EU-BAM CHAIRS SECOND COORDINATION AND EVALUATION

C O N F I D E N T I A L JERUSALEM 004346

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/26/2016
TAGS: PREL PGOV PBTS PTER ETRD KWBG IS EG
SUBJECT: EU-BAM CHAIRS SECOND COORDINATION AND EVALUATION
MEETING ON THE RAFAH CROSSING

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

This cable was cleared by Embassy Tel Aviv and the U.S.
Security Coordinator.


1. (C) Summary: In a productive second meeting of the
Coordination and Evaluation Committee on the Rafah crossing
chaired by the European Union Border Assistance Mission
(EU-BAM),Israeli and Palestinian delegations, with a USG
delegation present as observers, reviewed the Rafah crossing
operations. The Palestinian delegation pressed for the
crossing to be opened for at least two days per week during
the Ramadan and Eid periods, pressed for more trilateral
coordination (Palestinian, Israeli, Egyptian),and stressed
the need for progress on the full spectrum of Agreement on
Movement and Access (AMA) issues. The Israeli delegation
said that the GOI would not be in a position to normalize
crossing operations or address wider AMA issues until the IDF
soldier abducted on June 25 is released, but was willing to
consider requests for specific openings. Both Ambassador
Jones and the U.S. Security Coordinator pressed for a return
to normal operations at the crossing. The Israeli delegation
did commend the Palestinian side for the role the
Presidential Guard had played to secure the site and to
provide a secure cordon for the EU-BAM between the Rafah
crossing and the Kerem Shalom crossing. Both sides
acknowledged their concern with the movement of large volumes
of money through the crossing and the digging of tunnels in
the area of the crossing and sought Egyptian assistance. The
EU intends to invite Egypt to the next meeting, scheduled for
October 26. End summary.


2. (C) The head of mission for the European Union Border
Assistance Mission (EU-BAM),LTG Pietro Pistolese chaired the
second meeting of the Coordination and Evaluation Committee
(CEC),September 26, in Jerusalem at the European Commission.
(Note: Under the Agreement on the European Union Border
Assistance Mission at the Rafah Crossing Point on the
Gaza-Egyptian border, the EU-BAM chairs the meeting with
Israeli and Palestinian delegations present. The USG was
invited to observe this meeting. The first and only other
meeting of the CEC took place February 16, 2006. End note.)


3. (SBU) Meeting participation:

European Union

LTG Pistolese, Head of Mission, EU-BAM
Franz Vogl, Deputy Head of Mission, EU-BAM
Patrick Delval, EU-BAM
Alberto Ucelay, Advisor to the European Union Special
Representative to the Middle East Peace Process
Mark Gallagher from the European Commission in Jerusalem
Matthias Peitz from the European Commission in Tel Aviv

Palestinian Authority

Sa'eb Erekat, Chief PLO Negotiator
Nazmi Muhanna, Head of the General Administration of
Crossings and Borders
Salim Abu Safieh, Head of Crossings Security
Zeinah Salahi, Negotiations Support Unit legal advisor
Nizar Farsakh, Negotiations Support Unit legal advisor

Israel

Israeli Defense Ministry Advisor General Baruch Spiegel
(ret.)
Alon Haggai, MOD Senior Policy Advisor
COL Nir Press, IDF
LTC David Benjamin, IDF
Peter Lerner, the liaison officer at the Joint Liaison Office
for Rafah

United States

Ambassador Jones, Embassy Tel Aviv
LTG Dayton, U.S. Security Coordinator
EconChief, ConGen Jerusalem
EconOff, Embassy Tel Aviv
Border Specialist, USSC
PolOff, Embassy Tel Aviv

Normalizing crossing operations
--------------


4. (C) After reviewing the February 16 meeting notes,
General Pietro Pistolese raised the issue of normalizing
operations at the Rafah crossing. He noted the Palestinian
request to re-open the border October 4-6 and 20-22 to
facilitate the return of Umra pilgrims. He also noted that
the EU-BAM mission is due to end November 25 and said that
European countries are discussing a six-month extension as
foreseen in the EU-BAM agreement. Sa'eb Erekat, the head of
the Palestinian delegation, stressed the importance of
normalizing operations at the crossing. He went on to revise
the Palestinian request and asked that the border be open for
at least two days each week during Ramadan and the Eid
period. Israeli head of delegation Baruch Spiegel asked that
the request be submitted to the EU-BAM in writing. He said
that the Israeli side was willing to consider special
requests to re-open Rafah and, in principle, would
accommodate them to the extent possible. However, he said
that it would be "very, very difficult to have a calm and
open atmosphere" that might lead to "normalization" until the
abducted IDF soldier is released and security improves. He
said that the Israeli Ministry of Defense was reviewing the
future of Rafah and that when that review was complete, the
Israeli side would be ready to meet. He did not have a
timeline for that review. He said that Rafah had been open
September 22-24 in response to humanitarian needs though
there were security threats. (Note: Later September 26, LTG
Pistolese sent a fax to Spiegel suggesting that the border be
open during the following periods: October 4-5, 11-12, 18-19,
and 25-26. End note.)


