CODEL WOLF MEETS WITH PA MINISTERS OF TOURISM AND

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JERUSALEM 000623

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE AND NEA/IPA FOR
WILLIAMS/SHAMPAINE/BELGRADE; NSC FOR ABRAMS/DORAN/WATERS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/05/2017
TAGS: PREL KPAL KWBG PGOV IS
SUBJECT: CODEL WOLF MEETS WITH PA MINISTERS OF TOURISM AND
PUBLIC WORKS


Classified By: Consul General Jacob Walles, per reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) Summary: During a meeting on April 3, PA Minister
of Tourism Dr. Khulud Dabis (independent, nominated by Fatah)
told Congressmen Wolf, Pitts, Aderholt and Smith that the
national unity government (NUG) needs the support of the U.S,
Israel and the international community to strengthen moderate
Palestinian voices and weaken the voices of radicals, such as
Hamas. Dabis commented on the new cabinet's make-up,
describing the new ministers as more open-minded and moderate
than the previous cabinet. Separately, the CODEL met with a
group of prominent Palestinians that included the unplanned
participation of PA Minister of Public Works and Housing
Samih Abid (Fatah). End Summary.


2. (C) On April 3, Congressman Frank Wolf (R-VA),
Congressman Joe Pitts (R-PA),Congressman Robert Aderholt
(R-AL),Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ) and staff met with PA
Minister of Tourism Khulud Dabis and PA Minister of Public
Works and Housing Samih Abid in separate meetings. DPO also
participated in the meeting with the Minister of Tourism.

NUG SEEKS SUPPORT OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY



3. (C) In a Bethlehem meeting, Minister of Tourism Khulud
Dabis said the NUG is the only hope to lift the PA out of
crisis. Dabis views the NUG as an alternative to the Hamas
government and a "rethinking of how to represent different
political parties and technocrats within one government."
She said the NUG is committed to non-violence and believes
negotiation is the only path to peace. Cabinet members, she
said, are striving for a common language and are determined
to respect one another. Dabis described the new ministers as
more open-minded and moderate than the previous cabinet.


4. (C) Referring to the Hamas win in last year's PLC
elections, Dabis commented that the Palestinians "cannot
afford another failure." After dealing with Hamas for a
year, Palestinians recognized they must move forward and form
a NUG. Dabis encouraged the U.S., ISRAEL and the
international community to accept the NUG as a sign of
support for moderate voices within the PA. "Whatever
happens," she said, "we are ready to talk to the
international community." While stating that there is
consensus within the cabinet that the requirements of the
international community must be met, Dabis also expressed
doubt about how long such a consensus will last. Urging the
international community to reach out to the NUG, Dabis said,
"We have to deal with the results of the elections but we
cannot use the results as collective punishment for the
Palestinian people." She stated that the patience of
Palestinians will not last long, particularly for those who
encounter settlements, the separation barrier and restriction
of movement on a daily basis. Without support from the
international community for moderate voices within the PA,
Dabis fears that radical voices, like Hamas, will be
strengthened.

PROSPECTS FOR INCREASED TOURISM DIM



5. (C) Expressing muted optimism on prospects for tourism
in the near future, Dabis stated that the West Bank has
suffered from a tourism deficit in recent years. Despite the
increase in tourism between 1994 and 2000, tourism declined
drastically in 2001 due to the second intifada. The current
occupancy rate of hotels in Bethlehem is 5-10%. Unlike the
nineties when large numbers of pilgrims flocked to Bethlehem
during Holy Week, Dabis expects only approximately one
thousand tourists and Christian pilgrims to enter Bethlehem
each day this week after Palm Sunday. She added that factors
negatively affecting tourism include Israeli checkpoints and
the U.S Travel Warning. As Minister, Dabis hopes to use
tourism as "a machine for economic development" and to open
to the West Bank to tourists of all religions.

MEETING WITH MINISTER OF PUBLIC WORKS AND PLANNING



6. (C) During an April 3 roundtable in Ramallah, the CODEL
met with several prominent Palestinians, including Zahi
Khoury, Chairman of the National Beverage Co; Dr. Nabil
Qassis, President of Birzeit University; Hanan Ashrawi, Third
Way Party PLC member; Ghassan Khatib, former Minister of
Planning; Mamdouh al-Aker, Commissioner General of the
Palestinian Independent Commission for Citizen's Rights
(PICCR); and Samih Abid, PA Minister of Public Works and

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Housing. Khoury organized the meeting at the request of the
CODEL and included Abid at the last minute without consulting
the Consulate. During the meeting, the Palestinians
discussed prospects for peace in the near future and proposed
the U.S. send a senior envoy to the region to broker peace.
Minister of Public Works Samih Abid did not contribute
significantly to the dialogue.

BIO ON PA MINISTER OF TOURISM KHULUD DABIS



7. (SBU) Dr. Khulud Dabis was born in 1965 in Bethlehem
from a Christian family near the village of al-Zababdah. She
holds a PhD from Hannover University in Germany where she
studied conservation architecture. Dabis worked for the PA
as director of Bethlehem's 2000 Heritage Preservation Center
project. She is PA Minister of Tourism and also works as
coordinator for several EU-funded Palestinian heritage
projects. Dabbis is married to Sulaiman Abu Dayya, a
Christian from Jerusalem, who works as a project coordinator
for the German Naumann Foundation. She has three children.
Dabis is a Jerusalem ID holder who maintains residences in
both Jerusalem and Beit Jala.


8. (C) Bio Note: Dabis left Germany upon completion of her
PhD and returned to the West Bank in order to use her
professional degree to contribute to the process of
Palestinian state-building. For over a decade, she worked in
cultural heritage preservation, focusing on Bethlehem. She
said her position in the PA Cabinet will encourage broader
involvement of Palestinian women at all levels of government.


BIO ON PA MINISTER OF PUBLIC WORKS AND HOUSING SAMIH ABID



9. (SBU) Samih Abid, now Minster of Public Works and
Housing, served as Deputy Minister of Planning in the
government headed by Ahmad Quraya' (Abu Ala'a). He was a
member of the Palestinian negotiating team with ISRAEL during
the period that included Camp David and Taba in 2000. He is
also affiliated with the Palestinian Center for Policy and
Survey Research. He holds a PhD in Planning.


10. (U) CODEL Wolf did not have the opportunity to clear
this cable.
WALLES