MOD PRIORITIZING FOREIGN ASSISTANCE PROJECTS; WANTS TO CONTINUE SOME EVEN UNDER HAMAS GOVERNMENT

S E C R E T TEL AVIV 000687

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/15/2016
TAGS: ECON, KWBG, PGOV, PREL, KPAL, IS, ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN AFFAIRS, GOI EXTERNAL
SUBJECT: MOD PRIORITIZING FOREIGN ASSISTANCE PROJECTS;
WANTS TO CONTINUE SOME EVEN UNDER HAMAS GOVERNMENT

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

1. (S) The MOD is evaluating and prioritizing all foreign
assistance projects in the Palestinian territories in order
to determine which should have continued support from the
MOD, Brig. General (res.) Baruch Spiegel told POL and ECON
counselors on February 14. Minister of Defense Mofaz had
ordered Gen. Mishlev, head of COGAT, to initiate the process
with Spiegel three weeks ago. Spiegel said they would place
the projects into three categories ) high, medium, and low
priority. Despite the uncertainty following the recent
Palestinian Legislative Council elections and the Israeli
Cabinet decision that the GOI will not talk to Hamas, Mofaz
believes it is in Israel,s interest to maintain stability
and ensure that basic humanitarian needs of the Palestinians
are met.

2. (S) Spiegel said that he has been meeting with foreign
donors to discuss their projects and to hear their views
regarding which should be retained. The main standard the
MOD is using, said Spiegel, is whether a project benefits the
Palestinian people. He said that environmental projects, and
those dealing with water, sewage, and electrification, for
example, should continue. (Note: Spiegel told USAID director
in a separate meeting on February 13 that projects that
promoted private sector jobs for Palestinians are also a
priority. End note.) Consideration is also being given to a
project,s benefit to Israel. Spiegel pointed to projects
such as the French electrification project in Jenin, road
construction, and the Hebron sewage treatment plant as
examples of projects that benefited the Palestinians and had
a direct impact on Israel and which he would recommend for
continuation. The MOD,s concerns with the continuation of
certain projects are all based on legal status and security,
he said.

3. (S) Spiegel said that his office will draw up a list as
quickly as possible of prioritized assistance projects that
should be continued and present it to MOD Mofaz to be
discussed with Acting PM Olmert. Although the listing will
serve only as a guideline, Spiegel believed that his
recommendations and philosophy would be taken very seriously.
Spiegel planned to meet with USAID and Embassy officers next
week to review the projects. (Note: USAID director will meet
with Gen. Mishlev on February 19 to discuss USAID-funded
projects. End note.)

4. (S) Comment: If the process that Spiegel described is, in
fact, used, the MOD may be planning to take a very practical
and humanitarian approach to assistance to the Palestinians.
Instability or a humanitarian crisis in the territories is in
no one,s interest, least of all Israel,s. Clarifying GOI
priorities and explaining which assistance projects are
acceptable for continuation will benefit the Department
during this period of uncertainty. While this practical
approach by the MOD bodes well for continued assistance to
the Palestinians, it does not necessarily translate into
Israeli support for many USAID assistance projects. As can
be seen from Spiegel,s examples, the MOD is most interested
in preserving programs that also offer significant benefit
for Israel, such as sewage treatment. Not all of the most
effective U.S. projects can be characterized as dual use, and
there is a decided lack of attention in the MOD,s calculus
to programs for democracy development.

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