5. (C) Ambassador Jones said it was absolutely essential for
the Rafah crossing to operate as regularly as possible. He
noted that, before the closure, 1,000 people were traveling
per day through the crossing on average, per the EU-BAM's
statistics. During the few days when the crossing was opened
after June 25, 3,000 people were traveling through the
crossing per day on average. He commented that a slow and
steady movement of people is more secure than the hectic and
larger movements when the crossing was open irregularly.
Ambassador Jones also noted that from a security point of
view, the Rafah crossing is really the strongest point on the
Philadelphi corridor. If Rafah is kept open, then pressure
to cross the Philadelphi corridor elsewhere illegally is
reduced and authorities can better focus on illegitimate
crossings. He emphasized the need for the signature of the
Customs Annex, which could be used as a tool to fight
questionable transfers of goods and cash at the crossing.
Later in the meeting, LTG Dayton stressed that Rafah can work
and if Rafah works then a lot else will work.

AMA issues raised, though not on agenda
--------------


6. (C) In his opening remarks, Erekat called for the
signature of the Customs Annex to the Rafah Agreement, for
the opening of Kerem Shalom for goods coming from Egypt, and
for allowing Palestinian goods to be exported to Egypt
through Rafah. He raised other Agreement on Movement and
Access (AMA) issues, such as increasing export throughput out
of Gaza to 400 trucks at the Karni/al-Mintar crossing, his
support of the Karni Security Plan, his concerns about the
increased closure and obstacles to movement in the West Bank,
and his hope for convoys to facilitate movement between Gaza
and the West Bank.


7. (C) Spiegel stressed the meeting's focus on Rafah and
noted the need for an improvement in security. He
highlighted that Gilad Shalit has not been freed and until
this issue is solved, he said it would be difficult to have a
"calm and open atmosphere." He also noted that two Qassem
rockets had been fired earlier in the day into Sderot and two
Israelis had been wounded; progress stopping the firing of
rockets would help move other issues forward. He said he
could not discuss that day the Customs Annex and Kerem Shalom
since both issues are before the Prime Minister's Office and
the Ministry of Defense for decisions. On Karni, he noted
that there had been an improvement over the last few weeks
with more than 230 trucks moving per day. He urged that the
Palestinian side notify him of any containers stuck outside
of or inside of Gaza and they would immediately deal with

them. He noted the USAID Mission Director's visit that day
to the Israeli side of the Gaza crossings. He noted USAID
efforts at the Jalameh, Tulkarm/Sha'ar Ephraim, and Tarqumiya
crossings in the West Bank. Scanners were already in use at
some of these crossings and infrastructure was being prepared
at others. Though West Bank movement issues were not on the
agenda, he said that the GOI was working with the USG and was
re-analyzing the situation. On all AMA issues, he said that
everything depends on security. If there are improvements on
security, then progress can be made on the other issues.

Security threats at Rafah
--------------


8. (C) On security threats, General Pistolese said that the
EU-BAM has never been threatened or attacked. He did raise
the case of one passenger who had been denied travel through
the passage who later returned with a family member and
attacked the Palestinian security personnel, which led to the
injury of three Presidential Guard members. Pistolese
commented that while this man had been arrested, he had later
been released. He also said that tunnels have been dug
around the crossing point. He said that the Presidential
Guard has provided good security but called for the
re-deployments of security forces along the Philadelphi
corridor.


9. (C) Spiegel noted that, on September 23, travelers had
been stuck between the Palestinian and Egyptian sides of the
border, and, as a result, the crossing had been forced to
continue operations after dark. He said the Israeli side had
called for a buffer zone around the crossing to prevent an
outside security incident from impacting the crossing and was
pleased that the Presidential Guard had thwarted the incident
that Pistolese described. Spiegel said that the Egyptians
had briefed the GOI twice on the existence of underground
tunnels near the Rafah crossing though they could not be
directly linked to the crossing but were nevertheless of
concern. He said the deployment of Palestinian forces along
the Philadelphi corridor would be discussed by Israeli
commanders; he hoped to have a response within a week.


