NEW PA JUSTICE MINISTER'S PRIORITY IS "SERVICES TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JERUSALEM 001536

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE; NSC FOR ABRAMS/SINGH/WATERS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/24/2017
TAGS: KWBG PGOV KDEM IS KJUS
SUBJECT: NEW PA JUSTICE MINISTER'S PRIORITY IS "SERVICES TO
THE PEOPLE"

REF: JERUSALEM 1454

Classified By: Consul General Jake Walles, for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) Summary. At a July 23 meeting in Ramallah, Justice
Minister (MoJ) Ali Khassan told USAID Country Director Sumka
and PolOff that he is concentrating on rebuilding the MoJ and
instilling a focus on provision of services to the people.
He said he is developing plans to build the MoJ into a strong
ministry that supports the Palestinian judiciary and
cooperates with civil society organizations to advance
respect for citizens' rights and to empower women in the
legal establishment. He said establishing a 1000-man
judicial police force would provide the courts with needed
security and allow the courts to enforce warrants, subpoenas
and judgments. Bio Note included in para. 6. End summary.

MoJ Khassan: Rebuilding Formerly
Gaza-Based Ministry; Training Staff
--------------


2. (C) At a July 23 meeting in Ramallah, MoJ Ali Khassan
told USAID Country Director Sumka that he is concentrating on
rebuilding the MoJ and instilling a focus on provision of
services to Palestinians. He said the MoJ, historically
based in Gaza City, lost its buildings and employees there
when Hamas took over Gaza. (Note: Hamas controlled the MoJ
in the last two Cabinets, and still claims that former MoJ
Ali al-Sartawi is the Minister. End note). The MoJ leases
two high-rent buildings in Ramallah and Nablus, he said, but
owns no West Bank property.


3. (C) Khassan said he is developing short-term (6 months)
and long-term (3 years) plans to build the MoJ into a strong
ministry that supports the Palestinian judiciary and
cooperates with civil society organizations to advance
respect for human rights and empower women in the legal
establishment. He said he has instituted staff training in
management and individual skill development, is discussing
expanding his staff with PM Salam Fayyad, and will bring in
temporary consultants to assist with strategic planning and
organizational development. He also wants the MoJ to train
the Palestinian security forces on Palestinian law, proper
search/arrest procedures, community policing principles and
ethics.

MoJ Wants Judicial Police to Enforce Orders,
Remove Justification for "Executive Force"
--------------


4. (C) Establishment of a 1000-man judicial police force
responsible to the judiciary would provide the courts with
needed security and allow the courts to enforce warrants,
subpoenas and judgments, he said. He added that his proposal
would improve the situation in Gaza, where the illegal
Executive Force is now performing these functions at the
behest of Hamas-established "Islamic Legal Committees." He
said creating such a force would undercut Hamas'
justification for maintaining the "Executive Force" as its
law-enforcement authority. (Comment: Khassan did not explain
why Hamas would accept replacement of its forces by PA
judicial police and noted that his idea is preliminary
thinking, not a fully-developed proposal. His desire to
improve court security makes sense, but we question the need
to add another security service to the already-bloated ranks
of the PA security forces. End comment). He said the PA is
treating all Gaza MoJ employees and buildings as still under
PA authority, and called salary payments to MoJ employees in
Gaza as "a legal obligation, not a policy choice, because we
do not regard Gaza as a separate government."

Comment
--------------


5. (C) MoJ Khassan, like most of PM Fayyad's ministers, is a
highly-regarded expert in his portfolio without strong
political affiliations. Stripped of Gaza, the Justice
Ministry he inherits has little functional staff or
resources. The Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) has taken
control of both the courts and the prosecutors' offices,
while the Interior Ministry has charge of all investigative
and security services. Even the Attorney General, his
putative subordinate, answers to the President's Office for
most matters, leaving the MoJ without a strong role in PA
administration of justice. Khassan seems to understand these
limitations, and plans to focus on developing a ministry that
will work closely with the Palestinian bar association and
civil society organization to support the legal establishment
and build a PA based on rule-of-law and respect for citizens'

JERUSALEM 00001536 002 OF 002


rights. End comment.

Bio Note
--------------


6. (C) MoJ Ali Ahmad Salam Khassan (independent) was
formerly dean of and professor of constitutional law at
al-Quds University's School of Law, and holds law degrees
from Egypt and Jordan. He is a respected jurist who assisted
in drafting the Basic Law and the proposed constitution for a
future Palestinian state in 2001-2002. He also assisted in
drafting legal curriculums for al-Najah, al-Azhar and Bir
Zayt Universities, was a participant in the MEPI-supported
Forum for the Future dialogue on the legal environment for
Palestinian NGOs, and also has worked for USAID implementing
partner Arkan on rule-of-law activities. He reports visiting
the U.S. several times over the past two decades.
WALLES