VZCZCXYZ0004
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHTV #2486/01 2271128
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 151128Z AUG 07
FM AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2794
INFO RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM PRIORITY 7671

UNCLAS TEL AVIV 002486 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KWBG KPAL CASC IS
SUBJECT: DEMARCHE REQUEST: GOI DENIAL/DELAY OF ENTRY TO 
AMCITS OF PALESTINIAN OR OTHER ARAB DESCENT 
 
REF: SECSTATE 111936 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: In response to recent spate of incidents in 
which American citizens of Palestinian or other Arab origin 
encountered problems attempting to enter Israel, post in two 
separate meetings with MFA said any such discriminatory 
treatment could prompt us to revise our Travel Warning. Such 
denials of entry appear to be relatively small in number, but 
ongoing. MFA officials said they are in constant dialogue 
with airport immigration officials on this matter.  They 
pledged to look into the specifics of four cases we raised 
with them, and report back to us.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Post is pursuing with GOI on several tracks the 
specific cases and larger issue highlighted in reftel, 
regarding problems encountered upon entry into Israel by 
American citizens of Palestinian and other Arab descent.  We 
have asked that all AmCits be treated equally and not 
discriminated against due to place of birth or ethnic 
background.  We have informed the GOI that a continuation of 
such discriminatory actions will force us to revise our 
Travel Warning to reflect this. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) During an August 7 meeting, the Ambassador raised 
the treatment of American citizens at Ben Gurion Airport with 
MFA Director General Aharon Abramovitch and Deputy Director 
for North America Yoram Ben Zeev.  The Ambassador said there 
had been several recent cases of Amcits detained at Ben 
Gurion.  Pressed by Ben Zeev on specific numbers, the 
Ambassador said we did not have a good fix on the numbers of 
such cases nor what percentage of Amcits headed for the West 
Bank that these cases represented, but they were getting a 
lot of attention in Washington.  The Ambassador cautioned 
that we might need to revise our Travel Warning or otherwise 
complain publicly if Israel did not address the problem. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Abramovitch said he was well aware of these 
concerns, which did not involve only American citizens but 
many other nationalities.  The MFA has a constant dialogue 
with the Airport Authority on these issues.  There were many 
security measures in place at Ben Gurion to prevent 
terrorism, but Abramovitch admitted that Israel needed a 
better system that did not cause so many complaints.  He 
added that the terrorist threat to airport security was a 
global phenomenon that we all face.  The Ambassador 
reiterated that there was real concern in Washington over the 
apparent discriminatory treatment accorded to 
Palestinian-born American citizens in particular, as well as 
other Americans planning to visit or reside in the West Bank. 
 Abramovitch said the MFA was taking the problem seriously 
and reiterated that they were in constant dialogue with the 
Airport Authority. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) On August 9 Consul General delivered a similar 
message to MFA Consular Affairs director Yigal Tzarfati, and 
the chief of MFA Consular liaison, Revital Danker-Maly. 
Consul General presented to Tzarfati and Danker-Maly the 
particulars of the two cases cited in reftel -- Mahmoud Amin 
Dolah and Rami Ezzat Zein. CG brought up two other cases that 
came to our attention at the same time -- Imad Abu Ziad and 
Sadat Hasan. Both were denied entry at Ben Gurion, sent out 
of the country and told to apply for entry at a land crossing 
from Jordan.  Hasan was recovering from surgery and in a 
wheelchair while in detention at the airport.  Tzarfati and 
Danker-Maly were noncommittal on the specifics of these four 
cases, but promised to pursue with the Airport Authority the 
precise reasons for the difficulties in each instance, and 
report back to us with their findings. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) To gain some perspective on the extent of the 
denial of entry problem for Palestinian and other Arab 
Americans we checked with Ministry of Interior sources at the 
airport on the overall numbers of such cases.  They told us 
roughly 1,000 American citizens a week arrive at Ben Gurion, 
mostly on the twice-daily Continental Airlines flights from 
Newark, and of that total about 30 percent are of Palestinian 
or some other Arab origin. They average one denial of entry 
per flight -- or, around 15 a week out of a total of 300 
arrivals.  Our MOI sources said the most common reasons for 
entry difficulties among this population relate to whether 
the individuals possess a Palestinian identity document 
and/or have overstayed on prior visits. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) It is safe to say the GOI is aware of our concerns 
on this issue.  While we concede to them the sovereign right 
of any country to control who enters its territory, we have 
made it clear there will be consequences for arbitrary and 
capricious denials of entry, based solely on ethnic origin. 
We believe a free flow of legitimate travel to the West Bank 
is beneficial to the GOI and advances this mission's 
strategic objective of promoting peaceful co-existence 
 
between Israel and its neighbors.  We will continue to press 
on this issue. 
 
JONES 
 
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Visit Embassy Tel Aviv's Classified Website: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/telaviv 
 
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JONES