VZCZCXRO9747
OO RUEHROV
DE RUEHJM #0365/01 0591322
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 281322Z FEB 08
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0728
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JERUSALEM 000365 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE; NEA/IPA FOR 
GOLDBERGER/SHAMPAINE/BELGRADE; NSC FOR ABRAMS/PASCUAL; 
TREASURY FOR SZUBIN/GRANT/HARRIS/NUGENT/HIRSON 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/27/18 
TAGS: ECON EFIN KFTN PGOV KWBG IS
SUBJECT: ISRAELI ACTION AGAINST WEST BANK CHARITIES 
UNDERMINE PA EFFORTS 
 
REF: A. 07 JERUSALEM 2583 
 
     ¶B. JERUSALEM 275 
 
Classified By: Consul General Jake Walles, Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
¶1.  (C) Summary.  Israeli security forces raided the offices 
of three charities in Jenin February 19, according to press 
reports, destroying property and confiscating equipment and 
other contents.  The IDF carried out similar actions February 
26 against two charities in Hebron.  In both Jenin and 
Hebron, merchants and residents occupying charity-owned 
property were ordered to evacuate by April 1 or risk arrest. 
Press accounts stated that all the targeted charities were 
ordered closed because of alleged ties to Hamas.  The 
Palestinian Authority (PA) official spearheading efforts to 
dissolve non-compliant NGOs told Econoff that the charities 
targeted in the raids had been identified by PA investigators 
as having legal and/or financial problems, and action had 
already been initiated against them.  PA officials complain 
that, as in raids earlier this month against West Bank money 
changers, Israeli unilateral action in Zone A violates the 
Interim Agreement and undermines the PA's credibility.  End 
Summary. 
 
¶2.  (SBU)  Israeli security forces raided the offices of 
three charities in Jenin February 19.  The director of one of 
the charities -- Risal Barahmeh of Al Bara' charity -- told 
local press that Israeli security forces have raided and 
closed Al Bara' six times in the past seven years, and goods 
confiscated in these raids have never been returned.  She 
asserted that Al Bara' is registered with the PA. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) The IDF carried out similar raids early on February 
26 in Hebron against The Muslim Youth Society and The Islamic 
Charitable Society, according to local media reports. 
Israeli forces entered offices, buildings, schools, bakeries 
and orphanage dormitories owned and/or operated by the 
charities, confiscating vehicles, computers, electrical 
appliances, chairs, tables, and other items.  Merchants 
renting commercial space from the charities reportedly 
received orders to evacuate their shops by April 1, 2008 or 
risk arrest.  Families renting apartments in the same 
buildings received the identical instructions.  The order 
also transferred ownership of properties of both charities to 
the Israeli authorities, according to press reports.  Several 
guards were arrested. 
 
¶4.  (C) PA Ministry of Interior (MoI) Director General of the 
Public Admissions Office for NGOs Fadwa Al-Sha'r told Econoff 
February 27 that the charities targeted in the recent raids 
had all previously been identified by PA investigators as 
having legal and/or financial problems.  (Note:  In late 
2007, the MoI, under instructions from Prime Minister Fayyad, 
launched a legal and financial review of all NGOs operating 
in the West Bank and Gaza (ref a). End note.)  Al-Sha'r 
stated that the MoI has already initiated action against 
these charities, which will culminate in their closure if 
problems are not fully addressed.  She confirmed that Al 
Bara' charity (as noted above) is registered with the MoI, 
but its official status is under threat due legal and 
financial irregularities.  Another charity in Jenin, 
unregistered and known simply as the "Emirate Charity," is 
under investigation as an "illegal society." According to 
Al-Sha'r, its director had funds transferred into his 
personal bank account, some of which were later disbursed to 
Hamas-affiliated charities in the West Bank and Gaza. The 
Muslim Youth Society is also currently subject to a financial 
investigation. 
 
¶5.  (C) Al-Sha'r said that, as part of its review, the MoI 
has lawyers in every major West Bank city examining files of 
NGOs.  She added that the MoI and the Ministry of Finance 
have a joint investigations committee reviewing problem 
cases.  Her office also works closely with the Palestine 
Monetary Authority (PMA).  She acknowledged that capacity 
constraints have slowed the process, but said the situation 
is improving.  She complained that unilateral Israeli action 
against West Bank charities undermines the credibility of her 
ministry's efforts.  She added that she is not aware of any 
effort by the GOI to pass derogatory information on charities 
to the PA. 
 
¶6.  (C)  In a February 27 conversation with Econoff, PMA 
Governor Jihad Al-Wazir likened the raids on charities to 
those on February 12 against West Bank money changers (ref 
b), describing both as a "serious infringement" on the 
 
JERUSALEM 00000365  002 OF 002 
 
 
efforts of PM Fayyad and in "violation of the Interim 
Agreement."  He asserted that the PMA continues to work with 
banks to improve the monitoring of financial transactions in 
the Palestinian banking sector, but expressed concern that 
any perceived shortcomings may result in similar unilateral 
Israeli actions against banks operating in the West Bank, 
with "destabilizing consequences." 
WALLES