VZCZCXYZ0015
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHEG #4482 1991503
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 181503Z JUL 06
FM AMEMBASSY CAIRO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0041
INFO RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS CAIRO 004482 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL AL EG
SUBJECT: ARAB LEAGUE BRIEFS DIPLOMATS ON JULY 15 FOREIGN 
MINISTERS' MEETING 
 
REF: RIYADH 5601 
 
¶1.  (U) Arab League Chief of Staff Hisham Youssef briefed 
diplomats July 18 on the three resolutions approved by the 
Arab League foreign ministers on July 15.  He also gave some 
of the atmospherics of the meeting.  According to Youssef, 
the foreign ministers agreed that the Israelis appeared to be 
allowed to take any action on the grounds of self defense; 
that the use of force by Israeli was accepted by the 
international community, if not approved; that the UN 
Security Council had failed in its role, and that the peace 
process had been "handed over" to Israel to do with as it 
pleases. 
 
¶2.  (U) Youssef described the two strains of thought that 
emerged from the ministerial.  The first was that of the 
Saudis (reftel), Jordan and Egypt.  The second strain, he 
said, showed "greater understanding" of why Hamas and 
Hezbollah had acted as they had.  Youssef observed that the 
ministers believed the region has been waiting for a long 
time for movement on the peace process and that these actions 
were to be expected.  Ministers agreed, he said, that the 
peace process was seen as a failure, and the international 
community must expect more extremism, more violence and more 
acts of terrorism as a result of the frustration that this 
provoked.  The ministers agreed that it was time to refer to 
issue to the UN Security Council.  This did not, Youssef 
said, imply that they wanted a another Security Council 
resolution in the next few days, but rather were looking for 
serious discussion in the longer term, perhaps in September. 
 
Arab League Summit 
------------------------- 
¶3.  (U) In the afternoon of July 18, Arab League perm reps 
met to discuss the possibility of a summit.  At the end of 
the meeting, it was announced that eight members, Algeria, 
Yemen, Sudan, Qatar, the Palestinian Authority, Lebanon, 
Djibouti and Egypt, supported a summit.  Yemen suggested that 
one be held July 25.  ( Note:  Support from a two-thirds 
majority, or 15 countries, is required to call a summit under 
AL rules.)  During his morning briefing, Youssef said that 
the decision to call a summit would hinge on how AL members 
view their request to the UNSC to take up the peace process 
issue.  If, he told the diplomats, they see resistance 
building to this approach over the next 24-72 hours, they 
will probably call for a summit.  If it looks like the UN 
will deal with the issue in the next few weeks, they may hold 
off. 
JONES