VZCZCXYZ0014
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHC #6591 1271659
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 071646Z MAY 09
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO USMISSION USUN NEW YORK IMMEDIATE 0000

UNCLAS STATE 046591 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: UNSC PREL IS LE KPAL
SUBJECT: GUIDANCE: UNSC MIDDLE EAST DEBATE, MAY 11, 2009 
 
¶1. (SBU) This is an action message.  USUN is authorized 
to draw from the points in para 2 below as a basis for its 
participation in the Security Council debate on the 
Middle East scheduled for May 11, and for its public statements 
about the debate. 
 
¶2. (U) Talking points: 
 
-- Thank the Secretary General for his report.  Our 
meeting here today under the distinguished leadership of 
Foreign Minister Lavrov underscores the importance the 
world community places on achieving a secure, 
comprehensive and lasting peace in the Middle East 
region, the cornerstone of which is the two-state solution, with 
Israel and Palestine living side by side in peace and 
security. 
 
-- A comprehensive peace, including the two-state 
solution, remains the objective of the United States as 
well, and we will pursue it vigorously in the coming 
months.  President Obama is personally committed to this 
goal and continues to exert his direct leadership on 
this issue.  As the President noted in his recent address to 
the Turkish parliament in Ankara, the parties have also 
committed to these goals in the Roadmap and at 
Annapolis. 
 
-- We are not interested in a lengthy, drawn-out 
process, but in results.  We are optimistic that substantive and 
lasting progress can be made if we keep in mind the 
vision of a future Middle East in which Israel lives in peace 
and security alongside its Arab neighbors and the fruits of 
peace are cherished by all.  As President Obama has 
noted, terrorism and rocket fire aimed at innocent Israelis is 
simply intolerable.  And a future without hope for the 
Palestinians is intolerable as well. 
 
-- To this end, the distinguished United States Special 
Envoy for Middle East Peace, Senator George Mitchell, 
recently completed his third trip to the region.  He is 
working with our Israeli and Arab partners, and our 
allies throughout the international community, to create the 
conditions for a peaceful resolution to the conflict and 
the establishment of an independent and viable Palestinian 
state.  His work is also designed to prevent any new 
outbreak of violence that could set back our efforts. 
 
-- To further this cause, Israeli Prime Minister 
Netanyahu will visit Washington next week for discussions 
with President Obama, and Palestinian President Abbas will 
visit the week after.  We look forward to constructive 
talks with these long-term friends, and to discussing 
how the international community can support these efforts 
with our Quartet partners and other allies.  We believe the 
Quartet remains the most effective instrument for 
advancing the international community's engagement in 
the effort to bring lasting peace to the Middle East. 
 
-- As we move towards negotiations, it is critical for 
all parties to meet their existing obligations under the 
Roadmap.  The Palestinian Authority must combat terror 
and incitement against Israel.  The United States and its 
partners have provided funding and training for a 
reformed Palestinian security force, which has impressed 
everyone with its recent demonstrations of professionalism 
and effectiveness.  Israel should not expand settlements, 
dismantle existing outposts, and should allow the 
Palestinians freedom of movement and access to economic 
opportunity and increased security responsibility. 
 
-- It is also critical that all states in the region 
consider what steps they can take to create an 
atmosphere conducive to successful negotiations.  This is 
one reason that we intend to integrate the Arab Peace 
Initiative into our approach.  In this regard, we welcome 
the remarks of King Abdullah of Jordan during his recent and 
productive visit to Washington, in which he said that America 
cannot be left by itself to do all the heavy lifting, so a 
group of countries, including Jordan, will do all they can to 
provide support. 
 
-- At the same time, it is essential to fully support 
the Palestinian Authority as it continues to improve the 
lives of ordinary Palestinians throughout the West Bank and 
Gaza with non-partisan, transparent, and accountable 
programs.  The World Bank and the IMF have endorsed the 
Authority's budgetary and financial controls in accounting 
for the more than $1.7 billion contributed to it by all donors 
in 2008.  We in the international community must continue 
to support the legitimate Palestinian leadership, and 
regional states have a special responsibility in this 
regard.  The United States is proud, as am I, to have it 
as a partner in advancing the cause of peace.  It is 
imperative that President Abbas, Prime Minister Fayyad, 
and the Palestinian Authority are able to demonstrate 
that negotiations, not terrorism and armed resistance, are 
the path to an independent and viable Palestinian state. 
 
-- In this context, it is important for all UN members, 
and Arab states especially, to recognize that the 
Quartet principles represent the essential building blocks 
of a Palestinian state.  Palestinian reconciliation on terms 
that do not uphold the Quartet principles would only 
serve to delay the realization of Palestinians' legitimate 
aspirations for statehood. 
 
-- All UN member states, including regional states, must 
also work to ensure that the illicit smuggling of arms 
and ammunition into Gaza ends so that Hamas does not restock 
its arsenal and instigate another conflict.  We are 
strongly supportive of reopening the Gaza border 
crossings in a controlled, sustained, and continuous manner, 
with an appropriate monitoring regime with international and 
Palestinian Authority participation.  This will be 
achieved via dialogue in the spirit of meeting 
humanitarian needs, not via terrorist intimidation and 
violence. 
 
-- Only if raised: It is also important for this Council 
to avoid creating controversy where none exists.  To 
cite a recent example, the Secretary-General and Israel are 
working together constructively to address the 
recommendations of the Board of Inquiry into incidents 
at UN facilities in the recent conflict in Gaza.  We 
welcome this progress.  The Council has never micro-managed 
the work of Secretary-General in relation to Boards of 
Inquiry and safeguarding UN personnel in the past, and should 
not do so now for political motives. 
 
-- Separately, we also look forward to the upcoming 
elections in Lebanon, which must be free, fair and 
unmarred by violence.  We continue to support the full 
implementation of Security Council Resolutions 1559 and 
1701 as the most assured means to protect Lebanon's 
hard-won sovereignty and independence.  We must continue 
to insist upon an end to weapons smuggling and on the 
disarmament of all militias in Lebanon, including 
Hizballah. 
 
-- We must look beyond the smoke of war and avoid the 
easy temptations of recrimination and rancor.  Rather, we 
must focus on a shared vision of peace and security.  It 
should be all of our roles to help the parties move forward 
in pursuit of peace and do nothing to hinder their efforts. 
 
-- The stakes for peace are high.  They are the 
difference between the people of the region and their children 
living fulfilling, prosperous lives, or having to face 
continued instability and round after round of violence and 
terror.   Great leaders of the past, such as Anwar Sadat 
and Yitzhak Rabin, have selflessly devoted themselves to 
this cause.  The question for our generation is whether 
history will place us in the camp of the peacemakers, or 
among those who let this problem go unresolved. 
 
End talking points. 
CLINTON