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DE RUEHC #0737 0060023
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TO USMISSION USUN NEW YORK IMMEDIATE 0000

UNCLAS STATE 000737 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: UNSC PREL MOPS IS KPAL
SUBJECT: GUIDANCE: MIDDLE EAST SESSION, JANUARY 6 
 
¶1. (SBU) This is an action message.  USUN is authorized to 
draw from points in para 2 below during an open session of 
the Security Council on the Middle East likely to be 
scheduled for January 6. 
 
¶2. (U) Talking points. 
 
-- Mr. President, the United States has been working around 
the clock to end the violence in southern Israel and Gaza. 
We are deeply concerned about the humanitarian situation 
there.  But as we all work to address this, it is very 
important for us all to remember what precipitated this 
crisis ) the firing of hundreds of rockets and mortars by 
Hamas into southern Israel. 
 
-- Hamas resumed its campaign of rocket and mortar attacks in 
early November.  On December 19, Hamas unilaterally announced 
it would not renew the ceasefire that had been negotiated by 
Egypt, and instead intensified and extended the range of its 
daily barrages against civilian targets.  The United States 
has strongly condemned these continuing rocket and mortar 
attacks. 
 
-- Hamas, announcement and escalation occurred only three 
days after this Council passed Resolution 1850 in support of 
ongoing, bilateral Israeli-Palestinian negotiations initiated 
at Annapolis.  The resolution noted that lasting peace can 
only be based on an enduring commitment to mutual 
recognition; freedom from violence, incitement, and terror; 
and the two-state solution. Hamas, callous and premeditated 
decision not to extend the Egyptian-brokered period of calm 
is the root cause of this current situation.  It has gravely 
endangered the residents of both Gaza and southern Israel. 
 
-- Mr. President, I would like to make four points about the 
situation we are here to address. 
 
-- First, every country has the right to self-defense. 
Israel,s right to self-defense is non-negotiable.  Israel, 
in response to Hamas, terrorist rocket and mortar attacks, 
launched military operations on Hamas positions in Gaza on 
December 27, over a week after Hamas, escalation.  Moreover, 
the Israeli Government has stated that it is doing its utmost 
to avoid and minimize civilian casualties and to take the 
necessary precautionary measures in accordance with Israel,s 
obligations under international humanitarian law. 
 
-- Unforgivably, part of Hamas, strategy is to hide within 
the civilian population, deliberately placing innocent 
Palestinian civilians at very high risk.  The United States 
deeply regrets the loss of innocent life.  We continue to 
urge Israel to minimize incidental loss of civilian life, and 
for all concerned to protect innocent civilians and to 
address the urgent humanitarian needs of the people of Gaza. 
 
-- Second, a durable and sustainable ceasefire that ensures 
the safety and security of Israeli and Palestinian civilians 
over the long term is the only the way to achieve an end to 
this violence and to the humanitarian situation in Gaza.  The 
situation before the cease fire was not sustainable for 
either side.  Three hundred thousand Israelis lived under the 
daily threat of rocket attack, and 1.5 million people of Gaza 
lived in dire circumstances because of the isolation imposed 
on them by Hamas' actions. 
 
-- Mr. President, a cease fire that returns to those 
circumstances will be equally unsustainable. 
 
-- The elements that would create a sustainable cease fire 
should include an end to rocket, mortar, and other attacks on 
Israel originating from Gaza, an end to all smuggling into 
Gaza including weapons smuggling, and a re-opening of the 
border crossings in accordance with the principles of the 
2005 Agreement on Movement and Access so that Palestinians 
can benefit from legitimate trade.  No ceasefire will hold if 
rocket attacks continue, and no ceasefire will hold if arms 
smuggling continues.  Ways must be found, with the consent 
and full cooperation of the Egyptian Government ) which is 
trying to prevent the violation of Egyptian sovereignty and 
borders ) to prevent any arms or explosives from entering 
Gaza.  Key to the success of these efforts is that the tunnel 
systems between Gaza and Egypt must be completely destroyed 
and prevented from re-opening. 
 
-- Third, the elements that will make up a sustainable 
ceasefire require dialogue and prior coordination.  We are 
actively working with like-minded groups to create the 
necessary groundwork to sustain such a cease fire.  The Arabs 
and the Arab League have an important role to play, and we 
welcome the engagement of Secretary General Amr Moussa and 
the Arab League foreign ministers who have traveled to New 
York for this session.  The European Union also has an 
important mission role to play.  President Sarkozy and a 
delegation of EU Foreign Ministers have visited the region 
and should be given the time needed to bridge the existing 
differences. 
 
-- Fourth, Mr. President, we must remain focused on the 
urgency of the humanitarian situation in Gaza.  Israel has 
taken positive steps to ensure the delivery of humanitarian 
assistance to the people of Gaza.  The United States has 
contributed $25 million as an initial response to 2009 
UNRWA,s Emergency Appeal for the West Bank and Gaza.  In 
Fiscal Year 2008, the United States provided $57 million in 
support of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for 
Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) 2008 Emergency 
Appeal for the West Bank and Gaza Strip.  This emergency 
funding supports humanitarian assistance for over one million 
Palestinian refugees in Gaza and over 750,000 in the West 
Bank. 
 
-- In addition, in FY08, the United States provided $14.34 
million to support the International Committee for the Red 
Cross,s operations in West Bank, Gaza, and Lebanon -- the 
majority of which supported operations in the West Bank and 
Gaza. 
 
-- The United States has provided and will continue to 
provide, humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people. 
But we should remember that Hamas bears responsibility for 
the situation in Gaza. 
 
-- Let us be very clear: this crisis will not end so long as 
Hamas is shooting rockets and mortars into Israel.  Hamas has 
turned Gaza into a terrorist base.  That is the root of the 
crisis we face today. 
 
-- Mr. President, Hamas is watching this Council.  It is 
watching for any hope that it will be protected by the 
actions we take.  We must not take any actions that support 
that hope and thereby lengthen this conflict. 
 
End talking points. 
RICE