VZCZCXRO9928
RR RUEHROV
DE RUEHJM #0236/01 0401842
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 091842Z FEB 10
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7513
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JERUSALEM 000236 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE, SEMEP, AND IPA; NSC FOR 
SHAPIRO/KUMAR; JOINT STAFF FOR LTGEN SELVA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/08/2020 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KMPI KDEM KPAL KWBG KWMN IS
SUBJECT: PALESTINIAN CIVIL SOCIETY LEADERS DISCUSS 
NEGOTIATIONS, JERUSALEM, AND SOCIOECONOMIC ISSUES WITH DAS 
COFMAN WITTES 
 
Classified By: Consul General Daniel Rubinstein 
for reasons 1.4 (b,d). 
 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
¶1.  (SBU) NEA Deputy Assistant Secretary Tamara Cofman Wittes 
discussed efforts for Middle East peace, the growing distance 
between Palestinian and Israeli societies, and the role of 
women with Palestinian Authority (PA) officials and 
Palestinian civil society activists.  Participants lamented 
decreased familiarity between Israelis and Palestinians as a 
result of the West Bank separation barrier.  They also noted 
the increasing isolation of Arab-majority East Jerusalem, and 
te challenges faced by communities straddling Jerusalem's 
municipal borders and the separation barrier.  Participants 
reported a lack of popular support among Palestinians for a 
return to the negotiating table with Israel.  On a positive 
note, PA Minister of Women's Affairs Rahiba Diab noted the 
prominent role of women in Palestinian society compared to 
its Arab neighbors.  End Summary. 
 
KNOW THY NEIGHBOR, OR NOT 
------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (C) At an informal January 28 discussion in Ramallah with 
visiting DAS Cofman Wittes and the Consul General, PA 
ministers and members of Palestinian civil society described 
the impact of separation on Israeli-Palestinian relations. 
PA Minister of Education Lamis Alami noted that before the 
Oslo process began in the early 1990s, there was more 
interaction between Israelis and Palestinians.  Now, younger 
Palestinians show little interest in forming personal 
relationships with Israelis, and successive generations lack 
the depth and breadth of the relationships their parents once 
enjoyed.  Younger Palestinians typically know little of 
Israel beyond the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) personnel they 
encounter at checkpoints, she said.  Ziad Abu Zayyad, 
co-editor and co-publisher of the Palestine-Israel Journal, 
added that a lack of "knowledge of Palestinian suffering" 
within Israel meant there was little or no pressure on 
Israelis to make peace, particularly in light of domestic 
concerns over the Israeli economy.  Zayyad argued, "Israel's 
(2009 Parliamentary) election was about security, Iran, and 
the economy -- not peace." 
 
BARRIERS TO PEACE 
----------------- 
 
¶3.  (C)  Participants agreed that there is little political 
room for Fayyad or PA President Mahmoud Abbas to move towards 
negotiations absent a settlement freeze, because popular 
sentiment will not permit it.  "Your problem is not with 
Abbas, it is with the Palestinian people," said Zayyad.  "You 
must convince the Palestinian people that the U.S. is pushing 
the peace process," Zayyad said, claiming that Palestinians 
had "lost faith in the political process and negotiations." 
Forcing the Palestinians to negotiate with the current 
Israeli government under Prime Minister Netanyahu would "kill 
Abbas" politically, Zayyad claimed. 
 
¶4.  (C)  Others agreed, with one noting, "We (Israel and 
Palestine) have lost faith in each other.  There are many 
enemies on both sides."  Zayyad decried the growing role of 
what he described as "Jewish fundamentalism" in Israeli 
society, referring to reports of insubordination in the IDF 
inspired by statements of religious leaders against 
evacuation of West Bank settlements.  He warned, "We are 
heading towards a religious conflict; everything is possible 
in this environment."  While the two-state solution remains 
"the only good option," he said, it will not remain a viable 
option forever. 
 
LOSING JERUSALEM, DISENFRANCHISING THE WEST BANK 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶5.  (C)  Participants drew attention to growing social and 
economic disparities between Arab-majority East and 
overwhelming Israeli West Jerusalem.  Minister Diab told DAS 
Wittes that "we are losing Jerusalem to crime, poverty, 
isolation, and extremism."  MEPI-funded student leader Anwaar 
Jaber noted that her daily commute to Birzeit University -- 
located only a few miles from her home -- now required 
"hours" as a result of the separation barrier.  This had 
forced her to relocate to the campus.  Note:  Only four of 
the 16 crossing points in and out of Jerusalem are open to 
Palestinians.  End Note.  Hazem Kawasmi, chairman of a young 
 
JERUSALEM 00000236  002 OF 002 
 
 
entrepreneurs' NGO, noted that despite economic improvements, 
the West Bank was effectively a series of isolated 
"microeconomies." 
 
¶6.  (C)  Zayyad and Diab said that discrepancies in law 
enforcement in the Jerusalem area posed a significant 
problem.  They noted that the absence of overlap between the 
routes of the Jerusalem municipal boundary and the separation 
barrier created inconsistent administrative responsibilities. 
 Even in those areas of the West Bank in which the IDF has 
clear responsibility, Zayyad said, the security of 
Palestinian residents remains a low priority.  Zayyad said, 
"We are hostages to the settlers -- that is why you have 
checkpoints.  Israel is protecting 200,000 settlers by 
disenfranchising 2.5 million Palestinians."  Note:  There are 
approximately 300,000 settlers in the West Bank according to 
2009 statistics.  End note. 
 
ROLE OF WOMEN IN PALESTINE 
-------------------------- 
 
¶7.  (C) Minister Alami drew attention to the strides women 
have made in the Palestinian public sector, noting the 
presence of three female ministers in the current PA cabinet 
(holding the education, women's affairs, and social affairs 
portfolios).  She went on to note that the presence of women 
in other prominent positions in society (including the 
Palestinian Stock Exchange) placed Palestinian society well 
ahead of other Arab societies in this regard. 
 
¶8.  (U) NEA DAS Cofman Wittes has cleared this message. 
 
 
 
RUBINSTEIN