and actions.  Halutz stated that he did 
not accept the excuse of weakness, adding that PA performance 
is more an issue of will than capability. 
 
--------- 
Day After 
--------- 
 
¶5.  (S) Halutz predicted the outbreak of a new round of 
violence if the PA fails to decide to control the security 
situation and to return to negotiations following 
disengagement.  Should there be a renewal of attacks from 
post-disengagement Gaza, Halutz stated that he would 
recommend that the government adopt a policy of zero 
tolerance, treating such attacks as a conflict between two 
countries.  The IDF, he said, will have increased freedom of 
action following disengagement, as there will no longer be 
Israeli citizens in Gaza.  The IDF, he continued, has a big 
basket of &toys,8 such as missiles that are much more 
accurate than Palestinian Qassam rockets.  Should there be a 
new cycle of violence, Halutz opined that it would be much 
like it is today, with terror attacks shifting from Gaza to 
the West Bank.  More Israeli cities, however, will be 
vulnerable to rocket attacks, he stated.  Currently, the IDF 
considers the attempt to transfer rocket technology and 
material into the West Bank as a "ticking bomb." 
Underscoring his point, he stated that the IDF recently 
killed three Palestinians and captured others who were 
involved in efforts to transfer rockets and rocket- 
manufacturing "know-how" to the West Bank. 
 
¶6.  (S) The PA must understand, Halutz explained, that 
disengagement is not a one-time test.  The PA, he stated, 
must ask itself, "What is the purpose of armed groups in Gaza 
after disengagement?"  The PA will have to stop terror. 
Abbas' strategy of not confronting Hamas, he stated, is a 
risk to his regime, as the group is attempting to replace the 
PA as the authority in Gaza.  Halutz characterized the 
"arrest" of Fatah terrorist Hassan Madhun as fictitious. 
Madhun, who agreed to a PA request to stay in "jail" for 48 
hours, left after 24, he stated.  Moreover, he continued 
plans to carry out attacks against the passages in the Gaza 
Strip, which will clearly impact the PA itself.  Lu'ay Saadi, 
the leader of a PIJ cell responsible for a number of recent 
terror attacks, he stated, remains at large.  The IDF missed 
capturing one of the cell members recently, with the 
terrorist escaping to a PA security force headquarters, he 
stated.  "There is nothing new," Halutz stated. "It,s the 
same old stories." 
 
---- 
Iran 
---- 
 
¶7. (S) Responding to a question, Halutz stated that Iran is 
on track to acquire nuclear weapons capability.  The USG and 
Israel agree that this is the case, disagreeing only on how 
long it will take.  Halutz opined that if worse comes to 
worst, Iran would have a bomb in three years. 
 
¶8. (U) Mr. Abrams cleared this message. 
 
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