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 03 TEL AVIV 001319 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA A/S DAVID WELCH 
NSC FOR DAPNSA ELLIOTT ABRAMS 
STATE FOR NEA, NEA/IPA (MAHER) 
PENTAGON FOR OSD ISRAEL DESK OFFICER (ANDERSON) 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/31/2016 
TAGS: PREL PINS PTER KPAL KWBG IS LE ISRAELI PALESTINIAN AFFAIRS COUNTERTERRORISM
SUBJECT: ISRAELI DEFMIN TELLS A/S WELCH ISRAEL WILL TAKE NO 
ACTION AGAINST HAMAS, WILL NOT TALK WITH A HAMAS GOVERNMENT 
 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Richard H. Jones.  Reasons:  1.4 (b, d). 
 
¶1. (S) Summary:  Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz told 
NEA Assistant Secretary Welch and DAPNSA Elliott Abrams on 
March 30 that Israel will not communicate with or assist a 
HAMAS-led Palestinian Authority (PA).  Mofaz said that he 
personally believes PA President Abu Mazen will become 
increasingly irrelevant and of no use to Israel, and expects 
the GOI will adopt this view in early April.  Mofaz said he 
will discuss with IDF and General Security Services chiefs 
how to deal with the new situation on April 2.  Israel 
expects that Palestinian terrorist groups will continue to 
attempt terrorist attacks and that the HAMAS-led government 
and Abu Mazen will do nothing to prevent this.  Mofaz said 
that, in spite of this, Israel will not initiate any 
immediate action against HAMAS, and will pursue a 
wait-and-see policy with respect to the PA.  Mofaz said 
Israel is concerned with what it views as increasing 
preparedness by Hizballah to confront Israel along its 
northern border.  END SUMMARY. 
 
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ISRAEL WILL NOT TALK WITH A HAMAS-LED PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY 
--------------------------------------------- -------------- 
 
¶2. (S) During the hour-and-a-half meeting, DefMin Mofaz 
reiterated more than once that Israel will not communicate 
with a HAMAS-led Palestinian Authority.  He added that 
drawing a distinction between PA President Abu Mazen and the 
new government is pointless, because HAMAS ministers will not 
carry out any orders issued by Abu Mazen.  Allowing that Abu 
Mazen disagrees with HAMAS's concept, the DefMin nevertheless 
characterized the PA President as irrelevant and suggested he 
would become more irrelevant over time.  Faced with what he 
termed a "very complex situation," Mofaz said that Israel 
will "wait and see" what happens over the next several 
months.  Mofaz implied that Israel would welcome the 
HAMAS-led government's failure and collapse, but allowed that 
it might not happen, and suggested that Iran and Syria would 
begin to bankroll the PA.  He said that he will discuss how 
to deal with the new situation -- "considering that Abu Mazen 
and HAMAS are one entity and one authority" -- with IDF and 
General Security Services chiefs on April 2. 
 
¶3. (S/NF) A/S Welch said that, as a matter of policy, the 
U.S. will have no/no contact with any HAMAS government, 
ministers, officials, with the only exception being in cases 
where it is necessary to ensure the safety of American 
citizens.  A/S Welch said that overall U.S. assistance to the 
PA will decline over the next few months, even while the U.S. 
emphasizes that our humanitarian assistance to the 
Palestinians is increasing.  A/S Welch explained to a 
skeptical Mofaz that the USG believes it necessary to 
maintain contact with Abu Mazen.  In part this is to calm the 
Europeans, who, he said, are seized with the notion of an 
impending humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, and might 
act in a way that undercuts U.S. and Israeli efforts to 
weaken Hamas. 
 
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ISRAEL EXPECTS TERRORIST ATTACKS TO CONTINUE 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (S) Mofaz said that, with HAMAS now running the PA, Israel 
expects attempted terrorist attacks against green-line Israel 
to continue, and perhaps increase.  He allowed that HAMAS 
might not execute terrorist attacks, but said he expects that 
they will allow Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), the Al-Aqsa 
Martyrs Brigades, and other Palestinian groups to attempt 
attacks in the name of "resistance."  Mofaz suggested that 
Fatah members may increasingly join in attacks as they see 
reductions in their salaries.  Mofaz said that attempts to 
get Abu Mazen to rein in the terrorist groups will be futile. 
 In the unlikely event he tried to do so, nobody would 
respect his orders -- even the Palestinian National Security 
Forces. As support for his dire predictions, Mofaz pointed to 
the launching of three Qassam rockets out of the Gaza Strip 
earlier in the day, a foiled suicide bombing attempt on March 
29, and PIJ's launch of a GRAD-A Katyusha rocket from the 
Gaza Strip on March 28. 
 
