ASSISTANT FOREIGN MINISTER ON UPCOMING LIFE UNDER

C O N F I D E N T I A L JERUSALEM 001144 SIPDIS SIPDIS NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE AND IPA; NSC FOR ABRAMS/DORAN/MUSTAFA; IO FOR IO/UNP E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/21/2016 TAGS: PREL PGOV KPAL KWBG UNGA SUBJECT: ASSISTANT FOREIGN MINISTER ON UPCOMING LIFE UNDER HAMAS Classified By: Consul General Jake Walles. Reasons: 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (U) Action request - please see paragraph 7. ¶2. (C) A March 20 discussion between Pol Chief and PA Assistant Foreign Minister for Refugees and Palestinian Expatriates Ma'in Shraym revealed deep concern regarding the impending takeover by Hamas of the PA, and of the rumored selection of Hamas hardliner Mahmoud Zahar as the new Foreign Minister. Shraym said he was seeking to meet Zahar to get a sense of Hamas plans for the Ministry, commenting that he would have to travel to Gaza to do so, as Zahar is expected to have to run the Foreign Ministry from Gaza due to Israeli travel restrictions. ¶3. (C) Shraym did not believe that Hamas has anyone with the requisite experience to run a ministry of foreign affairs, but still expected a new leadership team to take charge. "Thank God we enacted the Diplomatic Service Law" Shraym commented, noting that the recently passed legislation both regularized diplomatic appointments as well as put new ambassadors in charge of most Palestinian missions for the next four years. While he expected Hamas to make some changes, he thought that most PA diplomatic service personnel would remain at their posts. ¶4. (C) Shraym thought it was too early to tell how Hamas would run the ministry but commented that Hamas, as a religious organization, "had a timeline that reaches from here to eternity." He took them at their word regarding the ability to engage in long-term truces, while sticking to their ultimate aim of treating all of Palestine as a "waqf" - meaning that, as Islamic land held in trust, no territorial compromises could be envisaged. That said, he thought the responsibilities of government would have a moderating influence on the movement. ¶5. (C) Shraym warned that Zahar would push to act as Foreign Minister as quickly as possible, and said that Hamas was pushing to have Zahar or other Hamas representation at the Arab Summit in Khartoum. He said that current Foreign Minister Nasser al-Kidwa was not inclined to attend the Khartoum Summit, as he did not want to be seen as a "lame duck" Foreign Minister. Shraym also warned that Zahar would likely seek to attend the UNGA in New York in September. ¶6. (C) Shraym observed ruefully that he and the outgoing Foreign Minister had "done their job too well" in professionalizing the Palestinian diplomatic service - he now has no overseas ambassadorship to head to on short notice. He did not think that western-educated, secular, dual nationals like himself (Shraym holds Jordanian and U.S. citizenship) would have a place in the new foreign ministry, over and above the policy challenges he thought might lie ahead. (Note: Shraym asked for consideration for any international position that might come open, particularly within UNWRA. He had been approached to help with economic affairs in an expanded Office of the President but, frankly, did not hold out much hope in the ability of President Mahmoud Abbas to make effective use of such an office. End note.) ¶7. (C) Comment/action request: As Hamas establishes a government that does not meet Quartet requirements, we need to determine if our policy of no-contact applies to Palestinian missions abroad. In the past, these missions operated under PLO auspices, but in the past year Foreign Minister al-Kidwa has taken steps to control them from within the PA. Washington agencies will need to determine under what circumstances, if at all, we can relate to these missions and provide appropriate guidance to U.S. diplomatic posts. WALLES