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OO RUEHBC RUEHBZ RUEHDE RUEHKUK RUEHROV
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O 151820Z FEB 07
FM USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1343
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 USUN NEW YORK 000133 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV UNSC
SUBJECT: UNSC: MECCA AGREEMENT AND TEMPLE MOUNT 
 
¶1. Summary: In the monthly Security Council briefing on the 
Middle East held February 13, UNSCO Alvaro de Soto said that 
the Mecca agreement and recent international initiatives to 
re-energize the peace process, especially the commitment of 
the Quartet partners, showed "potential" for progress. 
Challenges to that progress, however, include continued 
violence among Palestinians and between Palestinians and 
Israelis; Palestinian institutions weakened by a Palestinian 
fiscal crisis; and Israel's continued settlement and barrier 
construction activities.  In their comments, Council members 
commended the Quartet and Secretary Rice for their respective 
efforts to date and acknowledged the Mecca agreement.  Some 
members suggested that the agreement was sufficient to merit 
the resumption of direct financial assistance to the 
Palestinians; others said they would await action by the new 
Palestinian National Unity Government in accordance with 
Quartet principles.  Council members also expressed their 
concerns about the threat to the cessation of hostilities 
between Lebanon and Israel posed by the February 7 LAF/IDF 
Blue Line incident and the negative reaction provoked by the 
Israeli excavations at the Temple Mount.  In addition to 
presentations by the Security Council, 20 other states spoke. 
 The majority criticized the impact and significance of the 
Israeli excavations at the Temple Mount.  Most speakers 
condemned the February 13 bus bombings.  End Summary. 
 
De Soto: Potentials for Progress and its Challenges 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶2. In his February 13 "Briefing to the Security Council on 
the Situation in the Middle East," United Nations Special 
Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process (UNSCO) Alvaro 
de Soto said that the February 2 Quartet meeting, the recent 
Mecca agreement, the February 19 trilateral meeting convened 
by Secretary Rice, and the Quartet meeting in Berlin on 
February 21 are signs of "potential" for progress.  At the 
same time, he identified ongoing violence, the weakened state 
of Palestinian institutions and the Palestinian economy, and 
continuing Israeli settlements and construction of the 
separation barrier as challenges to that progress.  De Soto 
discussed the "potential" of a "commissioning letter" 
President Abbas is planning to send to Prime Minster Hannieh 
as part of the formation of a new government that will meet 
certain international requirements.  But he cautioned that 
the Mecca agreement "has other aspects that needed to be 
examined, has yet to be implemented and had not been the 
subject of full discussion among Quartet partners" to date. 
He noted that the Quartet had recently reaffirmed its support 
for a government committed to no-violence, recognition of 
Israel, and the acceptance of previous agreements and 
obligations, including the Roadmap.  On the February 19 
trilateral meeting, de Soto quoted Secretary Rice's remark 
that the goal is "to have discussions about the broad issues 
on the horizon so that we can work on the Road Map and try to 
accelerate the Road Map and move toward the establishment of 
a Palestinian state." 
 
¶3. De Soto said that there are three primary challenges to 
progress. The first is violence, including both Palestinian 
factional violence such as the violence generated by 
struggles between partisans of Hamas and Fatah, and 
Israeli-Palestinian violence, which includes suicide bombings 
and tensions over the Israeli construction of a new walkway 
at the Temple Mount.  A second set of challenges, de Soto 
said, involves the Palestinian economy, which is hampered by 
patchy implementation of the Agreement on Movement and 
Access, and Palestinian institutions such as schools, 
hospitals and ministries, which have been weakened by the 
Palestinian fiscal crisis.  De Soto said a third set of 
challenges result from Israel's continued failure to remove 
settlement outposts, and its continued settlement activity 
and barrier construction, notwithstanding provisions of the 
Fourth Geneva Conventions and the advisory opinion of the 
International Court of Justice (ICJ). 
 
¶4. On Lebanon, de Soto reported that morning's (February 13) 
double bus bombing in Beirut, the continuing domestic 
political impasse, Arab League efforts at mediation and the 
UN's recent appointment of an UNSCO, Geir Pederson, for 
Lebanon.  De Soto provided details of the February 7 LAF/IDF 
Blue Line incident as an illustration of the continued 
volatility of the situation in southern Lebanon.  He 
concluded:  "The firing by the LAF constituted a violation of 
resolution 1701 and a breach of the cessation of hostilities 
agreement.  The IDF also violated resolution 1701 by crossing 
the Blue Line.  The exchange of fire posed a threat to the 
lives of UNIFIL troops patrolling in the area."  Finally de 
Soto reported the February 6 UN-Lebanese Republic agreement 
on the Establishment of a Special Tribunal for Lebanon, 
noting that the UN remained hopeful that "the Lebanese 
institutions will be able to perform their tasks and 
 
USUN NEW Y 00000133  002 OF 004 
 
 
responsibilities on the way to the establishment of the 
Tribunal." 
 
