VZCZCXRO5594
OO RUEHROV
DE RUEHJM #2174 2950918
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 220918Z OCT 07
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9351
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC PRIORITY

UNCLAS JERUSALEM 002174 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE; NEA/IPA FOR 
GOLDBERGER/SHAMPAINE/BELGRADE; NSC FOR ABRAMS/WATERS; 
TREASURY FOR HARRIS/LOEFFLER/NUGENT/HIRSON; BRUSSELS FOR 
LERNER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID ECON KWBG IS KPAL
SUBJECT: FAYYAD TELLS LOCAL DONORS: PA MUST "OWN" REFORM 
PLAN; GAZA CLOSURE IS ISRAELI DECISION 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary.  Palestinian Authority (PA) Prime Minister 
Salam Fayyad told local donor representatives on October 18 
that it is critical to his government's success that it be 
seen to own the reform and development plan to be presented 
at the December donors' conference in Paris.  Fayyad said 
that it would undermine his government's ability to undertake 
needed reform if the donors were presented with "a Blair 
plan".  He also called on donors to reject Government of 
Israel (GOI) assertions that the closure regime in Gaza is at 
the request of the PA.  "Control of the borders has always 
been a unilateral Israeli decision, even when we were in 
Gaza.  Now that we are no longer there, the idea that it is a 
bilateral issue is really curious."  End Summary. 
 
¶2. (U) PM Fayyad attended the October 18 meeting of the Local 
Development Forum (LDF) in Ramallah.  The LDF consists of 
representatives of the PA, donor countries and international 
organizations, including the World Bank, IMF and UN. 
 
PA "Must Own" Reform and Development Plan 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) Fayyad told donors that the PA's ongoing effort to 
develop a three-year consolidated reform and development plan 
"needs to be seen as a national project."  The PA's ability 
to implement needed reforms is "utterly dependent" on the 
plan being "fully owned" by Palestinians.  Fayyad said that 
he does not want the plan referred to as "the Blair plan," 
noting that in 2005 "we had this problem with all the 
Wolfensohn plans."  Saying that he has no reason to believe 
this would be a problem, Fayyad stressed to the donor 
community, "I cannot tell you how important it is that we own 
this process." 
 
¶4. (SBU) Fayyad briefly updated donors on the PA's fiscal 
situation, noting that the transfer of withheld revenues from 
the GOI had allowed his government to pay salaries and 
arrears in recent months, but "that particular party will be 
over in early December."  He said that the PA, "under any 
scenario" will face a fiscal crunch from "mid-December".  He 
appealed for any available end-of-year funding from donors to 
cover the period "when we are dangerously exposed" between 
December and the time funds from the Paris donors meeting are 
expected to arrive. 
 
"Simply Not True" that PA Seeks Gaza Closure 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) On Gaza, Fayyad told the group that the GOI had 
introduced "more restrictive measures", in particular a 
limitation on cash transfers to Gazan banks.  "Let me 
reiterate to you," he said, "the closure on Gaza is enforced 
by Israel.  Some of you are told by the Israelis that this is 
the way the PA wants it.  This is simply not true."  Fayyad 
claimed that decisions regarding the movement of Palestinians 
"have always been unilateral Israeli decisions."  "Now that 
we are no longer in Gaza, the idea that it is a bilateral 
issue is really curious."  For the GOI to imply that the PA 
now has the power to influence Israeli decisions on access to 
Gaza is "utter nonsense." 
WALLES