DEPUTY DEFENSE MINISTER SNEH DESCRIBES TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 TEL AVIV 004995

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/27/2016
TAGS: PREL PHUM ECON KWBG IS
SUBJECT: DEPUTY DEFENSE MINISTER SNEH DESCRIBES TO
AMBASSADOR MOD STEPS TO REDUCE OBSTACLES TO MOVEMENT

REF: TEL AVIV 4677

Classified By: Ambassador Richard H. Jones, Reason 1.4 (b) (d)


1. (C) Summary. Deputy Defense Minister Efraim Sneh
briefed the Ambassador and Pol Couns December 26 on the MOD's
plans to reduce obstacles to movement in the West Bank and to
improve the Palestinian economy. Septel will report Sneh's
comments on the lessons of the Lebanon War. Sneh described
three separate plans in the MOD to reduce the number of
checkpoints and obstacles on the West Bank, noting that
Defense Minister Peretz had decided to combine all three. As
of January 1, 16 checkpoints in the West Bank will be
converted to random checks, resulting in much shorter waiting
times. The removal (or conversion to random checks) of 33
more checkpoints and obstacles will occur in a second phase
by mid-January. The number of West Bank agricultural workers
allowed to work in Israel will increase by 8,500 to reach
27,000, with plans to include agricultural workers from Gaza
in a subsequent phase. The MOD has plans to extend the hours
of operation at Karni Crossing and to increase Gaza-bound
truck traffic through Erez and Sufa in order to reduce the
burden on Karni. Sneh also noted that the Bardaleh crossing
at the northern end of the Jordan Valley will be opened for
Palestinian truck traffic to facilitate the export of Jordan
Valley produce to Israel. (Note: Defense Minister Peretz's
Senior Adviser Haggai Allon confirmed the package of MOD
measures to Econ Couns December 27.) Asked about PM Olmert's
plans to transfer tax revenues, Sneh said Olmert planned to
transfer $60 million to pay the debts of the pre-Hamas PA to
mostly Palestinian vendors, with an additional transfer of
$40 million to Abu Mazen contingent on establishing a
mechanism to ensure that the money did not reach Hamas.
Asked about a possible release of a small number of prisoners
in time for 'Id al-Adha, Sneh said this would require
interagency approval and would engender fierce criticism from
the Israeli right. If Olmert decided to do this, Sneh said
the list of prisoners to be released should be coordinated
with Abu Mazen.


2. (C) In a meeting December 27, PM Foreign Policy Adviser
Shalom Tourgeman told the Ambassador that the $100 million
would not be used to pay debts; that would invite lawsuits.
Rather, it will be used to fund humanitarian projects
proposed by Abu Mazen. Tourgeman also said there would be no
release of Palestinian prisoners until Corporal Shalit had
been freed. End Summary.

MOD To Remove Obstacles
--------------


3. (C) Sneh explained there were currently three plans in
the MOD to reduce obstacles to movement and improve
Palestinian economic conditions. Sneh's plan is a revival of
last year's Spiegel plan to remove 27 roadblocks and
obstacles in phase one, followed by 22 more in phase two.
The plan would also open Route 90 on the northern end of the
Jordan Valley so that agriculture produce from the Jordan
Valley could be exported to Israel. The IDF Central Command
proposed an alternative plan involving a change of procedure
at 16 checkpoints to limit searches to randomly selected
vehicles. This would reduce significantly the time spent by
Palestinians at checkpoints while still allowing the IDF to
tighten up when there are reports of terrorists moving
around. The IDF also wanted to implement an old plan for a
NIS 70 million separate underpass and road system for
Palestinians (Sneh called this "Apartheid roads"). The third
plan was developed by COGAT General Mishlev, and included
other measures such as working more closely with Palestinian
agencies that report to Abu Mazen (customs and water
authorities),providing additional VIP cards for Palestinians
associated with Abu Mazen, increasing the number of
Palestinian workers and businessmen allowed to enter Israel,
and doubling the Karni crossing's capacity by adding a second
shift. Sneh said he had secured Ministry of Finance approval
for a second three-hour shift that would extend Karni's work
hours until 6 pm. He said he would also seek to expand
operations at Erez to handle 100 Gaza-bound trucks/day and an
additional 40/day through Sufa to allow more Israel-bound
trucks to transit Karni.


4. (C) Sneh said that during a five-hour meeting that day,
Peretz decided to combine all three plans. Sneh has
established a steering committee that will report weekly. As
of January 1, 16 checkpoints will be converted to random
checks. The rest of the plan to remove checkpoints and
roadblocks will be implemented in phase two, which Sneh
thought could be implemented by mid-January. In addition,
Peretz had approved increasing the number of West Bank
agricultural workers allowed to enter Israel by 8,500 to
reach 27,000. Some Gazan workers will later be approved in a

TEL AVIV 00004995 002 OF 003


second phase. The Bardaleh crossing (called the Yellow
Checkpoint in Hebrew) on the northern end of Route 90 will be
opened within two weeks. Sneh commented that the idea is to
allow Abu Mazen to inform the West Bank public of these steps
so that he gets the credit.


