VZCZCXRO2918
OO RUEHROV
DE RUEHJM #1178 1631549
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 121549Z JUN 07
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7973
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NSC PRIORITY

UNCLAS JERUSALEM 001178 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE; NSC FOR ABRAMS/DORAN/WATERS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV KPAL KWBG
SUBJECT: CODEL PRICE MEETS WITH PLC MEMBERS 
 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary: During a May 29-31 visit, Codel 
Price--Reps. David Price (D-NC, Chairman of the House 
Democracy Assistance Commission), Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE), 
Nick Rahall (D-WV), and Gwen Moore (D-WI)--met with three 
current and former PLC members and civil society 
representatives.  PLC member Abdullah Abdullah urged more 
robust involvement of the Quartet and other third parties in 
the region and said Hamas will not pursue peace while Israeli 
targets its leaders.  Bir Zayt University representatives 
expressed satisfaction with USAID support to establish a 
legislative support unit at the university, but said the USG 
requirement of the anti-terrorism certificate (ATC) limits 
the scope of the Bir Zayt-USAID partnership. 
 
PLC Members Need International 
Support To Enable Fatah Reform 
------------------------------ 
 
¶2.  (SBU) In a May 30 lunch with PLC members Abdullah 
Abdullah and Jihad Abu Znayd, and former PLC member Qadura 
Faris, Abdullah said political progress between Israelis and 
Palestinians requires greater engagement from the Quartet and 
other outside parties.  He said he sees no Israeli effort to 
implement the Road Map or support the Arab Peace Initiative. 
Abdullah said Israeli targeting of Hamas leaders for 
assassination or arrest in Gaza complicates Hamas, ability 
to make peace.  He added that "these actions stain Israeli 
democracy" and said efforts should be made to stop Israeli 
operations in Gaza. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Jihad Abu Znayd said a gap exists between Fatah 
leaders and the people.  To address this gap, she said Fatah 
must target women and youth.  She said Fatah must strengthen 
grassroots NGOs affiliated with the party to generate local 
support.  Qadura Faris added that Fatah,s leaders, not the 
grassroots, are the problem, and even if some reforms are 
implemented at the grassroots, they may not have an effect at 
the national level. 
 
Legislative Accountability Program 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Dr. Muhammad al-Ambayd and Stephen Terravecchia of 
Development Alternatives, Inc. (implementing a USAID program 
on legislative accountability/transparency), who also 
attended the lunch, told the Codel that the PLC agenda has 
been contested over the past 14 months.  The PLC has not 
passed any laws, they said, and this has weakened 
Palestinians' trust in the legislative body.  They said that 
prior to formation of the national unity government (NUG), 
Fatah did not attend PLC sessions to prevent a quorum of 
legislators from deliberating, and expressed concern that a 
Hamas-led agenda (including on personal status issues) would 
dominate legislative activity.  They described the PLC 
bureaucratic systems and staff skills as weak and said they 
would like an electronic voting system to monitor members, 
voting records. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Dr. Samer Faris and Jamil Salam of Bir Zayt 
University, which is a recipient of a training program for 
legislative analysis, said the USG,s anti-terrorism 
certification (ATC) requirement prevents Bir Zayt from 
developing a more formal partnership with USAID.  The 
representatives said signing a grant including the ATC would 
compromise the university's neutrality and risk loss of local 
credibility. 
 
¶6.  (U) CODEL Price cleared this message. 
WALLES