This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TEL AVIV 000942 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR DS/IP/NEA AND DS/DO/ICI 
DEPT FOR NEA 
JERUSALEM FOR RSO 
AMMAN AND CAIRO FOR RSO 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/08/2016 
TAGS: ASEC IS KPAL PREL ISRAELI PALESTINIAN AFFAIRS GOI EXTERNAL ISRAEL RELATIONS
SUBJECT: RSO MEETING WITH GOI OFFICIALS REGARDING 
PALESTINIAN DEPORTEES 
 
REF: A. ICE/RSO EMAIL DATED 06/02/2005 
     ¶B. ROSENSTOCK/RSO EMAIL DATED 07/27/2005 
     ¶C. RSO AMMAN/RSO TEL AVIV EMAIL DATED 11/12/2005 
 
Classified By: DCM GENE A. CRETZ for reason 1.4 (B) and (D) 
 
¶1.  (C) Summary: At the request of the Department of Homeland 
Security (DHS) and RSO Amman (refs A, B, and C, 
respectively), Post has actively pursued with the GOI the 
proposal to transport Palestinian deportees from the U.S. to 
Gaza/West Bank through Ben Gurion International Airport.  The 
Ambassador has raised this issue in both a letter to the 
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in person with the Deputy 
Director General for North American Affairs.  This has been 
an ongoing issue since June 2005 when then Ambassador Kurtzer 
officially requested via letter the return through Ben Gurion 
Airport of five Palestinians.  To date, we have not received 
a definitive response from the GOI, and Palestinian deportee 
returns continue to transit the Governments' of Jordan (GOJ) 
and Egypt (GOE) territories for West Bank and Gaza returns, 
respectively.  During the last several months, RSO has met 
separately with key representatives from the Israeli National 
Police (INP) and the Israeli Security Agency (ISA) to garner 
their support, which, in turn, could reinforce our approaches 
to officials of both the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and 
Interior. 
 
¶2.  (C) Summary continued: On 3/6 RSO met with key 
representatives from the INP, MFA, and Interior Ministry to 
discuss the Palestinian deportee issue and request a change 
in procedure to specifically use Ben Gurion Airport to return 
Palestinian deportees to the West Bank.  Given the GOI's 
reluctance to change their policy on this issue due to 
"extreme political sensitivities" and their concern that 
other countries would request similar treatment for handling 
Palestinian deportees, the RSO (under the advice of the INP) 
focused only on returns to the West Bank, particularly due to 
the GOJ's repeated efforts to wean themselves from this 
process.  DHS currently has one Palestinian deportee who 
requires immediate deportation from the U.S. and return to 
the West Bank.  RSO appealed to the GOI to permit this return 
as a pilot case, and provided an official letter with the 
case specifics.  After a lengthy discussion regarding 
security concerns, GOI bilateral agreements with the GOJ, 
ramifications of GOI policy change on this issue, and the 
importance of the issue to the USG, the Head of Population 
Administration, Ministry of Interior, advised that he would 
provide a response within 30 days.  Embassy Amman should pay 
particular attention to para 8.  End summary. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) DHS has repeatedly underscored to the RSO the 
urgency of streamlining the Palestinian deportee process to 
make it more effective and efficient.  Given the shortage of 
detention space, the costs associated with a deportee's care 
while in custody, and the consequences of habeas corpus 
filings (i.e., released back into U.S. society), DHS's 
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), requested Post's 
assistance in coordinating the return of Palestinian 
deportees in the U.S. directly with the GOI, utilizing Ben 
Gurion Airport to effect these returns.  Past procedures for 
Palestinian deportee returns to the West Bank and Gaza have 
been problematic and required close coordination and approval 
by GOJ and GOE authorities, respectively.  Finding a working 
solution has become critical, particularly given the GOJ's 
reluctance to assist in these returns as the RSO in Amman 
indicated on several occasions (ref C). 
 