5. (C) The Ambassador asked Sneh about Prime Minister
Olmert's plans to transfer frozen tax revenues to Abu Mazen.
Sneh said this was a Prime Minister's Office and not an MOD
issue, but explained that Olmert had offered to Abu Mazen to
transfer $60 million to pay the debts of the previous PA to
private vendors, mostly West Bank Palestinians, representing
a substantial boost to the West Bank economy. An additional
$40 million will be transferred to Abu Mazen directly,
contingent on reaching agreement on a screening mechanism to
ensure that none of the money reached Hamas. Sneh said he
had suggested to Olmert's adviser Yoram Turbowitz that the
GOI contract with the Israeli security company BTPR, which
specializes in preventing terrorism financing. Sneh said he
thought Olmert was serious about transferring the revenues.
(NB: In a December 27 meeting with the Ambassador, Shalom
Tourgeman denied the money would be used to pay private debt,
which would invite lawsuits and delay. Instead, Tourgeman
said, it will be used to fund humanitarian projects
(including in the security area) proposed by Abu Mazen and
approved by Olmert. The funds will be channeled via Abu
Mazen aide Rafiq Husseini.)


6. (C) Sneh commented that he hoped the entire package would
have an immediate, positive impact on the Palestinian
population. The Ambassador noted that an improvement in the
atmosphere before the Secretary's visit would be helpful.
Sneh said he hoped this new approach would not be destroyed
by a successful terrorist attack, though he commented that he
thought it should continue even following an attack since it
was not a favor to terrorists but an effort to limit their
popular support. The Ambassador agreed such measures were a
necessary part of an overall political-military strategy to
defeat the terrorists.

Going Beyond Access and Movement
-------------- --------------


7. (C) Sneh said he was also looking ahead at other measures
that would go beyond the need to facilitate Palestinian
access and movement, and address the need to rebuild the
Palestinian economy. In this context, he endorsed the idea
of a joint Israeli-Palestinian-U.S. economic conference,
possibly to be held February 6, that the MOD and Embassy are
currently organizing. He also noted that he planned to
convene an interministerial GOI committee to work on a West
Bank - Gaza link, commenting that a rail link was probably
the best option. He asked the Ambassador to send him a copy
of a study on this subject that USAID financed last year.

'Id Prisoner Release?
--------------


8. (C) The Ambassador raised Olmert's mention of a possible
release of a small number of Palestinian prisoners for 'Id
al-Adha. Sneh said Peretz was supportive but this would also
require the agreement of Security Minister Dichter and Livni
as Justice Minister. If these ministers agreed, he thought
the best way to do this would be to ask Abu Mazen for a list
of 100 prisoners, from whom the GOI would select 30. It
would be important to allow Abu Mazen to play a part and
receive the political benefit rather than simply releasing
"petty criminals." Sneh added, however, that he doubted
Olmert would be willing to take the criticism he would
receive from the right if he did this. His recommended
approach was to abandon old formulas and to recognize that
the strong (Israel) can afford to be generous. However,
Tourgeman told the Ambassador the next day that there will be
no prisoner releases prior to the release of Corporal Shalit.
A generous release for the 'Id would raise the price for
Shalit while a token release would only embarrass Abu Mazen,
he explained.

Allon Confirms the MOD Plans
--------------


9. (C) Haggai Allon confirmed the combination of the three
plans in a meeting with Econ Couns December 27. Allon said
the IDF had received orders to convert the 16 checkpoints to
random checks called "normally open", adding that the orders
also called for dismantling 5 or 6 of them totally by the end
of the week. The Bardaleh checkpoint on the northern end of
Route 90 will be opened within ten days. Trucks from the
Jordan Valley will then be able to transport produce to
Israel by back-to-back transfer. In addition, 450 trucks
will be allowed to go from Nablus to Tulkarm. The COGAT will

TEL AVIV 00004995 003 OF 003


re-issue BMC cards to over 500 businessmen, and the number of
VIP cards for Palestinian officials associated with Abu Mazen
will be increased. He also committed to solving the
Jerusalem detour after the Wadi Nar Junction that pushes
north/south traffic through Abu Disby, opening or
constructing a direct road linked to route. Allon said he
doubted there would be funding for the NIS 70 million road
and underpass network proposed by the IDF, dubbed the
"Apartheid roads" by both him and Sneh. On the other hand,
Tourgeman claimed that four new overpasses will be built in

2007.

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