FATAH FACTION CALLS FOR PA TO DISSOLVE

C O N F I D E N T I A L JERUSALEM 001117

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE AND IPA; NSC FOR ABRAMS/DORAN/MUSTAFA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/17/2016
TAGS: PREL KPAL KWBG KDEM PGOV
SUBJECT: FATAH FACTION CALLS FOR PA TO DISSOLVE


Classified By: Consul General Jake Walles. Reasons: 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) In the wake of the Hamas PLC victory and the March 14
IDF Jericho raid, calls by Fatah cadres to dissolve the
Palestinian Authority and transfer responsibility for
administering the West Bank and Gaza back to Israel as
occupying power have begun to resurface. Paragraph 3
contains the text of a letter from Fatah grass roots members
written the day after the Jericho action, which also
represents the views of a number of Palestinian intellectuals
and civil society members. This latest call echoes similar
proposals made in 2002 and 2003 while then-President Arafat
found himself increasingly isolated and besieged. At that
time, Fatah members floated the idea of PA dissolution as a
reaction to an increasingly worsening situation; however,
there were never any serious discussions or policy
recommendations made on this initiative.


2. (C) A significant difference in this round of PA
dissolution calls is that Fatah is no longer the dominant
party, and any such move would require the acquiescence of
Hamas. West Bank Hamas spokesman Farhat Asad downplayed both
the call to dissolve the PA as well as other calls for
President Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) to resign. Asad
described what happened in Jericho as the result of unfair
prior agreements and cast doubt on the method of negotiations
practiced with Israelis in the past, both standard Hamas
lines. Asad told the press "all our efforts are to be
concentrated on how to confront the Israeli aggression. At
this stage, the PA is not a hostage to those agreements, so
this political mistake should be reformed and amended, as it
was this approach that drove us to this tragic end."


3. (C) Begin informal ConGen translation of letter:

In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate.

Urgent Appeal, dated March 15, 2006

Brother President Mahmoud Abbas, God protect him,

Greetings,

We extend to your Excellency our urgent appeal, under current
dangerous conditions and developments following the raid on
Jericho Prison and the arrest of Comrade Ahmad Sa'adat and
the forcing of the Palestinian security forces to strip off
their clothes in an abusing manner, which aims to insult the
PA in front of the world and to prevent it from performing
its future tasks because it cannot protect detainees.

The insult coincides with the British and American conceit
and, since the vision of negotiations to achieve the goals of
the Palestinian people has reached a deadlock, we point out
that the same vision lead us to the apartheid wall. Our
policies today consolidate that wall and humiliation. We
demand that you declare the dissolution of the PA and that
you demand from the international community that it assume
its responsibilities and impose its will on the occupying
state to grant the Palestinian people, under occupation,
their civil rights.

We demand that you announce this immediately in the absence
of a vision of how to confront the occupation and not to
retreat from this position until Sa'adat and the other
detainees taken from Jericho Prison are released. The PA
should receive a public apology from the US and Britain and
Israel should commit itself to halt the construction of the
apartheid wall and to declare its commitment to the Roadmap.

We hope that you respond to our appeal.

Together until we achieve our legitimate rights and live with
dignity and respect.

Signed by cadres from the Fatah movement.

End text.
WALLES