VZCZCXRO4854
PP RUEHROV
DE RUEHJM #1964/01 3031405
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 301405Z OCT 09
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6500
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JERUSALEM 001964 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE AND NEA/IPA; PRM FOR FRONT OFFICE AND 
PRM/ANE; NSC FOR SHAPIRO/KUMAR 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREF EAID ECON KWBG KPAL IS
SUBJECT: USUN AMBASSADOR RICE VISITS WEST BANK REFUGEE 
CAMP, IT COMPANY, AND JOB CREATION SITE 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary.  On October 22, USUN Ambassador Susan Rice 
visited UNRWA facilities in Jalazone refugee camp and visited 
a Palestinian information technology company and a USAID 
emergency job program site.  UNRWA staff and Palestinians 
interlocutors alike commented that while some improvements 
have been made in the West Bank, they are limited and have 
not reached the majority of people due to remaining access 
restrictions.  End Summary. 
 
Visit to Jalazone Refugee Camp 
------------------------------ 
 
¶2. (SBU) On October 22, Ambassador Susan Rice visited 
Jalazone refugee camp in the West Bank, where she met with 
UNRWA Commissioner General Karen AbuZayd and UNRWA Director 
for West Bank Operations Barbara Shenstone.  In the West 
Bank, Shenstone said, UNRWA provides health, education, and 
relief services to roughly 770,000 refugees, representing 1/3 
of the population.  Of the total, 189,000 refugees live 
inside 19 camps, four of which lie in Area C.  Shenstone 
noted that UNRWA does not control infrastructure development 
in the camps and, therefore, the camps were built without 
planning or oversight.  She said that the West Bank refugee 
camps have suffered from the absence of law and order, high 
unemployment, a large youth population, and little local 
economic activity.  As a result, the camps tend to be 
"hotspots of poverty and political rebellion," she added. 
Shenstone noted that, despite its location in Area C, 
Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces are permitted to 
patrol in Jalazone Camp due to its proximity to Ramallah. 
 
¶3. (SBU) UNRWA provides education for grades 1-9 in 97 
schools across the West Bank.  Shenstone reported that the 
Jalazone Camp Girls' School is the last school that remains 
double-shift, i.e., two schools are operating in one physical 
building.  This is due in part to the difficulty in obtaining 
building permits in Area C from the GOI and in part to the 
school's proximity to the Beit El settlement.  In response to 
Ambassador Rice's question regarding girls' academic 
achievement, Shenstone noted that in the West Bank, 70-80 
percent of children complete secondary school; of these 
children, there are roughly even numbers of girls and boys. 
Commissioner General AbuZayd noted that UNRWA uses host 
government curricula (the PA curriculum in the West Bank) 
and, since 2002, has integrated an extra-curricular Human 
Rights and Tolerance Education program in all of its schools 
in the region.  Shenstone further pointed out that UNRWA 
operates three vocational training centers in the West Bank, 
one of which is dedicated for pre-service teacher training, 
and one hospital in Qalqilya. 
 
¶4. (SBU) In addition to its regular services, UNRWA has 
provided emergency assistance since 2000 to refugees in the 
West Bank, largely in the form of food assistance, job 
creation, and additional health services, such as mobile 
health clinics to reach isolated communities.  Shenstone 
noted that in the past three years, UNRWA has increased its 
attention to refugee protection programs addressing problems 
arising out of access and movement restrictions.  While 
refugees represent the most vulnerable people in the West 
Bank, the refugees living near the separation barrier and in 
Area C live in the poorest conditions, she said. 
 
Improvements on the Ground Are Limited 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) When asked about recent economic trends, Shenstone 
replied that there are "bubbles of improvement," particularly 
around Ramallah, but nothing on a broad scale.  The potential 
for growth is there, she added, but the closure regime must 
be lifted, particularly on imports/exports into Israel and 
Jordan and the movement of goods between the northern and 
southern West Bank.  UNRWA Area Officer Youssef Hushiyeh 
agreed that he has seen some signs of improvement, but no 
fundamental change in the economy. 
 
Exalt Technologies: Growth Potential, 
Movement/Access Problems Remain 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) In a meeting with Palestinian software development 
company Exalt Technologies, CEO Tareq Maayah stressed the 
importance of shifting the Palestinian economy from its 
traditionalist roots to the information and communication 
technology sector to take advantage of an educated work force 
and proximity to foreign markets.  Currently, only a small 
percentage of the 2,000 yearly West Bank ICT graduates are 
able to find well-paying jobs, he said.  Maayeh added that 
 
JERUSALEM 00001964  002 OF 002 
 
 
the ICT sector needs foreign direct investment to jump-start 
the industry, noting that the upcoming Expotech conference 
and trade show included representatives from Microsoft, 
Google, Cisco, and HP. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Maayah highlighted difficulties, however, in access 
and movement.  ICT companies continue to face delays and 
obstruction in importing equipment, much of which requires a 
special permit from the GOI.  Maayah noted that his company 
is partnered with Cisco's subsidiary in Israel, but that his 
staff face difficulties in traveling to and from the Israeli 
partner's offices.  One staff member noted that "humiliation 
is constant, even with a permit.  We used to travel the same 
roads as the settlers; now they divide us and make us travel 
crazy, long routes." 
 
USAID Job Creation Site in Birzeit 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) Ambassador Rice visited Birzeit village north of 
Ramallah, where USAID is funding a job creation program that 
is providing employment to residents and renovating the old 
city of Birzeit.  The project aims to rehabilitate some older 
homes, including one as the first guest house in the village, 
and to repave the streets with Jerusalem stone. 
 
¶9. (U) USUN New York cleared this cable. 
RUBINSTEIN