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ISRAEL TO TAKE WAIT AND SEE ATTITUDE; DO NO HARM 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶5. (S/NF) In spite of the bleak scenario Mofaz painted, he 
said that Israel would not initiate any immediate action 
against HAMAS.  He added that the GOI takes very seriously 
the plight of the Palestinian people, and wants to facilitate 
humanitarian assistance through all the existing passages 
between green-line Israel and the Gaza Strip.  He expressed 
frustration with what he characterized as an inexplicable 
resistance by the Palestinians to opening the Kerem Shalom 
passage for trade in both directions.  He reiterated the GOI 
position on the Karni passage -- that security concerns will 
dictate the opening and closing of all passages (e.g., Karni, 
Kerem Shalom, Erez and Sufa) between green-line Israel and 
the Gaza Strip.  While Mofaz left the room for a 
pre-scheduled phone call with SECDEF Rumsfeld, A/S Welch and 
DAPNSA Abrams pressed Amos Gilad and BGEN Dangott for details 
on Israeli complaints about the Rafah passage between Egypt 
and the Gaza Strip.  Gilad promised to try to provide more 
useful intelligence on suspect Palestinians whom Israel 
alleges the EU, Egyptian and Palestinian border guards have 
failed to prevent from crossing between Egypt and the Gaza 
Strip.  Gilad said it would be better if the Egyptians would 
take over both sides of the crossing, as the Egyptians have 
demonstrated a better performance track record against 
smugglers. 
 
------------------------------ 
A/S WELCH EXPLAINS HIS MISSION 
------------------------------ 
 
¶6. (S) A/S Welch made it clear that he and DAPNSA Abrams were 
on a "strategic reconnaissance" mission in the region, and 
would be visiting Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia before 
returning to Washington.  A/S Welch said that "friendly" Arab 
countries had made it clear that they share USG concern about 
a HAMAS-led Palestinian Authority, and are prepared to 
withhold assistance to it.  He noted that the USG will 
carefully monitor their actions against their words.  A/S 
Welch also noted that the USG had obtained a strong statement 
from the Quartet laying out conditions for interaction with 
the new PA government.  Welch cautioned that EU member states 
do not have a common policy on assistance, and that the 
behavior of the UN's representative to the Quartet, and the 
Russians, have raised concerns in the USG.  Nevertheless, A/S 
Welch said, the coalition of like-minded governments has 
formed a solid position against the HAMAS-led PA.  Israel's 
behavior over the next several months should contribute to 
maintaining that position, and not undermine it. 
 
--------------------------------------------- - 
ISRAEL CONCERNED HIZBALLAH PREPARING FOR FIGHT 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶7. (S) Mofaz, backed by his adviser, BGEN Dangott, said that 
Israel is concerned that Hizballah is increasing its 
preparedness for a confrontation with Israel along its 
northern border -- the aim being to kidnap Israeli soldiers 
for use as bargaining chips.  Dangott noted that Hizballah 
has been strengthening tactical positions close to the Blue 
Line, and shoring up logistical support structures further 
into Lebanon on a daily basis.  Responding to A/S Welch's 
question about a Soviet-made tungsten-tipped RPG captured 
from Hizballah during its November 2005 incursion into 
Israel, Mofaz said he raised the issue with Russian DefMin 
Sergey Ivanov in Italy, and that Ivanov replied that they 
were "old weapons made by the USSR, not by Russia."  A/S 
Welch informed Mofaz that Secretary Rice raised the issue 
with Russian FM Sergey Lavrov, and that Lavrov promised to 
investigate the matter.  A/S Welch added that the USG is 
concerned about such weapon systems making their way into 
terrorists' hands, and that the RPGs that Hizballah used in 
November appears to have been transferred directly from Syria. 
 
¶8. (U) Attending the meeting on the Israeli side were the 
DefMin's military adviser, BGEN Eitan Dangott; and MOD 
POL-MIL Bureau Head Amos Gilad.  A/S Welch and DAPNSA Abrams 
were joined by the Ambassador, USSC MGEN Dayton, the DATT and 
the POL-MIL Officer. 
 
¶9. (U) NEA Assistant Secretary Welch cleared this cable. 
 
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JONES