TERMINAL CONSTRUCTION UNDERWAY AT QALANDIYA

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 TEL AVIV 005663

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/14/2015
TAGS: PREL PGOV KWBG IS
SUBJECT: TERMINAL CONSTRUCTION UNDERWAY AT QALANDIYA
CHECKPOINT

Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Gene A. Cretz for reasons 1.4 (b

) and (d)

This is a joint Embassy Tel Aviv/Consulate General Jerusalem
cable


1. (C) Summary: Embassy and Consulate General officers
visited the Qalandiya crossing on August 31 and September 7
to observe the ongoing construction taking place at the
long-existing and always much-contended checkpoint there.
Brigadier General (res.) Baruch Spiegel, Ministry of Defense
advisor, told the officers during the September 7 visit that
the terminal the GOI is building will be the largest of 12-14
facilities planned for crossings in the Jerusalem area. The
current budget is some NIS 40 million, but Spiegel and his
team were uncertain whether that sum included all the
technological equipment that they hope to install to speed
inspections. The facility will include two parking lots for
private and public vehicles, six pedestrian lanes, and four
vehicular lanes covering approximately 70 dunams. Spiegel
said that two or three lanes will be operational in about two
months, at which time the separation barrier that runs along
the northern part of the terminal will be removed. Drivers
of private cars should be able to stay with their vehicles
during inspection, while riders on public transportation will
disembark and use pedestrian terminals. Israeli and
Palestinian contacts have expressed their concern that
Qalandiya terminal, six kilometers past the Green Line, looks
like a permanent border crossing, dividing Jerusalem, as
defined by Israel in 1967, from the West Bank. They also
registered concerns about the checkpoint's impact on local
Palestinian communities. Spiegel acknowledged that the
crossing is neither on the Green Line, nor on the boundaries
of the unilaterally-expanded Jerusalem city limits. The new,
higher-capacity terminal is, he said, a temporary solution to
improve both pedestrian/vehicle movement and security at the
existing, high-volume crossing until final political
decisions are made. Building on the current location, he
said, reflects the availability of the current site, thereby
precluding the need for additional land confiscation,
existing established traffic flows, and the ability, once the
new facility is completed and the nearby separation barrier
is re-routed, to allow unimpeded passage from Ramallah to
al-Ram. End summary.


2. (SBU) After receiving Palestinian reports that vehicular
access had been shut down for at least two days at Qalandiya
checkpoint amid major construction work, ConGen poloff
visited the crossing on August 31. Based on his observation
of apparently significant construction, Emboffs and
ConGenoffs requested a joint briefing by GOI officials.

--------------
GOI Plans
--------------


3. (C) Brigadier General (res.) Baruch Spiegel, Ministry of
Defense (MOD) advisor, and two MOD officials gave Embassy and
ConGen officers a tour of the terminal's construction on
September 7. Spiegel said that the terminal for vehicles and
passengers will be operational in approximately two months,
with the entrances in al-Ram in the south and Kfar Aqab in
the north. He explained that the crossing will have two
parking lots for private and public vehicles, four vehicular
lanes running north-south from the opening in Kfar Aqab to
Jerusalem, and six pedestrian lanes with magnetometers and
explosives "sniffers." The MOD official from the MOD's
Construction Center said that of the four vehicular lanes,
one will be for VIPs and ambulances, and of the six
pedestrian lanes, five will be for entrance into Jerusalem
and the other for exit. If drivers of private cars have all
documents in order and are not considered to require
additional inspection, they can stay with their vehicles,
while passengers on public transportation will disembark and
use the pedestrian terminal. Drivers of private vehicles who
require additional inspection will park their vehicles in a
designated lot and go to an appropriate ministry office to
provide additional documentation or information before being
allowed to cross through the terminal.


4. (C) Spiegel said that there will be representatives from
various government ministries and departments located at
Qalandiya terminal, among these a post office, a District
Coordination Office, and the Ministries of Labor and
Education. He reported that the government offices are
expected to "immediately answer people who have problems,"
and that the new terminal and proximity of ministry offices
should generally reduce congestion of people and traffic,
which he characterized as currently a "mess." Spiegel said
that people needing to visit the government offices but not
to cross into Jerusalem will go through a separate passenger
lane.


