Israel admits firing depleted uranium in Gaza and...

Reference id aka Wikileaks id #190638  ? 
Subject Iaea/gaza/depleted Uranium: Israel Responds Negatively To Iaea Letter, Iaea Pledges To Stay Within Its Mandate
Origin UNVIE (United Nations)
Cable time Thu, 5 Feb 2009 16:03 UTC
Classification SECRET
Source http://wikileaks.org/cable/2009/02/09UNVIEVIENNA50.html
History First published on Thu, 1 Sep 2011 23:24 UTC
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FM USMISSION UNVIE VIENNA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8982
INFO RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN PRIORITY 0756
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 1095
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS PRIORITY 0948
RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV PRIORITY 0234
RHEBAAA/DOE WASHDC PRIORITY
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RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 1474
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S E C R E T UNVIE VIENNA 000050

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/05/2019
TAGS: AORC [International Organizations and Conferences], MNUC [Military Nuclear Applications], PREL [External Political Relations], SENV [Environmental Affairs], IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency], XF [Middle East], IS [Israel]
SUBJECT: IAEA/GAZA/DEPLETED URANIUM:  ISRAEL RESPONDS 
NEGATIVELY TO IAEA LETTER, IAEA PLEDGES TO STAY WITHIN ITS 
MANDATE 

REF: UNVIE 25

Classified By: CDA Geoffrey R Pyatt for reasons 1.4(c) and (e)

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Summary:
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¶1.  (C)  Following the IAEA's receipt of letters from the
Arab group and from the Palestinians calling for IAEA
assistance in the wake of alleged Israeli use of depleted
uranium munitions (DU) in Gaza (see reftel), the IAEA
Secretariat sent Israel a letter "inviting" Israel to submit
"any comments and/or information it may wish to share."
Israel responded negatively, charging that the Palestinian
request of the Agency "is not in line" with the IAEA's
mandate regarding DU-related activities.  The Secretariat has
assured Israel's Ambassador that the IAEA will stay within
its mandate, and in any case will not consider undertaking
any activities in Gaza until there is a "real" ceasefire
holding.  (Comment:  We have heard nothing more of any
possible effort to link the Gaza issue with Syria's claim
that uranium found at the Al-Kibar reactor site in Syria
originated from Israeli munitions.  Arab states, however,
will probably still try to infer a linkage during statements
at the March 2 IAEA Board of Governors meeting.  The
Secretariat appears to recognize the political landmines.
While their strategy may be to provide an opportunity for the
Arabs to vent on Gaza, such an opportunity risks setting in
motion a political escalation that could further complicate
our efforts in the coming months in the Board, as well as
perhaps in the September General Conference.)  End Summary
and Comment.

------------------------------
Israel Responds to IAEA Letter
------------------------------

¶2.  (C)  Further to reftel issue of an Arab/Palestinian
request for the IAEA to investigate the health/radiation
effects of the alleged Israeli use of DU munitions in Gaza,
the IAEA Secretariat sent Israel a letter dated January 23,
2009.  The letter from IAEA Office of External Relations and
Policy Coordination (EXPO) Director Vilmos Cserveny noted
receipt of reftel letters from Arab ambassadors in Vienna and
the Palestinian Observer at the IAEA, and "invited" Israel to
"submit any comments and/or information it may wish to share
in relation to the alleged use of depleted uranium."  (Full
text of IAEA letter at para. 6)

¶3.  (C)  On February 3, Israeli Ambassador Michaeli met with
Cserveny to deliver orally the Israeli response.  (Full text
of the Note Verbale from which Michaeli spoke, but that he
did not pass to Cserveny, is at para 7.  Please protect.)
The Israeli response stated that Israel has operated within
the realm of international law and that the Palestinian
request of the Agency "is not in line with" the Agency's
mandate.  It also notes IAEA findings elsewhere that
"practically negate" a link between DU and "significant
health or environmental impacts."  The Israelis also charged
that the Arab/Palestinian request was undermining the
professionalism of the Agency and was done for purposes of
providing a nuclear fig leaf under which the Arabs could make
political statements at the IAEA on the general issue of
Gaza.

¶4.  (C)  Michaeli told MsnOff that Cserveny listened
attentively to the Israeli response and responded with a
"loud and clear" promise that the IAEA would not go beyond
any legitimate mandate for the kind of health physics-related
survey the IAEA has supported in other locales.  Cserveny
also said that the IAEA would not in any case send any team
to Gaza until a "real" ceasefire is in place.  Should the
IAEA undertake any survey in Gaza, it would seek to do so in
partnership with either the World Health Organization (WHO)
or the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP).  Michaeli 
noted to MsnOff that, should any survey/visit take place, 
Israel would prefer UNEP without the IAEA or WHO.  Israel's 
rationale was that UNEP alone made a similar inquiry in 
Lebanon and Israel believes acted professionally in that 
instance.  Michaeli suspects the Arabs approached the IAEA 
because they feel the DG may be more "compliant" than UNEP or 
WHO. 


