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DE RUEHGB #1433/01 1211228
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O 011228Z MAY 06
FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4203
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN IMMEDIATE 0755
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO IMMEDIATE 0014
RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV IMMEDIATE 0028
RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM IMMEDIATE 0032
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA IMMEDIATE 0144
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RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BAGHDAD 001433 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR NEA/IPA FOR JOHN WATERS 
AMMAN FOR REFCOORDS KANESHIRO 
CAIRO FOR REFCOORD CHEYNE 
GENEVA FOR RMA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/01/2016 
TAGS: PREF KPAL PINS PTER IZ JO SY
SUBJECT: PALESTINIAN HUMAN RIGHTS REPS ON PALESTINIANS  IN 
IRAQ, AT JORDAN BORDER 
 
REF: A. AMMAN 3036 
     ¶B. DAMASCUS 1853 
     ¶C. BAGHDAD 1325 AND PREVIOUS 
 
Classified By: ACTING POLITICAL COUNSELOR MICHAEL J. ADLER 
REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D). 
 
¶1.  (C) Summary: On April 24, Palestinian Human Rights 
Association (Jamyat Huquq al-Insan al-Filistinia) 
president Muhammed Abid Mutlak Mowsiq and a delegation of 
three other members expressed to RefCoord their 
continuing concerns about the security situation of 
Palestinians in Iraq.  They promised to send RefCoord 
lists of detained, disappeared, and murdered 
Palestinians.  They complained about tough new residency 
requirements; RefCoord promised to look further into 
this.  The delegation called attention to continuing 
arrivals at the Jordan Border (refs A and C).  They 
suggested that the group of about fifty that arrived 
April 21 and 22 had moved towards the border as a result 
of the Zahar-Muallem press conference announcing that 
Syria would be willing to admit Palestinians from Iraq. 
To stop the flow toward the border, the PHRA recommended 
either improving the security situation of Palestinians 
in Iraq or finding a resettlement country that would take 
them -- the US was their preference.  The PHRA were 
grateful for MNF-I efforts to improve security in Iraq, 
which they said they believed had kept their community 
from being exterminated.  However, they said they were 
still afraid because they continued to be targeted on the 
basis of their being Palestinian.  The Embassy continues 
to explore with MNF-I ways to enhance protection in 
Palestinian neighborhoods through the Scales of Justice 
program. (ref C) End Summary. 
 
---------------------------------------- 
Lists of the Detained, Disappeared, Dead 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (C) In an April 24 meeting, The Palestinian Human 
Rights Association (PHRA) delegation indicated to 
RefCoord that one of their top priorities was finding out 
information about specific cases of Palestinians who have 
been detained, disappeared, or murdered.  They promised 
to send RefCoord four lists of Palestinians who had been: 
1) detained by Iraqi Security Forces (ISF), 2) detained 
by MNF-I, 3) disappeared, and 4) killed.  RefCoord 
promised to follow up on the lists once received.  The 
PHRA representatives said they wanted the cases of these 
individuals to start moving forward through the legal 
process, so that legal judgments could be made, the 
innocent released, and the guilty sentenced. As of May 1, 
the PHRA had not yet sent the promised lists. 
 
-------------------------------- 
Tough New Residency Requirements 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (C) The delegation gave RefCoord a copy of the same 
letter from the Baghdad Provincial Council (BPC) that the 
PLO Chief of Mission had provided on April 20 (ref c) and 
raised similar complaints about the onerous new residency 
requirements.  RefCoord promised to look into this 
(septel on this issue in development).  (Note:  A few 
days prior to the nomination of the new PM, the GOI had 
indicated it would be willing to extend the residence 
permits for Palestinians to six months.  RefCoord will 
explore ways to advocate for improved conditions for the 
Palestinians with the new GOI after the new Cabinet has 
been approved by the Council of Representatives.) 
 
