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 02 TEL AVIV 002695 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/03/2016 
TAGS: PREL KWBG MOPS PTER IS ISRAELI PALESTINIAN AFFAIRS ISRAEL RELATIONS
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S JUNE 30 MEETING WITH ISRAELI PUBLIC 
SECURITY MINISTER DICHTER 
 
REF: TEL AVIV 2622 - NOTAL 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Richard H. Jones.  Reasons: 1.4 (b, d). 
 
¶1. (C)  SUMMARY:  Israeli Public Security Minister and former 
Shin Bet Chief Avi Dichter told the Ambassador June 30 that 
after Palestinian militants kidnapped an Israeli soldier on 
June 25, Israel understood that its policy of not targeting 
Hamas had been a mistake and that Israel must now draw its 
"red lines" so that Hamas understands what Israel can not 
tolerate.  Dichter also discussed the Gaza crossings, 
explaining which Israeli agencies have authority over the 
crossings and saying that while Israel wants to keep transit 
points open, it would not do so if it threatens Israeli 
lives.  Dichter and the Ambassador discussed potential 
measures to improve security at the crossings -- including 
the creation of a buffer zone between the Palestinian and 
Israeli sides -- and pledged to work with United States 
Security Coordinator (USSC) LTG Dayton.  Finally, Dichter and 
the Ambassador touched on corruption at Karni, the state of 
Israel's Arab community, and sharing fingerprint data on 
terrorism suspects.  END SUMMARY. 
 
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OPERATION SUMMER RAINS:  DRAWING RED LINES 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶2. (C) In response to the Ambassador's question about 
Israel's ongoing operations in the Gaza Strip following 
persistent Qassam rocket attacks, the killing of two Israeli 
Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers, and the kidnapping of another 
on June 25, Dichter explained that Israel realizes it had 
been a mistake to not target Hamas earlier given that the 
terror organization has assisted or blessed other factions' 
attacks on Israel.  "Deterrence didn't work.  Hamas does not 
know what our red lines are; we are now drawing them," he 
continued.  Dichter said that jailing Hamas members helps 
make Israel's red lines clear and that Palestinian Authority 
Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, whom he claimed had been 
deeply involved in terror activities as an aide to former 
Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, would have a file of 
charges awaiting him if Israel decided to arrest him. 
Dichter then provided an assessment of Hamas's strength in 
Gaza and the West Bank.  He explained that Hamas has remained 
strong in the Gaza Strip because Israel had largely remained 
outside Palestinian areas there since 1994.  In the West 
Bank, however, Israel since 2002 has penetrated camps, 
villages and cities, and has gleaned valuable information 
from terrorists that Israeli forces had arrested.  Israel, in 
Dichter's assessment, "badly destroyed" Hamas cells in the 
West Bank, which he said at one time had been responsible for 
90 percent of Israeli casualties. 
 
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CROSSINGS SHOULD BE OPEN, BUT 
NOT IF IT PUTS ISRAELIS AT RISK 
------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (C) The Ambassador told Dichter that the USG is working 
hard to keep crossings open, noting that the USG assesses 
that terrorists are targeting the crossings as a way to 
undermine contacts between Israel and the Palestinians.  He 
mentioned that USSC Dayton is working with USAID, the 
Palestinians and the IDF to improve crossing designs and 
systems, and to improve training for security personnel.  The 
Ambassador then asked Dichter for clarification on which GOI 
agency is responsible for Karni.  Dichter, drawing on a 
notepad, explained that the IDF is responsible for the 
perimeter surrounding the Karni crossing.  Once individuals 
or goods enter the crossing, however, the Israeli Airport 
Authority (IAA) -- under the Transportation Ministry -- is 
responsible.  The Israeli National Police (INP), which 
Dichter's Public Security Ministry oversees, provide the IAA 
with overall guidance and direction, and order it to take 
specific measures in response to terror alerts.  Dichter 
stressed to the Ambassador that terrorist threats are not 
abstract, and he related several terrorist incidents 
involving the crossing in recent years.  He acknowledged that 
the crossings need to be open, but not when doing so puts 
Israelis in jeopardy.  According to Dichter, Israel takes 
substantial risks in opening the crossings.  He cited as 
evidence the GOI's decision to open the crossings on June 25, 
despite specific warnings -- which turned out to be accurate 
-- that terrorists would attack either Kerem Shalom or Karni. 
 
