US embassy cable - 05TELAVIV4653

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 TEL AVIV 004653 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/26/2015 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, KWBG, IS, SETTLEMENTS 
SUBJECT: ECF: SEPTEMBER COMPLETION OF JERUSALEM ENVELOPE 
UNLIKELY, PLANS FOR NEW SETTLEMENTS 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Daniel C. Kurtzer for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
. 
 
1. (C) Summary: Colonel (ret.) Shaul Arieli, consultant at 
the Economic Cooperation Foundation and advisor to the High 
Court on the routing of the separation barrier, told economic 
officer that it is unlikely that Israel will complete 
construction of the Jerusalem envelope--the Jerusalem section 
of the barrier--by September 1 despite a cabinet decision on 
July 10 to do so.  According to Arieli, Prime Minister Ariel 
Sharon has also instructed the Defense Ministry to commence 
construction of the barrier near the Etzion bloc of 
settlements located southwest of Jerusalem.  Arieli said that 
Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupolianski and the Ministry of Housing 
are moving forward to advance plans for eight settlements in 
and around the Jerusalem area.  End summary. 
 
----------------------------- 
Envelope to Envelop Jerusalem 
----------------------------- 
 
2.  (C) Colonel (ret.) Shaul Arieli, consultant at the 
Economic Cooperation Foundation and High Court advisor on the 
separation barrier, confirmed to econoff that the Israeli 
cabinet's decision on July 10 to complete the Jerusalem 
envelope by September 1 did not change any part of the 
separation barrier's February 2005 route.  The cabinet's 
decision only accelerated construction of the Jerusalem 
envelope section.  Arieli stated that despite this 
accelerated timeframe, however, Israel probably does not have 
enough resources to accomplish the simultaneous tasks of 
disengaging from the Gaza Strip and four West Bank 
settlements and completing the envelope.  (Note:  The 
Jerusalem Post reported July 11 that the Jerusalem envelope 
will separate parts of East Jerusalem from the rest of the 
city, leaving 55,000 Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem, 
from the neighborhoods of Kafr Aqab, Anata, Qalandiya, and 
Shu'fat Camp, outside the city on the "Palestinian side" of 
the barrier.  End note.) 
 
3.  (C) In response to econoff's question on whether 
petitions against the barrier would further slow 
construction, Arieli said the High Court would likely make 
one decision to address all or most of the 13 petitions 
against the envelope, so individual petitions would not delay 
its construction.  He also did not foresee the Court deciding 
on the petitions until after disengagement.  (Note:  On July 
11, the High Court rejected a request by Israel human rights 
attorney Danny Seidemann to issue an injunction suspending 
construction work on the barrier in the area of Shu'fat Camp 
in East Jerusalem.  Seidemann's petition against the section 
of the barrier on behalf of residents of Shofat, Ras Hamis, 
and Anata remains to be decided.  End note.) 
 
4.  (C) Arieli alleged that Palestinians have not provided 
the court with alternative barrier routes because they object 
to the barrier on principle.  Ha'aretz reported July 12, 
however, that Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem 
neighborhoods have proposed several alternatives, listed in 
Seidemann's petitions.  Seidemann told ConGen poloff--an 
account also printed in Ha'aretz--that in response to his 
proposed alternative routes, he was told by an unnamed 
Defense Ministry official that the proposal would be rejected 
because "the intention is to get these people out of 
Jerusalem and to associate them with the West Bank."  Arieli 
said that in the case of petitions from Palestinians in 
al-Ram, north of Jerusalem, the Court has told the 
Palestinians and their lawyer that they must provide the 
Court with alternative routing of the barrier for the Court 
to consider, or face the probability that they will lose 
their case against the current route. 
 
5.  (C) According to Arieli, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has 
also instructed the Defense Ministry to commence construction 
of the separation barrier near the Etzion settlement bloc, 
located southwest of Jerusalem, to link up with the Jerusalem 
envelope. 
 
