PM FAYYAD AND PMA GOVERNOR AL-WAZIR DISCUSS

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 JERUSALEM 001450 SIPDIS NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE; NEA/IPA FOR GOLDBERGER/SACHAR; NSC FOR PASCUAL; EEB/ESC/TFS FOR BACKEMEYER; TREASURY FOR DAS GLASER/DAS MENDELSOHN/OFAC DIRECTOR SZUBIN/GRANT/MCGLYNN/ROSE E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/06/2018 TAGS: PTER KTFN EFIN ECON PHUM KISL KWBG IS EAID PREL SUBJECT: PM FAYYAD AND PMA GOVERNOR AL-WAZIR DISCUSS PROPOSED DESIGNATIONS AND PALESTINIAN BANKING SECTOR WITH TREASURY DAS GLASER REF: A. STATE 075722 ¶B. JERUSALEM 1049 ¶C. 2007 JERUSALEM 1994 ¶D. JERUSALEM 1201 Classified By: Consul General Jake Walles, for reasons 1.4 b,d ¶1. (S) Summary: Treasury DAS Daniel Glaser met with PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad on July 28 to discuss the USG's intent to designate thirteen organizations and one individual for their ongoing support of HAMAS (Ref A). PM Fayyad said his government has already taken "courageous" steps to cut off Hamas' access to funds. In particular, he noted PA efforts to reorganize zakat committees and promised to provide any information requested by the USG. He said that if there is information linking committee members to Hamas, he would take immediate action to remove them. ¶2. (C) In a separate meeting, Palestine Monetary Authority (PMA) Governor Jihad al-Wazir told DAS Glaser that Gazan banks face a persistent shortage of cash that threatens their ability to disburse salary payments. He updated DAS Glaser on the status of the Palestine Islamic Bank, the PMA's near-term capacity building priorities and Western Union operations in the West Bank. He also asked for help in securing the prompt delisting of Al Aqsa Islamic Bank. End Summary. PM Fayyad: Shared Commitment to Combat HAMAS Financing -------------- -------------- ¶3. (S) PA Prime Minister Fayyad met with Daniel Glaser, Treasury DAS for Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes, on July 28 in Ramallah. Fayyad said that the PA is working to "institutionalize" the process of countering the financing of terrorism (CFT). He expressed deep concern about recent unilateral Israeli actions, particularly in Nablus, and stated that he had discussed the matter directly with Israeli Minister of Defense Barak. Fayyad said that MOD Barak was sympathetic to his concerns and that "there is now a readiness" on the GOI's part to share information with the PA. Fayyad emphasized his interest in cooperating with the GOI and said, "Our policy is to work as hard and as fast as we can" to cut off support for HAMAS organizations. ¶4. (S) Fayyad said the PA took action in late 2007 to restructure completely the zakat committees, consolidate them, and replace the directors with people "who have nothing to do with Hamas" (Ref B). Referring to the list of proposed designations, Fayyad agreed that the organizations remain active, but under new, vetted leadership. He claimed the PA's actions effectively eliminated Hamas' ability to buy loyalty through the zakat committees and immediately stopped "parallel activities" that are inconsistent with the committees' mandate. Fayyad called the PA's firing of the management of the zakat committees "the most aggressive action possible to take" and said that he has resisted immense pressure to reinstate individuals. ¶5. (S) Glaser complemented the PA's reform efforts. He stated, however, that the USG continues to be concerned about Hamas control of these entities. Glaser noted that the USG still does not have reliable or detailed information on the specific individuals replaced or hired as part of the restructuring. Glaser said that the USG continues to see information that a number of zakat committees maintain financial relationships of concern and other information suggesting that the organizations may continue to be controlled or act on behalf of HAMAS in the West Bank. Glaser noted that, following Fayyad's commitment to Treasury in September 2007 that he would take immediate action against entities involved in money laundering or terrorist financing (Ref C),the USG expressed concern about the nine West Bank organizations now proposed for designation, and provided the PA with financial information for each in November 2007 and April 2008, and followed up on the requests with PMA Governor Jihad al-Wazir in May 2008. ¶6. (S) Glaser noted that the PA's response to Treasury's concerns has consisted of assurances that the organizations have been restructured. It is important now, however, to be able to document with detailed information that the link JERUSALEM 00001450 002 OF 003 between the zakat committees and HAMAS has indeed been completely severed. Glaser said that the USG intends to designate the identified entities unless it can be demonstrated that they are no longer connected to Hamas, but wanted to establish a process that would support the PA's overall effort. Fayyad Promises Action in Response to Specific Information -------------- -------------- ¶7. (S) Fayyad offered to provide immediately all information available on the reconstituted zakat committees, including the names of the new directors, as well as any other requested information, to include bank accounts and the names of previous directors. Fayyad said that, if the USG is concerned about individuals still involved with the committees, he would take action immediately. "We have already taken the difficult measure, getting rid of another few individuals is no problem," he said. Fayyad said this is an "open-ended commitment" on his part: "I want to be judged by this." Hamas, he said, is "our problem much more than it's Israel's or the U.S.'s problem." (Note: Fayyad's office