ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN CORRESPONDENT RELATIONSHIP IN

C O N F I D E N T I A L TEL AVIV 000624 SIPDIS SIPDIS PLEASE PASS TO L FOR DOLAN; TREASURY FOR DAS GLASER E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/14/2018 TAGS: ECON EFIN KTFN KWBG IS SUBJECT: ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN CORRESPONDENT RELATIONSHIP IN STABLE BUT CRITICAL CONDITION REF: 2007 TEL AVIV 3201 Classified By: Ambassador Richard H. Jones for reasons 1.4 (b/d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Israel's Bank Hapoalim and Israel Discount Bank (IDB) threatened to sever correspondent relations with Palestinian banks by the end of 2007. Nevertheless, business continues between the two sides and it appears that the Bank of Israel (BOI) has prevented the banks from severing their relations with Palestinian banks for the time being. Plans to transfer correspondent business to the Israel Postal Bank are moving at a glacial pace, and the banks are reluctant to cut off the Palestinian financial system without explicit approval from the Government of Israel (GOI). The banks' real concern is their liability and court costs in an ongoing civil suit against Arab Bank in U.S. courts. They hoped to use the correspondent issue and the threat of collapsing the Palestinian financial system to pressure the GOI and USG to intervene and force a settlement. The situation is stable for the time being, but it is not clear how long it will last. END SUMMARY. -------------- Status Quo a Temporary Victory for BOI -------------- ¶2. (C) At the end of 2007, Israeli-Palestinian banking relations were nearing a crisis when Israeli banks Hapoalim and IDB threatened to cut off correspondent services to Palestinian banks (reftel). After Gaza was declared a "hostile entity" by the GOI in June of 2007, Hapoalim and IDB argued that it was impossible to verify with certainty that standard banking transactions carried out on behalf of Palestinian banks in Gaza were not benefiting a designated terrorist organization (Hamas). Despite dire warnings, neither bank has carried through on its threats, and according to David Zaken, Assistant Supervisor of Banks at the Bank of Israel, the situation has not changed in recent months. On March 11, Zaken told Econoff that while the Israeli commercial banks would still like to terminate the correspondent relationship, in reality they were taking their cues from the GOI. The BOI continues to pursue a solution in which the Postal Bank would assume the correspondent role for IDB and Hapoalim, but Zaken admitted that it has been a case of "one step forward, two steps back." When pressed, Zaken said it could take many months (or years) to clear the legal and political hurdles required to implement this option. ¶3. (C) Zaken indicated that the GOI was satisfied with the status quo, despite continued protestations from the banks. The BOI may be willing to stretch out the issue indefinitely, but Zaken said this was clearly not a long-term solution. Hapoalim and IDB have publicly maintained the position that their immediate aim is to sever all ties to Gaza, but Zaken insisted that Gaza is only an excuse and that their real goal is to pull out of the West Bank as well. According to Zaken, the Israeli banks are no longer conducting business with any Palestinian banks headquartered in Gaza: IDB terminated business relations with Gaza-based Palestinian Islamic Bank in 2007 after receiving information that it operating on behalf of Hamas; and the Bank of Palestine moved its headquarters from Gaza to Ramallah in late 2007. ¶4. (C) The BOI attempted to respond to some of the banks, concerns in a February circular, which established detailed "know-your-customer" criteria when working with banks operating in areas under Palestinian Authority (PA) control. Israeli banks are now required to obtain detailed personal and account information for any Palestinian cleared checks or wire transfers over NIS 5000. New regulations make it illegal for correspondent banks to accept endorsed checks from banks operating under the PA, and require the banks to check transfers to high risk territories and countries (including the PA) against the list of GOI-designated terrorist entities. These changes have led to some technical difficulties in processing Palestinian transactions. Zaken said the BOI is attempting to set up meetings with Palestinian banks to discuss the problems, but regretted that these efforts have been complicated by the recent deterioration in the security situation. For the Israeli banks, these measures have helped eliminate some of the "grey area" in dealing with the PA but, according to IDB Legal Advisor Esther Deutch, do not solve the core problem of vulnerability to civil litigation. -------------- -------------- Israeli Banks Frustrated but Compliant with BOI Policy -------------- -------------- ¶5. (C) In a March 3 meeting, Deutch told Econoff that the BOI was using a legal technicality to avoid resolution of the issue. According to GOI bylaws on correspondent banking, the banks are required to announce ahead of time their intention to discontinue correspondent