Identifier | Created | Classification | Origin |
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04TELAVIV2356 | 2004-04-23 14:00:00 | CONFIDENTIAL | Embassy Tel Aviv |
This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available. |
C O N F I D E N T I A L TEL AVIV 002356 |
1. (C) Y-Net, the website affiliated with mass-circulation Hebrew daily Yedioth Ahronoth, on April 22 published a leaked version of a reportedly Israeli NSC-drafted feasibility study on Gaza settlement relocation. The document is less than the title promises; it is not so much a feasibility study as it is a cataloguing of Gaza settlements and settlers. The document includes many tables of information categorizing settlements by type (communal, moshav, agricultural, urban), and offering demographic breakdowns of the settler population, including of secular or religious affiliation. The document offers a preliminary distillation of these figures with a view to determining how best to manage the settlers' absorption into other communities, whether as individuals or collectively. The document has not been finalized; indeed the budget section has been left completely blank. Nonetheless, the Y-Net report indicated that it was being prepared for cabinet consideration on April 25. Embassy has emailed a PDF version of the Hebrew article to NEA/IPA, along with an informal translation provided to the Embassy by an outside party. 2. (SBU) Following is the Table of Contents of the leaked report: Begin Text: 1 Introduction 2. Size of Gaza Region settlement 2.1 Settlements and population 2.2 Agricultural Settlement in the Gaza Region 2.3 Industrial zones in Gaza Strip 3 Assumptions for examining feasibility 3.1 Personal preferences vs. public initiative 3.2 National priority areas 3.3 Adjusting the proposal to the settlers' characteristics 4 Settlement alternatives 4.1 Reinforcing settlements or building new settlements 4.2 The government plan to build new settlements 4.3 The possibilities for absorbing agricultural settlement 4.3.1 Reinforcement and supplementation of agricultural settlements in Shalom Region 4.3.2 Reinforcement and supplementation of agricultural villages in Ramat Hanegev 4.3.3 New agricultural settlement in Shalom Region 4.4 The possibilities of absorbing communal settlements 4.4.1 Nisanit 4.4.2 Neveh Dekalim and other communal settlements 4.5 The stock of plans in the Negev settlement expansions 4.6 Availability of new residential neighborhoods in Negev cities 4.7 Alternatives for industrial zones 5 Availability and timetable 6 An administration for organizing, planning and developing the alternative settlements 7 Cost and budget estimate 8 Government decisions, regulations and law amendments End Text. ********************************************* ******************** 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. ********************************************* ******************** KURTZER |