VZCZCXRO1777
OO RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHKUK RUEHROV RUEHTRO
DE RUEHC #2737/01 2691723
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 251718Z SEP 08
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK IMMEDIATE 3200
INFO ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV IMMEDIATE 5737
RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM IMMEDIATE 3418

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 STATE 102737 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: UNSC PREL IS LE SY
SUBJECT: UNSC MINISTERIAL-LEVEL MEETING ON THE MIDDLE EAST 
 
¶1. (SBU) This is an action message.  Please see paragraphs 
three and four.  USUN should seek to delay by several weeks, 
if possible, a meeting of the Security Council at the 
Ministerial level proposed by Saudi Arabia and the Arab Group 
to discuss the issue of Israeli settlements.  If a meeting is 
unavoidable, USUN should seek to minimize its impact and to 
deter any kind of product coming out of it.  It should also 
seek to expand the agenda of the meeting to include a balanced 
consideration of all issues, along the lines of our 
approach at monthly briefings on the situation in the 
Middle East.  Mission is authorized to draw from the 
points in para 4 below in its presentation at a Council 
session.  Note: Info addressees in Arab League posts will 
receive instructions septel on approaching host 
governments on this matter. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Background.  On September 19, the presidency of 
the Security Council distributed to the UN Missions of the 
Quartet and Libya a letter from Saudi Foreign Minister 
Saud al-Faisal on behalf of the Arab League requesting a 
Ministerial-level meeting of the Security Council to 
discuss the issue of Israeli settlement activity.  The 
letter, which the Presidency subsequently distributed to 
all UNSC members on September 22, claimed that this 
special meeting would "save the peace process and the 
ongoing Palestinian-Israeli negotiations from failure." 
It went on to assert that Israel's ongoing settlement 
activities "pre-empt the current negotiations and render 
them meaningless."  In UNSC consultations on the afternoon 
of September 22, despite USUN's best efforts to deflect 
this request, the consensus of other members was that a 
session should be held.  However, several other missions - 
notably Belgium, France and the UK, joined the U.S. in 
noting that any UNSC meeting should include the full range 
of issues, not merely the question of Israeli settlement 
activity.  No final decision on the timing or agenda for a 
meeting were taken.  The Presidency is now reportedly in 
the process of conferring individually with UNSC missions 
with a view to holding a meeting, either late this week or 
early next. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Action request.  USUN should seek to delay the 
convening of a previously-unscheduled UNSC Ministerial 
meeting proposed by Saudi Arabia and the Arab Group for as 
long as practical, ideally by several weeks, working with the 
Council Presidency and like-minded states to effect this 
delay.  Mission should seek to expand the agenda of the 
meeting to include a balanced consideration of all issues, 
along the lines of our approach at monthly briefings on the 
situation in the Middle East.  Items that should be included 
in the discussion -- whether USUN is able to have them formally 
included in the agenda or not -- are listed at paragraph 
four.  Core points for the U.S. presentation at the 
meeting, if one is held, are at paragraph five. 
 
¶4. (U) In addition to a discussion on Israeli settlement 
activity requested by Saudi Arabia and the Arab League, 
any Ministerial-level meeting on the situation in the 
Middle East should also cover the following topics: 
 
-- the need for both sides to fulfill all their 
obligations under the Roadmap; 
 
-- a permanent end to attacks targeting civilians, and the 
dismantlement of terrorist infrastructure; 
 
-- the need for the Palestinian Authority to fulfill its 
commitment to fight terrorism and to accelerate steps to 
rebuild and refocus its security apparatus; 
 
-- progress in the transfer of security responsibilities 
from Israel to the Palestinian Authority in support of the 
PA's efforts to fight terrorism, and to facilitate the 
delivery of security assistance to the Palestinian 
Authority; 
 
-- the need for all regional states to cut off public and 
private funding and all other forms of support for groups 
supporting and engaging in violence and terrorism; 
 
-- the importance of all states, international 
organizations and specialized agencies to assist in the 
development of the Palestinian Authority and its capacity 
to fight terror; 
 
-- the efforts of Egypt and the Arab League to help 
restore calm in Gaza in a manner that would provide 
security to all Palestinians and Israelis; ensure the 
controlled and sustained opening of the Gaza crossings for 
humanitarian reasons and commercial flows; support the 
legitimate PA government's authority throughout its 
territory; and work towards conditions that would permit 
implementation of the 2005 Agreement on Movement and 
Access. 
 
¶5. (U) Begin points for a U.S. presentation at a possible 
UNSC Ministerial-level meeting: 
 
-- [Complimentary Opening] 
 
-- We thank the Arab League and the Kingdom of Saudi 
Arabia for their interest in this issue.  The Council last 
met to discuss these matters on September 18.  Since then, 
there have been no major developments on the ground. 
 
-- Secretary Rice's intense personal engagement on this 
issue demonstrates our commitment to a peaceful, two-state 
solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  The 
Secretary last traveled to Jerusalem and Ramallah on 
August 26 for tri-lateral talks, as she has almost every 
month since the conference in Annapolis last November. 
Here in New York, she has met with... [Note: USUN to fill 
in to reflect key meetings that have occurred.] 
 
