IDF WEST BANK COMMANDER SHAMNI BRIEFS THE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 TEL AVIV 001218

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/04/2019
TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER ECON KWBG IS
SUBJECT: IDF WEST BANK COMMANDER SHAMNI BRIEFS THE
AMBASSADOR ON SECURITY COOPERATION WITH THE PALESTINIAN
AUTHORITY

Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Luis G. Moreno, Reason 1.4 (b) (
d)


1. (C) Summary. Major General Gaddi Shamni, the commander
of the IDF's Western Command, briefed the Ambassador June 4
on what he termed the development of relations of cooperation
and mutual trust between his coammnd and the PA Security
Forces at all levels over the past year. Shamni described a
joint Israeli-PA effort to "crush" Hamas operations in the
West Bank by focusing on the Da'wa social services network as
well as the armed wing. In response to requests from Prime
Minister Fayyad, Shamni said he had agreed gradually to allow
the PASF to take on a larger security role while limiting the
IDF's interventions to cases of urgent need only. Shamni
praised the PASF's development of strong intentions to take
on Hamas, and said he no longer assessed that Hamas would
quickly take over the West Bank were it not for the IDF's
intervention. Shamni insisted, however, that the IDF would
need to retain overall security responsibility for some time,
arguing that the PA could not replace Israel's intelligence
capabilities. Shamni expressed appreciation for the work of
Lt General Dayton, and urged the U.S. to encourage the PA to
engage the Israelis rather than intervening directly. He
complained that Gulf Arab donors prefer to finance Hamas, and
said more should be done to promote economic development.
West Bank Division Commander BG Tibon also stressed the
importance of developing the PA's judicial system and the
establishment of Western-style jails. The Ambassador
stressed the importance of continuing to improve Palestinian
movement and access and noted that we should have the
opportunity to make progress on the economy and security this
year. Regarding GOI plans to remove illegal outposts, Shamni
said he had not received any new instructions but noted that
he has issued orders to stop the establishment of any new
outposts, which requires daily small-scale operations.
Shamni said that if the GOI decides to demolish outposts, he
hopes to use border police and not IDF soldiers in order to
avoid creating a split within the army. The Ambassador
observed that Israeli-Palestinian security cooperation is a
building block to support the political process that we are
trying to initiate. End Summary.

Expanding the PASF's Security Role
--------------


2. (C) The Ambassador, accompanied by Army Attache and Pol
Couns, met with the Commander of the IDF's Central Command,
MG Gaddi Shamni, at the Kirya in Tel Aviv June 4. Shamni was
joined by West Bank Division Commander BG Noam Tibon, West
Bank COGAT head BG Pauli Mordekhai, and representatives of
Shamni's intelligence and operations staff. Shamni reviewed
Central Command's responsibilities, which he said include
maintaining security and preventing terror attacks,
destroying terrorist infrastructure and uprooting Hamas,
cooperating with the Jordanian military and preventing
smuggling across the Jordanian border, assuring the "decent
well-being" of the Palestinian population, and working with
the Israeli police and border police to maintain law and
order. Shamni noted that while he has four divisions under
his command, three are ready for deployment at any time to
the north or south. Shamni pointed out that sixty percent of
the IDF forces deployed for Operation Cast Lead came from his
command. Shamni said he has good relations with the
Jordanian military, including regular meetings at all levels,
as well as good cooperation with the Palestinian Authority
Security Forces (PASF),although the IDF maintains a low
profile for its contacts with the PASF. BG Mordekhai serves
as Shamni's liaison to PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad.


3. (C) Shamni said his goals include improving the quality
of life for Palestinians in the West Bank, promoting the PA,
and deeply damaging Hamas. He described Hamas' power as
largely based on its Da'wa social services network, which
provides support to elements of the Palestinian public who
are not being served by the PA. Shamni commented that his
assessment of Hamas and the PA's relative strengths in the
West Bank is shifting: two years ago he believed that Hamas
could take control of the West Bank within weeks were it not
for the activities of the IDF and Shin Bet, but that
assessment has changed, partly as a result of effective
action by the PA to gain control of armed Fatah fugitives,
and partly due to a joint PA-Israeli effort to go after all
elements of Hamas, especially its financial network.