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Comment
-------

¶5.  (S)  While the Secretariat's strategy may be to provide
an opportunity for the Arabs to vent on Gaza, such an
opportunity risks setting in motion a political escalation
that could further complicate our efforts in the coming
months in the Board, as well as perhaps in the September
General Conference.  Mission has heard no further indication
of any effort to link investigation of alleged Israeli-origin
DU in Gaza with Syrian allegations of Israeli-origin uranium
at Al-Kibar.  However, we strongly expect one or more Arab
states will at least imply a linkage in statements at the
March 2-5 IAEA Board of Governors meeting either under an
existing agenda item on the annual Safety Review or under AOB
.  To counter such rhetoric, Ambassador Schulte used a 
February 4 meeting of Vienna "like-minded"  Ambassadors (EU3, 
Canada, Australia, Japan, New Zealand) hosted by Australia on 
February 5 to alert counterparts to the likely Arab focus on 
the Gaza/DU issue and encourage a unified effort as necessary 
to prevent the success of any attempts to divert the Board 
meeting into such highly politicized terrain.   Ambassador 
Schulte counseled against elevating any DU debate in the 
Board,  but noted that an IAEA Legal opinion may be needed if 
the Arab Group steers the discussion in areas outside the 
Agency's mandate.  French Ambassador Deniau reported that the 
Quai D'Orsay Spokesman had already commented that any 
investigation of the use of DU in Gaza was outside the 
Agency's mandate.  France did not object to studying 
radiological effects of DU, but noted that the latest UNEP 
study in Lebanon in 2007 had reached the same conclusion on 
the negligible health impact as three previous ones in the 
Balkans and Kuwait cited by Ambassador Schulte.  Canada added 
that DU was not a banned munition.  However, given the public 
sensitivity of this issue and NGO perceptions, Germnay 
advised keeping the issue low key.  Ambassador Schulte 
agreed, so long as the Arab Group "stayed with in the lanes" 
of the IAEA's mandate. 

-----------------------------
Text of IAEA Letter to Israel
-----------------------------

¶6.  (C)  Begin Text:

Sir,

I have the honour to inform you that, on 21 January 2009, the
Director General received a communication from the Permanent
Observer of Palestine to the Agency in which he requested the
Director General to investigate reports of the use of
depleted uranium in Gaza.

The Director General had previously received on, 19 January
2009, a letter from the Resident Representative of the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Vienna on behalf of the Council of
Ambassadors of Arab States Members of the Agency expressing
concern over the information available from various medical
and media sources on the possibility that depleted uranium
was used by Israel in Gaza and requesting the Director
General to undertake a physical and radiation evaluation.

In this connection, your Government is invited to submit any
comments and/or information it may wish to share in relation
to the alleged use of depleted uranium.

Accept, Sir, the assurances of my highest consideration.

Vilmos Cserveny
Director, Office of External Relations and Policy Coordination

---------------------------------------
Text of Israeli Response to IAEA Letter 
--------------------------------------- 

¶7.  (S)  Following points were delivered orally to IAEA 
Israeli Amb. Michaeli: 

NOTE VERBAL (3 February 2009) 

In response to your letter of 23 January 2009 and your 
invitation for Israel to submit any comments and/or 
information, the Government of Israel wishes to state the 


following: 

- The state of Israel has operated and is operating within 
the realm of the international law and the international 
conventions by which it is obliged.  This also covers the 
recent war in the Gaza area. 

- The GOI is confident that the IAEA Secretariat intends to 
work solely within the mandate of the Agency, and points out 
that the Palestinian request as delivered by the Secretariat 
to Israel is not in line with that mandate. 

- The GOI believes that the Arab states are aware of the 
empty nature of their complaints and requests, as there are 
no legal constraints on the use of depleted uranium and as 
several professional international organizations, including 
the IAEA, practically negate any between the use of that 
material and significant health or environmental impacts. 

- The GOI therefore believes that the Arab/Palestinian 
letters undermine the professional nature of the IAEA, as 
they are aimed at raising the Arab general view on the Gaza 
war in the frame of the Agency, and at involving the 
Secretariat in a political dispute over this war. 


SCHULTE