HOME DEMOLITIONS IN GAZA - HIGH HUMANITARIAN TOLL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TEL AVIV 001643 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/16/2009 TAGS: EAID ECON GZ IS KWBG PHUM PREF PREL PTER ISRAELI PALESTINIAN AFFAIRS GAZA DISENGAGEMENT SUBJECT: HOME DEMOLITIONS IN GAZA - HIGH HUMANITARIAN TOLL AS IDF ACTS AGAINST TUNNELS AND WIDENS BORDER REF: A. TEL AVIV 513 ¶B. TEL AVIV 6070 Classified By: DCM Richard LeBaron, reasons 1.4 (B) and (D). ¶1. (C) Summary/Comment: Humanitarian conditions in Rafah rank among the worst in the Palestinian territories. In the past three years, over 10,000 persons in Rafah have been made homeless by IDF home demolitions. The donor community has spent millions of dollars responding to this ongoing humanitarian emergency and many donors believe the humanitarian toll caused by these demolitions is disproportionate to the security gains achieved by Israel. For example, during the major October demolitions, the IDF discovered three arms smuggling tunnels, but close to 1,500 persons were made homeless. The IDF maintains it has considered technical/engineering solutions to the tunneling problem but there are no viable alternatives to home demolitions at this time. ¶2. (C) Comment: As the Israelis consider withdrawal from Gaza, issues in Rafah are among the most difficult to manage. At the top of their security worries is smuggling of more effective weapons. Rafah is often the scene of pitched battles between Palestinian militants and the IDF, with a tank incursion going on as we write. In this environment, we see no evidence that the IDF is thinking about the longer term consequences of home demolitions for the Palestinians, for international donors, and much less for creating a more stable environment in Gaza that could improve Israel's security. The Israeli focus now is on "teaching the terrorists a lesson," to disabuse Palestinian militant groups of the notion that their actions forced Israel to leave Gaza. The policy, especially if the violence in Gaza escalates, will have consequences for stability and recovery in Gaza after the Israeli pull-out. (End Summary/Comment) -------------- - Over 10,000 Made Homeless; Donors Pay Millions -------------- - ¶3. (U) Since October 2000, over 10,000 people have been made homeless in Rafah, according to UNRWA. The breakdown is as follows: Number of homes demolished - 1,075; Number of families affected - 1,968; Number of persons affected - 10,092. Roughly two thirds of all those currently homeless in Gaza are from Rafah. The rate of home demolitions in Rafah has increased dramatically over the past three years. In 2001, an average of 12 homes were destroyed per month. In 2002, the average was 35 per month; and in 2003, the average increased to 70 per month. ¶4. (U) The international relief community has responded to the needs of the homeless by providing emergency aid in the form of cash and in-kind assistance such as blankets and tents. From October 2003 to February 2004, UNRWA provided roughly USD 564,000 in cash to 1,347 families to assist them in finding temporary housing. Due to the deteriorating humanitarian conditions, the World Food Program (WFP) is now providing food to 5,469 families in Rafah, compared with 3,472 in August 2003. ¶5. (U) The above measures -- tents, food, blankets -- are temporary, stop gap measures designed to address immediate needs. Permanently re-housing those who have been made homeless is costing millions and is complicated primarily by a lack of funding, but also by a shortage of land. To date, UNRWA has invested USD 17.2 million in its re-housing program, and the agency says it needs an additional USD 26 million to re-house all affected refugee families. -------------- --- Relief Agencies Report: Rafah at Breaking Point; Cannot Absorb More Demolitions -------------- --- ¶6. (C) At the March 9 Humanitarian and Economic Policy Group (HEPG) meeting, OCHA Country Representative David Shearer reported that the relief community and its Palestinian partners are adept in coping with the first 72 hours after wide-scale demolitions. However, the assistance community had thus far been unable to adequately address the principal need -- permanent re-housing. Shearer underscored that in OCHA's view the humanitarian costs in Rafah have been disproportionate to the security gains made by Israel. He noted that the IDF had only discovered three tunnels in its October 2003 operations that demolished well over 100 homes. Stuart Shepherd, the OCHA Gaza representative, said that the local coping mechanisms -- moving in with relatives, relying on temporary shelters provided by the municipality -- have been exhausted. Rafah he said, can not absorb another round of demolitions. ¶7. (C) WFP Country Director Jean-Luc Siblot reported that the entire Rafah Area is highly food insecure and distributed a map indicating that most of Rafah fell within their highest statistical band of food insecurity-- "40 percent or more of the population." Siblot said, "Rafah should be treated as an 'emergency'. There is no area in the Occupied Palestinian Territories more in need of more focused attention." Siblot noted that on his March 8 visit to Rafah, WFP provided food to a family of 12 -- all living in a one-room garage. "Living situations like this cannot continue," he concluded. ¶8. (C) Sam Rose of UNWRA reported that it is experiencing difficulties in finding suitable land for re-housing and in securing the financing necessary for construction, with the latter being far bigger obstacle. Rose speculated that donors have been reluctant to respond because of the perception by some that the GOI is systematically "transferring" the Rafah population. An official from the European Commission's Humanitarian Office (ECHO) said that the perception of "transfer" may be an issue for some donors. In addition, however, some donors were concerned by the cost of the "high-quality" houses that UNWRA is providing. Rose replied that UNWRA is cognizant of this concern and has reduced its costs from USD 22,000/ new unit to "about half that." Rose's comments prompted a round of dark humor lauding the advantages of "economies of scale." -------------- -------------- IDF Says No Technical Solution To Stopping Tunneling -------------- -------------- ¶9. (C) The IDF Southern Command does not believe there is a technical solution to the tunnel problem in Rafah. The depth of the tunneling, combined with the make-up of the soil in the area, defeat most seismic/engineering solutions. The IDF G-2 for Southern Command has made an exhaustive study of the geology in the region and maintains a "counter-tunneling" working group solution. In this group's view, home demolitions are the only viable solution at this time. The IDF believes that unabated tunneling would drastically increase Palestinian weapons smuggling capabilities, perhaps to include surface-to-surface rockets and surface-to-air missiles, although it is worth noting that there have been no large caches of weapons or cases of more sophisticated weapons discovered so far in IDF anti-tunnel operations. In addition, the IDF demolished a significant number of homes to widen the security buffer between Egypt and Gaza in order to increase its ability to operate in the area and to make tunnelling more difficult. The IDF is still considering about how to grapple with new ways of addressing these security threats in a post-withdrawal environment, with much greater emphasis on the role of Egypt, and a continuing debate about whether and how the IDF could continue to control the Philadelphia Strip. -------------- Next Steps for Donors -------------- ¶10. (C) OCHA is preparing a needs assessment focused on Rafah which will be presented at the next HEPG meeting in April. While the assessment will focus on a range of issues including, water, sanitation, and food, we expect that the overwhelming need will be funding for re-housing. ********************************************* ******************** 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