BETHLEHEM STONE EXPORTS RESUME THROUGH CHECKPOINT

C O N F I D E N T I A L JERUSALEM 001191 SIPDIS NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE; NEA/IPA FOR GOLDBERGER/SHAMPAINE/SACHAR; NSC FOR PASCUAL; TREASURY FOR DAVIS/ROSE E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/01/2018 TAGS: ECON ETRD PREL IS KWBG KPAL SUBJECT: BETHLEHEM STONE EXPORTS RESUME THROUGH CHECKPOINT NEAR CITY REF: JERUSALEM 1051 Classified By: Consul General Jake Walles for reasons 1.4 (b),(d). ¶1. (U) Stone and marble industry representatives in Bethlehem say that Israeli officials have rescinded an order to reroute trucks carrying containers of stone and marble 40 kilometers to the south. The order had threatened to erode the competitiveness of Palestinian stone and marble, the West Bank's leading export commodity (reftel). ¶2. (C) According to Samir Dahdal, an executive at Nassar Stone Group (the West Bank's largest stone exporter), container trucks from Bethlehem began moving again through the checkpoint near the city on June 26. Dahdal said Nassar Nassar, the company's CEO, appealed personally to Major General Yosef Mishlev, the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT),to allow shipments to resume, though he could not say if that intervention had prompted the reversal. Ihab Khalil, Executive Manager of the Union of Stone and Marble in Palestine, said his organization had also met with COGAT officials to appeal the order. Khalil said that COGAT indicated they might go beyond restoration of the status quo by opening the checkpoint on Fridays and Saturdays. WALLES