UNCLAS TEL AVIV 001863

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON PREL PTER ASEC KWBG KPAL IS ISRAEL RELATIONS COUNTERTERRORISM
SUBJECT: GOI REQUEST FOR USG ASSISTANCE IN TUNNEL DETECTION
TECHNOLOGY


1. This is an action request. See Para 4.


2. The perceived threat of tunnel-based terrorist attacks
has been a principal justification for this year's lengthy
closings of the Karni crossing between Gaza and Israel.
Embassy has received a high-level request from the GOI
Ministry of Defense for assistance in identifying state-of-
the-art tunnel detection technologies used by, or known to,
the USG, in order to improve the security of Israel's
borders.


3. Department is urgently requested to take the lead in
establishing contact between the GOI/MOD and appropriate USG
military, intelligence, and homeland security agencies
knowledgeable about tunnel detection. At this point,
funding is not the primary issue. USAID, under its existing
Palestinian Integrated Trade Arrangement Project (PITA), is
able and willing to expand the scope of its current project
from scanner technology to include the study, and even the
procurement of tunnel-detection equipment. Fact finding
tours by Israeli officials to the U.S. or elsewhere, and
hiring of consultants to advise the GOI are within the scope
of PITA. However, direct GOI-USG contacts are necessary to
identify what is available and what is required.


4. ACTION REQUESTED: Please identify a lead agency and
point of contact, with whom we and the GOI can work to
arrange briefings / demonstrations on tunnel detection
technology. Given the large negative impact that frequent
closings of crossing points have on the Palestinian economy,
this action is most urgent. Department and other agencies
are requested to give it the highest priority.

JONES