BAQA'A REFUGEE CAMP LEADERS TELL STAFFDEL ISRAEL'S

UNCLAS AMMAN 000349 SIPDIS SENSITIVE DEPT FOR NEA AND PRM E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREF PREL KPAL KWBG IS JO SUBJECT: BAQA'A REFUGEE CAMP LEADERS TELL STAFFDEL ISRAEL'S SECURITY BARRIER IS A "MOCKERY" OF TWO-STATE SOLUTION ¶1. (SBU) Summary and comment: GOJ-appointed leaders from Baqa'a refugee camp told staffdel Nordquist January 13 that construction of the security barrier in the West Bank is a "mockery" of the peace process and a direct threat to U.S. plans for a two-state solution. They warned that current Israeli policies would engender more hatred; the only solution is for Israel to end the occupation. In comparison to previous conversations with Baqa'a leaders, these Palestinian refugees' confidence in the U.S. ability to make peace in the region seems shaken by Israel's construction of the security barrier and the concomitant new "facts on the ground." End summary and comment. ¶2. (U) During a January 13 meeting with staffdel Nordquist, leaders from the GOJ-appointed Baqa'a refugee camp improvement committee repeated a familiar plea for a "legitimate solution" to the Palestinian refugee problem, based on UN resolutions 181, 194, 242 and 338. The camp committee told the staffel Palestinian refugees have "high hopes" that the U.S. will push for a more equitable, fair approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and praised President Bush's plan for a two-state solution by 2005 as the "crown" of a legitimate solution. ¶3. (U) Camp leaders nevertheless expressed great concern that the Israeli security barrier under construction in the West Bank would derail U.S. plans for a two-state solution, characterizing the barrier as a "mockery" of the peace process. If the barrier were being erected on Israeli territory, one committee member said, Palestinians would have no problem with the barrier. Yet construction of the barrier on "half of the West Bank" (sic) turns the security barrier into a land grab on the pretext of security. Telling the staffdel that Palestinian suffering in the West Bank and Gaza already was "beyond imagination," camp committee members predicted that current Israeli policies -- including construction of the barrier -- would engender still more hatred. While disavowing any personal support for terrorism, camp committee members said that under current circumstances Palestinians "cannot stop their resistance to the occupation." The only way to end the current conflict, according to the camp committee, is for Israel to demonstrate a genuine intent to end the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. Referring again to the "new Berlin wall," one committee member said the U.S. could not expect Israel to take steps toward peace on its own and greater U.S. engagement was required to preserve President Bush's vision of a two-state solution. Without that engagement, the committee said, Israel's security barrier makes the two-state solution "null and void." ¶4. (SBU) Comment: GOJ-appointed camp committee members tend to reflect the most moderate views among the Palestinian refugee community. Their criticisms of U.S. policy invariably are tempered with strong affirmations of friendship for the U.S. people and confidence that the U.S. Government will take the necessary steps to secure peace. In comparison to previous conversations with this group, Palestinian refugees' confidence in the U.S. ability to make peace in the region seems to have been shaken by construction of the security barrier in the West Bank and the concomitant creation of what these Palestinians have interpreted as irreversible facts on the ground. ¶5. (U) Staffdel Nordquist did not have the opportunity to review this cable. GNEHM