Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09JERUSALEM158
2009-01-20 15:18:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Consulate Jerusalem
Cable title:  

GAZANS RESILIENT IN REBUILDING THEIR SHATTERED

Tags:  AFSN KWBG MOPS PHUM PREF PTER KPAO IS 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO0774
OO RUEHROV
DE RUEHJM #0158/01 0201518
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 201518Z JAN 09
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3896
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NSC PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JERUSALEM 000158 

SIPDIS

NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE AND PPD, NSC FOR
ABRAMS/PASCUAL/RAMCHAND, M FOR DIRECTOR GENERAL THOMAS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/19/2019
TAGS: AFSN KWBG MOPS PHUM PREF PTER KPAO IS
SUBJECT: GAZANS RESILIENT IN REBUILDING THEIR SHATTERED
LIVES

REF: A. JERUSALEM 132

B. JERUSALEM 141

Classified By: Consul General Jake Walles for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JERUSALEM 000158

SIPDIS

NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE AND PPD, NSC FOR
ABRAMS/PASCUAL/RAMCHAND, M FOR DIRECTOR GENERAL THOMAS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/19/2019
TAGS: AFSN KWBG MOPS PHUM PREF PTER KPAO IS
SUBJECT: GAZANS RESILIENT IN REBUILDING THEIR SHATTERED
LIVES

REF: A. JERUSALEM 132

B. JERUSALEM 141

Classified By: Consul General Jake Walles for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) Summary. With a cease-fire in Gaza, two Gazans, whose
stories Post tracked throughout the 22 days of fighting, are
picking up the pieces of their lives and their homes,
focusing on the welfare of their families above all else, and
getting ready to go back to school. In telcons with PD Offs,
PD FSN Essam Mattar and American Corner Gaza Director Awni
Karzon reflected resilience and a practicality about their
plights -- finding housing, buying food, and preparing for
school exams. End Summary.

GOODS AVAILABLE; BAKERIES AND BNKS REOPEN
=========================================


2. (C) In daily telcons with PD Offs, PD FN Essam Mattar and
American Corner Gaza DirectorAwni Karzon shared their
stories of survival thrughout the 22 days of IDF operations
in Gaza (refels). With a cease-fire in place, both Mattar
ad Karzon have begun trying to create some sense ofnormalcy
for their families. In telcons on Janury 19, both said
food, water, and other goods ar available in the local
markets in Gaza City, andthat bakeries had reopened.


3. (C) Karzon said,prices are still high. He also wondered
whetherhumanitarian aid is being pilfered and resold in te
shops, since he has seen several items that hae not been
available in Gaza for months, includin long-life milk and
yoghurt. Karzon and Mattar onfirmed that banks have
reopened but are limitig withdrawals. Karzon remarked that
PA employee can withdraw only up to 500 shekels of their
saaries.

AMCORNER DIRECTOR FEARS NEW DANGERS WITH EASEFIRE
============================================= ====


4. (C) After sheltering with a frien for 18 days (ref A),
Krzon returned with his family to his partially desroyed
apartment in Tel al-Hawa on January 19. Krzon reported to

PDoff that the master bedroom o his apartment is still
habitable and the kitche is functional, though the rest of
the apartment s heavily damaged. The building lacks running
wter, as the plumbing was damaged by bombing, and my not be
structurally sound. Even so, he believs, it is the best
place for him and his family nw. With no way to secure his
apartment, Karzon alo worries about looting of what remains
of his psessions.


5. (C) Karzon expressed concern aboutthe possibility for
Hamas reprisals against pro-atah loyalists like himself,
but he is determine to stay in Gaza for now. Al Azhar
University, where Karzon is a professor, reopened January 20
for cleaning and security sweeps, and Karzon needs to prepare
to conduct and grade university exams over the next month.
Meanwhile, his wife is anxious to get settled in what is left
of their home so she can begin her preparing for her own M.A.
exams in February. Karzon said Gaza is his home and he will
always return here, but after the events of the last three
weeks, he is seeking a break and hopes to find an academic
fellowship outside Gaza. (NOTE: Post applied on Karzon's
behalf to the Scholar Rescue Fund, which seeks to place
at-risk scholars with U.S. universities for up to one year.
End note.)

CONGEN FSN FOCUSES ON THE FUTURE
================================


6. (C) Following his flight from his bombed-out home (ref B),
Mattar finally found refuge for his family in Post's PD
Office in Gaza, where he and his family remain as of January

20. Though the office building has no running water, Mattar
counts himself lucky to have found any shelter for his
family. His wife and one of his daughters were injured in
the blast that destroyed their home, but received medical
treatment and were released from hospital immediately.
Mattar told PD Chief that his home can be replaced, his
family cannot.


7. (C) Returning to his apartment on January 19, Mattar found
that his home is now little more than an uninhabitable,
burned-out husk. Displaying an irrepressible optimism,
Mattar told PD Chief he hopes to rebuild. "Most walls are
still standing, at least," he said. In the meantime, Mattar
has already been out looking for an apartment to rent. They
are scarce though, according to Mattar, and prices have

JERUSALEM 00000158 002 OF 002


risen, making them unaffordable for many homeless Gazans,
especially those in UNRWA shelters. (NOTE: Post estimates
Mattar's total losses, including rebuilding/replacing his
apartment and nearly all his family's possessions, at USD
60,000 and is preparing a request for assistance for Mattar
through the FSN Relief Fund. End Note.)


8. (C) For now, Mattar is focused on getting his family
settled as quickly as possible, noting that he has heard
Gazan schools will reopen on January 24. He wants his family
in a temporary home, not camped out in the office, so his
children can focus on returning to their studies. "After
all," he told PD Chief, "they have to prepare for their exams
in two weeks."
WALLES