RAMON UNIT BORDER POLICE -- FIGHTING HUMAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TEL AVIV 002167

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/07/2015
TAGS: KCRM PHUM SMIG ELAB PTER KWMN EG IS ISRAELI SOCIETY GOI INTERNAL
SUBJECT: RAMON UNIT BORDER POLICE -- FIGHTING HUMAN
TRAFFICKING, OTHER SMUGGLING ON EGYPT-ISRAEL BORDER

Classified By: Pol/C Norm Olsen for reasons 1.4(b) & (d).


1. (C) Summary: The Ramon Unit of the Border Police has
interdicted weapons, human beings and drugs being smuggled
across the Egyptian-Israeli border since its establishment in
March 2003. Its commander told Poloff that the unit has
intercepted 36 women being trafficked into Israel in each of
the past two years. The chairwoman of the Knesset panel on
trafficking in persons has credited the unit's pressure on
smugglers with driving up the cost of smuggling a woman into
Israel to USD 8,000-10,000 from USD 3,000-5,000. This cable
examines the Ramon Unit's structure, objectives and modus
operandi. End Summary.

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Ramon Unit History and Structure
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2. (C) The GOI Cabinet established the Ramon Unit of the
Border Police in March 2003, after the IDF and police
authorities determined that the Israeli-Egyptian border
needed better monitoring for smuggling, according to Ramon
Unit Commander Shalom Peled. The 208-kilometer border, he
said, is completely open, and the ease of transporting items
into Israel makes smuggling a lucrative and attractive
livelihood, regardless of the cargo. The Ramon Unit is
comprised of 300 Border Police officers and 200 IDF soldiers,
the only such combined unit in Israel. Peled said that he
also commands two Border Police units, totaling 200 officers,
in Gaza and that these two units will be transferred to the
Egyptian-Israeli border area following Gaza disengagement.

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Trafficking in Women
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3. (C) The Ramon Unit intercepted 36 women, all presumed
trafficking victims, as they attempted to enter Israel in
2004, the same number it intercepted in the first nine months
of its operations, according to Peled. (Note: A GOI report
on trafficking in persons reported the figure for 2004 as 43.
Orly Shmuel, a lawyer with the Ministry of Justice explained
the discrepancy by saying that seven of these women were
entering Israel as foreign workers and 36 were caught
entering as prostitutes and presumed to be trafficked. End
Note.) Ramon Unit spokesperson Ilan Azimi said the unit
could not estimate how many women cross the Egyptian-Israeli
border each year, but, according to the Israel Police, the
total number of women trafficked into Israel for the purpose
of prostitution in 2004 was 1,500-2,000 and in 2003 was
2,000-3,000. The GOI and anti-trafficking NGOs assess that
most trafficked women are crossing into Israel over the
Egyptian border. Peled noted, however, what he said are
indications that many trafficked women continue to
successfully enter Israel via the airport and the seaport,
although he could not offer precise figures. Peled claimed
that an increasing number of those successfully entering
through the airport are disguised as "missionaries," but he
could not offer further details. Entry through the airport,
he commented, has become more difficult since the new
Immigration Authority was created in 2002 to crack down on
illegal immigrants. Peled said that the pressure that the
Immigration Authority has placed on airport entries has had
the unintended effect of shifting smuggling and trafficking
to the land border.


4. (C) Knesset member Za'hava Gal-on, chair of the Knesset
subcommittee on trafficking in women, told Poloff that the
Ramon unit has likewise increased difficulties for
traffickers of women, a phenomenon reflected, she said, in
the price smugglers charge to transport the women. The price
of smuggling a woman across the border a few years ago, she
said, was USD 3,000-5,000; now the price is USD 8,000-10,000.
Representatives of Israel's three main anti-trafficking
NGOs, asked to comment on the performance of the Ramon Unit,
reported that they do not interact with the unit and are not
intimately familiar with its work.

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The Ramon Unit: Operational Details
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5. (C) Peled said that the Ramon Unit relies on information
obtained from intelligence sources, mainly informants. The
unit also uses topographical analysis to try to "be one step
ahead of the smugglers," an effort that has proven successful
in intercepting smugglers.


6. (C) Israeli Police Interpol officer Carol Hasidim told
Poloff that the unit's members patrol the border area via
helicopter and surface vehicle. She said that the unit's
rules of engagement prohibit its members from opening fire
unless they face a clear security threat.


7. (C) Peled complained that the Ramon Unit, which depends
on the police for its budget, is "very poor," and can
therefore not operate as effectively as it would like. He
said that the unit does not have enough resources to "seal"
the Egyptian-Israeli border, and that it is thus considering
the advisability of using electronic fences to help detect
infiltration. He highlighted, however, that the high cost of
an electronic fence, approximately USD one million per
kilometer, dims prospects for the project. Knesset member
Za'hava Galon also assessed that the Ramon Unit needs more
resources.

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Smuggling of Weapons and Drugs
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8. (C) Peled said that the smuggling of weapons and drugs,
especially of marijuana, across the Egyptian border has
increased in the last several years. According to Ramon unit
spokesperson Ilan Azimi, the unit seized 104 AK-47s and seven
handguns in 2004, as compared to no weapons in 2003. He said
the unit interdicted ten tons of marijuana in 2004, as
compared to 15 tons in 2003. The unit, he said, also
interdicted 18 kilos of hashish in 2004, after seizing seven
kilos of hashish in 2003.


9. (C) Peled blamed the Bedouin for a lot of the smuggling,
including what he claimed is the passage of terrorists into
Israel. He asserted that the Bedouin do not care what they
smuggle, but only that they maintain their livelihood.

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