on August 4 provided post with lists of the new directors of all eleven West Bank district zakat committees, which have been forwarded by email to Treasury and NEA/IPA. End Note.) ¶8. (S) Treasury representative Ben Davis noted that publicly identified HAMAS organizations in Europe may continue to provide funding support to West Bank zakat committees. Fayyad responded that, if this is true, it means either the PA's reforms have not been completely successful or the information about the European organizations is wrong. There is "no way" that HAMAS would knowingly give to the PA's committees, he said. He asked for more information from Treasury on this matter. Banking Sector Concerns -------------- ¶9. (S) Fayyad told DAS Glaser that he remains concerned about the Palestinian banking sector, where deposits continue to grow at a rate far greater than the level of economic activity would appear to warrant. Fayyad said he believes there is a great deal of unrecorded economic activity, which creates opportunities for abuse, including trade-based money laundering. American Charities for Palestine -------------- ¶10. (SBU) In closing, DAS Glaser noted that he was hopeful, despite substantial delays, that the American Charities for Palestine (ACP) program will be operational in the near future and will serve as an important mechanism to bring additional funds and new social services to Palestinians in a way that bolsters the PA and undermines Hamas. Fayyad thanked Glaser for the update and said that he looked forward to seeing the funds start to flow. PMA's al-Wazir: Liquidity in Gaza a Persistent Challenge -------------- -------------- ¶11. (C) In a subsequent meeting, PMA Governor al-Wazir told Glaser that the liquidity situation for Palestinian banks in Gaza gets more precarious every day. According to al-Wazir, as of July 28 there had been no shipments of New Israeli Shekels (NIS) into Gaza in four months. He said there is currently 130 million NIS in Gaza and, without an additional 100 million NIS, Gaza banks will not have the ability to disburse PA salaries in August. Al-Wazir said he wanted "just enough" liquidity in Gaza to cover the system. "We are not looking for normal," he said. Al-Wazir reported the Bank of Israel agreed to exchange 40 million old and damaged NIS notes held by Gazan banks; notes so old and worn, said al-Wazir, that they can not be used in ATM machines. (Note: The first tranche of replacement notes - 17 million NIS - entered Gaza on July 29. End Note.) ¶12. (C) The decision by Israeli correspondent banks (Ref D) to terminate cash services for Palestinian banks, said al-Wazir, is increasing the pressure on the banking sector. He called the action the result of "overzealous compliance JERUSALEM 00001450 003 OF 003 officers" in Israeli banks. Al-Wazir said that the IFC recently agreed to take a five percent equity investment in Bank of Palestine (BOP). Noting that IFC did "tremendous due diligence" before making this investment, al-Wazir questioned how Israeli banks could have concerns about BOP's integrity. Palestine Islamic Bank -------------- ¶13. (C) Al-Wazir said that he still has "a whole lot of problems" with Palestine Islamic Bank (PIB). As a result, the PMA has taken very strong measures, including raising the bank's reserve requirement to twenty percent and imposing the highest fines in the history of the PMA. Al-Wazir said he has given the PIB a broad list of compliance benchmarks that the bank needs to reach, though he has lost trust in the bank's "incompetent management." Whereas Bank of Palestine has complied with the PMA request to relocate to the West Bank, PIB has resisted and is still managed out of Gaza. In response to Glaser's question of "when will enough be enough" with PIB, al-Wazir said he would give the bank until the end of the year to reform its operations or he will move to close the bank. Capacity Building and Western Union -------------- ¶14. (C) Al-Wazir expressed appreciation to DAS Glaser for an offer of technical assistance to complement ongoing USAID projects. Al-Wazir said the PMA is in need of near-term assistance to support its drafting and implementation of a new law regulating money service businesses, comprehensive implementation of the PA's new Anti-Money Laundering law, and development of an integrated information database to link land registrations, customs declarations and other business transactions with the PMA's electronic funds transfer system currently in development by the World Bank. Al-Wazir said that the PA's financial follow-up unit is in need of advanced training to develop its analytical capacity. ¶15. (C) Al-Wazir said that Cairo Amman Bank, the sole licensee for Western Union money services in the West Bank, is considering dropping the license due to concerns that illicit transfers via Western Union may be exposing the bank to substantial risk. Al-Wazir said that if Cairo-Amman drops the service, he will not allow Western Union to operate without a license canopy from another Palestinian bank. Al Aqsa Islamic Bank -------------- ¶16. (C) Al-Wazir asked DAS Glaser about USG progress in delisting Al Aqsa Islamic Bank (AAIB). He said the PMA's enforcement of a bank liquidation will demonstrate to others its readiness to enforce the law. While he had successfully forced the AAIB board to accept liquidation, al-Wazir said, the delay in delisting was now encouraging some on the board to consider re-opening the possibility of selling the bank. He asked Glaser for "pressure from your end" to find a solution. Glaser responded that he hoped the matter would be resolved in the very near future with the delisting of AAIB. ¶17. (U) Treasury DAS Glaser has cleared this message. WALLES