¶4.  (C) Since June 2005, Post has actively pursued with the 
GOI the proposal to transport Palestinian deportees to 
Gaza/West Bank from the U.S. through Ben Gurion International 
Airport.  The Ambassador has raised this issue in both a 
letter to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in person with 
Ambassador Yorum Ben Zeev, Deputy Director General for North 
American Affairs.  The RSO has also raised this issue with 
representatives of the ISA, INP, MFA, and the Interior 
Ministry.  To date, we have not received a definitive 
response from the GOI, and Palestinian deportee returns 
continue to transit the Governments' of Jordan (GOJ) and 
Egypt (GOE) territories for West Bank and Gaza returns, 
respectively. 
 
¶5.  (C) During the last several months, RSO has met 
separately with key representatives from the INP and the ISA 
to garner their support, which, in turn, could be leveraged 
against officials from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and 
Interior.  INP Brigadier General Avi Ben-Hamo, Deputy Head of 
the Operations Department, has been particularly helpful and 
has convinced certain Interior officials that it can be 
accomplished from a security perspective.  Moreover, RSO met 
with ISA's Allen Moss, special assistant to the ISA Director, 
who indicated that it was the INP's main responsibility and 
that the ISA would pose no objection to returns through Ben 
Gurion, if proper security and political issues could be 
addressed.  Upon gaining this support from the INP and ISA, 
RSO requested and received a meeting with Sassi Katzir, Head 
of Populations Administration (Interior Ministry), and other 
appropriate officials from the MFA and Israeli Defense Forces 
(IDF). 
 
¶6.  (C) On 3/6 RSO met with Sassi Katzir (Head of Population 
Administration, Ministry of Interior), Brigadier General Avi 
Ben-Hamo (Deputy Head of Operations, INP), Yigal Tzarfati 
(Head of Consular Affairs Bureau, MFA), Rony Yedidia (Head of 
Consular Liaison Affairs, MFA), and an Interior Ministry 
attorney to discuss the Palestinian deportee issue and 
request a change in procedure to specifically use Ben Gurion 
Airport to return Palestinian deportees to the West Bank. 
Given the GOI's reluctance to change their policy on this 
issue due to "extreme political sensitivities" and their 
concern that other countries would request similar treatment 
for handling Palestinian deportees, the RSO (under the 
advisement of General Ben-Hamo) focused on returns to the 
West Bank, particularly due the GOJ's repeated efforts to 
wean themselves from this process.  DHS currently has one 
Palestinian deportee who requires immediate deportation from 
the U.S. to the West Bank, so RSO appealed to the GOI to 
permit this return as a pilot case, and provided them an 
official letter with the case specifics.  After a lengthy 
discussion about numerous security concerns, GOI bilateral 
agreements with GOJ, ramifications of GOI policy change on 
this issue, and the importance of the issue to the USG, Mr. 
Sassi Katzir advised that he would provide a response within 
30 days. 
 
¶7.  (C) Based on preliminary feedback from General Ben-Hamo, 
RSO is optimistic that the GOI will permit limited use of Ben 
Gurion Airport to return Palestinian deportees to the West 
Bank, provided they receive necessary escort from ICE.  Those 
Palestinian deportees who wish to return voluntarily and not 
under ICE escort will continue to transit Jordanian territory 
to return to the West Bank. RSO and INP have already 
developed a tentative and safe procedure for transporting 
Palestinian deportees from Ben Gurion Airport to the West 
Bank.  Additionally, the GOI advised RSO that Palestinian 
deportee returns to Gaza are much more complicated and not 
doable at this time based on security concerns and political 
sensitivities.  Hence, all Palestinian deportee returns to 
Gaza must continue to transit Egypt to Rafah. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) RSO Comment: Mr. Sassi Katzir advised that he will 
meet shortly with GOJ authorities on a number of issues, and 
that he specifically intends to address the Palestinian 
deportee issue with them.  If the GOJ authorities respond 
that they can accommodate Palestinian deportees through its 
territory, then RSO will lose traction on this issue and the 
GOI will insist that the deportee procedure remain in its 
current form, whereby all Palestinian deportees transit Amman 
and Cairo for return to the West Bank and Gaza, respectively. 
 Therefore, Embassy Amman may want to weigh in on the issue 
with GOJ authorities.  He further stated that the GOJ had not 
been honoring a number of their bilateral agreements, 
alluding that this was just another instance. 
 
¶9.  (U) Post will keep the DHS and the Department apprised of 
all pertinent developments on this issue. 
 
 
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