FATAH PLC MEMBERS JOIN FAYYAD'S GOVERNMENT

C O N F I D E N T I A L JERUSALEM 000891 SIPDIS NEA FRONT OFFICE AND IPA; NSC FOR SHAPIRO/KUMAR; JOINT STAFF FOR LTGEN SELVA E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/04/2019 TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR KWBG IS SUBJECT: FATAH PLC MEMBERS JOIN FAYYAD'S GOVERNMENT REF: JERUSALEM 825 Classified By: Deputy Principal Officer Greg Marchese for reasons 1.4 ( b,d) ¶1. (SBU) More than two weeks after swearing in the new Fayyad government (reftel),Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmud Abbas (Abu Mazen) swore in two additional ministers from the Fatah PLC bloc on Thursday, June 4. Their addition to the cabinet, after the last-minute "boycott" of the government by the Fatah PLC bloc on May 19, is a minor political victory for PM Fayyad. Rubayha Dhiyab was sworn in as Minister of Women's Affairs, and Issa Qaraqi was sworn in as Minister of Prisoner Affairs. Brief bio information follows in paras 3 and 4. ¶2. (C) The bloc's agreement to join the government followed consultations between Fatah PLC members, Fatah- affiliated ministers, and President Abbas. Just prior to the ceremony on June 4, Fatah PLC bloc head Azam al-Ahmad agreed with President Abbas on the terms of relations between the Fatah PLC bloc and the government, including coordination and review of government policies. Earlier in the day, PM Fayyad told the Consul General that the agreement was purely symbolic and, for all practical purposes, the Fatah bloc was simply trying to save face. Fayyad did not express any confidence in the capabilities of the two individuals, though he did note that their inclusion in the cabinet ends any pretense of Fatah opposition to his government. Bios -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Rubayha Dhiyab: Minister of Women's Affairs Dhiyab is a Fatah activist born in Dur Al-Aqre', near Ramallah, in 1954. She was first arrested by the GOI when she was 12 years old, and spent a total of nearly seven years in prison. Upon her release, she received a BA in sociology/social work from Bethlehem University. She is the chairperson of the Union of Women's Committees for Social Work and a board member of the Women's Affairs Technical Committees. She is a member of the Fatah Revolutionary Council. Dhiyab previously served as Director General of the PA Ministry of Youth and Sports and was elected to the PLC on the Fatah list in January 2006. ¶4. (SBU) Issa Qaraqi: Minister of Prisoner Affairs Qaraqi was born in the early 1960's in Aida refugee camp in Bethlehem. He joined the Fatah movement and was imprisoned by the GOI several times in the late 1970s and mid 1980's. Qaraqi headed the Bethlehem University student council in the mid 1980's, representing Fatah. He studied Arabic literature and graduated in the early 1990's. He is known for his poetry. In the early 1990's, he co-founded the Fatah West Bank High Committee, and became a prominent supporter of Marwan al-Bargouthi. He worked as the Executive Director of the President Club, a Fatah NGO that caters to prisoners in Israeli jails. Qaraqi is widely respected among Fatah grassroots leaders in the West Bank and won a seat in the 2006 PLC elections. WALLES