US embassy cable - 05TELAVIV6519

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TEL AVIV 006519 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/10/2015 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, KWBG, IS, SETTLEMENTS, ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN AFFAIRS 
SUBJECT: SOME OUTPOSTS READY FOR EVACUATION; GOI 
CONSIDERING REMOVING CHECKPOINTS IN NORTHERN WEST BANK 
 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Richard H. Jones for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
1.  (C) Summary:  Brigadier General (res.) Baruch Spiegel, 
advisor in the Ministry of Defense, told the Ambassador on 
November 4 that the GOI has taken all of the administrative 
and legal steps necessary to dismantle nine illegal outposts 
and the nine permanent houses in Amona outpost.  He said the 
IDF is waiting for a political decision to move forward on 
the evacuation orders.  Spiegel explained the need for 
Justice Minister Tzipi Livni to initiate new legislation 
making illegal outpost construction a criminal vice civil 
offense.  Such a change, he said, would allow the IDF to deal 
immediately with offenders, rather than proceed through the 
delay-laden civil offense process.  He continued that under 
current laws, if the IDF spots a new structure at an outpost 
within the first 24-48 hours, the IDF can remove the 
structure immediately.  After that brief window, it has to 
initiate legal proceedings to dismantle the structure and 
"lawyers become involved," thus turning evictions into 
lengthy processes.  Spiegel reported that the GOI is 
considering removing all checkpoints between Nablus and 
Jenin, and allowing the Palestinian Authority (PA) to take 
security responsibility there.  With sufficient GOI-PA 
security cooperation, the resulting freedom of movement for 
Palestinians could allow economic development initiatives to 
begin around Jenin and the Jenin Industrial Park, an area 
twice the size of Gaza, according to Spiegel.  End summary. 
 
-------- 
Outposts 
-------- 
 
2.  (C) Brigadier General (res.) Baruch Spiegel, told the 
Ambassador on November 4 that the nine permanent buildings in 
the Amona outpost slated for evacuation do not have any 
residents in them and can be evacuated soon.  He said that 
this would be the first time, however, that the IDF would 
destroy permanent buildings in an outpost.  Spiegel continued 
that nine other outposts in the West Bank can also be 
evacuated immediately, since all the necessary legal and 
administrative steps required have already been completed by 
the MOD.  In addition, their residents have exhausted their 
legal recourse against evacuation.  He explained, however, 
that a political decision needs to be made at a higher level 
on whether to evacuate the outposts, and presumably to 
destroy the buildings in Amona.  Besides these nine outposts, 
Spiegel reported that there are an additional 26 post-March 
2001 outposts, according to the GOI's count, but that 
removing them will require further legal procedures.  (Note: 
The USG counts 44 post-March 2001 outposts.  End note.) 
 
3.  (C) Spiegel told the Ambassador that Justice Minister 
Tzipi Livni needs to initiate new legislation to enable the 
IDF to dismantle illegal outposts immediately.  He claimed 
that the GOI classifies establishing illegal outposts as a 
civil offense, but pointed out that if it were considered a 
criminal offense, the IDF would have the power to make 
arrests on the spot, including arresting the head of the 
municipality where the outpost has been established.  Spiegel 
said that, under current laws, if a new trailer or other 
structure is spotted within 24-48 hours of its first being 
brought to a site, the IDF can issue a legal order to 
dismantle the structure.  Beyond that narrow window, however, 
the IDF is forced to go through long legal procedures that 
require a written complaint, at which point "lawyers become 
involved" and initiate appeals.  In addition, Spiegel 
explained, if another trailer is added to an outpost, that 
new trailer becomes another actionable illegal act that needs 
to be dealt with separately.  If, for example, the IDF wins a 
case to evacuate an outpost with eight trailers, and settlers 
somehow bring in a trailer during the proceedings that the 
IDF does not notice within 48 hours, the GOI must take legal 
action against that trailer separately.  Spiegel claimed that 
this type of situation developed last week when Defense 
Minister Shaul Mofaz ordered the dismantlement of an outpost. 
 (Note:  While Spiegel did not specify the outpost, he was 
likely referring to the dismantlement of the illegal outposts 
that hilltop youth established near Qedummim settlement.  End 
note.) 
 
----------- 
Checkpoints 
----------- 
 
4.  (C) Spiegel acknowledged that the GOI added 15-16 
checkpoints around Jenin after the October 26 terrorist 
attack on Hadera.  He said that the GOI had previously 
removed various checkpoints, and added that some would be 
removed again in the near future.  He reported that there are 
presently 321 checkpoints in the West Bank. 
 
5.  (C) Spiegel noted that the GOI is considering a plan to 
remove all of the checkpoints in the northern West Bank area 
between Jenin and Nablus, and bordered by the Jordan Valley. 
He characterized the area under consideration as twice the 
size of the Gaza Strip, with few settlements in need of 
protection.  He said the checkpoints may be removed if there 
is no new terrorist activity, adding that although the area 
would not be reclassified under the Oslo terms of Israeli and 
Palestinian control, the IDF would stay away and see how the 
PA deals with it.  In addition, he said, removing the 
checkpoints from this area would also present an opportunity 
to upgrade several water and other infrastructure projects. 
 
6.  (C) Spiegel explained that the basic problem is whether 
or not the PA is capable of providing security, and to tie 
the freedom of movement necessary for economic development to 
security.  Removing the checkpoints from one area would be a 
first step -- following the principle of starting small and 
then expanding.  Sufficient GOI-PA cooperation on securing 
the area would then allow economic development initiatives to 
begin around Jenin and the Jenin Industrial Park.  Spiegel 
emphasized that now is the time to implement such a plan.  He 
said that an expert team that includes officers from IDF 
Central Command, Operations, and the Engineers Corps is 
currently in the field working on the proposal.  Moving 
forward, however, will require a political decision.  Spiegel 
concluded the checkpoint discussion by saying that Israel can 
take a "calculated risk" to move checkpoints in a way that 
would minimally affect Israeli security, but be of maximum 
economic benefit for the PA. 
 
------- 
Convoys 
------- 
 
7.  (C) On convoys, Spiegel said that several options have 
already been prepared, but any plan must proceed 
step-by-step.  Initially, only a limited number of people and 
a limited amount of cargo (essentially personal luggage) 
would be transported by bus.  He noted, however, that once 
the political decision is made to proceed, the plan can be 
implemented quickly, with convoys of trucks and eventually 
private vehicles being added. 
 
********************************************* ******************** 
Visit Embassy Tel Aviv's Classified Website: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/telaviv 
 
You can also access this site through the State Department's 
Classified SIPRNET website. 
********************************************* ******************** 
JONES