5. (C) Spiegel envisioned a fully computerized ID system,
maybe including biometric ID, for pedestrians walking through
the six pedestrian lanes. He contrasted it to the current
manual check-in process through one lane, and said that now
the "standard level is very low." Once the pedestrians pass
through the turnstiles and magnetometers, they will walk to
the southern parking lot, where buses and taxis will be
located. He commented that the issues with the technology to
put in place at the crossing are budgetary and that the GOI
lacks manpower, but he added that at least two or three lanes
will be operational in two months.


6. (C) Spiegel noted that the concrete barrier that runs
along the northern part of the checkpoint will be removed as
construction is completed. In the plans the MOD officials
showed the Embassy/ConGen team, a fence runs, instead,
through the center of the checkpoint, separating the northern
parking lot from the pedestrian lanes. They estimated that
the entire terminal would cover approximately 70 dunams: 50
dunams for the parking lots and 20 dunams for the passenger
lanes and waiting area complex. The MOD officials also
reported that the al-Ram checkpoint will be dismantled when
the Qalandiya terminal is completed, and that Palestinians
will be able to go directly from al-Ramt Rmllahon the
perimeter road that surrounds the compound without going
through the terminal or any further checks. Spiegel said
that the MOD plans to run the barrier through southern
al-Ram, to keep the Rosary Sisters and Coptic schools, Greek
Orthodox and Franciscan housing projects, and World
Bank/IMF/Norwegian Representative Office institutions on the
southern, or Israeli, side of the barrier. (Note: The
barrier will nonetheless impede the heretofore strong social
and economic connections between al-Ram and Bayt
Hanina/Shufat, which would comprise a seamless urban unit of
north Jerusalem were it not for the barrier. End note.)


7. (C) Spiegel said that Qalandiya will be the largest of
12-14 terminals planned for the Jerusalem area. He noted
that thousands of Palestinians currently cross through
Qalandiya each day, from students and workers to medical
patients, and that the GOI is hoping to offer high standards
of technology and management services to improve efficiency
of passage. He continued that, for now, the terminal will be
run by special border units from the Israeli National Police,
but that the GOI will slowly transition to private
inspection/security personnel. According to Spiegel, the
gradual hand-over will take place as the barrier is
constructed, and the construction timeline depends on the
High Court. (Note: The MOD officials during the tour said
they expect the High Court's decision on the barrier's route
in al-Ram and other areas adjacent to the checkpoint in late
October. End note.)

--------------
Is it Permanent?
--------------


8. (C) Israeli and Palestinian contacts have noted to ConGen
poloff that the Qalandiya terminal resembles the permanent
structures for inspection and transfer of people and goods
set up at Baytuniya cargo and Bethlehem checkpoints.
Jerusalem attorney Danny Seidemann, citing sources in the
Jerusalem Municipality and GOI Ministry of Interior, said
that "Qalandiya will shortly have all the trappings of a
border crossing, complete with customs inspection as well as
security and permit screening." (Note: Israel in the past
has used inspections at Qalandiya crossing for customs
enforcement to regulate the movement of items such as
cigarettes and cash. End note.) Fatah's Secretary General
for Jerusalem, Salah Zukaykah, said that Palestinians in East
Jerusalem see the new construction as a sign that GOI-imposed
obstacles between Jerusalem and the West Bank, originally
justified as temporary security measures, are becoming
permanent. Spiegel acknowledged that the crossing is neither
on the Green Line, nor on the boundaries of the
unilaterally-expanded Jerusalem city limits. The new,
higher-capacity terminal, he said, is a temporary solution to
improve both pedestrian/vehicle movement and security at the
existing, high-volume crossing until a final political
decision on borders is made. Building on the current
location, he said, reflects both the availability of the
current site, thereby precluding the need for additional land
confiscation, existing established traffic flows, and the
ability, once the new facility is completed and the nearby
separation barrier is re-routed, to allow unimpeded passage
from Ramallah to al-Ram. Spiegel said that, for now, the
Qalandiya terminal is the best option to increase
Palestinians' freedom of movement while ensuring Israel's
security.

ConGen officers will follow up with further observations on
the ground and discussions with local contacts.

********************************************* ********************
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