US embassy cable - 05TELAVIV6022

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TEL AVIV 006022 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/30/2015 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, KWBG, IS, ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN AFFAIRS, SETTLEMENTS 
SUBJECT: MOD ADVISOR SPIEGEL SAYS HE HAS NO PALESTINIAN 
PARTNER ON PASSAGES 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Richard H. Jones for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
1.  (C) Summary:  Brigadier General (ret.) Baruch Spiegel, 
Ministry of Defense (MOD) advisor, told Ambassador Jones on 
September 27 that one of the most difficult problems in 
dealing with the passages is the lack of a Palestinian 
Authority (PA) counterpart with whom to coordinate technical 
matters such as management and security procedures.  Spiegel 
cautioned against high expectations for a future convoy 
system because there are many security issues left to be 
resolved.  On outposts, Spiegel remarked that while GOI 
officials have the legal and technical tools necessary to 
dismantle them, doing so requires a political decision.  He 
also reported that the IDF is negotiating with the U.N. 
Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).  End 
summary. 
 
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No Palestinian Partner on Passages 
---------------------------------- 
 
2.  (C) Spiegel began by declaring that he does not have a 
counterpart in the Palestinian Authority (PA) with whom to 
discuss passage-related technical issues.  He said the PA 
needs someone on the ground to work with the GOI.  He offered 
the example of PA Finance Minister Salam Fayyad, whom he 
characterized as a &respected and good man.8  The PA's 
internal dynamics, however, allow him to talk to Fayyad only 
when PA Civil Affairs Minister Muhammad Dahlan is out of the 
country.  (Note: Dahlan is in the Czech Republic with back 
problems.  End note.)  He said he had given Fayyad a tour of 
Sha'ar Efrayim and Tarqumiya in the West Bank so as to 
facilitate cooperation with the PA from the very beginning of 
those projects, but complained that Fayyad had not brought 
engineers with him.  He stressed that decisions on management 
and technology need to be taken soon because any further 
delays will postpone the opening of the passages, saying "If 
we wait, we just lose time."  He commented that Kerem Shalom 
will be finished in a couple of days, but "there is no one to 
talk to on procedures."  He reiterated the GOI position that 
Rafah will be closed until January, but added that this could 
be negotiated or coordinated through practical dialogue.  In 
response to the Ambassador's offer of assistance from USAID, 
Spiegel replied that he "know(s) USAID is willing to help but 
there are bottlenecks that have nothing to do with the U.S." 
He concluded that all of the advice of the international 
community via General Ward or the World Bank will not get the 
PA to start doing the necessary work on its own. 
 
3.  (C) Regarding the $50 million in U.S. scanner aid for the 
passages, Spiegel reported that he would give USAID the GOI's 
specifications in English in the upcoming days.  He claimed 
that the GOI does not presently have money to install and 
service the scanners, but is working the problem with the 
Ministry of Finance.  In response to the Ambassador's 
suggestion of charging a transit fee for upkeep, Spiegel said 
"we are ready to discuss it and find a way." 
 
4.  (C) Spiegel said that the lack of Palestinian initiative 
also extends to the greenhouses issue.  He explained that 
planting needs to begin in the next few weeks so as not to 
lose the growing season, but noted again that, with Dahlan 
out, no one is in charge.  He said that only strong pressure 
on Dahlan could change this situation. 
 
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Convoys:  No High Expectations 
------------------------------ 
 
5.  (C) Spiegel reported that the GOI is working on options 
for passenger and cargo convoy systems, but cautioned that 
nothing will be finalized soon.  He warned against high 
expectations, noting that initial convoys will be small and 
have no immediate impact.  He explained that many details 
remain to be worked out, particularly on security.  He cited 
a recent incident during which seven Palestinians had 
disappeared when the GOI took a group from the Gaza Strip to 
visit relatives in West Bank jails.  He added that Israeli 
intelligence claims that Palestinians are transferring 
"terror infrastructure and know-how" to the West Bank, and 
that there are now "Qassems in the West Bank," a development 
that &crosses a red line8 for GOI security officials. 
Despite the problems, Spiegel said, his team &will know what 
to do8 when a political decision is made to implement the 
convoys. 
 
