VZCZCXRO4632
OO RUEHROV RUEHTRO
DE RUCNDT #0660/01 2060150
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 240150Z JUL 08
FM USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4672
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 USUN NEW YORK 000660 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER KPAL KWBG UNSC SY LE IS PA
SUBJECT: ISRAEL AND ARABS EXCHANGE BARBS IN MONTHLY DEBATE 
 
REF: USUN 646 AND PREVIOUS 
 
¶1.  (SBU)  Summary.  U/SYG Lynn Pascoe briefed the Security 
Council during an open meeting on the Middle East on July 22. 
 Pascoe outlined encouraging developments in the region, 
highlighting the formation of a national unity government in 
Lebanon, indirect talks between Israel and Syria, and the 
continuation of the ceasefire in Gaza.  He also expressed 
concern about the humanitarian situation in Gaza and Israeli 
military operations in the West Bank and urged Israel to 
freeze its settlement activity.  The Palestinian delegation 
condemned Israel's "vast colonial network" and criticized 
ongoing settlement activity.  Israeli PR Gillerman spoke 
off-the-cuff, criticizing Libya for blocking any mention of 
terrorism in the Security Council.  He urged Arabs and 
Muslims to support moderate leaders against extremists.  Most 
Council members reiterated their previous positions, welcomed 
recent developments, and encouraged parties to abide by prior 
commitments and obligations.  Lebanon, Syria, Cuba, Qatar, 
Malaysia, and Iran also made statements, several of which 
were highly critical of Israel.  Jordan, Japan, and Argentina 
offered more balanced statements.  End Summary. 
 
U/SYG Pascoe Heartened by Positive 
Developments but Expresses Concern 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU)  The Security Council met on July 22 for an open 
meeting on the Middle East and the Palestinian question. 
Under-Secretary-General (U/SYG) for Political Affairs Lynn 
Pascoe briefed the Council saying he was heartened by 
progress in Lebanon and by the ceasefire in Gaza but also 
concerned about the situation in the West Bank.  (Note: A 
transcript of the meeting was e-mailed to IO/UNP and NEA/IPA. 
End Note.)  Regarding the ceasefire in Gaza, Pascoe noted 
that there have been only minor breaches since it went into 
effect on June 19.  While recognizing improvement in the 
openness of the crossings over the past month, he said the 
vast majority of local industrial establishments remain 
closed, fuel requirements are not being met, and imports 
still stand at only 30 percent of pre-June 2007 levels. 
(Note: June 2007 was when Hamas seized power in Gaza. End 
Note.) 
 
¶3.  (SBU)  Pascoe noted that the IDF has increased operations 
in the West Bank and that the PA has taken steps to impose 
law and order and disarm and arrest militants as called for 
in Phase I of the Roadmap.  He condemned continued settlement 
construction, reiterating the SYG's position that settlements 
contradict international law and calling on Israel to freeze 
settlement construction in accordance with Roadmap 
obligations.  He reported that 56 percent of the West Bank 
barrier has been completed, most of which deviates from the 
Green Line.  He welcomed ongoing indirect talks between Syria 
and Israel as well as progress made on the normalization of 
Syrian-Lebanese relations.  He said the SYG's facilitator 
will submit a report on the prisoner exchange between Israel 
and Hizballah.  Following up on his July 9 briefing on UNSCR 
1701, he said the UNIFIL AOR was generally quiet but 
expressed concern that the LAF has not returned units that 
had been redeployed out of the south in May. 
 
Palestinian and Israeli Theater 
------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU)  In a formal, legalistic and calmly delivered 
statement, Palestinian Charge Feda Abdelhady-Nasser condemned 
Israel's "vast colonial network," which has fragmented the 
West Bank and undermined its contiguity, integrity, and 
unity.  She called the "relentless" Israeli settlement 
activity the main obstacle to peace, a violation of 
international law and the Fourth Geneva Convention.  She said 
Israel has defied international calls to cease settlement 
activity and has instead maintained its expansionaist agenda. 
 She argued that unless the Security Council shouldered its 
responsibility with regards to the question of Palestine, its 
credibility would be undermined.  Abdelhady-Nasser denounced 
"the wall" as part of Israel's massive colonization campaign 
and condemned Israeli military raids into the West Bank.  She 
described the humanitarian situation in Gaza as a 
deliberately-imposed humanitarian crisis.  She called for an 
extension of the truce in Gaza to the West Bank and 
reaffirmed the PA's hope that the existing truce will hold. 
 
