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Reference ID	Created	Released	Classification	Origin
07JERUSALEM2200	2007-10-24 15:52	2011-08-30 01:44	CONFIDENTIAL	Consulate Jerusalem

VZCZCXRO8232
OO RUEHROV
DE RUEHJM #2200 2971552
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 241552Z OCT 07
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9387
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L JERUSALEM 002200 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE; NEA/IPA FOR 
GOLDBERGER/SHAMPAINE/BELGRADE; NSC FOR ABRAMS/WATERS; 
TREASURY FOR SZUBIN/GRANT/HARRIS/NUGENT/HIRSON 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/23/17 
TAGS: ECON EFIN PHUM PREF KFTN KWBG IS
SUBJECT: GAZA: BANK CASH SHORTAGE THREATENS UNRWA AND PA 
SALARY PAYMENTS 
 
REF: JERUSALEM 2018 
 
Classified By: Consul General Jake Walles, Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary:  Banks operating in the Gaza Strip face a 
liquidity crisis and will have difficulty paying UNRWA and/or 
Palestinian Authority (PA) salaries, according to bank 
representatives.  Bank officials say that Israeli authorities 
continue to severely restrict the frequency, volume and 
composition of cash transfers into Gaza, including shipments 
not involving Israeli banks.  Banks' cash reserves dropped 
steeply during the high-spending Eid al-Fitr holiday.  Arab 
Bank may close its four Gaza branches if funds sufficient to 
pay UNRWA salaries are not received.  The Bank of Palestine's 
cash reserves -- the greatest of all the banks in Gaza -- 
fall short of what is needed to pay PA salaries in full next 
month.  End Summary. 
 
------------------------ 
Eid al-Fitr Money Crunch 
------------------------ 
 
¶2.  (C) Banks operating in Gaza did not receive sufficient 
cash to respond to the annual spike in consumer spending 
during the Eid al-Fitr holiday and cash reserves plummeted, 
according to bank representatives in Ramallah.  Arab Bank 
Area Manager Mazen Abu Hamdan told Econoff October 23 that 
Israeli authorities did not allow Arab Bank to ship cash from 
the West Bank to its four Gaza branches on October 11 in 
preparation for Eid al-Fitr.  Arab Bank total cash reserves 
in Gaza dropped to USD 200,000, 600,000 Jordanian Dinar (JD) 
and NIS 8 million (all told approximately USD 2.6 million). 
One of the bank's Gaza branches is completely out of USD. 
 
¶3.  (C) Bank of Palestine (BoP) General Manager Hashim Shawa 
told Econoff October 23 that BoP's cash reserves in Gaza 
dropped from NIS 100 million to NIS 10 million in two weeks. 
Shawa and Abu Hamdan confirmed separately that each of their 
banks assisted Cairo Amman Bank branches in Gaza, which were 
running out of cash during this period.  BoP transferred a 
total of NIS 2.5 million and Arab Bank provided NIS 500,000 
to help keep Cairo Amman open.  Shawa said bank liquidity 
problems have become more apparent, causing Gazans to hoard 
cash, thereby worsening the cash shortage. 
 
-------------------------------------- 
Insufficient Funds for Salary Payments 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (C) Shawa said that BoP's cash reserves in Gaza are now 
rising as merchants deposit their holiday earnings.  BoP, 
however, is responsible for the largest share of PA salary 
payments in Gaza, about NIS 130 million a month, according to 
Shawa.  Although Bank Hapoalim facilitated the transfer of 
NIS 20 million during the week of October 15.  Shawa 
estimates that BoP's Gaza branches will need an additional 
NIS 60 million (USD 15 million) to cover PA payments at the 
beginning of November. 
 
¶5.  (C) Abu Hamdan said that Arab Bank branches need a total 
of NIS 40 million (USD 10 million) for the PA employee 
payments.  He asserted that he has received no reply to 
repeated requests for permission to ship this amount.  He 
added that a more pressing issue is UNRWA salary payments, 
due to start October 25, for which Arab Bank branches in Gaza 
lack sufficient funds, particularly since these payments are 
made in USD or JD.  (Note:  UNRWA employs 9,699 staff in Gaza 
with USD 7.2 million in total salary disbursements due 
October 25.  End note.)  Abu Hamdan stated that Arab Bank 
will likely close its Gaza branches if shipments of cash 
sufficient to cover these payments continue to be blocked. 
 
¶6.  (C) Cairo Amman Regional Manager Joseph Nesnas told 
Econoff October 23 that his bank's Gaza branches will try to 
pay the UNRWA salaries in NIS.  Nesnas said that, for almost 
a month, Israelis have refused to allow Cairo Amman to ship 
USD or JD into Gaza, even though Israeli banks are not 
involved in the transfer.  Nesnas said that Cairo Amman 
branches in Gaza need an additional NIS 20 million (USD 5 
million) by next week to cover PA salary payments.  PA 
salaries are expected to be paid in the first week of 
November. 
 
WALLES

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Viewing cable 07JERUSALEM2200, GAZA: BANK CASH SHORTAGE THREATENS UNRWA AND PA