MOST DONORS STILL AWAITING GUIDANCE ON CONTACTS

C O N F I D E N T I A L JERUSALEM 001420 SIPDIS SIPDIS NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE; NEA/IPA FOR WILLIAMS/GREENE/WATERS/WAECHTER; NSC FOR DORAN/LOGERFO E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/05/2016 TAGS: EAID PREL KWBG SUBJECT: MOST DONORS STILL AWAITING GUIDANCE ON CONTACTS WITH NEW PA GOVERNMENT AND ASSISTANCE STRATEGIES REF: JERUSALEM 1318 Classified By: Consul General Jake Walles for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: Donors participating in a donor-only Local Development Forum (LDF) meeting April 5 outlined their contact policy and assistance strategies in response to the new Palestinian Authority (PA) government. Most donors said they had received no specific guidelines from their governments, while some donors said they would continue to have limited contact at a technical, non-ministerial level. Only the Swiss representative admitted there would be no change in their policy. End Summary. ¶2. (C) Australia -- The Australian representative said that while he had not yet received any instructions from Canberra, Australian assistance programs did not require any interaction with the PA. He said his mission planned to exercise caution in any interaction with the PA and minimize contact, if needed, to the lowest level. ¶3. (C) Austria -- The Austrian representative/EU Presidency representative also said that no directives had been received and that all projects had been completed before the elections. While there were a few projects in the pipeline, the Austrian government would take a "wait and see" approach. He suggested that contacts with non-Hamas PA officials would be allowed at the mid-level. ¶4. (C) Canada -- The Canadian representative said Canada would maintain aid levels, but it would not provide any direct assistance to the PA. Canada's Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Jill Sinclair said there was no flexibility on the no-contact policy with Hamas, as Hamas is clearly listed as a foreign terrorist organization in Canadian law. However, the Canadians would work through NGOs, civil society organizations, and the President's office. Its officials would interact only with non-Hamas technocrats below the ministerial level. ¶5. (C) The European Commission -- Counselor Raffaella Iodice de Wolff said the EC was awaiting instructions from the April 10 EU Foreign Ministers meeting in Brussels before proceeding. In the interim, she said they were refraining from contact at any level. ¶6. (C) Finland -- The Finnish representative said that, until an EU policy is articulated, Finland would continue contacts with the PA at the technical level, including technical assistance to a teacher training program with the Education Ministry. ¶7. (C) Ireland -- The Irish Representative noted that his government is looking to the EU for guidance, but noted that strict guidelines may not be forthcoming if European countries decide that there is not a one-size-fits all approach. ¶8. (C) Italy -- The representative said he had received no firm instructions, and they are continuing activities and meetings at a technical level. ¶9. (C) Japan -- The Japanese representative said his government had not sent any formal instructions. In the absence of a new policy, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is still continuing its program of assistance, although the Japanese government had suspended all budget support to the PA, he said. ¶10. (C) Netherlands -- The Dutch representative said that his government was also waiting for the April 10 European Foreign Ministers meeting. Until a policy is set, he said they had been instructed not to have any contact with the PA. ¶11. (C) Norway -- Representative Sten Arne Rosnes noted that Norway is not bound by the European list of terrorist organizations, only by the UN list. However, he noted a Norwegian contact policy had not been finalized. ¶12. (C) Switzerland -- The Swiss representative said his government had not imposed any restrictions on contact and would continue to have contact with the PA at both the technical and political levels. ¶13. (C) United Kingdom -- The representative from the British Consulate said the UK would have no contact with Hamas but is still waiting for a decision on contact with officials below the ministerial level. In any case, the U.K. had decided not to provide direct budget support, or technical assistance, to the new PA government. ¶14. (C) United Nations -- UNSCO Assistance Coordinator Alex Costy said that this is not "business as usual" but that the UN agencies delivering humanitarian assistance required some level of contact on the ground with the PA. Costy stressed that the UN agencies would ensure that these contacts were confined to the technical level and based on need. ¶15. (C) The World Bank -- Country Director David Craig said that World Bank headquarters had accepted the need for working-level contacts for projects and analytical activities but that a final contact policy had not yet been formalized. Craig said the World Bank would start new projects on a case-by-case basis with the first one on Avian Influenza (AI). WALLES