VZCZCXYZ0011
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHC #0350 0841844
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 241838Z MAR 08
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK IMMEDIATE 0000
INFO UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV IMMEDIATE 0000
RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM IMMEDIATE 0000

UNCLAS STATE 030350 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL UNSC KPAL IS LE
SUBJECT: MIDDLE EAST - UNSC INSTRUCTIONS FOR MARCH 25 
CONSULTATIONS 
 
¶1. (SBU) Mission is instructed to draw from the points in 
paragraph 2 below in discussing events in the Middle East 
during the consultations to be held Tuesday morning, March 
25 in the UN Security Council. 
 
¶2. (U) Begin points: 
 
The United States continues to work to support progress 
towards an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement before the 
end of 2008.  Vice President Cheney and Secretary Rice 
each visited the region earlier this month to encourage 
progress in negotiations and on the ground.  Secretary 
Rice will return to the region later this week to continue 
her discussions with the parties. 
 
When we last met, violence was escalating in Gaza and 
southern Israel.  Subsequently, on March 6, a terrorist 
gunman opened fire at the Mercaz Harav yeshiva in 
Jerusalem, killing eight young Israeli students and 
wounding eleven others.  We strongly condemn this vicious 
attack against innocent civilians.  In the wake of this 
tragedy, the Government of Israel courageously reaffirmed 
its commitment to negotiations.  Israeli and Palestinian 
leaders continue to meet to work towards the shared goal 
of a permanent status agreement, and firm regional and 
international support remains crucial. 
 
With that in mind, I'd like to make six points. 
 
First is the need to achieve progress on the ground in 
order to create an atmosphere supportive of the 
negotiating process and to reassure Israelis and 
Palestinians alike of the seriousness of this process. 
General Fraser, who leads the U.S. effort to monitor 
progress on Roadmap implementation, has just returned from 
the region where he convened a trilateral meeting with the 
parties to assess progress and discuss next steps to 
fulfill the parties' commitments under the Roadmap.  The 
General had a frank and positive exchange with the parties 
and is working with them to promote progress in this area. 
 
Secretary Rice will use her next round of meetings with 
 
SIPDIS 
Israeli and Palestinian leaders later this week to further 
encourage progress. 
 
Second is the critical importance of support from the 
international community to ensure that Palestinian 
humanitarian needs are being met and that nations are 
following through on their pledges from the Paris Donor 
Conference.  These efforts will help President Abbas and 
PM Fayyad build the institutional capacity and develop the 
economy that will serve as the foundation for a 
Palestinian state.  For our part, the United States 
continues to provide basic humanitarian assistance to 
Palestinians living in Gaza via ongoing USAID programs and 
annual contributions to the UN Relief and Works Agency for 
Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). The U.S. is 
the largest bilateral donor to UNRWA. In FY 2007, we 
contributed over $154 million to UNRWA and we have, to 
date, pledged $148 million in 2008.  Our contributions to 
UNRWA support its provision of basic and vocational 
education, primary health care, and relief and social 
services to over 4.4 million registered Palestinian 
refugees in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and 
Syria, as well as its provision of emergency food, health, 
jobs creation, and other relief services to Palestinian 
refugees in the West Bank and Gaza. 
 
We are also moving forward with assistance programs 
utilizing the $545 million pledge for assistance to the PA 
that Secretary Rice announced in Paris last December. 
Most recently, on March 19, we signed a cash transfer 
agreement with PM Fayyad, providing $150 million in 
budgetary support to the Palestinian Authority.  Much more 
is needed and we encourage Paris Conference participants 
to urgently provide the assistance they have pledged.  We 
look forward to reviewing progress in this area at the 
upcoming meeting of the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee.  We 
welcome Tony Blair's continuing leadership role in this 
area, including his involvement in planning the May 21-23 
Bethlehem Private Sector Investment Conference.  We also 
support Germany's proposed meeting later this spring to 
focus donor support on building the capacity of the 
Palestinian justice sector. 
 
Third, turning to Lebanon, in addition to noting the 
pro-active engagement of the international community, I 
would also like to thank the Secretariat for the efforts 
underway to rapidly facilitate the work of the Special 
Tribunal.  The United States welcomed the Secretary 
General's announcement on February 13 regarding full 
funding for the start-up costs and first year of 
operations of the Tribunal.  The United States has already 
pledged $14 million to the Tribunal and expects to 
contribute more over the course of its lifetime.  I urge 
all Council members to generously support the Tribunal as 
a clear signal that the international community backs the 
effort of the Lebanese people an end the era of impunity 
for political assassinations in their country. We look 
forward to hearing more about the Tribunal during the 
discussion scheduled for Thursday. 
 
Fourth, the U.S. remains deeply concerned about illegal 
arms transfers across the Syrian-Lebanese border, and in 
particular claims by Hizballah that it has replenished its 
military capacity since the 2006 war.  We fully support 
the Secretary General's call for a process to disarm all 
militias in Lebanon in accordance with resolution 1559 and 
the Ta'if Accords. In accordance with resolutions of this 
Council, Hizballah must disarm, and it must do so now. 
 
Fifth, the United States deplores Hizballah's continual 
refusal to provide any information about the two abducted 
Israeli soldiers, Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser.  We are 
appalled that Hizballah is placing conditions for their 
release that are outside the scope of 1701.  We reiterate 
our call on Hizballah to immediately and unconditionally 
release them. 
 
Finally, I would like to reiterate our concern that it has 
not yet been possible for the Lebanese to hold a 
presidential election.  Although the Lebanese agree on a 
candidate, Syria and its allies within Lebanon are using 
other preconditions to perpetuate the political stalemate. 
However, until a new president takes office, the United 
States has full confidence in, and fully supports, the 
legitimate Lebanese Government in managing the affairs of 
the state and the Lebanese Armed Forces in continuing to 
provide security. 
RICE