Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06TELAVIV942
2006-03-08 15:35:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Tel Aviv
Cable title:  

RSO MEETING WITH GOI OFFICIALS REGARDING

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 000942 

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR DS/IP/NEA AND DS/DO/ICI
DEPT FOR NEA
JERUSALEM FOR RSO
AMMAN AND CAIRO FOR RSO

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/08/2016
TAGS: ASEC IS KPAL PREL ISRAELI PALESTINIAN AFFAIRS GOI EXTERNAL ISRAEL RELATIONS
SUBJECT: RSO MEETING WITH GOI OFFICIALS REGARDING
PALESTINIAN DEPORTEES

REF: A. ICE/RSO EMAIL DATED 06/02/2005

B. ROSENSTOCK/RSO EMAIL DATED 07/27/2005

C. RSO AMMAN/RSO TEL AVIV EMAIL DATED 11/12/2005

Classified By: DCM GENE A. CRETZ for reason 1.4 (B) and (D)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TEL AVIV 000942

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR DS/IP/NEA AND DS/DO/ICI
DEPT FOR NEA
JERUSALEM FOR RSO
AMMAN AND CAIRO FOR RSO

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/08/2016
TAGS: ASEC IS KPAL PREL ISRAELI PALESTINIAN AFFAIRS GOI EXTERNAL ISRAEL RELATIONS
SUBJECT: RSO MEETING WITH GOI OFFICIALS REGARDING
PALESTINIAN DEPORTEES

REF: A. ICE/RSO EMAIL DATED 06/02/2005

B. ROSENSTOCK/RSO EMAIL DATED 07/27/2005

C. RSO AMMAN/RSO TEL AVIV EMAIL DATED 11/12/2005

Classified By: DCM GENE A. CRETZ for reason 1.4 (B) and (D)


1. (C) Summary: At the request of the Department of Homeland
Security (DHS) and RSO Amman (refs A, B, and C,
respectively),Post has actively pursued with the GOI the
proposal to transport Palestinian deportees from the U.S. to
Gaza/West Bank through Ben Gurion International Airport. The
Ambassador has raised this issue in both a letter to the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in person with the Deputy
Director General for North American Affairs. This has been
an ongoing issue since June 2005 when then Ambassador Kurtzer
officially requested via letter the return through Ben Gurion
Airport of five Palestinians. To date, we have not received
a definitive response from the GOI, and Palestinian deportee
returns continue to transit the Governments' of Jordan (GOJ)
and Egypt (GOE) territories for West Bank and Gaza returns,
respectively. During the last several months, RSO has met
separately with key representatives from the Israeli National
Police (INP) and the Israeli Security Agency (ISA) to garner
their support, which, in turn, could reinforce our approaches
to officials of both the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and
Interior.


2. (C) Summary continued: On 3/6 RSO met with key
representatives from the INP, MFA, and Interior Ministry to
discuss the Palestinian deportee issue and request a change
in procedure to specifically use Ben Gurion Airport to return
Palestinian deportees to the West Bank. Given the GOI's
reluctance to change their policy on this issue due to
"extreme political sensitivities" and their concern that
other countries would request similar treatment for handling
Palestinian deportees, the RSO (under the advice of the INP)
focused only on returns to the West Bank, particularly due to
the GOJ's repeated efforts to wean themselves from this
process. DHS currently has one Palestinian deportee who

requires immediate deportation from the U.S. and return to
the West Bank. RSO appealed to the GOI to permit this return
as a pilot case, and provided an official letter with the
case specifics. After a lengthy discussion regarding
security concerns, GOI bilateral agreements with the GOJ,
ramifications of GOI policy change on this issue, and the
importance of the issue to the USG, the Head of Population
Administration, Ministry of Interior, advised that he would
provide a response within 30 days. Embassy Amman should pay
particular attention to para 8. End summary.


3. (SBU) DHS has repeatedly underscored to the RSO the
urgency of streamlining the Palestinian deportee process to
make it more effective and efficient. Given the shortage of
detention space, the costs associated with a deportee's care
while in custody, and the consequences of habeas corpus
filings (i.e., released back into U.S. society),DHS's
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE),requested Post's
assistance in coordinating the return of Palestinian
deportees in the U.S. directly with the GOI, utilizing Ben
Gurion Airport to effect these returns. Past procedures for
Palestinian deportee returns to the West Bank and Gaza have
been problematic and required close coordination and approval
by GOJ and GOE authorities, respectively. Finding a working
solution has become critical, particularly given the GOJ's
reluctance to assist in these returns as the RSO in Amman
indicated on several occasions (ref C).


