SAUDIS FOCUS ON PALESTINIAN UNITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L RIYADH 000373

SIPDIS

PASS TO S AND MITCHELL PARTIES

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/01/2019
TAGS: PREL EAID KWBG SA NO
SUBJECT: SAUDIS FOCUS ON PALESTINIAN UNITY

REF: RIYADH 355

Classified By: Political Counselor Lisa M. Carle,
reasons 1.4(b),(d)


1. KEY POINTS

-- (C) Saudi FM Prince Saud al-Faisal assured Amb. Fraker
March 1 that Saudi Arabia did not intend to arrive at the
Sharm el-Sheikh conference with a predetermined position on
Gaza reconstruction funding mechanisms.

-- (C) However, the Prince also spoke at length and with
some apparent frustration about why Israel, and not the GCC,
holds the key to strengthening the PA.

-- (C) Abdullah al-Hamdan, Head of the MFA Palestine
Department told Post February 28 the Saudis would like to see
a Palestinian unity government formed through dialogue and
elections that "represents the Palestinian people," and
agreed a new Palestinian government should support the peace
process.

-- (C) Al-Hamdan added that the Saudis see their role as
supporting Egypt in bringing all Palestinian factions
together but will leave it to the Palestinians to decide what
kind of government they want.

-- (C) Al-Hamdan's remarks suggested the Saudis are more
concerned with the simple goal of Palestinian unity than with
protecting individuals or preserving the Palestinian
Authority in its current form. Referring to PM Fayyad,
al-Hamdan said "There's no reason to remove him, but..." (the
implication being that retaining certain individuals wasn't a
sine qua non, either.)

-- (C) The Saudis expect a unity government would become the
Palestinian partner for reconstruction assistance, working
with the GCC/IDB program to give funding to "whoever needs
it."

-- (C) Separately, the Norwegian Embassy in Riyadh informed
Post March 1 that Norwegian Foreign Minister Stoere had
telephoned Saud al-Faisal from Gaza February 28 to complain
that the GCC decision on Gaza reconstruction funding had the
effect of undercutting the PA.


2. COMMENT

-- (C) As a Department Head, Al-Hamdan is not a
decision-maker, but he appears well informed and able to
articulate Saudi views.

-- (C) The hands-off approach described by al-Hamdan
suggests that the Saudi priority is Palestinian unity. Fresh
from the failure of their last intervention (the Mecca
Accords) they seem unwilling to try to directly influence the
unity negotiations.
FRAKER