US embassy cable - 05TELAVIV4715

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TEL AVIV 004715 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NEA FOR WELCH/DIBBLE 
NEA/IPA FOR GREENE 
NSC FOR ABRAMS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/28/2015 
TAGS: KWBG, KPAL, PREL, ECON, EAID, IS, GAZA DISENGAGEMENT 
SUBJECT: GAZA DISENGAGEMENT UPDATE, JULY 28, 2005 
 
 
Classified By: DCM Gene A. Cretz for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
This is a joint message from Embassy Tel Aviv and Consulate 
General Jerusalem 
 
1.  (C) Summary:  This is the first in a series of regular 
reports tracking progress on disengagement coordination 
between the GOI and the PA.  On the six priority areas 
outlined by Quartet Special Envoy (QSE) Wolfensohn, Ministers 
Mofaz and Dahlan agreed that door-to-door movement of goods 
should be a goal; PA Planning Ministry reps raised the need 
for a GOI document approving seaport construction in order to 
encourage donor assistance; the World Bank reported Dahlan,s 
verbal agreement that usable rubble from settlement houses 
should be employed in construction; Mofaz provided Dahlan a 
map and partial inventory of the settlements to be evacuated, 
and MoD,s Maj. Gen. Speigel said that Israeli moshavim near 
Sufa crossing have expressed interest in marketing 
Palestinian agriculture products following disengagement.  On 
humanitarian issues, PLO Negotiations Support Unit Legal 
Advisor said that Dahlan and Mofaz agreed on GOI approvals on 
five key humanitarian issues, including family reunifications 
and visa overstays.  On other aspects of coordination, 
Ministers Ramon and Dahlan plan to meet next week on the 
turnover of water, electricity, and telecommunications 
infrastructure.  End summary. 
 
2.  (C) Passages and Trade 
 
-- PA Civil Affairs Minister Dahlan told the Consul General 
July 27 that his July 26 meeting with GOI Defense Minister 
Mofaz went well with Mofaz confirming that door-to-door 
movement, in principle, should be the goal.  Both sides also 
agreed to establish two subcommittees on crossing issues. 
One subcommittee will look at short-term issues, including a 
convoy pilot project, and the other will look at long-term 
issues, such as the security technology to facilitate 
door-to-door movement. 
 
-- World Bank country director Nigel Roberts told Embassy 
EconCouns July 28 that a subgroup on technical agriculture 
issues will meet Wednesday or Thursday of next week on the 
possibility of constructing a dedicated agriculture crossing. 
 
3.  (C) WB/Gaza Link: 
 
-- Several Gazan private sector contacts from Paltrade and 
the Palestinian Business Association have told Emboffs that 
the Gazan business community has &no preference8 as to the 
type of West Bank/Gaza link constructed following 
disengagement.  Construction engineer Jawdat al-Khoudry 
reported that real estate prices in Bayt Hanoun have risen by 
upwards of 70% following a rumor that the rail or road link 
to the West Bank would start there. 
 
4.  (U) Movement in the West Bank: 
 
-- Nothing to report. 
 
5.  (C) Air/Seaports: 
 
-- PA Planning Ministry raised with Staffdel Savit and 
ConGenOffs July 28 the need for a written document from the 
GOI, perhaps addressed to QSE Wolfensohn, approving work to 
move forward on the seaport that will offer a degree of 
assurance to donors who want to fund the construction. 
 
6.  (C) Settlement Housing: 
 
-- World Bank country director Nigel Roberts told Emboffs 
July 28 that a bank study showed that if settlement houses 
are lightly demolished, 70% could be used for construction 
inside Gaza, leaving approximately 4,200 truckloads of rubble 
to dispose of.  According to Roberts, PA Civil Affairs 
Minister Dahlan concurred that the Palestinians should employ 
usable rubble in construction.  (Note: The World Bank study 
was e-mailed to NEA, July 26.  End note.) 
 
-- Gazan private sector contacts in cooperation with the 
German consulting firm GTZ have prepared a report asserting 
that the approximately 10 million cm of Gazan rubble from IDF 
incursions and the Intifada should be dealt with in tandem 
with rubble from the demolished settlement houses.  According 
to the report, both types could be used to construct roads 
and a small number of mid-rises, and could generate hundreds 
to thousands of short-to-medium term jobs. 
 
7.  (C) Greenhouses: 
 
-- PA Civil Affairs Minister Dahlan received from GOI Defense 
Minister Mofaz July 26 a map of the settlements to be 
evacuated with the greenhouses highlighted and a list of the 
types of crops grown and the amount of land under cultivation. 
 
-- According to MoD advisor Maj. Gen. (res) Baruch Speigel, 
several kibbutzim and moshavim on the Israeli side of the 
Sufa terminal have expressed interest in marketing 
Palestinian agricultural produce following disengagement, 
fueling the GOI,s consideration of Sufa as a dedicated 
agriculture crossing. 
 
8.  (C) Humanitarian issues: 
 
--  PLO Negotiations Support Unit Legal Advisor said July 27 
that Ministers Dahlan and Mofaz had also agreed in their July 
26 meeting that there would be approvals for the following 
five humanitarian cases, with specific details to be worked 
out by the joint Civil Affairs committee: 
 
(a) Family reunifications -- 5,000 will be allowed in Gaza 
but only special cases will be approved for the West Bank; 
 
(b) minors born to individuals with identity cards from the 
other area would be given permits to travel to the other area 
to register with the PA authorities and then return to their 
homes; 
 
(c) visa overstayers in the West Bank/Gaza -- of the 35,000 
living illegally in either the West Bank or Gaza, 5,000 would 
be permitted to register for an identity card; 
 
(d) visitor permits for special cases would be approved to 
allow movement between the West Bank and Gaza; and 
 
(e) PA officials would return to crossing points, such as 
Allenby.  (Note: It is not yet clear if this will include 
both PA police and customs.  End note.) 
 
9.  (C) Other issues: 
 
-- PA Planning Minister July 28 confirmed that the PA cabinet 
approved on July 26 the new regional plan for Gaza 
Governorates.  The PA Planning Ministry is translating the 
plan and will soon post it on its website. 
 
-- Israeli water commission told us that Minister Haim Ramon 
will meet next week with PA Civil Affairs Minister Dahlan to 
discuss turnover of water, electricity, and 
telecommunications infrastructure.  Ramon may pass to Dahlan 
more detailed infrastructure information than has been 
previously provided. 
 
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KURTZER