VZCZCXYZ0005
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHEG #5496/01 2481102
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 051102Z SEP 06
FM AMEMBASSY CAIRO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1061
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE

C O N F I D E N T I A L CAIRO 005496 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/05/2016 
TAGS: PREL PGOV MEPN UNSC UNGA ARABL EG
SUBJECT: ARAB LEAGUE MINISTERIAL DEMARCHE RECEIVED WITH 
LITTLE ENTHUSIASM 
 
REF: STATE 145279 
 
Classified by Charge d'Affaires Stuart Jones for reasons 1.4 
(b) and (d). 
 
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Summary 
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¶1.  (C) The Charge delivered reftel demarche September 3 to 
MFA Assistant Minister Hani Khalaf, and separately to Arab 
League Chief of Staff Hisham Youssef.  With regards to UNSCR 
1701, both Khalaf and Youssef welcomed news of USG 
humanitarian and military support for Lebanon and registered 
strong pleas for the U.S. to press Israel to lift its air and 
sea blockades.  Neither offered positions on the 
Venezuela-Guatemala competition for a UN Security Council 
seat, but were critical of U.S. efforts at the United Nations 
on Darfur.  Regarding an Arab League proposal to bring the 
Arab-Israeli dispute to the Security Council, Youssef 
expressed strong disappointment with Washington's lack of 
support for the initiative.  Khalaf distinguished the Arab 
Minister's proposal from the Amre Moussa proposal and urged 
U.S. consideration.  End summary. 
 
------------------------------- 
Egyptian MFA Assistant Minister 
------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (C) During separate September 3 meetings with MFA 
Assistant Minister for Arab Affairs Hani Khalaf and Arab 
League Chief of Staff Hisham Youssef, the DCM drew from 
reftel background and talking points to discuss key items for 
the upcoming Arab League foreign ministers meeting in Cairo 
September 5-7.  On Lebanon and UNSCR 1701, Khalaf welcomed 
news of U.S. humanitarian and military support for Lebanon, 
though he registered a strong plea for Washington to press 
Israel to lift its air and sea blockades on Lebanon to "ease 
civilian suffering."  Khalaf did not offer views regarding 
the Venezuela-Guatemala competition for a UN Security Council 
seat. 
 
¶3.  (C)  On Darfur, Khalaf complained that the Security 
Council had passed UNSCR 1706 too hastily and without 
sufficient consultation with neighbors (read: Arab states) or 
Sudan.  This haste, he said, left Arab leaders with little 
room to maneuver Khartoum toward acceptance of a UN role in 
Darfur.  The Charge noted that intense consultations had gone 
on for months and that Arab states had done little to 
persuade Bashir to moderate his positions.  Khalaf offered 
little hope that the GOE would pressure the Bashir government 
on Darfur, despite the urgency of the situation and the 
importance of facilitating the introduction of UN forces 
there. 
 
¶4.  (C) Drawing a distinction between the Amre Moussa/Arab 
League initiative and the August 21 Arab ministerial decision 
to seek a ministerial meeting at the UNSC on the Middle East, 
Khalaf asked if Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit would 
receive a separate response to his recent verbal message to 
Secretary Rice.  The FM, he said, had personally urged the 
 
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Secretary - via Egyptian Ambassador Fahmy in Washington - to 
 
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respond favorably to the ministers, August 21 proposal. 
Parsing the language of the demarche, he argued against 
treating the conflicts in the Middle East individually. 
Rather, he said, they should be treated as a whole.  Khalaf 
stressed that the purpose of a UNSC meeting would be to 
promote new solutions and establish timetables for the peace 
process, not to criticize the United States or Israel. 
 
-------------------------- 
Arab League Chief of Staff 
-------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (C) Youssef expressed deep disappointment with the USG 
response to the Arab League proposal for a Security Council 
Ministerial on the peace process, querying whether the U.S. 
demurral was a function of timing, venue, or policy.  He 
stressed that the AL proposal was not aimed at blaming or 
discrediting either Israel or the United States.  On the 
contrary, it was intended to revive the peace process, 
"keeping doors open for other options that may allow this to 
happen."  He insisted that timing for a Ministerial meeting 
during the UNGA was critical because:  "the current situation 
in the Middle East is explosive; this meeting could create an 
improved atmosphere for implementing UNSCR 1701."  Youssef 
added that an Arab ministerial committee would meet September 
6 in Cairo to discuss the proposal further.  He expected that 
meeting to produce new elements, but declined to share 
specifics.  He strongly urged the U.S. to re-consider its 
decision and left the room briefly to convey the U.S. 
response to Secretary General Amre Moussa.  When he returned, 
 
Youssef said Moussa had instructed him to reclama the USG 
decision. 
 
¶6.  (C) On Lebanon and UNSCR 1701, Youssef similarly welcomed 
news of U.S. humanitarian and military support for Lebanon, 
and requested the U.S. press Israel to lift its land/naval 
blockade on Lebanese ports.  Regarding Darfur, Youssef stated 
that a Sudan ministerial committee would meet September 6 in 
Cairo and discuss next steps in responding to UNSCR 1706.  He 
declined to speculate on likely outcomes. 
JONES