IMPRESSIONS FROM GAZA-BASED LES

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 JERUSALEM 000317

SIPDIS

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

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/24/2024
TAGS: AFSN PGOV PREL PTER PHUM KPAL KISL EG IS
SUBJECT: IMPRESSIONS FROM GAZA-BASED LES

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


1. (S) Summary. ConGen RSO LES who lives and works in Gaza
City, said that Hamas remains in firm control of Gaza. He
notes that local support for Hamas has decreased since the
December 2008 - January 2009 conflict, but decreased support
for Hamas does not mean increased support for the current PA
leadership. Gazans feel that the PA failed them during
hostilities, and PA efforts to distribute aid are not visible
enough to counter this impression. He said reconstruction
has not begun in Gaza because materials are not available,
and the tunnels, which resumed operating shortly after the
temporary cease-fire, appear to have been shut from the
Egyptian side, raising the price of goods. End Summary.

HAMAS IN CONTROL OF GAZA,
BUT POPULARITY DECREASING
--------------


2. (S) ConGen RSO LES Saji al-Mughani, who lives and works
in Gaza, told ConGenOffs during a February 18 visit to
Jerusalem that Hamas remains firmly in control of the Gaza
Strip. He told ConGen offs that the Hamas leadership remains
intact, and that it uses media outlets (TV, radio, and
newspapers) to project an image of strength. He said Hamas
recruits fighters, even among non-religious Gazans, by
offering work, money, weapons, and prestige.


3. (S) Al-Mughani described Hamas as working hard to appear
professional and provide security, adding that there are more
foreigners affiliated with relief agencies and international
organizations in Gaza now than before. He has not seen any
evidence of Iranians in Gaza. Gaza's clans are "finished,"
al-Mughani said, explaining that Hamas confiscation of
weapons left the clans unable to challenge its hold on power.
While various armed groups continued to launch occasional
rocket and mortar attacks on Israel, al-Mughani asserted that
Hamas could halt such attacks if it wants to.


4. (S) Al-Mughani said Hamas's popularity has decreased
since the end of hostilities, largely because Gazans blame
Hamas for the conflict with Israel. He said Gazans believe
Hamas's "Muslim Brotherhood agenda" has trumped the
Palestinian cause, and they resent the way Hamas leaders
abroad have promoted "resistance" from a comfortable
distance. He believes many Gazans who voted for Hamas in
2006 now regret it, even though they refrain from publicly
criticizing Hamas out of fear of retribution. Al-Mughani
explained that, during the December 2008 - January 2009
fighting, Hamas "kept people scared" by issuing house arrest
orders to those deemed a threat. Plain-clothes Hamas
security personnel "made examples" of those who failed to
comply. Hamas security personnel rounded up and roughed up
"hundreds" of Gazans for making critical or irreverent
remarks, he said.


5. (S) Hamas operates interrogation rooms in hospitals,
clinics, former NGOs, and residences, al-Mughani said. He
described Gaza City's Shifa Hospital as "an operations center
for Hamas" and said it was a virtual "closed military zone"
during the December 2008 - January 2009 fighting. Anyone
attempting to visit patients during the conflict was subject
to scrutiny from Hamas security personnel.

SUPPORT FOR THE PA STAGNANT
--------------


6. (S) Most Gazans would like to see the PA return to Gaza,
according to al-Mughani, but Hamas's unpopularity does not
translate into support for the current PA leadership. He
said Gazans believe President Abbas (Abu Mazen) and other PA
officials failed to support them during the conflict. He
said the PA has not capitalized politically on its
compensation program for Gazans who lost their homes. UNDP
has undertaken damage assessments and is handing out cash, he
said, but Gazans credit the UN, not the PA, for this support.
Al-Mughani said that Hamas, in contrast, distributes
assistance through very visible ceremonies: flags, flowers,
candy for children, and the Hamas "Minister of Economy"
handing cash directly to home owners.

RECONSTRUCTION YET TO COMMENCE, AID
DISTRIBUTION ALONG POLITICAL LINES
--------------


7. (S) Al-Mughani said that there is no visible
reconstruction in Gaza because no reconstruction materials
are available. He said the IDF leveled Gaza'a cement
factories -- along with its entire industrial zone in the
north -- as it withdrew. Al-Mughani said NGOs in Gaza are

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affiliated with one faction or another whether overtly or
discreetly, and tend to deliver assistance to that faction's
constituency. Thus, he said, Hamas believes that
international aid is going through PA-affiliated NGOs and
that Hamas supporters will not benefit.

TUNNEL OPERATIONS IN RAFAH
--------------


8. (S) Al-Mughani said much of Gaza's cement was used to
construct tunnels. He said entrepreneurs could make an NIS
20,000 (roughly USD 5,000) "contribution" to the Rafah
Municipality in return for Hamas's approval and cooperation
on tunnel construction. Tunnel operators record the goods
they smuggle into Gaza and pay taxes on those goods. Certain
goods, such as pharmaceuticals, are not taxed because they
contribute to "the greater good." He said the tunnels are
lit and well-ventilated. Most are more than 30 feet
underground, on the Gaza side, largely insulated from the
effects of Israeli bombardment. Many tunnels have ceilings
high enough to allow a grown man to stand, he said.


9. (S) Al-Mughani said that some tunnels continued to
operate during the Israeli airstrikes, and that many others
began operating again within days after the temporary
cease-fire. He said it is clear to Gazans when the tunnels
are operating because of changes in the cost of fuel and
other goods. Within ten days of the temporary cease-fire,
the price of fuel was NIS 2 per liter. However, starting
around February 12, the cost rose to NIS 5 per liter, and
then fuel disappeared almost entirely from the markets.
Al-Mughani said this indicated that Egypt is cracking down on
smuggling. He said, however, that tunnels with entrances
hidden inside private homes are harder to close.

WALLES