Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06TELAVIV1110
2006-03-20 15:46:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Tel Aviv
Cable title:  

GOI AND PA OFFICIALS DISCUSS KARNI CLOSURE SOLUTION

This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TEL AVIV 001110 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/20/2016
TAGS: ECON PHUM PREL PINS EAID PTER KWBG EG IS ISRAELI PALESTINIAN AFFAIRS GOI EXTERNAL
SUBJECT: GOI AND PA OFFICIALS DISCUSS KARNI CLOSURE SOLUTION

REF: TEL AVIV 1085

Classified By: DCM Gene A. Cretz, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TEL AVIV 001110

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/20/2016
TAGS: ECON PHUM PREL PINS EAID PTER KWBG EG IS ISRAELI PALESTINIAN AFFAIRS GOI EXTERNAL
SUBJECT: GOI AND PA OFFICIALS DISCUSS KARNI CLOSURE SOLUTION

REF: TEL AVIV 1085

Classified By: DCM Gene A. Cretz, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (U) This is a joint Embassy Tel Aviv - Consulate General
Jerusalem cable.


2. (C) Summary: Officials from the GOI, PA, Egyptian
Embassy, and EU-BAM met at the Ambassador,s Residence on
March 19 to discuss the movement of commercial goods and
humanitarian supplies between Gaza and Israel and Egypt and
Gaza given the closure of the Karni crossing. MOD Director
of Policy and Political-Military Affairs Amos Gilad said
Karni was closed due to security threats and would open as
soon as the PA arrested the named terrorists whom the GOI had
identified as planning terror attacks on Karni. He offered
the opening of Kerem Shalom for the importation of goods from
Israel or Egypt to Gaza as the only alternative to Karni
acceptable to the GOI. PLO Chief Negotiator Saeb Erekat said
the PA appreciates Israel,s security concerns generally but
stressed that Karni should only be closed for imminent
threats to the crossing specifically, not for broad security
concerns. When Gilad posed the choice of receiving goods
from Israel or goods from Egypt through the Kerem Shalom
crossing, Erekat said the PA is prepared to terminate imports
from Israel and to receive imports only from Egypt. The
Egyptian Ambassador said Egypt is prepared to cooperate and
supply whatever is needed to avoid a humanitarian tragedy.
Following a separate heads of delegation meeting, the parties
agreed to open Kerem Shalom to goods from Egypt and to hold
separate meetings the next day to discuss modalities for
Kerem Shalom and a security plan that would permit the other
currently closed Gaza crossings to open. (End note: On
Monday, March 20, the GOI announced the temporary opening of
the Karni crossing. End note.) End summary.


2. (C) The Ambassador and Consul General chaired a meeting

March 19 at the Ambassador's Residence to discuss proposals
to ameliorate the humanitarian impact on Gaza of the
continued closure of Karni crossing. Officials from the GOI,
Palestinian Authority, EU-BAM, Egyptian Embassy, U.S.
Embassy, Consulate General Jerusalem, USAID, and USSC
participated. The Ambassador and Consul General welcomed
those in attendance and set forth the agenda for the meeting.
The Ambassador said that the U.S. places the utmost
importance on both the humanitarian needs of the Palestinians
and the security needs of Israel. He said that it was urgent
on the eve of the announcement of a Hamas-led government that
an immediate solution be found, as well as that work begin on
a mechanism that would serve to avert problems over the
longer term. The Consul General detailed the dire
humanitarian situation in Gaza, noting that staple goods and
dairy products are running out and flour supplies had been
exhausted or were about to be. He emphasized that no single
crossing has the capacity to substitute for Karni. He
stressed the importance of agreeing on what could be done to
reopen Karni and how the other crossings (Sufa, Erez, and
Kerem Shalom) could be utilized.


3. (C) Israel. Ministry of Defense Director of Policy and
Political-Military Affairs Amos Gilad, who led the GOI
delegation, said that Israel is aware of the situation in
Gaza. He noted, however, that security threats are the
reason for Karni,s closure. He complained the PA had not
acted on information, supplied to it by Israel,s security
services, which identified a named Palestinian as planning an
imminent attack on the crossing. Gilad said that Karni could
be opened immediately if the PA arrested the terrorist the
GOI had identified. He said Kerem Shalom, in the GOI view,
is available and a respectable alternative to Karni for the
importation of humanitarian goods from Israel to Gaza. He
acknowledged that Kerem Shalom cannot handle large volumes of
cargo, but urged the Palestinians to use it as a means of
relieving humanitarian hardship. He said Sufa could not be
used and Erez was not relevant to this discussion, because it
is not configured at this point for cargo transfers.


4. (C) Palestinian Authority. PA Head of Negotiations Saeb
Erekat stated that he appreciated Israeli concerns about
security. He said there is a difference, however, between an
imminent security threat and arresting someone because they
could commit a terrorist act. He said the PA is ready to be
a partner to Israel on security issues and to implement all
commitments, but does not view it as acceptable to close
Karni for non-imminent security threats and deprive 1.3
million Palestinians of basic commodities for daily living.
Erekat noted that the Agreement on Movement and Access, which
is the terms of reference for the crossings, says that Kerem
Shalom should open for the importation of goods from Egypt to
Gaza, and he called for its immediate opening. He questioned
why the GOI was excluding Sufa and Erez from being used as
alternative crossings, while Karni is closed, as it had in
the past. Erekat said that the PA is prepared to turn to
Egypt for the importation of commercial goods in order to
avoid such a humanitarian crisis in the future.


5. (C) Egypt. The Egyptian Ambassador said that Egypt is
ready to cooperate and supply whatever is needed to avoid a
humanitarian tragedy. He stressed only two-three days remain
before Gaza runs out of basic foodstuffs. He called for a
balance between humanitarian concerns and security concerns.
He noted that a catastrophe in Gaza would negatively affect
Israeli and Egyptian security.


6. (C) EU-BAM. EU-BAM Head of Mission General Pietro
Pistolese said that the EU-BAM has received good cooperation
from both the PA and the GOI. He stressed that Egyptian
cooperation is necessary in order to determine the right
procedures for the movement of goods through Kerem Shalom.
He noted that the Kerem Shalom crossing alone could not meet
the needs of Gaza and also called for the export of goods
from Gaza.


7. (C) Conclusion. During a contentious session where the
parties stood by their positions and seemed to be at an
impasse, the Ambassador suggested that the heads of
delegation break off into a separate meeting. The parties
then reached the following conclusions: Kerem Shalom would
open for humanitarian goods from Egypt to Gaza; the two sides
would meet at 8:30AM on March 20 at Kerem Shalom to discuss
modalities of operations at Kerem Shalom (including possible
fuel shipments from Israel to Gaza for UNRWA); and the USSC
would host a meeting on March 20 to discuss security at the
other crossings (Karni, Sufa, Erez) and develop a security
plan that would allow those crossings to open. (End note: On
Monday, March 20, the GOI announced the temporary opening of
the Karni crossing. End note.)

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