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 CAIRO 00002080 002 OF 002 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