VZCZCXYZ0037
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHAM #3036/01 1171442
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 271442Z APR 06
FM AMEMBASSY AMMAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9940
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA PRIORITY 0501

C O N F I D E N T I A L AMMAN 003036 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT. FOR PRM AND NEA 
BAGHDAD AND CAIRO FOR REFCOORDS HILL AND CHEYNE 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/27/2016 
TAGS: PREF PREL KPAL UNRWA UNHCR IZ SY JO
SUBJECT: SYRIA OFFERS TO ADMIT (SMALL) NUMBERS OF 
PALESTINIANS FLEEING IRAQ 
 
REF: A. DAMASCUS 1853 
 
     ¶B. BAGHDAD 1153 
     ¶C. AMMAN 2016 
     ¶D. LEHMBERG-KANESHIRO 04/25/06 E-MAIL 
 
Classified By: Ambassador David Hale for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
¶1. (U) Embassy Damascus has cleared this message. 
 
¶2. (C) SUMMARY: UNHCR Damascus and UNRWA each report that the 
SARG has in fact agreed to admit Palestinian refugees fleeing 
Iraq during Palestinian FM Zahar's April 20 visit to Damascus 
(ref A).  However these UN agencies caution that the SARG is 
trying to limit that commitment to the small group of 
Iraqi-Palestinians who have been camped on the Jordan-Iraq 
border since mid-March.  Fifty additional Palestinian 
refugees fled to that makeshift border camp over the weekend; 
UNHCR's regional missions anticipate that Syria's offer will 
continue to act as a &pull factor,8 but have been unable to 
confirm whether the SARG would also admit later arrivals. 
Separately, FM Zahar wrote to the UNRWA's ComGen April 22 
asking her to take the lead in transporting the Palestinians 
on the Iraq-Jordan border, raising questions about Jordan's 
willingness to facilitate their transit, and about UNRWA's 
capacity to expand into cross-border operations.  If 
requested by the Department and in close coordination with 
concerned posts, refcoord is ready to pursue potential 
facilitation of re-locating Iraqi-Palestinians to Syria 
utilizing PRM's third country national transport program for 
Iraq executed by the International Organization for Migration 
(IOM).  END SUMMARY. 
 
UNHCR AND UNRWA CLARIFY SYRIA'S OFFER 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (C) In separate April 24 telcons, UNHCR's mission to Syria 
and UNRWA told refcoord that SARG authorities responsible for 
refugee admissions had confirmed Palestinian Authority FM 
Mahmoud Zahar's claim that Syria agreed to receive some 
Palestinians fleeing Iraq during his April 20 visit. 
However, both refugee agencies caution that their contacts 
stressed that Syria intends to limit its new commitment to 
the comparatively small population of Palestinians who have 
already fled to the Iraqi-Jordanian border (reftels).  UNHCR 
Syria Representative Abdelhamid El Ouali told refcoord that 
officials in the Syrian MFA's International Affairs 
Department who participated in FM Al Muallim's bilateral with 
Zahar confirmed that Muallim offered a one-time admission 
that applies only to Palestinians in the makeshift refugee 
camp on the Iraqi side of the Karameh-Trebil border crossing. 
 Separately, UNRWA Director of Operations Lex Takkenberg 
reported that the Director General of Syria's Office of 
General Administration for Palestinian Arab Refugees (GAPAR) 
also confirmed that the SARG wants to contain its commitment 
to that border population. 
 
PULL FACTOR ALREADY AT WORK 
--------------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) Zahar's announcement, however, has already 
encouraged additional migration of Baghdad Palestinians. 
UNHCR Amman Representative Rob Green reports that 50 more 
Palestinians arrived at the Karmeh-Trebil crossing on the 
Jordan/Iraq frontier late April 22, bringing the current 
population of Palestinians at the Jordanian border to 238. 
Rumors of additional movements towards Syria persist, but 
UNHCR has not confirmed any new arrivals at Syrian border 
crossings as of April 27. 
 