------------------------------- 
Prospective Facts on the Ground 
------------------------------- 
 
6.  (C) Despite Israel's plans to evacuate from the Gaza 
Strip and four northern West Bank settlements, Israel is 
moving forward with settlement projects aimed at maintaining 
Israel's hold of Jerusalem and bolstering surrounding 
settlement blocs, according to Arieli.  He stated that the 
Ministry of Construction and Housing and Jerusalem Mayor Uri 
Lupolianski are working to further plans already submitted 
for eight new Israeli neighborhoods in the Jerusalem area, 
all located inside the barrier's envelope.  These projects 
include: 
 
      --Construction is currently ongoing for the planned 
settlement of Nof Zahav.  Nof Zahav is located in the 
Palestinian village of Jabal al-Mukabir, south of the Old 
City, and press reports say that 450-550 units are expected 
to be built here.  Arieli stated, however, that the developer 
of the project is having problems selling the planned housing 
units to be built. 
 
      --The planned Israeli settlement of Kidmat Zion is 
located in the Palestinian village of Abu Dis. Currently, 
Kidmat Zion has two structures at the site, and a road for 
settlers living at the site was constructed in early 2005. 
According to press reports, architects started planning for 
the construction of the 220-apartment community in Kidmat 
Zion in 1997, and gained approval from the local planning 
council in May 2000.  The Jerusalem Municipal Council 
approved the plan in March 2001. 
      --There is a planned settlement to be located west of 
the Palestinian village of Al-Tira, northwest of Jerusalem. 
By using a geographic information systems program, econoff 
notes that the municipal boundaries of the Giv'at Ze'ev 
settlement extend to the projected location of where this new 
neighborhood is planned. If built, a new neighborhood in this 
area would serve to link the settlements of Bet Horon and 
Giv'at Ze'ev. Israel considers land within a settlement's 
municipal boundaries acceptable area to build extended or new 
settlement neighborhoods. 
 
      --A planned settlement at Geva, located north of 
Jerusalem.  Newe Ya'aqov's settlement municipal boundaries 
extend northeast beyond the current settlement's footprint to 
the settlement of Adam.  This is the approximate location of 
Geva, which, if built, will potentially create contiguity 
between the settlements of Newe Ya'aqov and Adam. 
 
      --Plans for an Israeli settlement in the Palestinian 
village of Wadi al-Joz located east of the Old City. In 
September 2004, Lupolianski wrote a letter to the Housing 
Ministry stating his intention to rezone Wadi al-Joz for 
Israeli settlers.  Lupolianski wrote that rezoning, "will 
strengthen the link between the Jewish neighborhoods and 
public institutions in the Mt. Scopus area and the eastern 
part of the Old City." 
 
      --A planned settlement located west of the Palestinian 
village of Az Za'ayyam, near Mt. Scopus University in 
Jerusalem. 
 
      --A planned settlement located east of the settlement 
of Betar, located west of Bethlehem. 
 
      --A planned settlement adjacent to the Palestinian 
village of Al Wallaja, located southwest of Jerusalem. 
 
-------------------- 
Who is Shaul Arieli? 
-------------------- 
 
7.  (C) Colonel (ret.) Shaul Arieli is a former brigade 
commander in the northern Gaza Strip, Israel Defense Forces 
head of the interim agreement administration, and head of the 
negotiating administration in former Prime Minister Ehud 
Barak's office.  Arieli was also an initiator of the Geneva 
Accords. 
 
8.  (C) Currently, Arieli is a member of the Council for 
Peace and Security--an organization whose members include 
former high ranking IDF, Shin Bet, and Mossad officers and 
which recommended an alternative route to the barrier in the 
Bayt Surik area, north of Jerusalem. In June 2004, Arieli 
testified to Israel's High Court of Justice against the route 
of the Jerusalem envelope in the Bayt Surik area, and the 
High Court later instructed the GOI to come up with an 
alternative route.  Arieli has been hired by the High Court 
as an advisor on the routing of the barrier. 
 
9.  (C) Comment:  Although construction has not started on 
many of the planned projects identified by Arieli, movement 
on these plans by Israel may be ongoing and should not be 
discounted.  In 2003, Israel's Ministry of Construction and 
Housing, with the cooperation of the Jerusalem municipality, 
announced plans to build small settlement neighborhoods in 
Jerusalem, given that the nuclei for them already existed. 
Wadi al-Joz, Nof Zahav, and Kidmat Zion were three strategic 
projects identified.  Construction is currently on going at 
Nof Zahav and there are residents at Kidmat Zion.  End 
comment. 
 
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