VZCZCXRO8802
OO RUEHROV
DE RUEHJM #0017/01 0021627
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 021627Z JAN 09
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3663
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NSC PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JERUSALEM 000017 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE, NSC FOR ABRAMS/PASCUAL/RAMCHAND 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/02/2019 
TAGS: KWBG IS PHUM ECON EAID
SUBJECT: GAZA CONTACTS DESCRIBE A MISERABLE LIFE UNDER FIRE 
 
Classified By: Consul General Jake Walles, for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
¶1.  (C) Summary.  A wide selection of Gaza Strip political, 
business, civil society, academic and NGO contacts report 
fear of airstrikes, deteriorating conditions, minimal or no 
electricity, increasing food pressures, and a gloomy outlook 
for resolution of current hostilities.  Several who are 
strongly opposed to Hamas said they have little hope that 
Hamas will lose control or change its behavior due to 
Israel's military operations.  End summary. 
 
Gaza PLO ExComm Member: Situation Deteriorating; 
Hamas Unwilling to Return to Ceasefire; 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (C) Gaza City-based PLO Executive Committee member Riyad 
al-Khudari (independent, please protect) told PolOff January 
2 that he doubts Hamas will accept a mutual cessation of 
hostilities, as Hamas' objective is permanently reopening the 
crossings, not halting Israeli attacks or protecting Gaza's 
population.  He said ending the fighting will be difficult, 
as Hamas has made Gaza into an armed camp and does not fear 
an Israeli invasion.  They are too stubborn, he believes, to 
agree to a ceasefire that does not include guarantees on the 
crossings.  Al-Khudari said most airstrikes have killed civil 
police, not Izz al-Din al-Qassam fighters, and, except for 
Nizar Rayyan, few Hamas leaders have been hit.  He said his 
neighborhood (an upscale part of Shaykh Radwan) has been 
without electricity for three days, and their house has no 
heat, with only cooking gas left.  Al-Khudari, who is also a 
university trustee, said all schools and universities in Gaza 
are closed and will not open anytime soon. 
 
Gaza PLC Member: Outraged at Israeli 
Targeting of Non-Hamas Institutions 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶3.  (C) Gaza-based Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) 
member Rawiya al-Shawwa told PolOff that she and most Gazans 
are outraged by Israeli targeting of the PLC building, where 
she and several Fatah PLC members kept offices.  She said the 
building had only recently been completed and complained it 
was a PA facility, not used by Hamas as a faction, and its 
destruction is an affront to the PA and delegitimizes the PLC 
as an institution.  She worries that her home in Shuja'iya 
will be destroyed in fighting, as houses nearby have been 
bombed by the IAF and it lies on a main avenue of approach to 
Gaza City from the border with Israel. 
 
Key UN OCHA Contact's House Destroyed, 
Airstrikes Jarring Children 
--------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (C) Hamada al-Bayari, a key Economic/crossings contact, 
told EconOff January 2 that his house was largely destroyed 
when IAF ordnance struck a house nearby.  He said the bomb 
targeted a single house but destroyed or heavily damaged all 
the houses on his street.  He said airstrikes are having a 
severe psychological impact on his children, who have become 
distant and distrustful.  He said he was fortunate to have 
relocated his family to an in-laws' house the night before 
his house was wrecked. 
 
American Corner Director: Situation Terrible 
for the Children; Food Shortages Acute 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (C) Gaza City-based Dr. Awni Karzon, Director of Gaza's 
American Corner, told PDoff January 2 that his house was 
heavily damaged in IAF strikes on Justice Ministry buildings, 
and he had to relocate his family to a friend's house.  He 
said his family could not take anything from the remains of 
his house, and they are sharing food provided by his hosts. 
The adults are eating little themselves so the children can 
eat.  Most food stores in his area are closed, he said, and 
few Gazans will venture outside because of airstrikes. 
 
Governor's Office Contact: No Electricity 
for Days, No Confidence Hamas Will Weaken 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (C) The Gaza Governor's office manager, a 35-year-old 
mother who lives in Rimal (northwest Gaza City) near the 
ocean, said she has had no electricity for three days, and 
only had a few hours of electricity daily since Israeli 
airstrikes began on December 27.  She said her home has no 
heat, and her family must simply bundle up throughout the day 
for warmth.  She said she hates Hamas and sympathizes with 
Israel's need to stop rockets, but commented that she sees 
little connection between Israel's bombing targets and Hamas, 
 
JERUSALEM 00000017  002 OF 002 
 
 
and doubts current military operations will weaken Hamas' 
grip on power. 
 
Democracy Program Manager: Israel Targeting Our 
Civil Infrastructure More than Hamas 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶7.  (C) Manal al-Bashti, program manager of a USAID-funded 
civil society/democracy project, told USAID staff that 
Israeli airstrikes have frequently targeted government 
institutions, such as the PA Education Ministry building and 
PLC headquarters, that have no connection to Hamas' military 
forces or rockets.  She commented that Israel's military 
campaign seemed more directed at destroying Palestinian civil 
infrastructure than degrading Hamas' capabilities to attack 
Israel.  She said moderates and civilians are suffering the 
most from the fighting. 
 
AMIDEAST Director: Bombing, Food 
Shortages Threaten Civilians 
---------------------------- 
 
¶8.  (C) Gaza AMIDEAST Director Anis Abu Hashim told PDoff 
January 2 that his multi-story apartment building shook so 
much from nearby bombings that he worried his home had become 
structurally unsound.  He said his family has had no 
electricity or water for four days, and must transport jugs 
of water from street level.  He said he does not go outside 
except when forced to look for food, but on a recent search 
did not find any stores open except for a donkey cart selling 
vegetables.  He wanted to buy bread, but said the line 
outside the bakery was at least four hours long, and did not 
want to risk being exposed during airstrikes. 
WALLES