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

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 TEL AVIV 000299 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/20/2016 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER KWBG KPAL CH IR IS SY ETTC ISRAELI PALESTINIAN AFFAIRS PEACE PROCESS GOI EXTERNAL
SUBJECT: OLMERT TO CODEL KERRY: "I AM COMMITTED TO CARRY ON" 
 
 
Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Gene A. Cretz for reasons 1.4 (b 
,d). 
 
¶1.  (C) Summary: Alternate Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told 
Senator John Kerry in a January 17 meeting that he is 
committed to carrying on Sharon's vision of setting the 
"political outcomes within the broad context of the roadmap." 
 Olmert highlighted his commitment to pursue a serious 
dialogue with Palestinian Authority President Mahmud Abbas, 
but stressed that Israeli public opinion would not allow for 
negotiations if terrorist attacks occur.  He said that he 
intends to give Abbas two-to-three months after the January 
25 Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) elections to "change 
the constitution" (read: change the PA basic laws to require 
groups to renounce violence before they are allowed to 
participate in the political process) and to disarm terrorist 
groups before the GOI decides how to deal with the PA. 
Olmert said he decided to allow Palestinians to vote in East 
Jerusalem so as not to give the PA an excuse to postpone the 
elections, although he gauged that it was a mistake for the 
U.S. and Israel to "acquiesce" to Hamas participation.  The 
GOI will not deal with a PA that includes terrorists, even if 
such terrorists are only in the parliament, Olmert said.  He 
claimed that while Hamas has been relatively quiet with 
respect to terrorist activity, it has been building up its 
terrorist infrastructure and clandestinely helping terrorist 
groups like Palestinian Islamic Jihad in their operations. 
 
 
¶2.  (C) Summary cont: In response to Senator Kerry's query, 
Olmert assessed that Russia could play a significant role in 
addressing Iran's nuclear program and stressed that Iran is 
an international issue, not just Israel's problem.  Senator 
Kerry underscored the broad international concern over Iran's 
nuclear program, as evidenced in part in Kerry's recent 
meetings with the political leadership of India and 
Afghanistan.  Olmert maintained that the recent problem 
between the U.S. and Israel over Israel's China sales was 
caused by a misunderstanding on both sides.  End Summary. 
 
------------------------------- 
Olmert in Good Form and Spirits 
------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (C) An upbeat, joking, and confident Alternate Prime 
Minister Ehud Olmert met Codel Kerry in his Ministry of Trade 
Office -- across the street from the Prime Minister's office. 
 At one point toward the end of the meeting, Olmert received 
a note.  When Senator Kerry asked if Olmert was under 
pressure to "run away" to another meeting, Olmert winked and 
said, "The Prime Minister never has to run away."  Sharon's 
Foreign Policy Advisor, Shalom Tourgeman,  MFA Deputy 
Director for North America Yoram Ben Ze'ev, North American 
Department for Congressional Affairs Director Eyal Sela, PM 
Office Chief of Protocol Edna Halabani, and Ministry of Trade 
assistant Rachel Risby-Raz attended the meeting.  Senator 
Kerry was joined by his senior foreign policy advisor, Nancy 
Stetson, military congressional liaison John Ulrich, the DCM, 
and Poloff notetaker. 
 
¶4.  (C) At the start, Olmert stressed how little time he has 
had to prepare for taking over the responsibilities of prime 
minister, and underlined that although "we are very sad," 
Israel has demonstrated strength, stability, and continuity. 
He noted that he had assumed responsibility for 15 ministries 
from Sharon, given the number of vacancies then in the 
Cabinet.  Olmert joked that in the morning he has to ask his 
wife what he has to do today and his wife says, "Go to work." 
 Olmert expressed the hope that Sharon would recover fully, 
but added that chances are "remote" that Sharon will return 
full force to politics.  Senator Kerry conveyed U.S. concern 
over Sharon's condition as well as admiration for the 
dignified way Olmert had conducted himself during the 
difficult time surrounding Sharon's stroke. 
 
