US embassy cable - 05TELAVIV2540

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TEL AVIV 002540 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/21/2015 
TAGS: ECON, PREL, IS, ECONOMY AND FINANCE, ISRAELI SOCIETY 
SUBJECT: ARAB-ISRAELI REACTIONS TO GOI'S NEGEV AND GALILEE 
DEVELOPMENT PLAN 
 
REF: A. 04 TEL AVIV 02901 
     B. 04 TEL AVIV 03085 
     C. 04 TEL AVIV 03393 
 
Classified By: Charge d'affaires Gene A. Cretz for reasons 1.4 (b) 
and (d) 
 
1. (C) SUMMARY: In April Econoff met with several 
Israeli-Arab advocacy groups who expressed concern over the 
GOI's economic development plan for the Galilee and the 
Negev, which the GOI is pushing forward in tandem with 
disengagement.  Citing historical disenfranchisement of 
Israeli Arabs in implementation of state economic policies, 
including home demolitions and forced relocation of Negev 
Bedouin, these groups expressed a lack of confidence in the 
GOI's ability to distribute land fairly.  All GOI plans 
involving development in the Galilee and the Negev are a 
concern, according to our contacts, if they fail to include 
financial assistance and land allotments for the Arab 
minority groups living in those areas.  Israeli-Arab groups 
collectively voiced plans to Econoff to examine closely 
government initiatives, and emphasized their concern that 
any USG assistance not be used to facilitate GOI expansion 
into existing Arab towns and villages in the Galilee and 
the Negev.  END SUMMARY. 
 
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ACAP: GOI Development Equals Loss of Israeli-Arab Land 
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2. (C) On April 13, Dr. Hanna Swaid, chairman of The Arab 
Center for Alternative Planning (ACAP), described to 
Econoff the concerns of the Israeli-Arab population 
regarding the GOI's proposed economic development of the 
Negev and Galilee.  Swaid said he believes the plan is 
primarily geared towards Jewish Israelis and is designed to 
displace Israeli Arabs. Regions within Israel in which 
there is a strong Israeli-Arab presence like the Galilee 
and the Bedouin settlements in the Negev will be negatively 
affected, he said.  Swaid emphasized that he will publicly 
advocate that the U.S. not support the GOI in any 
initiative that could mean loss of land or further economic 
disenfranchisement for Israeli-Arab citizens.  Swaid 
illustrated his concerns by citing a recent objection the 
ACAP filed with the Southern District Planning Commission 
in the Negev against a project to develop land between 
southern Gaza and Beersheva, for what Swaid believes are to 
be new residential communities for settlers evacuated from 
the northern West Bank. "Such a project holds nothing 
positive for Israeli Arabs, especially not for the 
Bedouin," he said. 
 
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Bedouin Leadership: Any U.S. Assistance Will Hopefully 
Consider the Bedouin 
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3. (C) On April 15, Econoff met with Faisal Sawalha of the 
NGO Regional Council for the Bedouin of the Unrecognized 
Villages (RCBUV).  Sawalha highlighted Bedouin frustration 
over the GOI's systematic demolition of Bedouin homes in 
the unrecognized villages, adding that he does not know 
whether the demolitions are related to "the GOI's plan to 
find new homes for Israeli settlers, relocation of the 
Bedouin, or economic Negev development."  He also 
complained that "no Bedouin or Arab is a member" of any of 
the GOI authorities responsible for Negev development, 
including committees within the National Security Council, 
the Ministry of the Interior, or the Israel Lands 
Authority.  Sawalha said that while RCBUV has no specific 
strategy to counter the GOI's development initiatives, they 
have drawn up an "alternative development program" that 
includes recognition and expansion of existing Bedouin 
villages, and that they are looking into hiring outside 
professionals to examine any GOI Negev economic 
initiatives. 
 
4.  (C) Dr. Thabet Abu Ras of the Shatil Foundation for 
Equality told Econoff that any USG assistance provided to 
the GOI for Negev development should include specific 
earmarks for improving the lot of the Bedouin. "Expelling 
the Bedouin" from their homes and ancestral lands in the 
Negev cannot be part of any economic development plan, Abu 
Ras insisted.  He said he will travel next month to the 
U.S. to lobby private organizations for Bedouin-specific 
assistance, and will meet with members of Congress to 
convince them that aid for Negev development must be 
conditional upon Israel providing economic support for the 
Bedouin localities.  He will also encourage Congress to 
pressure Israel towards direct communication with Bedouin 
leadership. 
 
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A Development Plan for Whom? 
---------------------------- 
5. (C) On April 21, Adalah, an NGO which addresses the 
legal rights of the Arab minority in Israel, told Econoff 
that although Adalah is not aware of plan specifics, the 
organization is "not optimistic" that Israeli Arabs will 
benefit from any proposed economic initiative.  Mrs. Suhad 
Bishara, who is an Adalah lawyer, cited an ever-widening 
social, political and economic gap between the Jewish and 
Israeli-Arab communities since the 1970's.  She said the 
GOI has maintained a policy towards the Negev and Galilee 
of encouraging Jewish families to relocate to these regions 
to "balance out" heavily populated Arab centers.  Adalah 
International Advocacy Director Rina Rosenburg noted that, 
in her view, the GOI's historical expansion plans have 
created "slums and ghettos" of Israeli-Arab towns.  Turning 
to the GOI'S reported request for supplemental assistance 
from the USG, she explained that any money that is either 
public or private that goes to create segregated areas is 
morally wrong.  Adalah will "challenge" unfair aspects of 
the plan through judicial organs, she said.  On the 
question of benefits for the Israeli Arabs, from revenues 
generated by the development plan, Bishara said that this 
plan, like its predecessors would "exclude" Israeli Arabs. 
"We know what this plan is and its prospects for the next 
20 or 30 years.  This is not new," said Mrs. Bishara. 
 
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Comment: What Development Means for Israeli-Arab NGO'S 
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6. (C) Econoff's meetings with Israeli-Arab NGO'S showed 
that these groups would like to see any U.S. assistance to 
the GOI for economic development in the Galilee and Negev 
include the Israeli Arab communities.  As of now, however, 
there is no coordinated effort by these groups to address 
the GOI on its economic initiative. 
 
 
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