US embassy cable - 05ABUDHABI911

C O N F I D E N T I A L ABU DHABI 000911 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA, NEA/ARPI, NEA/IPA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/27/2015 
TAGS: EFIN, EAID, ECON, EINV, PREL, KPAL, IS, TC 
SUBJECT: UAE INVESTMENT IN PALESTINE: GOOD INTENTIONS, BAD 
TIMING? 
 
REF: ABU DHABI 834 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Michele J. Sison for reasons 1.4 (b and d) 
 
 1. (C) Summary: Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed Bin 
Zayed Al-Nahyan (MbZ) told Ambassador that he had been 
briefed on Dubai real estate developer Mohammed Al-Abbar's 
visit to the Palestinian territories and proposed investments 
there in advance of Al-Abbar's trip, and had no objection to 
Al-Abbar's plans in principle. (reftel)  He expected that the 
current public furor would pass and implied that there might 
be room to move forward on investments in Palestine when 
things calmed down.  Meanwhile, in response to the extensive 
media coverage and criticism of his visit, Al-Abbar denied 
that he had either met with Israeli PM Sharon or offered to 
buy the settlements.  End Summary. 
 
2. (C) In a February 25, meeting with Ambassador and visiting 
Chief of Staff of the Air Force General Jumper, MbZ said that 
he had known about Mohammed Al-Abbar's visit to the 
Palestinian territories and his investment concept, and was 
not/not opposed to either the visit or the concept in 
principle.  He had "strongly" advised, however, that Al-Abbar 
meet the Palestinian side first and allow them to publicize 
it.  After that, he suggested, meetings with the Israelis, to 
facilitate the arrangement with the Palestinians, would have 
made logical sense and could have been justified to the 
public.  MbZ stated that, unfortunately, Al-Abbar had "got 
the order mixed-up," and the Israelis' put out the story as 
if Al-Abbar was working the deal with them.   MbZ predicted 
that the media storm would "blow over" and that Al-Abbar 
could be "redeemed" in the eyes of the UAE public. 
 
3. (U) After the appearance of several articles and 
editorials criticizing his visit to the Palestinian 
territories and meetings with senior Israeli officials, the 
UAE papers carried Mohammed Al-Abbar's public denial that he 
had made a deal to purchase the settlements.  He also denied 
meeting with Israeli PM Ariel Sharon.  He stated that his 
visit to the Palestinian territories was to assess the needs 
of the Palestinian people and to examine the situation on the 
ground.  Al-Abbar emphasized that, in his meetings with 
Palestinians, he found a strong desire "to maintain the 
assets that are built on these colonies instead of having 
them demolished by Israeli forces.  Together we held the view 
that Palestinian people could benefit from those assets 
rather than having to construct replacement assets." 
 
4. (U) The weekend press debate was largely negative.  The 
"Emirates National Committee Against Normalization with the 
Israeli Enemy" criticized Al-Abbar for his reported interest 
in purchasing the settlements from Israel noting that the 
"the purchase (of the settlements) rewards the Israeli 
occupation and makes it legitimate."  (Note: MFA U/S Abdullah 
Rashid Al-Noaimi stressed to Ambassador, on February 27, that 
the committee was a group of private citizens and had no/no 
UAEG involvement.  End note)  An editorial in the English 
language "Gulf News" noted that Al-Abbar's intentions were 
good, but his timing was premature, since there was still no 
peace settlement between the Palestinians and the Israelis. 
The editorial noted that "when the land is returned, Sharon 
will not be the person to deal with."  The Arab Nationalist 
paper Al-Khaleej (considered the most popular paper in the 
UAE) had an editorial, which -- while not naming Al-Abbar -- 
sharply criticized  normalization of relations with Israel. 
 
5. (C) Comment: MbZ's remarks indicate that he was much more 
aware -- and potentially supportive -- of this project than 
we had understood from Al-Abbar.  The public outcry in the 
UAE is related to the meeting with Sharon and to the news 
(both of which Al-Abbar denied) that he was prepared to 
compensate the Israelis for the Gaza settlements.  The furor 
has certainly delayed any movement on this project, given the 
UAEG's preference to stay out of the headlines.  It appears 
however, that senior Abu Dhabi ruling family members are not 
opposed to the concept of investing in the Palestinian 
territories and an approach by Palestinian president Mahmoud 
Abbas could possibly still move this project forward, as long 
as it can be officially presented as an arrangement between 
the Palestinians and UAE investors.  End Comment. 
SISON