------------------- 
Olmert Tops Kadima 
------------------ 
 
¶5.  (C) Olmert noted that the Kadima party has three weeks to 
submit its Knesset list to the elections commission, and 
added that he will "lead the party to the next elections." 
Olmert claimed that a recent poll shows that if elections 
were held today, Kadima would win some 50 Knesset seats and 
enjoy a 30-seat lead over the party with the next highest 
number of seats, Likud.  (Note: Olmert is likely referring to 
a Brain Trust poll published in Rishon Leziyon Globes on 
January 16 that shows Kadima winning 52 seats, followed by 
Likud with 21, and then Labor with 12.  End note.) 
 
--------------------------- 
Carrying on Sharon's Vision 
--------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (C) In response to Senator Kerry's question as to how 
Olmert sees the way forward, Olmert underscored that, as 
Sharon's closest political ally, he intends to carry on what 
Sharon had envisioned for the country.  "I encouraged 
(Sharon) to go for disengagement," Olmert said.  He added 
that Sharon left Likud because he needed "flexibility for 
what he wanted to achieve," even though, Olmert assessed, 
Sharon could have won the Likud chairmanship over Binyamin 
Netanyahu by a 40 point margin.  "(Sharon) really hoped 
(that) in his lifetime he could set the parameters for 
dictating the inevitable political outcome within the broad 
framework of the roadmap," Olmert said, "I am committed to 
carry on." 
 
---------------------------- 
Hamas and the PLC Elections 
---------------------------- 
 
¶7.  (C) Turning to the PLC elections, Olmert said that the 
GOI "felt from the beginning" that the U.S. made a mistake by 
acquiescing to Hamas participation in the PLC elections, 
since Hamas never altered its agenda calling for the 
liquidation of Israel.  He said the GOI "told the USG" that 
it was a mistake, including to NEA A/S Welch and DAPNSA 
Abrams during their recent visit.  Olmert said that he made 
up his mind just a few hours after Sharon's hospitalization 
to allow PLC elections to take place in East Jerusalem -- but 
without Hamas participation -- so as not to give the PA an 
excuse to postpone the elections.  Olmert stressed that he 
did not want to wait for a call from Secretary Rice to make a 
decision on this issue, and that in taking this decision, he 
risked political criticism, especially from Likud leader 
Binyamin Netanyahu, who has opposed this move.  Olmert 
asserted that Netanyahu "runs his entire political fortune on 
Jerusalem" and the issue of who will divide it.  He added 
that he does not care about this criticism since "U.S. 
cooperation is very important to us... " and that "President 
Bush is committed to having (PLC) elections on time."  Olmert 
thanked Senator Kerry for signing a letter along with other 
Senators against Hamas participation in the elections. 
Senator Kerry expressed support for Olmert's stand on 
Jerusalem voting and urged him to remain as flexible as 
possible on remaining issues to prevent Israel from being 
blamed for any failure to hold the elections. 
 
----------------------- 
After the PLC Elections 
----------------------- 
 
¶8.  (C) Olmert made it clear that the GOI will have no 
tolerance for dealing with a PA that is made up even partly 
of Hamas, even if Hamas representation is only in the PLC; he 
saw no major distinction between the executive and 
legislative branches.  He asserted that Hamas "will penetrate 
the fabric of the (Palestinian) government," even if it is 
only represented on the PLC, he underlined.  Olmert said that 
Secretary Rice and President Bush agree with Olmert on this 
 
SIPDIS 
point. 
 
¶9.  (C) Olmert said that the GOI needs to define a timetable 
with benchmarks for Abbas to: 1) "change the constitution" 
(note: we read this as a change in the PA basic laws to 
require groups to renounce violence before they are allowed 
to participate in the political process), and 2) disarm 
terrorist groups.  In response to Senator Kerry's query, 
Olmert said that the GOI would likely give Abbas two-to-three 
months to accomplish the two goals.  Olmert underscored that 
he is committed to pursuing "serious dialogue" with Abbas, 
adding that they know each other, but he stressed that if 
Abbas does not disarm the terrorists, daily confrontations 
will continue and negotiations cannot go forward. 
 
