TULKAREM -- IMPROVED SECURITY, BUT NO SIGN OF

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JERUSALEM 001715

SIPDIS

NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE AND NEA/IPA; PRM FOR FRONT OFFICE AND
PRM/ANE; NSC FOR SHAPIRO/KUMAR; JOINT STAFF FOR LTG SELVA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/22/2019
TAGS: PGOV PREF PTER ETRD ECON KWBG KPAL ASEC IS
SUBJECT: TULKAREM -- IMPROVED SECURITY, BUT NO SIGN OF
ECONOMIC DIVIDEND

Classified By: A/PO Greg Marchese for reasons 1.4 (b,d).


1. (C) Summary. In a September 16 visit to Tulkarem,
ConGenOffs heard from Palestinian refugees and business
leaders that, while security has improved in the city, the
local economy is struggling and has not benefited from any
easing of internal movement, unlike other West Bank
communities. With the Israeli labor market -- formerly the
primary economic driver in Tulkarem -- no longer accessible
due to the separation barrier, unemployment is as high as 35
percent, and even higher among refugees. While all
interlocutors supported PM Fayyad's initiatives, refugee
leaders claimed that their impact has not reached the average
Palestinian farmer or laborer. End Summary.

Improved Security, but a Struggling Economy
--------------


2. (C) In separate September 16 meetings, Palestinian refugee
leaders in Tulkarem Camp and Tulkarem business leaders
described a noticeable improvement in security. Camp
Services Officer Mohammed Haykal, who is responsible for
managing UNRWA's health and education programs for the
roughly 35,000 refugees living in and around the camp, said
that PA security forces are "doing fine," although the IDF
does not allow them to operate after dark and nightly IDF
incursions into Tulkarem continue. Residents would feel
better if the IDF coordinated operations with the PA, he
added.


3. (C) Refugees and business leaders alike asserted, however,
that improved security has not translated into economic
growth. Unlike Nablus and Ramallah, Tulkarem's economy had
previously depended on Palestinian laborers commuting to
Israel. Several refugee camp committee members said they
remain unemployed after losing their jobs inside ISRAEL due
to the separation barrier. Business leaders at the Tulkarem
Chamber of Commerce reported that unemployment now hovers at
35 percent, and that the current number of Israeli work
permits (around 1,500) is far below the pre-second intifada
level of 14,000. Additionally, much of Tulkarem's
agricultural land is in the "seam zone" between the
separation barrier and the Green Line, making it
inaccessible, they said.


4. (C) Although Arab Israelis can now enter Tulkarem, road
blocks along the access route and the Enav checkpoint have
turned a five-minute trip between ISRAEL and Tulkarem into at
least a one-hour drive. Most Arab Israelis just go to
Nablus, they said. Businessman and trader Radwan Hamza also
noted the short hours at the commercial crossing (8:30
a.m.-4:00 p.m., no new trucks after 3:00 p.m.) as an
impediment to trade with Israel. Zaid Uthman, owner of
Fleafel Textile Co., said that he had established a company
in Israel, uses Israeli-plated trucks to transport his
containerized goods door to door, and labels his products
"Made in Israel" in order to overcome these obstacles. "What
do you expect from the occupation," he scolded his
colleagues, "you must adapt!"

Support for PM Fayyad, but Impact is Limited
--------------


5. (C) Among the refugee leaders, there was widespread
support for PM Fayyad's government and his initiatives to
improve rule of law and governance. Haykal characterized
Tulkarem Camp as pro-Fatah, with only 10-20 percent
supporting Hamas. However, he said, "we are frustrated and
indifferent" since the PA has not stepped forward to help
Palestinians living in the camps. Meanwhile, poverty in the
camp is rampant, with nearly everyone who is not a PA or
UNRWA employee receiving UNRWA emergency assistance. UNRWA's
efforts to attract 7th-9th grade students to school on
Saturday for remedial education and recreation face the
pressure on children to earn wages on their days off.
UNRWA's four schools in Tulkarem also face some of the
highest dropout rates in the West Bank.


6. (C) The Popular Camp Committee Chairman, Faisal Salameh,
who was also a delegate to the August 2009 Fatah Congress,
hoped that the U.S. would continue to support PM Fayyad, but
said that "farmers and workers" have not benefited from his
government. "We don't want economic peace. We need a
political solution," he added.

Comment
--------------

JERUSALEM 00001715 002 OF 002




7. (C) Salameh's remarks reflect a common theme in the camps.
While some refugee leaders have told us they are glad that
the camps were included for the first time ever in national
planning via PM Fayyad's 2007 Palestinian Reform and
Development Plan (PRDP),and reiterated in Fayyad's two-year
state-building plan, they express frustration and
disappointment that this has not been translated into action.
They often unfavorably compare their situation with that of
refugees in Jordan and Syria where national governments often
provide water and sewage infrastructure and roads in the
camps.

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