US embassy cable - 05TELAVIV511

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TEL AVIV 000511 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NEA FOR BURNS/SATTERFIELD 
NSC FOR ABRAMS/DANIN 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/28/2015 
TAGS: PREL, KPAL, KWBG, IS, SETTLEMENTS, ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN AFFAIRS 
SUBJECT: NEW SETTLEMENT CONSTRUCTION CONTINUES AT NOF 
HASHARON 
 
REF: TEL AVIV 06649 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Daniel C.  Kurtzer for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d 
). 
 
1.  (C) Summary: Israel is permitting construction to 
continue at the new northern West Bank settlement of Nof 
HaSharon (reftel).  Residents of Nirit, an adjacent Israeli 
town west of the Green Line that opposes the establishment of 
the new settlement, and the private contractor developing the 
site are awaiting the Israeli High Court of Justice's 
decision on whether the construction of the new settlement 
violates Israel's commitment to the U.S. not to build new 
settlements or construct new neighborhoods outside the 
construction line of existing settlements.  The High Court is 
expected to rule on Nirit's petition to stop construction of 
the new settlement on February 13.  End Summary. 
 
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Construction Moving Full-Speed Ahead 
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2.  (C) On January 25, Econoffs visited the Israeli community 
of Nirit, located inside Israel and adjacent to the soon 
to-be-built new West Bank settlement of Nof HaSharon. 
Econoffs observed at least 10 bulldozers and 
other earthmoving equipment grading and terracing the area 
where 52 new villas are to be constructed.  The secretary 
general of Nirit, Dror Ginatt, told Econoffs that since Nirit 
filed its petition to the court, the contractor has increased 
the pace of development.  Ginatt said that the contractor 
also erected a fence around the construction site because 
they 
fear publicity surrounding the new settlement will attract 
journalists and others whose presence could disrupt the 
project. 
 
3.  (C) From the roof of a home in Nirit, Ginatt pointed out 
the parent settlement of Alfe Menashe located some three 
kilometers northeast of Nof Hasharon across two sections of 
the security barrier.  Ginatt said that Nof Hasharon would 
politically be part of Alfe Menashe but in terms of 
infrastructure and civil services would be fully dependent on 
Nirit.  Ginatt showed econoffs a map that Alfe Menashe's 
local council provided Nirit.  The map shows proposed new 
roads and new neighborhoods between Nirit and Alfe Menashe 
that could someday connect Nirit, Nof HaSharon, and Alfe 
Menashe, but doing so would at the same time enclose the West 
Bank Palestinian village of Habla. 
 
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Nirit Residents Pessimistic About Court Decision 
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4. (C) Nirit's local council members are pessimistic about 
the February 13 court decision because the GOI has indicated 
its support for the new community.  Attorney and Nirit's 
representative to the local council, Leah Porah, said that in 
matters related to settlements, the court often defers to the 
government.  In the case of Nirit versus Nof HaSharon, the 
GOI has stated that the commitments it made to the U.S. do 
not apply to projects approved prior to the Roadmap and, 
furthermore, that these commitments lack legal standing. 
(Comment:  Historically, the Israeli High Court of Justice 
has deferred to the government on questions about the 
legality of settlements. 
The court has avoided taking a stand on the legality of 
settlements by ruling that the authorization of such sites is 
often a political decision versus a legal decision.  In the 
case of outposts, the court has ruled in favor of every GOI 
petition to remove an "unauthorized" outpost.  End comment.) 
 
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Nirit Looking to the U.S. for Assistance 
---------------------------------------- 
 
5.  (C) Nirit's local leaders were more hopeful that U.S. 
objections to the new settlement would halt its construction. 
 Nirit's leaders indicated that they had approached people in 
the Prime Minister's office in the hopes that the new 
settlement's construction was not authorized by the 
government, but were reportedly told that Nof HaSharon would 
be allowed to be built.  Econoff asked the council members 
why they would spend the money to object to Nof HaSharon, 
when many in Israel would say that due to its small size, 
proximity to the Green Line, and location behind the security 
barrier, it is likely to remain part of Israel under any 
future agreement.  The council members provided a variety of 
responses, from the bureaucratic problems of being connected 
to a settlement that is governed by different laws (the West 
Bank is governed by a mixture of Ottoman, British, Jordanian, 
Palestinian and Israeli law), to ideological opposition to 
being connected to a settlement, to prejudging the final 
borders of Israel.  The council said that they would be 
willing to accept the new neighborhood if the GOI annexed the 
territory or at least provided Nirit with the funds and 
bureaucratic answers to its unique situation, but the council 
objects to what it views as the government's and 
the settlers' attempts to establish the new settlement before 
working out the outstanding issues. 
 
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GOI To Raise Issue With U.S. Officials Next Week 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
6.  (C) Assistant Secretary William Burns raised the issue of 
Nof HaSharon with the Prime Minister Sharon and his advisor 
Dov Weissglas. (see septel) 
 
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KURTZER