¶4. (C) Dichter and the Ambassador also discussed ways that 
Israel could improve security at the crossings.  The 
Ambassador urged Israel to use the scanning equipment that 
the USG has provided for the crossings.  Dichter, not 
directly addressing the Ambassador's request, suggested that 
security at the crossings could be improved if trusted and 
experienced third parties could search individuals and 
containers on the Palestinian side of the crossings and then 
allow cleared individuals and containers to proceed into a 
sealed-off "buffer zone" between the two sides before 
entering the Israeli side of the crossing.  The Ambassador 
told Dichter that he would recommend to USSC Dayton that he 
meet with Dichter to discuss such ideas further. 
 
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CORRUPTION AT KARNI 
------------------- 
 
¶5. (C) The Ambassador told Dichter that U.S. companies have 
complained to USG officials that both Palestinian and Israeli 
officials have been extracting bribes as a requirement for 
getting trucks in the queue to transit the crossing.  Dichter 
responded that such corrupt practices could be related to 
organized crime and that he would welcome additional 
information the USG could pass to the INP.  He mentioned that 
one "mafia" kingpin of southern Israel recently had been 
arrested and intimated that this may have a positive impact 
at Karni.  The Ambassador suggested that a more formal and 
transparent system for queuing shipments through the crossing 
in both directions might alleviate the problem. 
--------------------------------------------- -------------- 
ARAB ISRAELIS "A POTENTIAL ASSET," BUT TRENDS ARE TROUBLING 
--------------------------------------------- -------------- 
 
¶6. (C) Dichter, who had just come from a meeting with 
Arab-Israeli Kadima party members, shared his views regarding 
trends in the Arab-Israeli community.  The Ambassador said 
that the Arab community in Israel represents a potential 
asset for Israel in the broader Middle East.  Dichter said 
two segments of the Arab community seek separation -- the 
Islamist groups represented by Raad Salah of the Northern 
Islamic Movement and the nationalist groups represented by MK 
Azmi Bishara of the Balad Party.  Dichter said he tried to 
convince the Arab sector that they have not benefited from 
their efforts to remain separate from other Israelis. 
According to Dichter, the Arab sector had not developed as 
rapidly as the Jewish sector, and has remained "fully 
dependent" on the Jewish economy:  "They have no 
entrepreneurs, no hi-tech, no real factories."  Dichter added 
that this characterization also applied to the economies of 
the West Bank and Gaza. 
 
------------------------ 
SHARING FINGERPRINT DATA 
------------------------ 
 
¶7. (C) The Ambassador concluded the meeting by inquiring 
about the status of an initiative in which the GOI and the 
USG would share terrorism suspects' fingerprint data.  The 
issue had been raised with Dichter by U.S. Attorney General 
Gonzales in an earlier meeting (reftel).  The Ambassador 
asked Dichter whether his agency plans to allocate the funds 
required to upgrade Israel's system to facilitate the 
exchange of data.  Dichter replied that if the U.S. system is 
more developed than Israel's then it would make sense for 
Israel to improve its technology.  He said that there still 
may be legal issues related to sharing data, but that his 
office would look into them, as well as look into the 
possibility of allocating funds for the upgrade, and will 
provide the Ambassador with a response.  As an aside, Dichter 
noted that the Israeli National Police increasingly deeply 
involved with biometrics, particularly for foreign workers in 
Israel. 
 
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