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Outposts 
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6.  (C) Spiegel told the Ambassador that he had worked with a 
team to map every outpost in the West Bank, and that his 
files detail the construction and legal status of each one. 
He said that Talia Sasson's March report on illegal outpost 
activity had suggested legal tools to use to control outpost 
funding and support.  He added that since Israeli officials 
now have the technical information and legal tools necessary 
to begin dismantlement, the only thing missing is the policy 
decision to start doing it.  He added that he does not know 
when that decision will be made.  Spiegel further explained 
that many people live in the outposts and that the GOI will 
have to deal with them systematically.  In response to the 
Ambassador's questions on Sasson's legal recommendations, 
Spiegel replied that everyone is waiting for Justice Minister 
Tzipi Livni's inter-ministerial committee to propose the 
appropriate legislation.  He said that parts of the 
legislation might require full Knesset approval, while other 
parts will only need Knesset committee approval.  (Note: 
Talia Sasson told EconCouns Septel that she did not 
anticipate full Knesset action on any of these points.  End 
Note).  As an example of the Sasson Committee,s work, he 
cited its recommendation to build three courts in the West 
Bank to facilitate the trials of settlers accused of criminal 
activities. 
7.  (C) In response to a question on the dismantling of the 
nine permanent houses in the Amona outpost, Spiegel replied 
that the High Court had issued demolition orders for the 
houses and that the families who lived in them had been 
evacuated last month.  He noted that the houses will be 
demolished when a 
political order is given to do so.  With respect to evacuated 
settlers from the Gaza Strip moving to outposts and 
settlements in the West Bank, he assessed that the numbers 
are small, but acknowledged that it is difficult for the GOI 
to control. 
 
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Checkpoints and Roadblocks 
-------------------------- 
 
8.  (C) Spiegel then reported on the work that the GOI has 
been doing with the U.N. Office for Coordination of 
Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).  He acknowledged that OCHA 
counted 50-60 more checkpoints and roadblocks than did the 
GOI, but added that "we know where the gaps are."  He 
explained that the counting methodologies used by the two 
sides were different, and gave the example of the GOI not 
including agricultural gates, empty watch towers, and open 
gates in its figure.  He said that OCHA and the GOI are now 
working from the same map, and are beginning to negotiate 
reducing the obstacles to Palestinian movement in the West 
Bank.  Spiegel agreed with the Ambassador,s comment that 
this will help improve Palestinians' lives and help PA 
President Mahmud Abbas at the expense of Hamas.  He added 
that it will be an opportunity for the PA to take security 
responsibility and noted that the GOI is considering a pilot 
program to allow the PA to take full security control in the 
area of the northern West Bank from which Israel recently 
disengaged.  In addition, he indicated that the number of 
roadblocks might be reduced in the area of the separation 
barrier near Hebron.  Spiegel then referred again to what he 
called the  PA,s "human infrastructure problem," claiming 
that the biggest hurdle for the PA is institutional, not 
financial.  He said that &Abbas can give ten orders and not 
one will be fulfilled.  The bottleneck is on the ground." 
 
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Separation Barrier 
------------------ 
 
9.  (C) Spiegel told the Ambassador that the separation 
barrier is complete from the Jordan Valley to the Qalqilya 
area.  He commented that the High Court decision on the 
barrier around Alfe Menashe was &very interesting,8 and 
that the GOI will build a road from Nof Hasharon to Alfe 
Menashe, bordered by a rebuilt fence that takes in less land. 
 He said that "We want Alfe Menashe, but there are 2,000 
Palestinians stuck in the enclave8 created by the present 
barrier from villages such as Ras al-Tira and Ras Atiya.  He 
continued that the route of the separation barrier around 
al-Ram, north of Jerusalem, is still in court, and that the 
GOI has stopped work on the barrier in the Ariel bloc. 
Around Ma'ale Adumim, Spiegel reported, there are many 
petitions against the land confiscation orders recently 
issued by the GOI, and  nothing is yet being done on the 
ground. 
 
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