US embassy cable - 03ABUDHABI3178

C O N F I D E N T I A L ABU DHABI 003178 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR NEA, NEA/ARP, NEA/IPA, AND IO/UNP 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/07/08 
TAGS: EAID, PREL, PGOV, PHUM, KPAL, KWBG, TC 
SUBJECT: UAEG LARGEST AID DONOR TO THE PALESTINIANS 
 
REF: ABU DHABI 3117 
 
1.  (U) Classified by Ambassador Marcelle M. Wahba for 
reasons 1.5 (b) and (d). 
 
2.  (C) Summary and comment: Despite ongoing humanitarian 
assistance activities in Afghanistan and now Iraq, the UAEG 
is continuing its robust aid programs to the Palestinians. 
The UAEG already has channeled nearly USD 78 million in 
project assistance to Palestinians in the West Bank and 
Gaza Strip since September 2000, and pledged an additional 
USD 42 million at the 2003 Sharm Al-Sheikh (USD 21 million) 
and 2002 Beirut (USD 21 million) Summits -- making the UAE 
the largest Arab aid donor to the Palestinians since the 
Intifadah began more than two years ago (see reftel). 
 
3.  (C) Summary and comment continued: The majority of both 
official and private contributions generally are funneled 
through the government-controlled Red Crescent Authority 
(RCA), which in turn provides the assistance to the 
Palestinians in the form of project aid and goods -- not 
cash.  The RCA created in August 2002 a separate oversight 
committee consisting of RCA, UNRWA, and Palestinian 
Authority representatives to track implementation of these 
projects.  We are confident that oversight of RCA 
operations is of a high standard.  As some measure of the 
UAEG's desire to ensure that donations are not misdirected 
or misused, Emirati officials have assured us time and 
again that funds are transferred through legitimate 
channels and no monies go to the families of 
homicide/suicide bombers.  End summary and comment. 
 
RCA Administers Official Aid 
---------------------------- 
 
4.  (U) The RCA, chaired by de facto Minister of Foreign 
Affairs Shaykh Hamdan bin Zayid Al-Nahyan, has provided 
large amounts of humanitarian aid, such as blankets and 
medicines, to the Palestinians in recent years, and 
organized regional food and clothing drives across the UAE 
in 2002.  The RCA also announced in August 2002 detailed 
plans to rebuild 800 housing units and various 
infrastructure facilities destroyed during Israeli 
incursions into Jenin at a cost of USD 27 million.  As a 
result of its positive efforts, the RCA is one of the few 
Arab humanitarian organizations permitted by Israeli 
authorities to continue working in Israeli occupied areas. 
 
Royal Family Contributions Are Significant... 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
5.  (U) Although we do not have official tallies, the 
private donations of royal family members to the 
Palestinians certainly total tens of millions of dollars. 
Most recently, local press announced July 5 the generous 
USD 1 million donation by Shaykha Fatima bint Mubarak Al- 
Kitbi -- President Zayid's wife and UAE First Lady -- 
toward the construction of the Shaykha Fatima 
Rehabilitation Center For Disabled Children in Hebron.  The 
RCA, the International Labor Organization, and the UN 
Development Program are supervising the construction of the 
USD 3.5 million facility, which will provide vocational 
training to approximately 700,000 disabled Palestinians. 
 
6.  (U) President Zayid bin Sultan Al-Nahyan likewise 
undertook in April 2002 to personally bear the cost of 
repairing damage inflicted on the Church of the Nativity 
and nearby Omar Mosque as a result of the three-week long 
standoff between Israeli forces and Palestinians holed up 
in the church compound.  Shaykh Zayid instructed the RCA to 
initiate contact with mosque and church authorities in 
Bethlehem and begin renovations immediately. 
 
...As Are Private Donations 
--------------------------- 
 
7.  (U) There has also been an enormous outpouring of 
private UAE donations to the Palestinians.  Fundraising 
campaigns conducted in Abu Dhabi and Dubai raised close to 
USD 100 million in 2002.  UAE embassies abroad and local 
government offices have been encouraged to collectively 
donate one day's salary to assist the Palestinian refugees 
in Jenin, and students' groups and other civic associations 
have rallied to the cause.  Funds raised through such 
public campaigns are funneled through the RCA in Abu Dhabi 
or the Shaykh Mohammed bin Rashid Charitable Foundation in 
the case of Dubai. 
 
Wahba