VZCZCXYZ0000
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHAD #3102/01 2121332
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 311332Z JUL 06
FM AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6388
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE

C O N F I D E N T I A L ABU DHABI 003102 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR NEA/ARP, D, P, M, DS, S/CT, CA, INR 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/31/2016 
TAGS: PREL PTER PINR KPAL LEIS AE
SUBJECT: TFLE01: RESPONSE IN UAE TO ISRAELI AIRSTRIKE ON 
QANA, LEBANON 
 
REFs:  A) ABU DHABI 3095, B) State 124285 
 
Classified by Charge d'Affaires Martin Quinn, reasons 1.4 (B) 
and (D). 
 
¶1.  (C) Summary:  The UAE public is outraged by innocent 
deaths in Qana, as reflected in a statement by the UAE 
Foreign Minister, in press reporting, and in conversations 
with Embassy contacts.  In some conversations, the U.S. is as 
much a target of this anger as is Israel; widely reported 
U.S. provision of high-tech weapons to Israel is cited as a 
direct link between IDF activities and U.S. policy.  Post 
hears warnings of an increase in future terrorist activity, 
the emboldening of Iran to pursue nuclear weapons, and 
deterioration of any U.S. ability to reach out to the Arab 
world.  One MFA official was hopeful that the current crisis 
could be a catalyst for a lasting peace, but only if the 
outcome "took away Hezbollah's excuses" for future 
incursions.  Even the UAE's carefully-scripted Friday mosque 
sermons are stepping into the political realm by condemning 
war as contrary to God's will.  End summary. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al 
Nahyan,s condemnation of the Qana "massacre," published on 
UAE's official WAM website July 30, was front paged by 
today's UAE Arabic press: "This horrible crime is a severe 
shock to humanity's conscience and is a further proof to the 
ongoing and unchanged Israeli policy of using destructive 
weaponry for the indiscriminate killing of human beings and 
taking for granted all international laws and pacts which 
prohibit the killing of civilians (even) in times of war and 
armed conflicts."  Local media headlines (largest circulation 
daily Al Khaleej: "The New Middle East Holocaust: This is 
Your Blood, O Arabs!") and editorial tone reflect the 
deepening angst and anger of the UAE population over ongoing 
Israeli attacks in Lebanon.  Scenes of children's bodies 
pulled from the rubble in Qana accentuate and focus that 
anger, local manifestations of which included small 
demonstrations in both Abu Dhabi and Dubai (see Ref A and 
septel EAC reporting). 
 
¶3.  (C) Aside from the Foreign Minister's statement, post is 
also hearing strong statements of official concern.  On July 
31, Assistant MFA Under Secretary Mohammed Abdul Rahim 
Abduljalil told visiting NESA Center Director LTG (retired) 
David Barno that Arabs increasingly question the U.S. 
commitment to the Arab region when, 58 years after the 
Palestinian plight began, the U.S. is still perceived as 
unbalanced in its approach to Israel.  He said U.S. public 
diplomacy efforts could not overcome the images that people 
see emanating from bombings in Lebanon.  Some blame Israel, 
he said, but most point to America.  Many Arabs believe that 
the U.S. supports Israel "to the extent that they become an 
enemy to the (Arab) people."  Abduljalil argued that the U.S. 
needs to show more fairness to Arab issues in order to prove 
its interest in the Arab people. 
 
¶4.  (C) Abduljalil, who is not personally antagonistic 
towards the U.S., continued that "current events will lead to 
more terror."  Anyone losing a relative in Israeli bombings 
would be prone to support the cause against Tel Aviv.  He 
also said current hostilities would encourage Iran to go 
nuclear.  Citing his own posting to Tehran during the 
transition from Rafsanjani to Khatemi, Abduljalil said that 
both internal (regime stability) and external (regional 
influence) reasons could compel Iran to seek strategic 
weapons to "immunize" it from attack.  The unbalance of power 
displayed in the current conflict would add fuel to the fire, 
both for the regime and for the public, to seek greater 
military firepower as a deterrent.  After Lebanon, he said, 
fewer people (implying Arabs as well) would look to the 
Iranian nuclear program as a problem. 
 
¶5.  (C) On July 29, MFA Assistant Under Secretary for 
Political Affairs Tareq Ahmad Al-Haidan had told visiting SCA 
A/S Boucher that he was hopeful that the current conflict 
might compel an Israeli withdrawal from Sheba Farms and 
create a post-conflict buffer zone between the Israeli border 
and Hezbollah.  Such a conclusion would remove any Hezbollah 
excuse for further mischief in southern Lebanon, he 
suggested, adding that the current conflict was "serving 
Hezbollah well."  This should be "the last war in Lebanon," 
said Al-Haidan, as Israel could now have the opportunity to 
take away Hezbollah's excuses for future attacks. 
(Al-Haidan's optimistic scenario also assumed an exchange of 
prisoners to weaken Hezbollah's cause.) 
 
¶6.  (C) Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan 
continues to express his disgust with Hezbollah (including, 
according to one of his staff, having said he "hates" them 
 
during a July 30 meeting).  The UAEG has nonetheless felt 
pressured to respond strongly to the Qana attacks, with the 
official UAE news agency WAM citing harsh editorial comment 
in the press -- amplifying the message without taking credit 
for having been the author of it.  A July 31 WAM statement 
noted that local papers were "demanding that both Israeli 
leaders and their allies be brought to justice."  According 
to the Crown Prince's protocol/public affairs chief, 
Hezbollah has been successfully engaging "the Arab heart" on 
the issue of Qana and through its resistance to Israeli 
bombing of Lebanon. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Local papers also report that Friday sermons at UAE 
mosques condemned Israeli attacks on Lebanon as contrary to 
God's teachings.  Official rules prohibit preachers from 
deviating from the UAE-approved text provided for weekly 
mosque sermons.  That guidance, for sermons on July 28, was 
entitled "Islam's invitation for peace" and included the 
following statement:  "What is happening in Lebanon, 
Palestine and Iraq is an example and an evidence that war 
does not help societies.  It is a way to spread chaos and 
destruction.  Allah has warned us not to transgress." 
(English translation from web site of Government of Dubai 
Department of Islamic Affairs.) 
 
¶8.  (SBU) UAE Arabic press July 31 also picked up Israeli 
press reports (Yediot Aharonot, Jerusalem Post) of a Jewish 
"fatwa," reportedly issued by the Yesha Rabbinical Council, 
stating that "according to Jewish law, during a time of 
battle and war, there is no such term as 'innocents' of the 
enemy."  Local media highlight this statement as justifying 
the killing of children in Qana. 
QUINN