WikiLeaks sheds light on Israel-US ties: Some 20 cables sent by the American embassy in Tel Aviv between 2005 and the end of 2009 were exposed by WikiLeaks Sunday,revealing secret correspondence between US officials and Israel’s prime minister, Mossad chief and others.
The earliest cable from 2005 recounted a meeting between former US Ambassador to Israel Dan Kurtzer and Mossad Director Meir Dagan that detailed the spy agency’s activities in Iraq.
Later documents describe meetings between Dagan and other American officials. On April 19, 2007 Dagan warned that Russia was playing an "extremely negative role" in the region. Other correspondence includes meetings between Benjamin Netanyahu – first as opposition leader and later as prime minister – and US President Barack Obama.
According the published documents, Netanyahu claimed that the three main threats concerning Israel were the Iranian nuclear program, rockets obtained by Hamas, Hezbollah andSyria, and the Goldstone Report .He explained that the report granted legitimization to those who seek to harm Israel.
'Bad feeling'
In one of the meetings held toward the end of 2009 between Israeli officials and Assistant Secretary of State Andro Shapiro, the Israelis claimed they had "a bad feeling" about Turkey, and expressed concern over the close ties the Turkish government was developing with Syria and Iran, while distancing itself from Israel.
The officials further claimed that Turkey expressed its support for the Hamas governmentin the Gaza Strip and was adopting a more "Islamic" stance in an effort to become a regional power.
In another meeting held that month, Director of Policy and Political-Military Affairs at the Ministry of Defense Amos Gilad predicted the political demise of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas by 2011.
Livni’s skepticism
Elsewhere, a document drafted by former US Ambassador to Israel Richard Jones in January 2007, on the eve of the Winograd Report’s publication, the envoy provided an in-depth assessment of the atmosphere in Israel at the time.
In the report, Jones wrote about a sense of political failure in Israel, despite the strong economy and success in combating suicide attacks. Israel’s leadership is facing a confidence crisis on the part of the public, he wrote, adding that Winograd’s preliminary conclusions may determine the fate of Israel’s top political brass.
The ambassador also referred to then-Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni ,recounting a meeting between her and Senator John Kerry where she expressed skepticism over the possibility of securing a peace agreement with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas.
Turning his attention to the Iranian threat, Jones wrote that the issue continues to cause anxiety in Israel, with many Israelis taking Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s threats to wipe the county off the map seriously. Israeli analysts estimate that an Iranian nuclear bomb would undermine Israel’s ability to survive in the long term, he wrote, adding that some Israelis are openly speaking about not wishing to see their children and grandchildren growing up in an Israel threatened by a nuclear Iran.
Roi Mandel contributed to the story