Security Council Members Comments 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶5. In their comments, Security Council members spoke mainly 
on four issues: the Mecca agreement, Israeli excavations at 
the Temple Mount, the February 7 LAF/IDF Blue Line incident, 
and recent and future diplomatic initiatives to reinvigorate 
the peace process.  Every delegation acknowledged the 
potential significance of the Mecca agreement.  Qatar, South 
Africa and Congo welcomed the decision by Fatah and Hamas to 
form of National Unity Government (NUG) and said the parties 
had made concessions sufficient to merit the end of the 
international financial blockade against the Palestinian 
people.  France acknowledged the agreement as a step in the 
right direction; UK said it was awaiting the details of the 
agreement and looked forward to engaging with a government 
based on the Quartet principles. 
 
¶6. South Africa, supported by Ghana, Qatar and Indonesia, 
articulated the complaint against the Israeli excavations at 
the Temple Mount: they constitute a unilateral action that 
could prejudge final status negotiations.  They also argued 
that the excavations threatened the collapse of the holy site 
above it, the Al-Aqsa Mosque.  Russia counseled Israel to 
restrain from taking unilateral steps that would change the 
status quo; Panama urged Israel, irrespective of reasons for 
the excavations, to consider the political consequences of 
its acts.  Council members expressed general support for 
recent and contemplated U.S. and Quartet efforts to 
reinvigorate Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. France called 
for an international conference to support the process and to 
provide guarantees.  Most Council members regretted the 
February 7 LAF/IDF Blue Line incident, worried that it 
threatened the cessation of hostilities, and cautioned Israel 
and Lebanon to exercise maximum restraint. 
 
¶7. Per Department provided points, Ambassador Wolff reviewed 
recent significant developments: Secretary Rice's productive 
meetings with Prime Minister Olmert and President Abbas in 
January, the February 2 Washington-hosted Quartet principals 
meeting, Secretary Rice's February 9 discussions with Quartet 
counterparts.  He also cited Secretary Rice's trilateral 
meeting with Abbas and Olmert on February 19 and the Quartet 
meeting scheduled for Berlin on February 21.  Ambassador 
Wolff commended Saudi King Abdullah's efforts to bring an end 
to violence between Palestinians and said the U.S. would 
continue to assess the outcome of the meetings in Mecca, 
looking closely at implementation to ensure that the three 
Quartet principles are met.  On the strong reaction to 
construction of the ramp at the Temple Mount, he urged the 
parties to exercise great care when deciding whether and how 
to engage in any activity near religious sites, called for 
appropriate rhetoric in dealing with the issue, and advised 
the need to focus on facts.  On Lebanon, Ambassador Wolff 
expressed strong U.S. condemnation of the February 13 
terrorist attack in Beirut, and, referring to the February 7 
incident on the Blue line and the anniversary of the death of 
Rafiq Hariri, underscored the need for the parties to 
exercise restraint.  He reiterated strong U.S. support for 
the UN International Independent Investigation Commission and 
our desire for to the timely establishment of an 
international tribunal.  Finally he noted U.S. concern about 
reports of continued shipments of arms to Hizballah and other 
armed groups. 
 
Open Debate: Palestine and Israel, Lebanon and Syria 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
¶8. Twenty countries, several speaking on behalf of regional 
organizations, and the Chair of the Committee on the Exercise 
of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, also 
delivered statements.  Speaking for the Palestinians, 
Permanent Observer Riyad Mansour reviewed President Abbas' 
plans, following the Mecca agreement, to guide the future 
formation of a national unity government so as to provide for 
the lifting of "the financial blockade" imposed on the 
Palestinian people.  He also looked forward to the February 
19 trilateral meeting, during which both practical issues 
such as prisoner releases and the release of tax revenues and 
political process issues such as final status talks would be 
addressed.  Finally Mansour characterized Israel's 
construction activity at the Temple Mount as illegal, 
politically motivated and extremely explosive.  He said the 
activity endangered the sanctity, integrity and foundations 
of the Al-Aqsa Mosque.  He further asserted that Israeli 
forces had used excessive force against Palestinians during a 
February 9 incident at the Al-Aqsa Mosque and reminded that 
previous dangerous actions there had ignited the 2000 
 
USUN NEW Y 00000133  003 OF 004 
 
 
Intifada. 
 
