US embassy cable - 05TELAVIV4066

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TEL AVIV 004066 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/27/2015 
TAGS: ECON, PGOV, PREL, IS, PHUM, ECONOMY AND FINANCE, ISRAELI SOCIETY 
SUBJECT: THREE BEDOUIN MOSQUES IN THE NEGEV ORDERED 
DEMOLISHED 
 
Classified By: DCM Gene A. Cretz for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
1. (C) SUMMARY: The GOI has served demolition orders for 
three mosques built in Bedouin unrecognized villages in the 
Negev.  The regional council for the Bedouin, an Israeli-Arab 
NGO, is taking action to publicize the threat to these 
mosques as a means of pressuring the GOI to back off on the 
demolition.  One of these orders was issued by the Regional 
Planning and Building Committee in the Negev, which 
administers the Al-Dhiyya village.  According to a GOI 
source, the committee was "unaware" the structure it had 
marked for demolition was a mosque.  He said the committee is 
therefore taking steps to work with Bedouin authorities to 
resolve the "code violations" that led to the issuance of the 
demolition order for this mosque, but that the Bedouin have 
yet to take the corrective actions specified.  A Bedouin 
council contact said GOI has not rescinded the demolition 
orders and "nothing has changed."  END SUMMARY. 
 
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Sawalha: Demolitions Will Turn Bedouin Against Israel 
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2. (C) The continuous discussion between the GOI and the 
Bedouin in the Negev over unrecognized villages sharpened 
recently when the GOI issued orders for municipal authorities 
to destroy three mosques.  (Note:  The GOI strictly regulates 
all construction throughout Israel via various local and 
national bodies, and has for years attempted to prevent 
construction in the numerous "unrecognized" villages that 
Bedouin have built throughout the northern Negev.  In 
addition, the GOI has for decades attempted to settle Bedouin 
in GOI-planned villages.  As part of this effort, official 
bodies rarely approve building permits for structures outside 
government approved areas.  End Note).  On April 25, Faisal 
Sawalha of the Regional Council for Unrecognized Villages in 
the Negev contacted Econoff regarding what he said are 
demolition orders, issued by the Ministry of Interior and the 
Bni Shimon Regional Council in the Negev, against three 
mosques located in the unrecognized villages of Um Al-Hiran, 
Tel Al-Maleh, and Al-Dhiyya that together serve more than 
2,050 Bedouin.  All three mosques were built without permits. 
 
3. (C) Sawalha said that the Um Al-Hiran Mosque is not only 
to be demolished, but residents of the village are also 
required to pay a fine of 30,000 shekels.  In Tel Al-Maleh, 
the district court has returned the case to a lower court for 
review, he said, while in Al-Dhiyya, the demolition order 
issued by the Regional Planning and Building Committee stands 
and must be implemented this year. 
 
4. (C) The involved villages have mobilized a public 
relations campaign to save the mosques.  Sawalha said he has 
approached the local Bedouin committee in each village to 
exchange ideas on how to deal with this matter, and has 
informed Arab members of the Knesset.  On April 22, Israeli 
Arabs from Galilee, Tel Aviv, and other townships in the 
Negev gathered at the Um Al-Hiran mosque for Friday prayers 
as a sign of protest.  Sawalha said this is not the first 
time demolition orders have been issued: "Two mosques were 
demolished in 2003," one in Tel Al-Maleh and another in the 
village of Al-Za'roora.  These two mosques were built without 
permits. 
 
5. (C) On May 23, Sawalha told Econoff that the GOI was 
moving ahead with the demolition orders, citing licensing 
violations with the mosques.  He also said that demolitions 
will "fuel extremist cause" (sic) within the Bedouin 
community. 
 
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Ritov: Building Codes Must Be Adhered To 
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6. (C) On May 10, Econoff spoke to Amir Ritov, chairman of 
the Regional Planning and Building Committee, about the 
Al-Dhiyya demolition order.  Ritov said when the Al-Dhiyya 
mosque was built, incorrect documentation was filed, which 
did not indicate the structure's religious nature.  As the 
structure did not fall within appropriate "code and permit" 
parameters, he said, the committee was required to issue a 
demolition order.  When the committee was informed of the 
building's purpose, his organization was "lenient," he said, 
informing the village to "fix" deficiencies to bring the 
structures into compliance with appropriate building codes. 
Ritov claimed that in the months since Al-Dhiyya village was 
informed about the deficiencies the village has not taken any 
corrective action. 
 
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Comment: Demolitions An Ongoing Issue 
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7. (C) The ongoing issue of demolitions continues to be a 
point of contention between the GOI and the unrecognized 
Bedouin villages in the Negev as each side paints a different 
picture to outside observers.  GOI counterparts within the 
Ministry of Interior have not responded to Post questions 
regarding the pending demolitions. 
 
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