US embassy cable - 05TELAVIV4621

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TEL AVIV 004621 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/25/2015 
TAGS: EAGR, EAID, PGOV, PREL, KWBG, IS, GAZA DISENGAGEMENT 
SUBJECT: CHIEF DISENGAGEMENT AUTHORITY BASSEY DISCUSSES 
DISENGAGEMENT PLANNING WITH STAFFDEL TALWAR 
 
Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Gene A. Cretz for reasons 1.4 (b 
) and (d) 
 
1.  (C) Summary: Staffdel Talwar met with Yonatan Bassey, 
Director of the Disengagement Authority (SELA), on July 11 to 
discuss Israel,s ongoing preparations for the upcoming 
evacuation of 17 settlements in the Gaza Strip and four 
settlements in the northern West Bank under Prime Minister 
Ariel Sharon,s disengagement plan.  Bassey volunteered that 
he did not see any situation where Sharon would postpone 
disengagement.  The first part of disengagement will start on 
August 15, but the physical evacuation of settlers by the GOI 
will start two days later on August 17.  According to Bassey, 
the evacuation of settlements in the northern West Bank would 
begin the second week of September to give the IDF sufficient 
time to redeploy. Of the four West Bank settlements, Bassey 
anticipated Sa Nur to be the only problematic one. 
Approximately 80 percent of the 1,700 families in the Gaza 
Strip slated for evacuation have not taken the first step in 
knowing where they will go after they are evacuated.  Bassey 
lamented that despite claims of help by the international 
community, no solutions have been agreed upon to transfer or 
sell the greenhouses.  End summary. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
Israel Will Complete Disengagement Despite Difficulties 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
2.  (C) Describing disengagement as &very difficult,8 
Yonatan Bassey, Director of the Disengagement Authority 
(SELA), said he did not know if people abroad understood how 
complicated the evacuation of settlements would be. 
Recalling that disengagement was a unilateral GOI decision 
made without holding negotiations with the Palestinian 
Authority (PA), Bassey voiced fear that Israeli public 
opinion against disengagement will rise to 50 percent. 
Public opinion for or against disengagement, Bassey said, 
would depend on Palestinian violence against Israelis prior 
to and during the process. 
 
3.  (C) Bassey volunteered that he did not see any situation 
where Prime Minister Ariel Sharon would postpone 
disengagement.  Bassey stated that &Israel will finish the 
mission.8  According to Bassey, the first part of 
disengagement will start on August 15, but the physical 
evacuation of settlers by the GOI will start two days later 
on August 17.  Bassey estimated that the Gaza Strip portion 
of disengagement would be completed in two to three weeks. 
Moreover, he anticipated a &huge quantity8 of settlers 
would start to leave approximately two weeks before August 
15, saying settlers were afraid of the IDF coming to evacuate 
them and did not want their children around during that time. 
 Bassey hoped that no more than 30 percent of Gaza Strip 
settlers would remain to be evacuated on August 17.  The 
bigger issue for Bassey was dealing with settlers coming into 
the Gaza Strip from the West Bank to bolster resistance 
against the evacuation. 
 
4.  (C) According to Bassey, the evacuation of settlements in 
the northern West Bank would begin the second week of 
September to give the IDF sufficient time to redeploy. Of the 
four West Bank settlements, Bassey anticipated Sa Nur to be 
the only problematic one.  Bassey said that SELA already had 
an agreement for relocation in place with Homesh settlers and 
he foresaw Gannim and Qaddim to be more or less empty by the 
end of the July. 
 
----------------------- 
Preparing for August 15 
----------------------- 
 
5.  (C) Bassey stated that in the run-up to disengagement, 90 
percent of his time is spent on getting psychological 
assistance for families, trying to organize relocation of 
whole communities, and providing settlers with compensation. 
Bassey stressed the importance of providing psychological 
help for families that will be evacuated and said that more 
than 70 psychologists are working with settlers.  According 
to Bassey, a lesson learned from the 1982 evacuation of 
settlements in the Sinai is that trauma after evacuation is 
reduced if communities are relocated en masse. 
 
6.  (C) The GOI has invested in 600 caravans and rented 
600-700 apartments for settler relocation.  Settlers may also 
be taken to hotels in Beersheva and Ashkelon.  Bassey is also 
working to relocate six or seven communities as a whole. 
Despite growing interest by more communities for this option, 
Bassey did not believe that sufficient time remained. 
Notwithstanding the GOI,s attempts to prepare 
settlers*-bussing them to alternative relocation sites, 
advertising possible areas of relocation, posting information 
on its website, and sending letters to 
settlers*-approximately 80 percent of the 1,700 families 
slated for evacuation have not taken the first step in 
knowing where they will go after they get evacuated. 
 
7.  (C) According to Bassey, as of two weeks ago, less than 
200 families had submitted all the documents necessary for 
obtaining compensation.  He expected this number to cross 600 
by the end of the week.  Bassey stated that things are moving 
quickly and he was trying to get families a NIS 200,000 
advance of their compensation paid within 60 days.  However, 
even if families submit their claims within the week, they 
will not get compensation until after disengagement. 
 
8.  (C) Speaking about the transfer or sale of settlement 
agricultural assets, Bassey lamented that despite claims by 
the international community to help, no solutions have been 
agreed upon regarding transfer or sale of greenhouses. 
According to Bassey, there are approximately 1,000 acres of 
settlement greenhouses in the Gaza Strip, which yield about 
$50 to 60 million in revenues each year.  Bassey estimated 
that it would cost $15 million to buy all the greenhouses, 
which can employ up to 20,000 Palestinians.  Bassey said he 
will advise settlers to begin transferring the greenhouses to 
sites in Israel in the next few days. (Note:  USAID is 
working with Special Envoy Wolfensohn and other donors to try 
to effect transfer of some of those assets.  End note.) 
 
--------------- 
Lessons Learned 
--------------- 
 
9.  (C) In response to Staffdel,s questions on lessons 
learned, Bassey said that a GOI mistake was comparing two 
different scenarios when planning for disengagement: the 1982 
evacuation of settlements in the Sinai and evacuating Gaza 
Strip settlements.  While settlers in Yamit and other Sinai 
settlements lived there for approximately 6 to 7 years, 
settlers in the Gaza Strip have lived there between 20 and 30 
years and have stronger ties to the community and to each 
other.  While 90 percent of all compensation was dispersed 
before the evacuation of the Sinai settlements, only 10 
percent will be given before August 15. 
 
10. (C) Bassey considered the GOI,s biggest mistake to be 
the belief that compensation was enough to get people to 
leave their homes.  According to Bassey, the majority of 
settlers are in denial, as evidenced in the lack of planning 
for the day after.  Bassey stated that while opposition to 
disengagement among Gaza settlers was approximately 50 
percent a year ago, it is approximately 80 to 90 percent 
today. 
 
11.  (C) This cable was cleared by Staffdel. 
 
********************************************* ******************** 
Visit Embassy Tel Aviv's Classified Website: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/telaviv 
 
You can also access this site through the State Department's 
Classified SIPRNET website. 
********************************************* ******************** 
KURTZER