CONGRESSMEN TOUR EGPYT'S RAFAH BORDER; EGYPTIANS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CAIRO 002080

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

NEA FOR FO; NSC FOR NENA; SECDEF PLS PASS TO OSD AND CENTCOM

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/05/2017
TAGS: PHUM PREL PTER EG IS
SUBJECT: CONGRESSMEN TOUR EGPYT'S RAFAH BORDER; EGYPTIANS
CONCERNED ABOUT PALESTINIAN TRAVELERS WAITING ON BOTH SIDES
OF THE CROSSING


Classified By: DEPUTY CHIEF OF MISSION STUART JONES. REASONS: 1.4 (B)
and (D).


1. (SBU) CODEL McCollum, comprising Betty McCollum, (D)
Wisconsin, Lincoln Davis (D) Tennesee, and staff toured
Egypt,s Rafah Terminal and border on July 3. Major General
Nagy Kamal, from the Egyptian Department of Military
Intelligence (DMI),briefed on anti-smuggling efforts and
escorted the tour, which included the terminal, several
tunnel openings, and a rooftop view of Gaza. Although Kamal
said he hoped the passenger terminals would reopen soon, he
was deeply worried about the build up of Palestinian
travelers on both sides of the crossing, and about
humanitarian supply levels in Gaza. Activity on the Gaza
side was minimal, except for a few Hamas patrols inside the
corridor. End summary.


2. (SBU) On July 3 Egyptian Major General Nagy Kamal, Chief
Liaison to International Agencies for the Egyptian Ministry
of Defense, hosted CODEL McCollum, comprising Betty
McCollum,(D) Minnesota, Lincoln Davis (D) Tennesee, Mrs.
Linda Davis, two Congressional staffers, Embassy Air Attache
and poloff at Rafah. The delegation is visiting Egypt as
guests of the Ministry of Defense. General Nagy briefed that
the border guard and police have discovered and closed over
140 tunnels since the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza in the
fall of 2005. These included one tunnel discovered that day
in a house 800 meters inside Egypt. Seeking to refute the
"Washington perception" that Egypt was not making sufficient
effort to combat the tunnels, Nagy noted that the Israelis
had managed to discover only about 20 tunnels on the Gaza
side prior to disengagement.


3. (C) Kamal characterized communication with the Israelis as
"generally good," but noted there was still no agreement on
increasing the number of Egyptian border guards on duty up to
full complement of 750 allowed under the "Agreed Arrangements
Regarding the Deployment of a Designated Force of Border
Guards Along the Border in the Rafah Area." The Egyptians
currently have up to 250 troops on duty; another 250 off duty
in the zone and another 250 in Cairo. (Based on recent
conversations with Assistant Secretary Welch in Cairo, the
Egyptians are seeking Israeli concurrence to deploy 750
guards on duty at all times, or at least to deploy the full
complement to Zone C). Nagy was familiar with recent
discussions but said final decisions would be made following
the next border commission meeting on July 11. The parties
will also discuss future border openings at that meeting.


4. (C) Nagy said he hoped that the European Union monitors
would return soon and resume their duties, per the AMA. He
is also looking forward to working with U.S. Security
Coordinator Dayton on training Palestinian Authority security
forces to work on the Gaza side. He said there has been no
GOE contact with Hamas since the June coup in Gaza.


5. (C) The build-up on both sides of the border has Nagy
concerned. There are currently 6000 or more Palestinians on
the Egyptian side ) dispersed in the area between al-Arish
and Rafah, and Cairo. Nagy said there have been four deaths
of Palestinians waiting to cross into Gaza from Egypt since
the Hamas take-over; the bodies were returned to the families
in Gaza thru the Karem Shalom terminal.


6. (C) Nagy is also worried about forced intrusion into
Egypt, due to what he assessed as awful humanitarian
conditions in Gaza. "We cannot shoot them as they come
across," he said. He guessed that there is only about ten
days worth of supplies in Gaza. During a walk-through of
Rafah terminal, Nagy showed the delegation a sizeable amount
of humanitarian assistance from Algeria, Tunisia and Yemen
that has been sitting, destined for Gaza for over a year,
which he said is awaiting Israeli approval to move.


7. (C) The delegation was given a tour of the Philadelphi
corridor, wearing flak jackets due to increased security
concerns. Cargo trucks were seen moving into Gaza from
Israel via the Karem Shalom crossing. A Hamas patrol in a
late model Dodge pick-up traversed the corridor (on the paved
road between the fences separating the Egyptian and Gazan
sides) while two Hamas foot patrols prayed in front of a
trailer. Nagy said there are currently 40 Hamas soldiers
inside the corridor with rumors of another 200 to be added.
These patrols and outposts flew PA (versus Hamas) flags.
From the rooftop of a four-story building the delegation was
able to look into Gaza: Bullet-riddled edifices on the Gazan
side stood eerily quiet, except for a handful of women

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hanging laundry on balconies. Hamas (green) flags flew
prominently, but about a third of the flags flying from
rooftops were Fatah (yellow).


8. (SBU) In an adjacent building, Nagy showed a tunnel
opening that was located in the closet of a child,s bedroom
within a nearly-barren family apartment, save for a
television and satellite receiver. The owner of the building
was now imprisoned, and the apartment,s inhabitants had
moved to another dwelling, per Egyptian law. Nagy also
showed the Congressmen two other tunnel openings in the area,
as children curiously peered out of windows and doorways.


9. (C) At Karem Shalom, trucks were moving from Israel into
Gaza. Kamal said there were discussions about using Karem
Shalom to process passengers into Gaza from Egypt; as of July
4 he told the Embassy he thought that in fact Rafah would
continue to be used for passengers, per the previous
practice, once agreement could be reached with the Israelis.


10. (U) Congressmen McCollum and Davis did not clear this
message.
RICCIARDONE