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Viewing cable 08STATE132244, GUIDANCE: MIDDLE EAST BRIEFING, DECEMBER 18

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
08STATE132244 2008-12-17 21:11 2011-08-24 16:30 UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Secretary of State
VZCZCXYZ0024
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHC #2244 3522119
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 172111Z DEC 08
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO USMISSION USUN NEW YORK IMMEDIATE 0000
UNCLAS STATE 132244 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: UNSC PREL LE IS SY
SUBJECT: GUIDANCE: MIDDLE EAST BRIEFING, DECEMBER 18 
 
1. (SBU) This is an action message.  USUN is authorized to 
draw from points in para 2 below during the Middle East 
Briefing scheduled for December 18. 
 
2. (U) Talking points. 
 
-- I would like to thank Under Secretary-General Pascoe 
for his briefing on the situation in the Middle East. 
Today I would like to make two main points. 
 
-- First, we welcome the passage of UN Security Council 
Resolution 1850.  It is a positive and forward-looking 
document that has put the Security Council and the 
international community on record confirming the 
irreversibility of the bilateral negotiations towards a 
lasting peace through confidential, uninterrupted and 
continuous negotiations for a two-state solution, born at 
Annapolis. 
 
 
 
-- The parties have and continue to make their best 
efforts to achieve an agreement.  They have reported 
progress in their negotiations and in the work that is 
being done on the ground, building the institutions of the 
Palestinian state, and implementing their Roadmap 
obligations. 
 
-- This is the first time in almost a decade Palestinians 
and Israelis are addressing all the issues in a 
comprehensive way to try to obtain a solution.  Israel and 
the Palestinians have expressed common aspirations.  We 
are much further along than we were in 2007 when the 
Annapolis Conference was held, and indeed much further 
than we were in 2001. 
 
-- Based on this progress, at their historic November 9 
briefing for the Quartet, the parties requested the 
continued support of the international community including 
respect for the mutually-agreed principles of their 
bilateral dialogue and the confidential nature of the 
negotiations, and that third parties should not intervene 
in the negotiations absent the joint request of both 
parties.  In Resolution 1850 they have a tangible 
reflection of that commitment. 
 
-- President Bush has called for negotiations 
to be intensified in order to put an end to the conflict 
and to establish as soon as possible a democratic state of 
Palestine, living side by side in peace and security with 
Israel. 
 
-- The second point I would like to underscore today is 
our continuing concern for the welfare of the innocent 
people of Gaza and in the towns and cities of southern 
Israel. 
 
-- As the Quartet made clear at its meeting this week, a 
lasting solution to the situation in Gaza can only be 
achieved through peaceful means.  Restoring Palestinian 
unity based on the commitments of the Palestinian 
Liberation Organization -- the legitimate and 
internationally-recognized representative of the 
Palestinian people -- to non-violence, recognition of 
Israel, and acceptance of previous commitments and 
obligations is central to this process. 
 
 
 
 
 
-- The Quartet expressed its concern that the 
Egyptian-brokered calm in Gaza had been challenged; 
condemned the indiscriminate attacks against Israel; and 
called for an immediate cessation of violence, including 
attacks against commercial crossings that prevent the 
import of humanitarian supplies and basic commodities, 
without which the people of Gaza will continue to suffer. 
 
-- As the largest single-state contributor of aid to the 
Palestinian people, the United States is deeply committed 
to seeing through the delivery of humanitarian aid.  The 
U.S. calls for the continuous provision of humanitarian 
supplies to the people of Gaza. 
 
-- The Council should not lose sight of the root cause for 
the current situation.  While the vast majority of the 
people of Gaza simply want to get on with their lives, 
Hamas and other groups continue to instigate violence, 
launching more than 200 rocket and mortar attacks in the 
past two months against Israel and humanitarian aid 
crossing points into Gaza.  The U.S. calls for an 
immediate and permanent end to these attacks, which 
represent an ongoing threat to international peace and 
security, and for the full dismantlement of the 
infrastructure of terrorism according to agreed Roadmap 
obligations. 
 
-- Continuing progress in Jenin and the successful 
deployment of the Palestinian security services to Hebron 
are strong counter-examples to the violence in Gaza. 
These developments demonstrate that Israelis and 
Palestinians can work together to advance the cause of 
peace. 
-- Finally, just a short word on Lebanon.  Full 
implementation of UN Security Council Resolutions 1559 and 
1701 is vital to a peaceful and secure Lebanon.  As with 
the establishment of a Special Tribunal under UN Security 
Council resolution 1757 to try those responsible for the 
assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq 
Hariri and others, the United States strongly supports the 
full implementation of these resolutions.  We also urge 
that adequate funds be provided for the opening of the 
Special Tribunal on March 1, 2009. 
 
-- The Secretary General's latest reports on Resolutions 
1559 and 1701 clearly express the importance of Hizballah 
disarmament and of ending arms smuggling across the 
 
 
 
 
Lebanese-Syrian border. As the national dialogue in 
Lebanon progresses, we look forward to continued efforts 
to implement these core elements of the resolutions. 
 
End talking points. 
RICE