VZCZCXRO5698
OO RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK RUEHMOS
DE RUEHGB #0918/01 0791805
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 201805Z MAR 06
FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3441
INFO RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN PRIORITY 0703
RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM PRIORITY 0022
RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NSC WASHINGTON DC

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 000918 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/19/2016 
TAGS: PREF KPAL PHUM PINS KCRS IZ PA JO
SUBJECT: 89 BAGHDAD PALESTINIANS FLEE TO JORDAN BORDER 
 
REF: A. A) 06 BAGHDAD 00785 
     ¶B. B) 05 BAGHDAD 04232 
     ¶C. C) 05 BAGHDAD 04657 
 
Classified By: Charge d'Affaires David M. Satterfield for reasons 1.4 ( 
B) and (D) 
 
¶1. (C) Summary.  According to representatives from the 
Palestinian Human Rights Organization, 89 Palestinians, 
including 42 children, left Baghdad by bus March 18 for the 
Jordanian border hoping to gain entry to Jordan.  They were 
accompanied by two Christian Peacekeeping Team (CPT) members 
whose group claims that the Palestinians orchestrated the 
move themselves.  The Palestinians did not obtain entry and 
remain at the frontier, held up in a no man's land between 
the Iraqi and Jordanian borders.  Palestinian Human Rights 
president Muhammed Abid Mutlak Mowsiq told us March 19 that 
additional Palestinian families are awaiting the outcome of 
this pilot flight before determining whether they will leave 
Baghdad themselves.  The 89 Palestinians passed through the 
Iraqi border with expired Iraqi travel documents, making a 
re-entry into Iraq extremely difficult.  Although the 
Palestinians indicated March 20 their determination not to 
return to Iraq, we are urging GOI officials to allow re-entry 
into Iraq should they  alter their decision.  The 
Palestinians indicate that for the time-being they have a 
short-term supply of food and water, but limited shelter. 
This flight is a result of longstanding security concerns 
within the Baghdad Palestinian community, heightened recently 
by a series of grisly attacks against seven Palestinians. 
End Summary. 
 
------------------------------------------ 
PALESTINIANS FEARFUL OF FURTHER TARGETINGS 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶2. (C) Palestinian Human Rights president Muhammed Abid 
Mutlak Mowsiq told PolFSN March 18 that multiple violent 
attacks against Palestinians between March 10 and 17 had 
reinforced the desire by many in the Palestinian community 
(largely living in one expanded compound area in Baghdad's 
Baladiat neighborhood) to leave Iraq.  Although unable to 
provide details, he claimed that at least seven individuals 
were targeted simply because they were Palestinian.  He 
further explained that many were easy-to-target store owners. 
 
¶3. (C) Christian Peacekeeping Team (CPT) representative Anita 
Davis told PolOff March 18 that her organization had tracked 
these and other Palestinian-related attacks closely.  She 
also said that seven Palestinians had been found dead over 
the previous week.  In one case, she said, the head of one 
victim was severed and thrown into the Baladiat compound.  In 
a separate case, the corpse of a Palestinian arrested in 
Baghdad allegedly by Iraqi security forces in January was 
found in a Najaf morgue.  Because of these grisly incidents 
and the attacks following the Samarra bombing February 22, 
Davis said, the Palestinians' sense of security had been 
shaken even further. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
PALESTINIANS WANT TO LEAVE; JORDAN WILL NOT ALLOW ENTRY 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
¶4. (C) In a March 18 phone conversation, Palestinian Human 
Rights Association Mowsiq told PolFSN that 89 Palestinians 
had left Baghdad for the Jordanian border.  He underlined 
that the Palestinians themselves had arranged for the trip, 
but had requested assistance from several organizations 
before receiving a commitment from CPT to accompany the 
group.  CPT representative Anita Davis told PolOff March 18 
and 19 that 2 CPT members had accompanied the 89 
Palestinians, but that the 89 were not allowed entry into 
Jordan. 
 
¶5. (C) According to Embassy Amman, GOJ refused entry to the 
Palestinians and indicated that they would stand firm on this 
position.  Embassy Amman has also indicated that GOJ was 
displeased with the lack of coordination as well as with GOI 
for allowing these Palestinians through.  GOJ is reportedly 
allowing UNHCR to assess the encampment and possibly provide 
assistance to the 89 individuals. 
 
¶6. (C) Mowsiq asserted March 19 to PolFSN that additional 
Palestinian families were awaiting the outcome of the 89 
individuals' plight before determining whether they 
themselves would leave Baghdad.  He could not give an 
estimate of the numbers of those ready to leave immediately. 
 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
BAGHDAD 00000918  002 OF 002 
 
 
PALESTINIANS SAY THEY WILL NOT GO BACK TO IRAQ 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
¶7. (C) In a March 20 telcon, one of the 89 Palestinians, 
named Ehab (LNU), told PolFSN that the group was adamant that 
they would not return to Iraq.  All of the fleeing families, 
he said, had received direct threats or been victims of 
violence.  They were, therefore, unwilling to return to Iraq. 
 He further noted that the travel documents of all the group, 
except three women with Jordanian passports, had expired.  He 
asserted that, when the group crossed the Iraqi border, the 
border control officials indicated that they would let the 
group through, but the Iraqi authorities would not be able to 
allow the group to return because of the expired status of 
the documents. 
 
¶8. (C) Ehab indicated that the group had enough food and 
water for several days as well as blankets -- but lacked 
adequate shelter.  He mentioned that there were no immediate 
health issues among the member of the group.  He also stated 
that the buses that had driven the group to the border had 
already departed to Baghdad. 
 
------------------------------------ 
IRAQI INTERIOR MINISTRY:  NEWS TO US 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶9.  (C) Mission officers have spoken to MoI directors on 
March 20 about this group and urged that the Palestinians be 
allowed back into Iraq.  The MoI officials were unaware of 
the refugees' flight and indicated that they had to get 
clarification.  Mission is also in touch with U.S. Marine 
elements in Anbar who are tracking this as well and has 
alerted the Red Crescent, who are looking into providing 
assistance. 
 
--------------------------- 
COMMENT AND PROPOSED ACTION 
--------------------------- 
 
¶10. (C) Although both CPT and the Palestinian Human Rights 
Organization claim that this movement was orchestrated solely 
by the Palestinians, we are wary of CPT's role.  This 
situation mirrors a similar CPT/Palestinian coordinated 
effort to get to the borders of Syria(ref B).  We do not yet 
have a sense of the numbers of a possible mass exodus; 
Palestinian Human Rights Organization president Mowsiq has 
indicated the numbers could range anywhere from the hundreds 
to the thousands.  It would be hard, in any case, to move 
hundreds or thousands quickly given the precarious security 
situation in Baghdad and Anbar.  We believe, and this has 
been confirmed by Mowsiq, that if the 89 gain entry, many 
others in Baghdad will follow.  Post will urge the 
Palestinian community here not to panic and create a crisis 
on the Iraqi-Jordanian border.  We will request that ISF aid 
in the protection of the Palestinian community. 
 
¶11. (C) PROPOSED ACTION:  Post proposes that Consulate 
Jerusalem urge the Palestinian Authority representatives to 
use its good offices to stop further transport of 
Palestinians to the border.  Post further proposes that 
Embassy Amman facilitate access of UNHCR personnel in efforts 
to assist the Palestinians. 
SATTERFIELD