HAMAS AND TELECOM SERVICES IN GAZA

C O N F I D E N T I A L JERUSALEM 002412 SIPDIS SIPDIS NSC FOR ABRAMS/WATERS; TREASURY FOR SZUBIN/LOEFFLER/NUGENT/HIRSON; COMMERCE FOR NTIA E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/19/17 TAGS: ECON ECPS EFIN PGOV KWBG PTER SUBJECT: HAMAS AND TELECOM SERVICES IN GAZA REF: JERUSALEM 1334 Classified By: Consul General Jake Walles, Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (SBU) Summary. Hamas recently announced that telephone bills in Gaza would be reduced by 75 percent, a move aimed to punish Palestinian Telecommunication Company (Paltel),which - in accordance with the order of PA President Abbas - has not paid taxes in Gaza since the Hamas coup in June. In addition, Hamas' physical control over the Gaza-based internet servers managing the ".ps" domain allows Hamas control over most PA websites. As a result, the Prime Minister's website is maintained by Hamas and still features former PM Haniyeh. End summary. Hamas Authorities Announce Major Telecom Discounts -------------- -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Hamas announced in early November that all land-line phone bills in Gaza would immediately be discounted by 75 percent in an effort to induce the Palestinian Telecommunications Company (Paltel) to pay taxes in Gaza. The PA Ministry of Telecom and Communications (MOTC) responded publicly by saying that Hamas does not speak for the PA, and the Palestinian people should ignore statements from "illegal parties." ¶3. (C) PA Deputy Minister of Telecom and Communications Suleiman Zuhairi told Econoff on November 19 that Hamas is attempting to blackmail Paltel with the proposed rate cuts, as Paltel has abided by President Abbas' June 26 decree exempting Palestinians in Gaza from paying taxes (reftel). Paltel described the dispute as "political" in nature, and refused to comment on the issue. Zuhairi told Econoff that there will likely be some confusion at the end of the month as Gazans receive their November telephone bills. Hamas Controls Palestinian Internet Servers... Keeping Haniyeh in (Virtual) Power -------------- - ¶4. (SBU) Hamas has used its physical control over the PA's internet registration servers to control the Palestinians' ".ps" domain. As a result, nine PA ministries cannot control their own websites, some of which still show the previous Hamas-led government's information, while others remain "under construction." Examples include the website of the Office of the Prime Minister (www.pmo.gov.ps),which depicts former PM Haniyeh as the current Prime Minister; and the Ministry of Health (www.moh.gov.ps),which is updated often and points to the "crimes of the Ramallah government." WALLES