4. (C) Since June 2005, Post has actively pursued with the
GOI the proposal to transport Palestinian deportees to
Gaza/West Bank from the U.S. through Ben Gurion International
Airport. The Ambassador has raised this issue in both a
letter to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in person with
Ambassador Yorum Ben Zeev, Deputy Director General for North
American Affairs. The RSO has also raised this issue with
representatives of the ISA, INP, MFA, and the Interior
Ministry. To date, we have not received a definitive
response from the GOI, and Palestinian deportee returns
continue to transit the Governments' of Jordan (GOJ) and
Egypt (GOE) territories for West Bank and Gaza returns,
respectively.


5. (C) During the last several months, RSO has met
separately with key representatives from the INP and the ISA
to garner their support, which, in turn, could be leveraged
against officials from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and
Interior. INP Brigadier General Avi Ben-Hamo, Deputy Head of
the Operations Department, has been particularly helpful and
has convinced certain Interior officials that it can be
accomplished from a security perspective. Moreover, RSO met
with ISA's Allen Moss, special assistant to the ISA Director,
who indicated that it was the INP's main responsibility and
that the ISA would pose no objection to returns through Ben
Gurion, if proper security and political issues could be
addressed. Upon gaining this support from the INP and ISA,
RSO requested and received a meeting with Sassi Katzir, Head
of Populations Administration (Interior Ministry),and other
appropriate officials from the MFA and Israeli Defense Forces
(IDF).


6. (C) On 3/6 RSO met with Sassi Katzir (Head of Population
Administration, Ministry of Interior),Brigadier General Avi
Ben-Hamo (Deputy Head of Operations, INP),Yigal Tzarfati
(Head of Consular Affairs Bureau, MFA),Rony Yedidia (Head of
Consular Liaison Affairs, MFA),and an Interior Ministry
attorney to discuss the Palestinian deportee issue and
request a change in procedure to specifically use Ben Gurion
Airport to return Palestinian deportees to the West Bank.
Given the GOI's reluctance to change their policy on this
issue due to "extreme political sensitivities" and their
concern that other countries would request similar treatment
for handling Palestinian deportees, the RSO (under the
advisement of General Ben-Hamo) focused on returns to the
West Bank, particularly due the GOJ's repeated efforts to
wean themselves from this process. DHS currently has one
Palestinian deportee who requires immediate deportation from
the U.S. to the West Bank, so RSO appealed to the GOI to
permit this return as a pilot case, and provided them an
official letter with the case specifics. After a lengthy
discussion about numerous security concerns, GOI bilateral
agreements with GOJ, ramifications of GOI policy change on
this issue, and the importance of the issue to the USG, Mr.
Sassi Katzir advised that he would provide a response within
30 days.


7. (C) Based on preliminary feedback from General Ben-Hamo,
RSO is optimistic that the GOI will permit limited use of Ben
Gurion Airport to return Palestinian deportees to the West
Bank, provided they receive necessary escort from ICE. Those
Palestinian deportees who wish to return voluntarily and not
under ICE escort will continue to transit Jordanian territory
to return to the West Bank. RSO and INP have already
developed a tentative and safe procedure for transporting
Palestinian deportees from Ben Gurion Airport to the West
Bank. Additionally, the GOI advised RSO that Palestinian
deportee returns to Gaza are much more complicated and not
doable at this time based on security concerns and political
sensitivities. Hence, all Palestinian deportee returns to
Gaza must continue to transit Egypt to Rafah.


8. (SBU) RSO Comment: Mr. Sassi Katzir advised that he will
meet shortly with GOJ authorities on a number of issues, and
that he specifically intends to address the Palestinian
deportee issue with them. If the GOJ authorities respond
that they can accommodate Palestinian deportees through its
territory, then RSO will lose traction on this issue and the
GOI will insist that the deportee procedure remain in its
current form, whereby all Palestinian deportees transit Amman
and Cairo for return to the West Bank and Gaza, respectively.
Therefore, Embassy Amman may want to weigh in on the issue
with GOJ authorities. He further stated that the GOJ had not
been honoring a number of their bilateral agreements,
alluding that this was just another instance.


9. (U) Post will keep the DHS and the Department apprised of
all pertinent developments on this issue.


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