-------------------------------------- 
Why Do Palestinians Go Towards Jordan? 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (C)  The PHRA delegation was concerned about the 
difficult situation of the 230 some Palestinians at the 
border with Jordan (ref A).  When asked why the 
Palestinians are leaving, the group at first said they 
 
BAGHDAD 00001433  002 OF 003 
 
 
did not know.  They indicated that Palestinians who 
travel to the border do not confide their reasons to the 
PHRA because the group's opposition to this course of 
action is well known in the community.  They emphasized 
that the group at the border is not representative of the 
whole community:  they are the ones who are worst off. 
According to the PHRA, the poorer Palestinians in Baghdad 
who are unable to work are struggling to find food to 
feed their families.  RefCoord promised to look into 
their situation and carry that message to MoDM and UNHCR. 
With a little prodding, one of the group volunteered that 
he understood that the group of 50 were close relatives 
of the Palestinians already at the Jordan-Iraq border. 
Their relatives at the border had heard about the Syrian 
offer to accept the Palestinians at the border mentioned 
in the Zahar-Muallem press conference in Damascus April 
19 (refs a and b).  The border group reportedly called 
their close relatives in Baghdad and told them to come to 
the border; they would all go to Syria together from 
there.  (Note:  UNHCR told RefCoord April 25 that it also 
believes the Zahar-Muallem press conference was the 
reason behind the unusually large movement towards the 
border that weekend.  Up to this point, the group at the 
border has been augmented by a steady trickle of small 
groups.)  The Palestinians suggested two courses of 
action to prevent further outflows:  1) improve the 
security situation of Palestinians in Iraq and 2) find a 
resettlement country that will accept Palestinians from 
Iraq.  They asked the USG to help them find "other 
options" saying "we prefer America."  RefCoord reinforced 
to the PHRA that UNHCR has the lead on international 
discussions of durable solutions for refugees in Iraq, 
including Palestinians, and that rather than approaching 
the USG directly they should discuss their concerns with 
UNCHR. 
 
------------------------- 
Recent Security Situation 
------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (C) In general, the group said the security situation 
of Palestinians was "not good."  They thanked the US 
forces for their work on security in Iraq, saying 
"without their help we would all have been killed by 
now."  They added that the existence of MNF-I forces in 
Iraq helps keep the people calm.  However, they said 
Palestinians are afraid to go out, because if they are 
stopped and asked to show their IDs they risk being 
detained.  They claimed Palestinians are targeted for 
more abuse than the average Iraqis, and cited two recent 
examples. 
 
¶6.  (C) Khaled Walid Hassan was reportedly kidnapped by 
insurgents about a month ago in March 2006.  He was taken 
from his house in Karbala, and turned up dead in the 
morgue on April 19.  The details of the abduction are 
second-hand, based on the PHRA's conversations with 
witnesses to the events. 
 
¶7.  (C) On April 13 a Palestinian shop keeper named Qusay 
Al-Majeed was reportedly detained by the Iraqi Police 
(IP) from the Saray Market on Al Mutanabi Street in 
downtown Baghdad.  The PHRA representatives were not 
present themselves, but learned of the incident from 
others who witnessed the incident.  The individuals who 
took al-Majeed were reportedly dressed in IP Commando 
camouflage uniforms, and came in vehicles that appeared 
to be police cars.  Reportedly the IP closed the street 
at each end and checked the IDs of everyone in between. 
Majeed was one of eleven people detained; the other ten 
were Iraqi Sunnis.  The PHRA had no further information 
on the fate of Majeed and the ten Sunnis. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
Palestinian Muslims Association -- Hamas Connection? 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
¶8. (C) RefCoord asked the PHRA about the Palestinian 
Muslims Association (PMA), a group mentioned in a March 5 
 
BAGHDAD 00001433  003 OF 003 
 
 
United Nations Office for the Coordination of 
Humanitarian Affairs - Integrated Regional Information 
Networks (IRIN) open source report on Palestinians being 
targeted in Iraq.  The PHRA had never heard of the group. 
Mohammed Abid Mutlak Mowsiq surmised that this group 
might be a first step by Hamas to set up an office in 
Iraq. 
 
------- 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶9.  (C) Comment:  The PHRA's assessment of why 
Palestinians are heading towards the Jordan border tracks 
with what we have heard from other sources.  It is 
interesting that in this meeting, unlike previously, the 
PHRA did not mention the "right of return to Palestine," 
but now claimed they want resettlement in the US.  The 
PHRA president's suggestion that PMA may be connected to 
Hamas suggests his sympathies lie elsewhere.  PHRA has in 
the past met RefCoord in the presence of the PLO Chief of 
Mission, who clearly considers himself a Fatah man (ref 
c). 
 
 
KHALILZAD