¶9. Addressing the Mecca agreement, Israeli PR Gillerman 
reminded the audience that the international community had 
clearly determined that any Palestinian government would have 
to fully adopt the three Quartet principles and that this 
requirement is not negotiable.  Yet, he continued, only 
recently a Hamas spokesman had said, "the agreement reached 
in Mecca does not mean recognition of the Israeli entity...it 
is a non-recognition of the legitimacy of the Zionist 
movement."  Gillerman added that the Mecca agreement did not 
condemn violence and terrorism either.  Gillerman also 
provided a lengthy explanation for Israeli excavations at the 
Temple Mount, arguing that the situation had been blown out 
of proportion.  He said that the work was taking place in 
full transparency, with sensitivity, in accordance with 
various antiquities and in coordination with various 
religious authorities to ensure the safety of visitors.  Far 
from causing damage to Al-Aqsa as some have charged, 
Gillerman asked what the world would say if Israel allowed 
the ramp being repaired to collapse. 
 
¶10. Speaking for Lebanon, Charge Caroline Ziade said the 
double bus bombing that had occurred that morning was 
indicative of the instability in the region and said that 
Prime Minister Siniora has requested UNIIIC technical 
assistance to investigate this act of terror. Ziade 
criticized Israeli excavation activity at the Temple Mount 
and provided the Lebanese perspective of the February 7 
LAF/IDF incident along the Blue Line, asserting that Israeli 
armed force had provoked the incidents by not resorting to 
coordination and liaison channels.  Syrian PR Bashar Ja'afari 
devoted most of his statement to making the case that Israel 
has systematically defied the UN and the international 
community by confiscating territory -- Syrian, Lebanese and 
Palestinian -- and that the most recent manifestation of this 
trend was Israel's construction activities at the Al-Aqsa 
Mosque.  In its defiance of the international community, 
Ja'afari noted, a superpower (the US) and its "44 vetoes" had 
been complicit. 
 
Open Debate: Arab Group, EU 
--------------------------- 
 
¶11. Speaking for the Arab Group, Kuwaiti PR Abdullah Al Murad 
commended the Mecca agreement and hoped that an effective 
national unity government would soon be formed.  He delivered 
a lengthy objection to Israeli excavation activities at the 
Temple Mount, citing international law.  He warned that the 
Arab Group reserved the right to raise the issue again should 
Israel continue its "illegal excavations."  Speaking for the 
EU, German PR Thomas Matussek emphasized the Quartet's 
intention to remain closely engaged with the peace process. 
Additionally he said that the EU fully supported the 
forthcoming trilateral meeting to be hosted by Secretary 
Rice.  He said the EU welcomed the Mecca agreement on the 
formation of a Palestinian national unity government and that 
it stood ready to work with a legitimate Palestinian 
government that adopted a platform reflecting the Quartet 
principles.  On Lebanon, the EU welcomed the Paris III 
meeting that resulted in USD 7.6 million in pledges for 
Lebanese support of which moneys EU countries provided forty 
percent. 
 
Other Statements 
---------------- 
 
¶12. Cuba, speaking for the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), 
expressed its support for Palestinian President Abbas' 
rejection of a proposal for a Palestinian state with 
provisional borders, adding that that NAM also rejected any 
attempts to alter the terms of reference of the peace process 
and the imposition of unilateral measures by Israel.  The NAM 
also condemned Israeli excavation activities at the Temple 
Mount as "a provocation to the feelings and sentiments of 
more than one billion Muslims in the world."  Cuba 
specifically attributed the Security Council's failure to act 
against Israel to the "31 vetoes" the US has cast on the 
resolutions related to the question of Palestine, calling the 
vetoes an undemocratic and obsolete privilege.  Iran 
expressed delight at the Mecca agreement and the imminent 
formation of a Palestinian national unity government, 
condemned Israeli excavation activities at the Temple Mount 
and blamed "one country" from preventing the Security Council 
from taking action against Israel, which is "the greatest 
threat to international peace and security."  In its 
statement, Japan said it is working on the concept of a 
"Corridor of Peace and Prosperity," a development plan for 
the Jordan Valley which will involved regional cooperation 
among Israel, Palestine and Jordan.  Several speakers -- 
Morocco on behalf of the Al Quds Group, Azerbaijan on behalf 
 
USUN NEW Y 00000133  004 OF 004 
 
 
of the OIC, Pakistan, Jordan and Bangladesh -- devoted the 
majority of their statement to various concerns related to 
Israeli excavations at the Temple Mount. 
WOLFF