PA SECURITY FORCES: CONTINUED LACK OF CLARITY IN

C O N F I D E N T I A L JERUSALEM 001410

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

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

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/04/2016
TAGS: PREL KPAL KWBG MCAP MOPS
SUBJECT: PA SECURITY FORCES: CONTINUED LACK OF CLARITY IN
REPORTING RELATIONSHIPS

REF: A. JERUSALEM 1382


B. JERUSALEM 799

C. JERUSALEM 1346

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

--------------
Summary
--------------


1. (C) Over a week after the assumption of power by the Hamas
cabinet, the reporting relationships of the component parts
of the PA Security Forces (PASF) remain unclear - both to us
and to Palestinians. Hamas Interior Minister Said Siyam was
named on March 29 by incoming PM Hanniyyah, and Siyam has
moved to assert control over the Interior Ministry and the
PASF. However, outgoing Interior Minister Nasser Youssef has
publicly asserted that large sections of the PASF should
report to President Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) rather than the
new Interior Minister, basing his objection on a strict
reading of the Basic Law and ignoring later decrees. Youssef
went so far as to distribute a decree establishing a
"Committee of Officers" to govern PASF promotions and
retirements; Presidential Chief of Staff Rafiq Husseini
subsequently issued another decree canceling Youssef's, and
saying that any such decisions were up to the President.
Presidential Advisor Ghaith al-Omri told Consul General on
April 5 that Abu Mazen is reviewing what to do with the
National Security Forces (NSF) and is considering various
individuals for the role of National Security Advisor. In the
interim, Omri said that Abu Mazen may appoint one or more
senior advisors to deal with security issues.

--------------
New Interior Minister
--------------


2. (C) On March 29, incoming PM Ismael Hanniyyah named Said
Siyam as Interior Minister. Siyam specifically requested
that his ministerial headquarters be established in the
al-Saraya building in Gaza - the main headquarters of the
PASF - in a move interpreted by many as Hamas asserting
control over the PASF. Siyam was offered, and rejected, an
office in an Interior Ministry office in Gaza. (Note: Under
current arrangements, the Interior Ministry controls all
components of the PASF except for General Intelligence, Force
17, and the Presidential Guard, which report to the
President. In particular, the estimated 11,000-strong
National Security Forces (NSF) reports to the Interior
Ministry pursuant to a Presidential Decree, even though under
the Basic Law it is under the command of the President. End
note.) Ref (a) reports the concerns of some NSF members that
they are now being specifically targeted by the IDF simply
because their organization reports to a Hamas Interior
Minister.

--------------
Challenges by Old Interior Minister
--------------


3. (C) Former Interior Minister Nasser Youssef, a Major
General in the NSF, has pushed to force the issue of command
relationships. On March 30, he met with Minister Siyam and
in a follow-on press conference said that the NSF does not
report to the Interior Minister, but rather to the President.
He told the press that he informed Siyam of the Basic Law's
description of command relationships, under which only the
Preventive Security Organization, Civil Defense, and the
Civil Police report to the Interior Minister. Youssef refused
to answer media questions about the President's decision to
place the majority of the security forces under the Interior
Minister, saying that such questions were to be resolved by
the President.


4. (C) On April 3, Youssef issued a directive deriving from
the Security Services Law (2005) to form the "Committee of
Officers," headed by himself and composed also of:

-- Senior NSF commander Major General Jamal abu Zayed;
-- Gaza NSF commander Sliman Hillis;
-- NSF commander for political guidance Mazen Izzedin;
-- General Intelligence Chief Tarik Abu Rajab;
-- Senior NSF administrative officer Mohammed Yousef Haj
Salem;
-- Civil Police chief Ala Husni;
-- PSO chief Rashid Abu Shubak; and
-- Civil Defense chief Saqer Mujahed.


5. (C) The duties of the Committee, as outlined in the

decree, are to review officer promotions between the ranks of
lieutenant colonel and brigadier general and to retire
officers who meet the retirement requirements. It is not
clear under what authority Nasser al-Youssef issued his
directive, and he signed the letter as "Minister of Interior
and National Security," even though he ceased to be the
minister on March 29. (Comment: The committee and purpose
appear to track with the entity discussed by West Bank
Intelligence Chief Tawfiq Tirawi in a conversation with
PolChief on February 23 (ref b). The administrative aspect
of the committee also appears to tally with the Committee
raised by PA advisor Akram Hanniyyah in his April 1
discussion with NEA A/S Welch and DAPNSA Abrams (ref c). End
comment.)


6. (C) Presidential Chief of Staff Rafiq Husseini
subsequently issued a directive canceling Nasser Youssef's
communication, copied to the members of the proposed
committee. In his announcement, Husseini said that Youssef's
action was illegal, and that such actions were reserved to
the President.

--------------
Presidential Advisor on Abu Mazen Thinking
--------------


7. (C) Presidential Advisor Ghaith al-Omri told Consul
General on April 5 that Abu Mazen is considering what to do
with the NSF. Omri suggested that Abu Mazen is now leaning
in the direction of asserting control over the NSF. Consul
General emphasized that clarity is important so that the U.S
government can determine how it can interact with the
security forces. Omri also reported that Abu Mazen is still
considering various individuals for the role of National
Security Advisor. As an interim step, he suggested Abu Mazen
may appoint one or more senior advisors to deal with security
issues for the President until a National Security Advisor is
named.

--------------
Comment
--------------


8. (C) Nasser Youssef's actions are likely the result of his
seeking to stake out a role in the still-murky PASF command
relationships, as well as to preserve a leading role for
himself. Abu Mazen, in a series of conversations with us over
the last several months, has repeatedly said that he did not
intend to exercise operational control over the majority of
the PASF. The Committee of Officers approach - even if
headed by someone other than Youssef - would still exercise
only administrative control, leaving the actual direction
regarding use of the forces to the Hamas-controlled MOI. The
overall confusion speaks to the need for Abu Mazen to move
forward on naming a National Security Advisor, fill out the
presidential national security staff, decide what to do with
the NSF, and articulate how the President intends to handle
national security issues in dealing with a Hamas cabinet.


WALLES