¶10.  (C) Senator Kerry noted that in a meeting with Abbas one 
year ago, Abbas had complained that he lacked the  resources 
necessary to deal with security threats and had claimed that 
he could disarm the terrorist by coaxing them into the 
political process.  Senator Kerry agreed with Olmert's 
assessment that Abbas had not accomplished anything in the 
last year to address security issues.  Noting the ongoing 
terrorist threats against Israel, Olmert stressed that if 
terrorist attacks continue, Israeli public opinion will not 
support GOI negotiations with the PA leadership. 
 
----------------- 
Ongoing Terrorism 
----------------- 
 
¶11.  (C) Senator Kerry asked whether Hamas has respected the 
period of calm and whether the Palestinian Islamic Jihad 
(PIJ) is the group responsible for terrorist activity. 
Olmert agreed that Hamas has been relatively calm, but 
stressed that Hamas continues to build its terrorist 
infrastructure and is waiting for an opportunity to become 
active.  Olmert underlined that the GOI "invested much" in 
the peace process and had undergone political changes. 
"Sharon made a revolution," he stressed.  "I will likely take 
the next step...but I don't want to invest all this effort 
with the U.S. and the international community and then have 
Hamas renew its terrorist operation and have to break the 
whole process," he underlined.  Olmert asserted that Hamas is 
using other terrorist groups, such as PIJ, as proxies to 
carry out terrorist acts. 
 
¶12.  (C) In response to Senator Kerry's query, Olmert said 
that Syrian President Assad is "stretching his rope and 
coming close to the limits."  He said that Syria will have to 
pay the price.  Israel is looking to the U.S. now for 
leadership in addressing Iran's nuclear program, Olmert said. 
 Senator Kerry stressed U.S. bipartisan support for a tough 
policy on Iran and asked whether Olmert believes Russia could 
play an important role in dealing with Iran.  Olmert said 
that the Russians could play a significant role, but assessed 
that Russian President Putin is "wavering."  He underlined 
his concern that Iran not appear to be mainly Israel's 
problem.  Senator Kerry assured Olmert that broad 
international concern exists about Iran, noting that in 
recent meetings, the political leadership of India and 
Afghanistan expressed concern to him about Iran.  Olmert said 
that one tactic beyond economic sanctions -- such as those 
employed against South Africa for its apartheid policy -- 
could include prohibiting Iranians from traveling to the U.S. 
 The Iranian leadership needs to be exposed to pressure from 
within, by the Iranian population, he said.  UK Prime 
Minister Blair, French President Chirac and German Chancellor 
Merkel are all on the "same wavelength" with the GOI on this 
matter, he claimed. 
 
---------------------------- 
The China "Misunderstanding" 
---------------------------- 
 
¶13.  (C) In response to Senator Kerry's query, Olmert said he 
views the GOI-USG issue over GOI military sales to China as a 
mistake on Israel's part and a misunderstanding on the USG 
part.  Olmert said that the GOI perhaps did not properly 
understand the "sensitivity" of this issue to the U.S.  With 
regard to the incident in question, Olmert asserted that 
Israel had not violated any GOI-USG understanding and that 
the GOI had "acted honorably."  Olmert said he views the 
misunderstanding as a "gap in expectations between the two 
sides."  Olmert recommended that both sides continue to 
discuss the issue, but underlined that there are "no better 
friend to the U.S. than Israel." 
 
¶14.  (C) Senator Kerry and Olmert spent a few minutes 
one-on-one after the meeting concluded.  Senator Kerry later 
told the DCM that Olmert said he is ready and willing to take 
formidable risks to move the process forward.  Olmert said, 
however, that he would require strong U.S. support.  Senator 
Kerry told the DCM that on his return, he would raise with 
the Secretary and with NSC Advisor Hadley the issue of how 
the U.S. could support Olmert . 
 
¶15.  (U) Codel Kerry cleared this message. 
 
 
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