banking with a Palestinian customer. The BOI is insisting, said Deutch, that these announcements must be approved by the government before they take effect, and they are not approving any such announcements at this time. IDB's board of directors is in the uncomfortable situation of having to fight its own regulator (the BOI),explained Deutch, and are reticent to be seen as acting against state interests. Nevertheless, said Deutch, "the sand in the hourglass is running out -- fast." ¶7. (C) Boaz Radai, Vice President for Government Relations at Bank Hapoalim, confirmed that patience was running thin. Hapoalim has now fulfilled all of its contracts with Palestinian banks, said Radai, and is under no obligation to maintain the relationship. Radai expressed extreme frustration with the BOI's delays, saying the GOI "only understands uncivilized behavior." Radai said that Hapoalim has delayed taking action until now out of respect for BOI Governor Stanley Fischer, but this has forced Hapoalim's management to disobey the orders of its own board of directors. Radai maintained Hapoalim's earlier position that the immediate objective is to terminate correspondent relations with Gaza-based banks, despite the fact that Hapoalim's only Gaza customer -- Bank of Palestine -- has relocated. -------------- Direct Link to Arab Bank Case -------------- ¶8. (C) The underlying motivation for severing the connection to Palestinian banks, according to Zaken, is the ongoing civil suit against Arab Bank in U.S. courts for providing financial services to terrorists. Hapoalim and IDB were named by Arab Bank in third-party notices for processing the terrorist transfers through their correspondent accounts, making them potentially liable in a case that now has over 6000 plaintiffs. The legal fees and demands on human resources are a serious burden for the banks, said Zaken, and they are searching for any possible means to escape further involvement in the suit. IDB's legal advisor on the Arab Bank case, Amnon Lorch from Arnon Offices Law Firm, argued that the case against Israeli banks has little chance of success. Lorch argued that U.S. courts established in "Boim II" that "funding a terrorist group without knowledge and intent to further their illicit goals does not constitute an act of international terrorism," which describes exactly IDB's position in the Arab Bank lawsuit. Lorch said IDB could win the case with ease, but the daily legal costs and the damage to the bank's reputation are not worth the cost. ¶9. (C) Instead of fighting in court, Lorch said that IDB would prefer that Arab Bank settle the case. He implied that IDB's threats to cut off correspondent banking with Palestinians were intended to force such a solution. Deutch noted that despite the fact that Palestinian banks were generally good customers and had significant deposits with IDB, profits from their business does not offset losses from the Arab Bank legal defense. Zaken confirmed the immediate connection between the Arab Bank case and the deteriorating correspondent relationship, and added that by threatening to end services to Palestinians, the Israeli banks also hope to pressure the GOI and the USG to force a negotiated settlement. Deutch and Lorch argued (as did Radai in a separate meeting) that Israeli correspondent banks should be shielded from civil liability in the U.S. and Israel in the Arab Bank case and any future terrorism finance civil suits, as they have been forced to support Palestinian banks to further the political interests of both countries. "We feel like forgotten soldiers," said Deutch. (NOTE: Due to pressure from the GOI, IDB continues to provide correspondent services to Arab Bank in the West Bank and Gaza despite the animosity that exists between them. END NOTE.) -------------- COMMENT: GOI Calls Banks' Bluff -------------- ¶10. (C) The GOI appears to be calling the shots on deciding if and when Israeli banks may cut off correspondent relations with Palestinian banks. BOI officials indicated that the issue was ultimately political, and that any decision would likely come from the Prime Minister's Office. The GOI continues to view an uninterrupted correspondent relationship as being in Israel's interest, but this could easily change should the security situation deteriorate further. The brinksmanship pursued by Hapoalim and IDB primarily reflects their desire to force a settlement in the Arab Bank civil suit. The banks argue that this scenario could repeat itself in other lawsuits, and are clearly attempting to sever all business with Palestinian banks, not just in Gaza. Nevertheless, there is no immediate threat posed by continuing to provide services to the Palestinian banks, and the GOI has used the promise of a Postal Bank takeover to postpone the issue indefinitely. All parties believe the USG should intervene to provide immunity to the banks in U.S. courts, but no one knows by what mechanism this could be accomplished. ********************************************* ******************** 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. ********************************************* ******************** JONES