4. (C) Shamni noted that PM Fayyad asked in 2008 for the IDF
to allow the PASF to take over a larger share of security
responsibilities. Shamni admitted it had not been an easy
decision, but he decided gradually to pass security
responsibilities to the Palestinians, including the
establishment of joint working teams. Shamni noted that this

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approach has resulted in a high level of PA-IDF security
cooperation and greatly increased mutual trust. He urged
that "third parties" (i.e. the U.S.) not intervene in ways
that undermine this cooperation.


5. (C) Shamni said that while the PA's anti-Hamas efforts
were showing results, it was difficult for the PA to deal
with the senior levels of Hamas. He suggested that part of
the problem is that Gulf Arab donors, and especially the
Saudis, prefer to donate to Hamas rather than Fatah,
believing the Hamas social services network to be less
corrupt. Shamni praised the PASF's performance during
Operation Cast Lead in Gaza, which he said demonstrated a
high level of discipline. In response to the Ambassador's
question whether the improved performance only applied to
units trained by Lt. General Dayton's team, Shamni said there
was across-the-board improvement, although some PA security
organizations were still reticent to cooperate with the
Israelis. Asked about a PASF operation earlier that week in
Qalqilya in which PASF killed a wanted Hamas official in a
gunbattle in which five other Palestinians died, Shamni said
it pointed to a change in the level of PASF determination.
The security units involved had not sought a firefight, but
once it started they did not back away. The Ambassador noted
that Lt. General Dayton had told him that the PASF were proud
of their performance in Qalqilya. Shamni agreed, saying the
operation had been "good for them and good for us." Shamni
praised the development of the PASF, noting that while in the
past he had said that they had adequate equipment but
inadequate intentions, now they are properly motivated as
well.


6. (C) While Hamas does not currently pose a threat to take
over the West Bank, Shamni said Hamas was focused on building
up its operational forces in Qalqilya, Hebron and Tulkarm.
Hamas is also active in the West Bank villages, where their
activities are harder to track. Shamni commented that West
Bank Palestinians see themselves as different from Gazans and
do not want Gazans to settle in the West Bank, but he
admitted that the Palestinians would eventually have to unite
the two areas, although he thought this could take years.
Shamni stressed that at their last coordination meeting the
previous week, the PASF representatives were complimentary
about the IDF's lower profile. One organizational problem
that they face, however is the lack of a unified PASF chain
of command. An incident involving one PA security unit
firing on an IDF undercover operation had resulted from a
failure on the Palestinian side to share information. In the
Jenin area, Shamni has established a hot line to the PASF,
but information is still not widely disseminated on the
Palestinian side. The PASF are working to establish joint
commands of their various security organizations, but only
for limited periods.

West Bank Developments
--------------


7. (C) Shamni said he wants the PA to replace the municipal
governments controlled by Hamas. Fayyad says he cannot fire
the municipalities, but may decide not to hold new elections
when their terms end. Shamni commented that the PA is doing
a good job of maintaining public order and has cleaned up
West Bank cities and towns. He has ordered his troops not to
enter Palestinian urban areas unless there is a real
operational need in order to give the PASF broader freedom of
action. Noting some specific improvements, Shamni said that
in 2008 there was a 62 percent rise in the transportation of
goods in the West Bank, a 40 percent increase in trade with
Israel, as well as a dramatic increase in tourism, with over
one million tourists visiting the West Bank in 2008. COGAT
is increasing the number of VIP passes for businessmen to
enter Israel as well as increasing the number of Palestinian
workers with permits. Shamni noted, however, that the PA
needs greater assistance in developing its governance
capacity. Hamas at this point is more skilled at running
large organizations than Fatah.


