GOI RELAXES RESTRICTIONS AROUND NABLUS

UNCLAS TEL AVIV 002744 SIPDIS SENSITIVE NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE AND NEA/IPA; NSC FOR PASCUAL; TREASURY FOR AHERN E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON KWBG PREL IS SUBJECT: GOI RELAXES RESTRICTIONS AROUND NABLUS REF: JERUSALEM 2200 ¶1. (SBU) Coordinator for Government Action in the Territories (COGAT) External Relations Director Uri Singer informed EconCouns on December 7 that the GOI would relax a number of movement and access restrictions in the West Bank for the Eid al-Adha holiday season. He also gave an update on longer-term GOI plans to ease commercial movement in the northern West Bank. Singer said the Huwwara, Beit Furik and Beit Iba crossings would be open from 0500 to 2400 hours during the holiday period. More importantly, commercial traffic through Beit Iba and Awarta will not be subject to the usual permit regime, opening up routes north and south of Nablus to a substantially higher volume of truck traffic. Singer said the Awarta checkpoint platform use for security checks of off-loaded goods would be closed, allowing trucks to transit Awarta with only a basic security check. He noted that the NIS five million upgrade to the Huwwara crossing (two new pedestrian lanes and a humanitarian lane for children, women, men over age 45, doctors, teachers and human rights workers) would be in service as of December 8. ¶2. (SBU) Singer confirmed that the new checkpoint north of Nablus, reported reftel, was directly related to a longer-term effort to relax movement and access restrictions around Nablus and to improve commercial traffic flows between Nablus and Tulkaram. He said it would remain unmanned and would be used only in response to specific counterterrorism operations. Singer also noted that the Ganot checkpoint connecting Nablus with villages immediately to the north of the city will now be open 24 hours a day; this will continue beyond the Eid holiday season.(Comment: IDF Central Commander Gadi Shamni told USSC Dayton on December 7 that the security situation in Nablus has improved enough to try for a longer-term relaxation of commercial traffic restrictions from southeast of Nablus to Tulkaram in the northwest. Based on that conversation, we expect measures taken at Awarta and Beit Iba to continue after the Eid holiday in the absence of any deterioration in the security situation. End Comment.) ¶3. (SBU) Singer said other measures taken for the holiday period include permitting Israeli Arabs to enter Area A throughout the West Bank for family visits; opening the Fig Crossing to Israeli Arabs wanting to shop in Qalqilya; moving to only random security checks for vehicles transiting the crossing into Jericho; keepting the Allenby Bridge and Mussa Alami crossings into Jordan open 24 hours a day; and increasing access for Palestinians wanting to visit family in Israel. ¶4. (SBU) Comment: Steady improvements in security and security cooperation in the northern West Bank are beginning to show potential for real economic consequences. In addition to the measures outlined above, which could help Nablus return to its former status as the West Bank's economic powerhouse, Crossings Administrator Bezalel Traiber told the Selva Roadmap monitoring team on December 7 that the previous limit of 1,000 Arab Israeli pedestrians per day at the Jalameh crossing near Jenin had been dropped. He said 1,700 Arab Israelis had crossed into Jenin the day before to do their Saturday shopping. Continuing efforts to integrate security improvements, economic development activities and rule-of-law improvements in the West Bank -- carefuly coordinated among all the key players -- will be crucial if we are to build on these small steps forward. ********************************************* ******************** Visit Embassy Tel Aviv's Classified Website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/telaviv You can also access this site through the State Department's Classified SIPRNET website. ********************************************* ******************** CUNNINGHAM