MINISTER OF STATE: QATAR LOOKS TO PARTNER WITH UN,

C O N F I D E N T I A L DOHA 000086 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/03/2019 TAGS: PREL PHUM KPAL KWBG QA EG SUBJECT: MINISTER OF STATE: QATAR LOOKS TO PARTNER WITH UN, U.S. NGOS ON GAZA AID REF: A. DOHA 81 ¶B. DOHA 42 Classified By: Ambassador Joseph E. LeBaron for reasons 1.4 (b and d) -------------- (C) KEY POINTS -------------- -- Minister of State for International Cooperation and Conferences Khalid Al-Attiyah told Ambassador February 2 that Qatar was happy with its partnerships with U.S.-based NGOs on Gaza aid, and looked to expand those partnerships. -- Al-Attiyah stated flatly that "Qatar wants its aid to go through Israel", saying that corruption in Egypt prevented aid from getting to the needy from that country. -- Qatar also hopes to forge stronger ties with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). Al-Attiyah stated that the GOQ has extended an invitation to UNRWA Commissioner General Karen AbuZayd to visit Doha and discuss ways of building a closer relationship on delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza. -- As with MFA Minister of State Al-Mahmoud (septel), Ambassador urged that Qatar work with and through the PA to get aid into Gaza. That included helping pay PA salaries, since at least some of Qatar's aid shipments trucked into Gaza were going through the West Bank with the help of the PA. -------------- (C) COMMENTS -------------- -- Qatar's desire to strengthen its relationships with Western NGOs and the UN on delivering Gaza aid is further evidence that it is stepping away from the unilateral approach to Gaza aid that it has sometimes taken in the past (see Ref A). -- Despite the closure of the Israeli trade office (Ref B), Qatar has not backed away from its long-standing preference to deliver Palestinian aid via Israel, vice Egypt. End Key Points and Comments ¶1. (C) At a February 3 meeting with Ambassador, Minister of State for International Cooperation and Conferences Khalid Al-Attiyah said that Qatar is pleased with the success of its partnerships with American NGOs in delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza. He singled out the partnership between Qatar's Reach Out to Asia (ROTA) and U.S.-based Mercy Corps as particularly successful (Note: ROTA is a government-supported NGO and part of the Qatar Foundation. It is chaired by Shayka Mayassa bint Hamad Al Thani, daughter of the Amir. End note). Al Attiyah estimated that 80 per cent of Qatar's aid to Gaza since the cease fire has been delivered through this partnership. ¶2. (C) Al-Attiyah attributed the success of the ROTA-Mercy Corps partnership to the strong ties Mercy Corps has with the Government of Israel, which enables it to funnel aid into Gaza from the Israeli side. "Qatar wants its aid to go through Israel", Al-Attiyah stated flatly. He said that Qatar would not send aid through Egypt because of corruption there, and that aid was being delayed at the border because of the need to bribe Egyptian officials. He said that aid which went through Egypt would not go to the needy, but "to (President) Mubarak's family and party". ¶3. (C) Al Attiyah told Ambassador that Qatar also hoped to strengthen its ties to UNRWA. He said that the GOQ has extended an invitation to UNRWA Commissioner General Karen AbuZayd to visit Doha and discuss ways of building a closer relationship on delivering aid to Gaza. LeBaron