10. (C) On the Presidential Guard (PG) specifically, Spiegel
said he thought the PG were effective and professional and
that the Israeli side had seen the PG taking positive
security steps. He praised the PG for providing an external
cordon to facilitate the EU-BAM's movement to and from the
Kerem Shalom crossing during security alerts. Erekat
responded that he was happy to hear the positive report from
the Israeli side concerning the PG. He said it was no secret
that the Palestinians were trying to rebuild their security
forces in order to stop the lawlessness and chaos and
welcomed any help from the GOI. He agreed that it would be
helpful to deploy the PG in northern Gaza and at Karni. He
noted that the Palestinians and Israelis are not the only
players with an interest in what happens on the ground and
said that he hoped others in the region would play a positive
role. He reemphasized Ambassador Jones' point that
normalizing Rafah operations will increase security. He
agreed that the PG had done a good job creating a buffer zone
and welcomed any other Israeli suggestions but stressed that
the key was to normalize the situation as soon as possible.

Movement of cash and known
terrorists through the crossing
--------------


11. (C) Spiegel raised the USD 1 million that had been
brought through the crossing during the September 22-24
opening by a Hamas Palestinian Legislative Council member and
noted that while this might not be illegal, it was of concern
because the money went directly to Hamas. He said the GOI
was speaking to the Egyptians about the matter, as well as
the Americans and Europeans. He said that the GOI needed the
Palestinians to deal with it at a high level, too. Erekat
later agreed with Spiegel's point and said that PA President
Abbas had raised the matter with Egyptian President Mubarak,
who reportedly had promised that funds would only be allowed
to move through the banking system. Erekat said that there
were no Palestinian laws banning entry of large amounts of
money if declared at crossing points and that there was
little chance of passing new legislation, so the GOE's help
on enforcing the movement of money via the banking system is

vital. Spiegel also raised the movement through the Rafah
Crossing Point of an Islamic Jihad leader over the week-end.
He stressed that one of the biggest concerns for the GOI was
the movement of people out of Gaza into Egypt through the
Sinai and then back over into Israel.

Calls for closer coordination
with Egyptians
--------------


12. (C) Spiegel said that the GOI continues to have a
channel with the GOE and that it was important to coordinate
with them. He asked the Palestinians to consider
establishing a hotline with the GOE concerning security
concerns in the border area and noted that while there was
cooperation, there needed to be more since "soft points"
existed. For example, he said, travelers should never be
stuck between the two border crossings after sunset. On a
recent Egyptian donation of equipment to the Palestinian side
of the crossing, Spiegel said that the GOI has approved the
majority of the equipment, except for three scanners which
were still awaiting approval. Pistolese specifically asked
the GOI to coordinate with his team the movement to the Rafah
crossing of the cleared, donated Egyptian equipment. Spiegel
agreed that this would be done through Kerem Shalom.


13. (C) Erekat also called for more trilateral cooperation
between the GOE, GOI, and PA, especially on tunnels. He
requested the resumption of the trilateral committee meetings
agreed to in section II(B)3 of the Wye River memorandum.
Spiegel countered with the suggestion that the security
working group called for in the Agreed Principles for Rafah
Crossing convene for the first time. At the end of the
meeting, Erekat also raised inviting the GOE to the next
meeting of the CEC. (Note: LTG Pistolese subsequently asked
Ambassador Jones for U.S. views on inviting the Egyptians to
the group's next meeting and sent a fax to Spiegel formally
seeking GOI approval of Egyptian participation in the next
CEC meeting, tentatively scheduled for October 26. End note.)

Data exchange issues
--------------


14. (C) Spiegel raised the issue of the registration
information computer discs that General Mishlev had passed to
former PA Minister Dahlan when the crossing first re-opened.
Spiegel stressed the need to use both the Israeli and the
Palestinian lists. He asked the Palestinian side to look
into this matter. Erekat said the Palestinians would study
the matter and then respond.


15. (C) On a separate matter, following the meeting, Erekat
sent a September 28 fax to Spiegel in which he cites
provisions in the Agreed Principles for the Rafah Crossing
and the Security Protocol that require Israel to provide the
Palestinians with the relevant information pertaining to all
Palestinian ID holders, including those outside the country.
Once the information is provided, Erekat wrote, the
Palestinians would update the Palestinian registry
accordingly. That Palestinian registry is being used to
monitor passengers at the Rafah crossing, in accordance with
the agreement, he wrote. He concluded by stating that the
GOI has yet to provide the Palestinians complete information
on the population registry, and he said he looked forward to
receiving it.

Joint Liaison Office
--------------


16. (C) General Spiegel said that the Israeli side was
pleased with the operations of the joint liaison office and
commented that the atmosphere and feedback on the Israeli
side were positive. General Pistolese requested assistance
in repairing the fiber optic cable to the liaison office that
had been cut during Israeli military operations. The liaison
office is currently receiving information via the back-up
microwave transmission.
WALLES