-- The United States remains strongly committed to 
achieving a peace agreement.  I would like to be 
absolutely clear on this point: The ongoing 
Israeli-Palestinian talks are serious and substantive, and 
are addressing all issues, without exception.  The talks 
remain 
fully confidential at the request of both parties, the 
State of Israel and the Palestinian Authority, a request 
that we believe must be respected. 
 
-- The United States thus does not share the rather 
dismissive view expressed in the September 16 Saudi letter 
to the Council Presidency that the current negotiations 
are "meaningless."  As is well known, both parties are 
continuing the negotiations with great intensity.  This is 
a reflection of the talks' seriousness, and also a great 
credit to the Palestinian and Israeli officials who are 
persevering in the cause of peace despite the great 
challenges and criticisms they face. 
 
-- [Note: One or more points on the September 26 Quartet 
meeting should go here.  The substance would depend on 
whether or not the public Ministerial session is taking 
place before or after September 26.] 
 
-- Separately, Israel and Syria are continuing indirect 
peace talks, for which we are appreciative of Turkey's 
facilitation.  While we welcome this effort, we remain 
deeply concerned with Syria's open support for terrorist 
groups, such as Hizballah; its role as a transit point for 
foreign terrorists entering Iraq; and the shipment of 
weapons across the Syrian border into Lebanon which serves 
to rearm terrorists.  The August 25 report of the Lebanon 
Independent Border Assessment Team shows no progress at 
all over the past two years on interdicting arms smuggling 
across this border, concluding that Lebanon's borders are 
as penetrable now as was the case over a year ago. 
 
-- We strongly support the Lebanese Government and its 
Armed Forces and Internal Security Forces.  The 
international community must stand with Lebanon's 
government to insist on the authority of the state and the 
illegitimacy of armed groups, including Hizballah, that 
undermine the government's authority and the resolutions 
of this Council.  Two years after the conflict instigated 
by Hizballah, this remains the most serious matter for the 
Council to follow with regard to its duty to safeguard 
international peace and security in the region.  As 
provided in resolution 1701, there must be no unauthorized 
weapons in Lebanon. 
 
-- We condemn efforts by any armed group to usurp the 
lawful authority of legitimate government activities via 
violence and terrorism.  We strongly condemn Hamas' 
actions to usurp the lawful authority of the Palestinian 
Authority in Gaza, including the replacement of public 
sector workers with Hamas sympathizers and the closing of 
non-governmental organizations, thereby proscribing the 
delivery of humanitarian assistance from the UN and 
others, and the threat that terrorist rocket attacks could 
resume from Gaza into Israel at any time.  The Quartet's 
principles remain determinative for Hamas' recognition and 
involvement in the peace process: renunciation of violence 
and terror; recognition of Israel; and acceptance of 
previous agreements between the parties. 
 
-- Sincere efforts to crack down on terrorism and to offer 
genuine alternatives can and do have a significant 
positive impact despite the existence of many other 
problems.  The progress the Palestinian Authority is 
making in Jenin, for example - as Palestinian security 
forces gradually assume greater responsibility to uphold 
law and order, and as a normal day-to-day activity is 
restored - stands in clear contrast to the situation in 
Gaza and in Lebanon. 
 
-- Support for and acceptance of terrorist groups - via 
public and private funding from states in the region, and 
the shipment of illicit weapons and materiel across 
international borders in violation of UN resolutions - has 
had, in comparison to any other element, the greatest 
destabilizing effect on the parties, both Arab and 
Israeli.  It is the most corrosive factor on the prospects 
for a comprehensive and lasting peace.  As President Bush 
expressed in his address to the General Assembly on 
September 23, no cause can justify the innocent taking of 
human life. 
 
-- As we heard at Monday's Ad Hoc Liaison Committee 
meeting, Palestinian capacity building is another 
essential element to bringing the Israeli-Palestinian 
conflict to an end.  Nevertheless, the Palestinian 
Authority remains in dire straits financially and urgently 
needs additional international support.  Total U.S. 
assistance to the Palestinians in 2008 will surpass our 
pledged level of $555 million, including $264 million in 
project assistance, $150 million in direct budget support, 
and $184.6 million for the UN Relief and Works Agency for 
Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), to which the 
United States is the largest bilateral donor. 
 
-- Recently, the U.S. Congress approved an additional $150 
million in direct budgetary assistance during fiscal year 
2009, which starts October 1, and $50 million in project 
assistance.  We call on other countries, particularly in 
the Arab world, to join us in increasing their support to 
the Palestinian Authority, and for those countries 
interested in peace who have not yet contributed or 
fulfilled their pledges to do so. 
 
-- We call on Israel to freeze its settlement activity and 
dismantle outposts erected since March 2001, consistent 
with its Roadmap obligations.  We remain concerned that 
the continuation of this activity can create a negative 
effect on the environment for negotiations. 
 
-- Finally, we call on the Arab states to reach out to 
Israel, work towards the normalization of relations, and 
demonstrate in both word and deed that Israel and its 
people have a permanent place in the Middle East.  As 
President Bush has noted, these are vital steps towards 
the comprehensive peace we all seek. 
 
End points. 
 
¶6. (U) Minimize considered. 
RICE