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Israelis bribed to admit U.S. goods to Gaza: WikiLeaks

U.S. distributors accused Israel in 2006 of charging exorbitant fees to allow their goods into Gaza and an Israeli general admitted corruption existed at a major border crossing, a U.S. diplomatic cable shows.

The cable, obtained by WikiLeaks and published Thursday by the Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten, said frequent closures of the Karni crossing had "exacerbated the problem of access and appears to have forced up the cost of bribes" paid to Israelis.

The disclosures predate the 2007 armed takeover of the Gaza Strip, home to 1.5 million Palestinians, by Hamas Islamists hostile to the Jewish state. Israel has cited the Hamas threat in justifying a controversial blockade it has kept on Gaza, with Egyptian help.

"As of late May 34 shipments of American goods, amounting to nearly USD 1.9 million dollars, have been waiting three to four months to cross into Gaza," said the cable, classified "secret" by the U.S. ambassador to Israel at the time, Richard Jones.

"U.S. distributors assert they are being asked to pay 'special fees' which amount to as much as 75 times the standard processing fee as quoted by GOI (Israeli government) officials."

The cable quoted distributors for several U.S. companies complaining that payoffs were required to move their trucks to "a spot near the head of the so-called 'Israeli line'," which progressed more quicker to help Israelis supplying Palestinians.

"According to business contacts, allegations of corruption at Karni have a long history," the cable said.

It said Yossef Mishlev, the general in charge of Israel's Palestinian liaison unit at the time, had "acknowledged the problem (and that) corruption was the root cause of backlogged shipments waiting to cross into Gaza at Karni."

The liaison unit declined comment on the cable. The Israel Airports Authority, which the cable cited as having overall responsibility for Karni, denied wrongdoing.

"There was an investigation at the time, and no accusations were leveled against any Authority officials. This problem may have been connected to the truck drivers at Karni," an Authority official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

The crossing is now under Israeli military control due to enhanced risk of Palestinian attack on it, the official said.

The U.S. diplomatic cable describes Karni staff being confronted by the bribery allegations during a May 26, 2006 meeting attended by embassy officials.

The Karni staff "did not address the issue of bribes," according to the cable, but suggested the U.S. government finance the purchase of more conveyor belts for their terminal or arrange for distributors to ship through Kerem Shalom, a crossing on the southern Israel-Gaza border that abuts Egypt.

Source: Reuters

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Israel said would keep Gaza near collapse: WikiLeaks Leaks

Israel told U.S. officials in 2008 it would keepGaza's economy "on the brink of collapse" while avoiding a humanitarian crisis, according to U.S. diplomatic cables published by a Norwegian daily on Wednesday.

Three cables cited by the Aftenposten newspaper, which has said it has all 250,000 U.S. cables leaked to WikiLeaks, showed that Israel kept the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv briefed on its internationally criticized blockade of the Gaza Strip.

The territory, home to 1.3 million Palestinians, is run by the Islamist Hamas group, which is shunned by the West over its refusal to recognize Israel, renounce violence or accept existing interim Israeli-Palestinian peace deals.

"As part of their overall embargo plan against Gaza, Israeli officials have confirmed to (U.S. embassy economic officers) on multiple occasions that they intend to keep the Gazan economy on the brink of collapse without quite pushing it over the edge," one of the cables read.

Israel wanted the coastal territory's economy "functioning at the lowest level possible consistent with avoiding a humanitarian crisis," according to the November 3, 2008 cable.

In a speech in January 2008, then-Prime Minister Ehud Olmert appeared to spell out that policy, which has since been eased in the wake of an international outcry over a deadly Israeli raid last May on a Turkish aid ship trying to break the blockade.

"We will not harm the supply of food for children, medicine for those who need it and fuel for institutions that save lives," Olmert said at the time.

"But there is no justification for demanding we allow residents of Gaza to live normal lives while shells and rockets are fired from their streets and courtyards (at southern Israel)," he added.

The Jewish state says it has significantly relaxed the blockade since May, with dozens of truckloads of goods entering the territory daily. Aid organizations have said shipments should be increased further.

Palestinians say impoverished Gaza remains effectively a "prison" sealed off by Israel, and have called for an opening to allow normal trade and other links with the world.

Source: Reuters

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