QATAR'S ARRANGEMENTS WITH ISRAEL AND THE

S E C R E T DOHA 000301

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STATE FOR NEA/IPA KURT MEDLAND

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/15/2018
TAGS: PREL KPAL KWBG IS
SUBJECT: QATAR'S ARRANGEMENTS WITH ISRAEL AND THE
PALESTINIANS

REF: STATE 34850

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Michael A. Ratney,
for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Qatar's Prime Minister/Foreign Minister Hamad Bin
Jassim Al Thani, in a March 31 meeting with NEA Assistant
Secretary David Welch, summed up Qatar's views on resolving

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security-related aspects of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
this way: "Qatar will accept any agreement acceptable to the
Palestinians." Until such an agreement is reached, Embassy
Doha notes that Qatar maintains relations with the
Palestinian Authority (PA),HAMAS, and Israel. Qatar's
overall financial support of the Palestinians put it at the
top of the list of Arab League contributors, alongside Saudi
Arabia and the UAE, for 2007. Qatar, however, has not sent
any money through Arab League channels since June 2007, and
it remains unclear the extent to which the GOQ will fund
government salaries while HAMAS and the PA remain in
conflict. Senior Qatari officials have expressed frustration
that the Quartet encouraged Palestinian elections, then
discouraged international contacts with HAMAS after it won
the elections and formed a government.


2. (C) Qatar advocates engaging HAMAS, including hosting
visits by Khalid Mish'al, as the only viable strategy to
ensure a successful, long-term agreement between the parties.
It also applies the same logic in engaging Israeli
officials, such as FM Livni, who visited Doha as recently as
April 13-14. Indeed, Qatar maintains both overt and discreet
relations with Israel. The most obvious manifestation of the
relationship is the Israeli Trade Office in Doha, which helps
coordinate political issues and official visits between the
two states (and spends relatively little time on trade
matters). The office nevertheless promotes business ties and
assists Israeli commercial interests when there are problems.



3. (C) According to Ambassador Roi Rosenblit, head of the
Israeli Trade Office, there is officially about USD 2 million
in annual trade between Israel and Qatar. In the past year,
Qatar exported to Israel about USD 1.2 million of goods,
mostly petrochemicals, while Qatar imported from Israel about
USD 800,000 of goods, mostly high-tech telecommunications
equipment. Real trade, however, may be as much as four times
higher (i.e., up to about USD 5 million) via third countries,
and includes Israeli exports of agricultural goods which are
sometimes labeled in stores as coming from Egypt or Jordan.
Some products are shipped to Qatar by air via Jordan, while
others are generally imported by boat. There is virtually no
visible trade in terms of public marketing of Israeli-origin
goods in Qatar.


4. (C) While Qatar does not have any Arab League boycott laws
on the books or enforce a boycott, the GOQ will usually send
an embassy observer to the Central Boycott Office meetings in
Damascus. Some government tender documents also continue to
contain outdated boycott language, but a decree from the
Minister of Finance to make the language current is unlikely
anytime soon. Senior GOQ officials, while ostensibly
satisfied with the current level of engagement, are reluctant
to undertake further normalization absent forward movement on
the peace process. Despite its aspirations to play the role
of regional mediator, Qatar does not want to stray too far
from the Arab fold.


5. (S) Qatar has no known security arrangements with Israel,
although Qatar's Foreign/Prime Minister has hinted obliquely
in private meetings that the GOQ sometimes "helps" Israel's
security service. Qatar has no known security arrangements
with the Palestinian Authority, nor does it provide the PA
any security assistance. Qatar has long been accused
(particularly by Jordan and the PA) of providing funds to
HAMAS, though the Foreign/Prime Minister vehemently denies
this, and we have seen no smoking gun to corroborate the
allegations.
RATNEY