UN AND PLO PRESS SARG ON NEXT STEPS 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (C) To confirm whether the SARG's admission offer excludes 
the more recent border arrivals and to explore the SARG's 
intentions to provide direct assistance for the new 
Iraqi-Palestinian arrivals, the UN Resident Coordinator in 
Damascus requested an urgent meeting with the SARG MFA on 
behalf of UNHCR and UNRWA April 26.  However, UNRWA reports 
that MFA officials were unprepared to answer any of their 
questions at that meeting, and asked the UN to defer 
discussion on the issue until the SARG could form an 
inter-agency committee to review its position.  The PLO 
Department of Refugee Affairs (DORA) office in Amman has 
subsequently confirmed with GAPAR that that committee has 
been formed;  According to DORA DG Mohammed Abu Bakr, GAPAR 
assured him they would have &answers8 on Sunday (April 30). 
 
PA FM ASKS UNRWA TO CARRY OUT CROSS-BORDER OPS 
 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶6. (C) In the meantime, UNRWA is considering how to moderate 
PA and the SARG expectations.  Director of Operations 
Takkenberg told refcoord April 24 that UNRWA could extend its 
basic health, education and relief services to 250 new 
arrivals in Syria without asking for additional resources 
from donors, but confirmed that UNRWA has no capacity to 
stand-up a reception center and has no available housing or 
land in its 10 existing camps in Syria.  To rent private 
housing in Syria, UNRWA would have to seek additional 
resources from donors, the SARG or possibly UNHCR, given the 
precedent it established in Jordan in 2003.  (NOTE: UNHCR 
continues to transfer $30,000 a year to UNRWA to provide cash 
and food assistance to the 386 Iraqi-Palestinians who were 
allowed to leave Ruweished camp in August 2003 and reside 
indefinitely in Jordan, but who are unable to work due to 
limitations placed on their residency permits.  END NOTE.) 
Privately, Takkenberg hoped the SARG would re-assess the 
option of turning to UNHCR, which could house the new 
arrivals in its existing camp in El Hol. 
 
¶7. (C) Takkenberg also revealed that UNRWA is already faced 
with a pending request from the PA.  According to Takkenberg, 
PA FM Zahar wrote to UNRWA Commissioner-General Karen Abu 
Zayd April 22 asking UNRWA to contact the SARG to expedite 
the transport of Palestinians on the Jordan-Iraq border. 
Takkenberg was confident that UNRWA would try to turn over 
any cross-border tasks to UNHCR given that UNRWA has no 
operational experience in Iraq.  Separately, UNHCR Jordan 
Representative Rob Green confirmed that the UN Resident 
Representative in Damascus has already approached Jordan's 
Ambassador to Syria to request transit for the border 
population.  Green, however, was skeptical that Jordan would 
respond positively to this request, explaining that the GOJ 
has already expressed concern that the Palestinians camped on 
its border intend to become permanent residents given that 10 
of them are married to Jordanian nationals. 
 
¶8. (C) Jordan is unlikely to facilitate transit for 
Palestinians leaving Iraq, even those with firm third-country 
admission offers.  With USG funding, IOM runs a successful 
program to voluntarily relocate stranded migrants in Iraq. 
In the past, with facilitation from Embassy Baghdad's 
refcoord and in coordination with the Department, IOM has 
worked cooperatively with MNF-I to ensure safe passage for 
several hundred persons through the Iraq-Syria border.  In 
conversations with Amman refcoord and PRM, IOM has said that 
it can organize the relocation of the Palestinians from the 
Iraq border (through Iraq) to Syria, assuming official 
authorization from the SARG.  IOM has the capacity to provide 
air or overland transport under its existing third country 
national transport program for Iraq.  Using this USG-funded 
program may be a feasible method of relocating the group, and 
avoids having to demarche the Government of Jordan for cross 
border operations by UNRWA (or other organizations) or other 
arrangements for intra-Jordan travel.  Should the Department 
and relevant posts consider such an outcome desirable, 
refcoord is ready to engage those organizations necessary to 
pursue this option. 
 
Visit Amman's classified web site at 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/amman/ 
 
HALE