US embassy cable - 04TELAVIV2356

C O N F I D E N T I A L TEL AVIV 002356 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/23/2014 
TAGS: PREL, KWBG, IS, GAZA DISENGAGEMENT, ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN AFFAIRS, SETTLEMENTS 
SUBJECT: LEAKED PURPORTED FEASIBILITY STUDY ON GAZA 
SETTLEMENT WITHDRAWAL CATALOGUES SETTLEMENT STATISTICS 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Daniel C. Kurtzer for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
. 
 
1. (C) Y-Net, the website affiliated with mass-circulation 
Hebrew daily Yedioth Ahronoth, on April 22 published a leaked 
version of a reportedly Israeli NSC-drafted feasibility study 
on Gaza settlement relocation.  The document is less than the 
title promises; it is not so much a feasibility study as it 
is a cataloguing of Gaza settlements and settlers.  The 
document includes many tables of information categorizing 
settlements by type (communal, moshav, agricultural, urban), 
and offering demographic breakdowns of the settler 
population, including of secular or religious affiliation. 
The document offers a preliminary distillation of these 
figures with a view to determining how best to manage the 
settlers' absorption into other communities, whether as 
individuals or collectively.  The document has not been 
finalized; indeed the budget section has been left completely 
blank.  Nonetheless, the Y-Net report indicated that it was 
being prepared for cabinet consideration on April 25. 
Embassy has emailed a PDF version of the Hebrew article to 
NEA/IPA, along with an informal translation provided to the 
Embassy by an outside party. 
 
2. (SBU) Following is the Table of Contents of the leaked 
report: 
Begin Text: 
1     Introduction 
2.    Size of Gaza Region settlement 
2.1   Settlements and population 
2.2   Agricultural Settlement in the Gaza Region 
2.3   Industrial zones in Gaza Strip 
3     Assumptions for examining feasibility 
3.1   Personal preferences vs. public initiative 
3.2   National priority areas 
3.3   Adjusting the proposal to the settlers' 
      characteristics 
4     Settlement alternatives 
4.1   Reinforcing settlements or building new settlements 
4.2   The government plan to build new settlements 
4.3   The possibilities for absorbing agricultural 
      settlement 
4.3.1 Reinforcement and supplementation of agricultural 
      settlements in Shalom Region 
4.3.2 Reinforcement and supplementation of agricultural 
      villages in Ramat Hanegev 
4.3.3 New agricultural settlement in Shalom Region 
4.4   The possibilities of absorbing communal settlements 
4.4.1 Nisanit 
4.4.2 Neveh Dekalim and other communal settlements 
4.5   The stock of plans in the Negev settlement expansions 
4.6   Availability of new residential neighborhoods in 
      Negev cities 
4.7   Alternatives for industrial zones 
5     Availability and timetable 
6     An administration for organizing, planning and 
      developing the alternative settlements 
7     Cost and budget estimate 
8     Government decisions, regulations and law amendments 
End Text. 
 
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KURTZER