8. (C) Praising Lt.General Dayton's efforts, Shamni said he
supports continued development of PASF capabilities. They
still lack some operational components, and the training
process could be accelerated. He termed their current level
of operations as "good," and said they need to improve the
capabilities of all the police units. The Ambassador asked
whether the EU police training efforts were helping. Shamni
said they were, noting a marked reduction in ideological
attitudes and increased professionalism among the police. He
repeated his admonition that the U.S. and Europeans take care
not to intervene too deeply in the development of the
Palestinian-Israeli security cooperation, noting that "Dayton
understands this, but not everyone else does."

TEL AVIV 00001218 003 OF 004




9. (C) BG Tibon commented that the PA's legal system needs
greater assistance, adding that their ability to maintain law
and order is undermined by their lack of real jails. The
Central Command is committed to improving the daily life of
Palestinians by developing infrastructure and supporting the
creation of jobs. There should also be greater foreign
investment, especially now that the security situation has
improved. The Ambassador said we need to continue to focus
on improving movement and access, adding that we had lost
some time during the political transitions in Israel and the
U.S. Shamni commented that Central Command had not lost any
time due to the transition. He said he asks his Palestinian
interlocutors how he can help them with their economy, and
they mostly point to the need for improve movement and
access. Shamni said he is looking at removing more
checkpoints and roadblocks, but there are security limits to
how much more he is able to do. He commented that there are
currently only 16 checkpoints in the West Bank, 7 of which
are located in the Jordan Valley.


10. (C) The Ambassador noted that while it may not be
possible to go back to pre-Intifada arrangements in Area A,
he urged Shamni to consider a phased process of returning
full PA security control in some areas. Shamni replied that
in Jenin, the IDF hardly enters at all now. But he said the
IDF could not agree to give up the overriding responsibility
for security in the West Bank, especially since there was no
substitute for Israeli intelligence capabilities. One car
bomb in Israel would set back the entire process, he
stressed. Nonetheless, Shamni said he is committed to giving
the PA a "lot of freedom to act," as well as to enhancing the
visibility and respect accorded the PASF. He described the
idea of transferring overall security responsibility as "old
thinking," however, and suggested we focus instead on new
modes of Israeli-PA cooperation. He then noted that he was
going beyond his mandate, since these were essentially
political decisions.

Outposts and Settlements
--------------


11. (C) Shamni noted that his military mission includes
protecting the settlers. (Note: Shamni has been subjected
to demonstrations in front of his home, having the tires of
his personal vehicle slashed, and now hate mail and death
threats from far right activists due to the extreme wing of
the settler movement's sense that Shamni is acting against
the settlers' interests.) In response to the Ambassador's
question how the GOI plans to carry out the evacuation of
outposts, Shamni said he had not yet received orders to
evacuate outposts. He did however have a general policy of
preventing the establishment of new outposts, and noted that
his command carries out such evacuations on a daily basis.
He commented that he is mostly relying on police and border
police to carry out these evacuations since he is concerned
about using the IDF for evacuations. He candidly admitted
that the IDF, as a "people's army reflecting Israeli
society," could face difficulties in such operations, an
implicit reference to IDF concerns that the high percentage
of national-religious soldiers in combat units could result
in a refusal by some to obey orders to evacuate outposts
and/or settlements. Shamni said he has command of enough
police and border police to prevent the establishment of new
outposts, but admitted he would need additional personnel to
evacuate all 26 outposts mentioned by the GOI. He noted that
some of the outposts are large, with 40 families living in
Migron, the largest outposts. In all, Shamni estimated that
about 1,700 Israelis live in illegal outposts.

Looking Ahead
--------------


12. (C) The Ambassador commented that we expect to have the
opportunity to take new approaches this year to economic
development and security in the West Bank. We are also
looking at ways to develop the PA's justice system. The
Ambassador said he looked forward to working with the Central
Command in support of our policy. BG Tibon noted that it had
taken over a year to develop the current level of trust
between the PASF and Central Command. He hoped that
"top-down interventions" would not disrupt this cooperation,
adding that explanations on the ground of IDF operations were
critical to understanding the situation in the West Bank.
The Ambassador called economic development and security
cooperation building blocks in support of a political
process. Israelis and Palestinians should work together as
much as possible and only turn to the U.S. for help when the
process becomes blocked.


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