ABU ALA'A SAYS NEGOTIATIONS REQUIRE DEFINED

C O N F I D E N T I A L JERUSALEM 001932

SIPDIS

NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE AND IPA. NSC FOR SHAPIRO/KUMAR

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/22/2024
TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER PHUM KPAL KWBG IS
SUBJECT: ABU ALA'A SAYS NEGOTIATIONS REQUIRE DEFINED
BORDERS, SETTLEMENT FREEZE

Classified By: Consul General Daniel Rubinstein, per reasons 1.4 (b) an
d (d)


1. (C) Summary. Negotiations cannot resume while settlement
activity continues, Palestinian negotiator Ahmad Quraya' (Abu
Ala'a) told the Consul General in an October 20 meeting. Abu
Ala'a urged the USG to play a strong third-party role in
order to prevent negotiations from back-sliding to
pre-Annapolis positions. He said that defining borders as
part of a two-state solution would help resolve other
permanent status issues. He asked the Consul General to look
into tax exemptions for U.S.-based organizations that fund
settlement activity. On reconciliation, Abu Ala'a said that
Hamas is unwilling to compromise because it is content to
rule Gaza. End Summary.

SETTLEMENT GROWTH A "FUNDAMENTAL
AND STRATEGIC PROBLEM" FOR NEGOTIATIONS
--------------


2. (C) During a meeting with the Consul General on October
20, PLO Executive Committee member and former Fatah Central
Committee member and Palestinian negotiator Ahmad Quraya'
(Abu Ala'a) said that negotiations cannot resume while
settlement activity continues. Abu Ala'a called settlement
expansion a "fundamental and strategic problem." The Oslo
agreements, he explained, "specified that there would be 'no
unilateral actions the prejudge the outcome.' (The Israelis)
need to stop." He said that settlement growth calls into
question the GOI's willingness to recognize a future
Palestinian state and threatens to adversely affect prospects
for negotiating borders.


3. (C) Abu Ala'a said that he sensed a shift in the GOI's
perspective under PM Netanyahu. Recounting his negotiating
experience from 2008, he said, "I worked with (then-Israeli
Foreign Minister Tzipi) Livni, and our position was that we
could talk about any (permanent status issues). We all
started with a recognition that the Palestinian lands were
occupied in 1967 -- the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, the Jordan
Valley, the Dead Sea, and East Jerusalem. (The new Israeli
government) sees the West Bank as 'liberated.' We cannot
have a two-state solution without recognizing where the two
states are. We need to define the borders. Once we do that,
all other issues become resolvable. Without defining these
borders, negotiations will be fruitless."

NEGOTIATIONS REQUIRE STRONG USG ROLE
--------------


4. (C) Abu Ala'a said, "Bilateral negotiations have not
yielded results. Israelis and Palestinians know each other
too well. We know each other's positions, and fall-back
positions." He told the Consul General that the USG needs to
play a strong third-party role to prevent the negotiations
from back-sliding to pre-Annapolis positions. "Fatah has
changed its position over time; we have made compromises," he
said. "(Israelis and Palestinians) need to agree on the
status of the land in order to make progress on any other
issues," he said.

ISSUE OF US-BASED ORGANIZATIONS FUNDING SETTLEMENTS
-------------- --------------


5. (C) Abu Ala'a said that Palestinians cannot accept the
growth of settlements that separate East Jerusalem from the
West Bank. He gave the Consul General a copy of an article
by Uri Blau and Nir Hasson, published in Israeli daily
Haaretz newspaper on August 17, entitled "American Non-profit
Organization Raises Funds for Settlement," and asked the USG
to review the situation with an eye toward eliminating
organizations' tax exempt status if they are funding
settlement activity. Abu Ala'a expressed concerned about
Israeli press reports that Israel and the USG had reached an
agreement on settlements.

HAMAS CONTENT TO RULE GAZA, UNWILLING TO COMPROMISE
-------------- --------------


6. (C) Regarding Palestinian reconciliation, Abu Ala'a said
that Hamas is unwilling to make any concessions because they
are "comfortable in the Gaza Strip. They have a state!
Hamas is happy with the current situation." He said that in
his experience, Hamas leaders were savvy politicians and very
difficult to work with. He warned that Hamas would like to
see its authority expand, which could threaten Fatah and the
Palestinian Authority.

RUBINSTEIN