VZCZCXRO0871
PP RUEHROV
DE RUEHTV #2744 3431434
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 081434Z DEC 08
FM AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9505
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM PRIORITY 0958
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY

UNCLAS TEL AVIV 002744 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE AND NEA/IPA; NSC FOR PASCUAL; TREASURY 
FOR AHERN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON KWBG PREL IS
SUBJECT: GOI RELAXES RESTRICTIONS AROUND NABLUS 
 
REF: JERUSALEM 2200 
 
¶1. (SBU)  Coordinator for Government Action in the 
Territories (COGAT) External Relations Director Uri Singer 
informed EconCouns on December 7 that the GOI would relax a 
number of movement and access restrictions in the West Bank 
for the Eid al-Adha holiday season.  He also gave an update 
on longer-term GOI plans to ease commercial movement in the 
northern West Bank. Singer said the Huwwara, Beit Furik and 
Beit Iba crossings would be open from 0500 to 2400 hours 
during the holiday period.  More importantly, commercial 
traffic through Beit Iba and Awarta will not be subject to 
the usual permit regime, opening up routes north and south of 
Nablus to a substantially higher volume of truck traffic. 
Singer said the Awarta checkpoint platform use for security 
checks of off-loaded goods would be closed, allowing trucks 
to transit Awarta with only a basic security check.  He noted 
that the NIS five million upgrade to the Huwwara crossing 
(two new pedestrian lanes and a humanitarian lane for 
children, women, men over age 45, doctors, teachers and human 
rights workers) would be in service as of December 8. 
 
¶2. (SBU)  Singer confirmed that the new checkpoint north of 
Nablus, reported reftel, was directly related to a 
longer-term effort to relax movement and access restrictions 
around Nablus and to improve commercial traffic flows between 
Nablus and Tulkaram.  He said it would remain unmanned and 
would be used only in response to specific counterterrorism 
operations. Singer also noted that the Ganot checkpoint 
connecting Nablus with villages immediately to the north of 
the city will now be open 24 hours a day; this will continue 
beyond the Eid holiday season.(Comment: IDF Central Commander 
Gadi Shamni told USSC Dayton on December 7 that the security 
situation in Nablus has improved enough to try for a 
longer-term relaxation of commercial traffic restrictions 
from southeast of Nablus to Tulkaram in the northwest.  Based 
on that conversation, we expect measures taken at Awarta and 
Beit Iba to continue after the Eid holiday in the absence of 
any deterioration in the security situation.  End Comment.) 
 
¶3. (SBU) Singer said other measures taken for the holiday 
period include permitting Israeli Arabs to enter Area A 
throughout the West Bank for family visits; opening the Fig 
Crossing to Israeli Arabs wanting to shop in Qalqilya; moving 
to only random security checks for vehicles transiting the 
crossing into Jericho; keepting the Allenby Bridge and Mussa 
Alami crossings into Jordan open 24 hours a day; and 
increasing access for Palestinians wanting to visit family in 
Israel. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Comment: Steady improvements in security and 
security cooperation in the northern West Bank are beginning 
to show potential for real economic consequences.  In 
addition to the measures outlined above, which could help 
Nablus return to its former status as the West Bank's 
economic powerhouse, Crossings Administrator Bezalel Traiber 
told the Selva Roadmap monitoring team on December 7 that the 
previous limit of 1,000 Arab Israeli pedestrians per day at 
the Jalameh crossing near Jenin had been dropped.  He said 
1,700 Arab Israelis had crossed into Jenin the day before to 
do their Saturday shopping.  Continuing efforts to integrate 
security improvements, economic development activities and 
rule-of-law improvements in the West Bank -- carefuly 
coordinated among all the key players -- will be crucial if 
we are to build on these small steps forward. 
 
 
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