US embassy cable - 05TELAVIV2341

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TEL AVIV 002341 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/12/2015 
TAGS: PREL, KWBG, IS, GAZA DISENGAGEMENT, GOI INTERNAL, ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN AFFAIRS, SETTLEMENTS 
SUBJECT: PEACE NOW DISCUSSES SUPPORT TO THE SETTLEMENTS, 
SASSON REPORT, AND DISENGAGEMENT 
 
Classified By: Economic Counselor William Weinstein for reasons 1.4 (b) 
 and (d) 
 
This cable has been cleared by Consulate General Jerusalem. 
 
1.  (C) Summary:  Yariv Oppenheimer, General Director of 
Peace Now, told Embassy econoffs that there are four possible 
ways for the GOI to fund settlements.  These include support 
through the Defense Ministry for infrastructure, transferring 
funds to the local councils, funding specific projects, and 
reinvesting municipal taxes collected from the settlers. 
Oppenheimer outlined over $113 million in 2005 budget outlays 
to the settlements through various ministries.  He said that 
Talia Sasson's report on illegal outposts brought the issue 
out in the open, but that the inter-ministerial Cabinet 
committee is not going to do much about implementing her 
recommendations.  Oppenheimer said that Peace Now is 
currently very popular because the Israeli public supports 
Gaza disengagement, but also that he is concerned that no one 
is thinking about West Bank settlements or outposts.  End 
summary. 
 
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Passing Funds to the Settlements 
-------------------------------- 
 
2.  (C) Yariv Oppenheimer, General Director of Peace Now, 
told Deputy Economic Counselor and Economic Officer that the 
GOI utilizes four major ways to fund settlements.  The first 
is through the Defense Ministry (MOD), which provides 
security packages to the settlements.  These security 
packages include such things as lighting, roads, armored 
buses, training, and funds for settlers who guard 
settlements.  Gathering this information is close to 
impossible, however, because the MOD's budget is classified 
and very few people have access to it.  In addition, 
Oppenheimer explained that the GOI funds settlements through 
other ministries who give the settlers money by transferring 
funds to their respective local municipalities.  The 
ministries' budgets do not have specific line items to 
differentiate what goes to the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, 
and what goes to Green Line Israel.  According to 
Oppenheimer, the third way to fund settlements is for 
ministries to provide money for specific projects, such as 
the promenade in Hebron, which may sometimes be explicitly in 
the budget.  Finally, local municipalities reinvest what they 
collect in taxes from the residents of the settlement.  As 
Oppenheimer said, we have seen examples of at least the first 
three methods in Talia Sasson's report on illegal outposts. 
 
------------------- 
2005 Budget Details 
------------------- 
 
3.  (C) To cite some examples in the GOI's 2005 budget 
approved last month, Oppenheimer noted that the Agriculture 
Ministry plans to give the Settlements Division of the World 
Zionist Organization NIS 9.4 million for settlements in the 
central West Bank and NIS 6.9 million for settlements in the 
Gaza Strip.  In addition, the Ministry of Construction and 
Housing (MOCH) has budgeted NIS 36 million for Ma'ale Adumim, 
NIS 73 million for Har Homa, and NIS 32 million for security 
in East Jerusalem.  The MOCH also has a line item of NIS 90 
million that can be spent on anything it wants, from 
infrastructure to public buildings to security. 
 
4.  (C) Oppenheimer explained that the Ministry of Industry 
and Trade has at least two items in the budget that will go 
toward supporting the settlements:  NIS 8 million in benefits 
to invest in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and NIS 5 million 
in subsidies.  The Ministry of Transportation has budgeted 
NIS 17 million for a road between Gilo and the Gush Etzion 
bloc, NIS 12 million for a road between Bruchin and Ariel, 
and NIS 198 million for a road around Mishor Adumim. 
 
-------------------- 
On the Sasson Report 
-------------------- 
 
5.  (C) Oppenheimer opined that Sasson had done a great job 
on her report on illegal outposts, and that it was good that 
these issues were out in the open.  He said it may force 
settlers and their supporters within the GOI to think twice 
before signing any documents authorizing more construction. 
He mentioned, however, that "the bureaucracy is very strong," 
and that the inter-ministerial Cabinet committee on the 
report is not going to do much about implementing Sasson's 
recommendations.  In fact, he remarked that Peace Now is 
planning to host an azkera ceremony to mark the 30 days after 
the "burial of Sasson's report." 
 
------------------------ 
Disengagement and Beyond 
------------------------ 
 
6.  (C) Oppenheimer continued that the Israeli public is more 
supportive now than ten years ago of Peace Now's activities 
because the public supports the disengagement plan.  He said 
he is worried, however, about what will happen after 
disengagement.  Oppenheimer explained that he is concerned 
that Israelis will say "we gave them Gaza Strip and the 
Palestinians are still hostile toward us" so they will not 
want to give up the West Bank.  He said it will not take many 
terrorist attacks for Israelis to think that "we tried to 
leave the Gaza Strip and got more terrorists instead." 
Oppenheimer noted that everyone is for disengagement from the 
Gaza Strip in the short run, but no one is interested in West 
Bank settlements, much less in outposts. 
 
7.  (C) Oppenheimer opined that the IDF is ready to begin 
implementing disengagement.  He explained that the IDF has a 
clear plan and is practicing its maneuvers, and that he has 
recently talked to IDF soldiers on four occasions as part of 
a panel on disengagement.  Oppenheimer said that he does not 
think other ministries are ready, however.  He mentioned that 
there are no real solutions to the other problems of 
evacuation, such as education for the settlers' children, and 
that Yonatan Bassey of the Disengagement Administration is 
not doing much because he does not have the backing of PM 
Ariel Sharon.  Oppenheimer cited the example of Sharon going 
to visit Nitzanim without Bassey, and that Sharon is now the 
only one making significant decisions on disengagement. 
 
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