¶5.  (SBU)  Instead of reading the statement that his mission 
prepared, Israeli PR Dan Gillerman gave an impromptu speech, 
thanking Council members for their dedication and support. 
(Note: This was Gillerman's final address to the Council 
after serving in New York for six years.  End Note.)  He 
invited Council members to visit Israel to "get a different 
perspective" and painted a grim picture of life as an 
 
USUN NEW Y 00000660  002 OF 002 
 
 
Israeli.  Implicitly criticizing Libya, he said there is a 
Council member whose main aim is to block any mention or 
condemnation of terror.  He said that when selecting members 
to join the Council, "the standards should be higher, the 
consideration should be deeper."  Gillerman noted that the 
majority of both perpetrators and victims of terrorism are 
Muslim.  He urged Arabs and Muslims to support moderate 
leaders against extremists.  Israel's prepared statement that 
was circulated in the Council labeled the agenda item before 
them a "phantasm" and called debates about the 
Israeli-Palestinian question an "illusion."  It repeated 
Israel's position that the conflict must be resolved 
bilaterally.  The statement called terrorism the greatest 
obstacle to peace and progress and denounced Iran for 
exporting and supporting terrorism in Lebanon and the 
Palestinian Territories. 
 
Council Members Weigh in with Platitudes 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU)  Most Council members delivered predictable 
statements with little new material.  The vast majority 
welcomed the formation of a Lebanese unity government and 
expressed support for the continuing period of calm in Gaza. 
Panama and South Africa said it was imperative that the 
ceasefire be extended to the West Bank.  Most member states 
called on Israel to cease its settlement activity and on the 
Palestinians to meet their Roadmap obligations.  Most, 
including all permanent members, also welcomed the indirect 
talks between Syria and Lebanon and expressed support for the 
normalization of Syrian-Lebanese relations.  The majority of 
member states expressed concern about the humanitarian 
situation in Gaza.  The UK, Russia, China, Burkina Faso, 
Panama, Croatia, and Vietnam welcomed the prisoner exchange 
between Hizballah and Israel.  Libya said Israel's activities 
showed that it was not serious about seeking a just, lasting, 
and comprehensive solution to the conflict.  Libya denounced 
settlements, collective punishment, the "Apartheid wall," and 
Israel's continued occupation of Sheba'a Farms and the Syrian 
Golan.  Libya said it was the right of Palestinians to resist 
occupation and rejected attempts to link resistance with 
terrorism. 
 
Amb Khalilzad: We Are Moving in the Right Direction 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU)  Amb Khalilzad outlined the progress that had been 
achieved, identified the major challenges ahead, and focused 
on how the international community could help the parties 
reach peace.  He welcomed the progress made by the Israelis 
and Palestinians in their bilateral negotiations as well as 
indirect talks between Israel and Syria.  Amb Khalilzad also 
welcomed the Doha agreement and the announcement that Syria 
and Lebanon will exchange diplomatic missions.  He condemned 
all attacks targeting civilians and called for a restoration 
of the lawful Palestinian Authority in Gaza.  He expressed 
deep concern at continuing Israeli settlement activity and 
called on Israel to freeze settlement activity and dismantle 
outposts erected since March 2001.  Amb Khalilzad emphasized 
the need for regional partners and others to increase their 
efforts to support the PA.  With regard to Lebanon, he said 
the international community must continue to work towards the 
full implementation of UNSCRs 1559 and 1701 and support the 
efforts of the LAF and Internal Security Forces to restore 
calm and support the GOL.  He called on outside parties to 
cease arming illegal militias in Lebanon. 
 
Arabs Predictably Denounce Israel 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶8.  (SBU)  The Council also heard from Lebanon, Syria, Cuba 
(on behalf of the NAM), Qatar (on behalf of the Arab Group), 
Jordan, Argentina, Japan, Malaysia, Iran, and the Committee 
on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian 
People.  With the exception of Japan, Jordan, and Argentina, 
which gave more balanced statements, all focused almost 
exclusively on Israeli actions, denouncing settlement 
activity, the separation wall, Israeli occupation of Arab 
lands, and Israeli failures to comply with existing Council 
resolutions and other agreements.  Syria's statement was 
particularly rambling and vitriolic, accusing Israel of using 
"an influential state" to protect it with the power of the 
veto.  Libya, Lebanon, Syria, Iran, and Cuba referenced the 
settlements resolution (reftel), though mostly in passing. 
Libya said the initiative met with paralysis and "flimsy 
pretexts" to impose a solution protecting the occupying power 
and treating the victims unjustly. 
Khalilzad