UPDATE ON CASES INVOLVING SEPARATION BARRIER IN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TEL AVIV 001336

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/03/2016
TAGS: PREL PGOV KWBG IS ISRAELI PALESTINIAN AFFAIRS SETTLEMENTS
SUBJECT: UPDATE ON CASES INVOLVING SEPARATION BARRIER IN
MA'ALE ADUMIM AND A-RAM


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

This cable has been cleared by Consulate General Jerusalem.


1. (C) Summary: Col. (res.) Shaul Arieli, consultant for
the Economic Cooperation Foundation (ECF),member of the
Council for Peace and Security, and consultant to the High
Court on the separation barrier, told econoff on March 29
that he is proposing changes to the route of the barrier that
could reduce the size of the Ma'ale Adumim bloc by 58
percent. His suggestions leave out the new and old Qedar
settlements in the southern section of the bloc, and Allon,
Almon, Kfar Adumim, and Nofei Prat settlements in the
northern section of the bloc. He has also presented changes
to the High Court to cut off the "finger" of A-Ram. This
would open up the A-Ram and Bir Nabala enclaves, and leave
the Atarot Industrial Area and the Jerusalem airport on the
Palestinian side of the barrier. Arieli is helping the
Association for Civil Rights in Israel prepare an opinion
against the secondary barrier planned for Rt. 317 in the
south Hebron hills. End summary.

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Ma'ale Adumim Bloc
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2. (C) Col. (res.) Shaul Arieli, consultant for the Economic
Cooperation Foundation (ECF) and member of the Council for
Peace and Security, told econoff on March 29 that he
presented his proposal to amend the separation barrier around
Ma'ale Adumim to the High Court on Monday, March 27. (Note:
Arieli is a consultant to the High Court on the route of the
separation barrier, and the Court has taken his advice in the
past, most notably in the Bayt Surik case where the barrier
was torn down and rerouted after hearing his proposals. End
note.) The hearing focused exclusively on the southern
portion of the barrier around Ma'ale Adumim, and Arieli said
that he believes that the High Court can accept his
recommendations. His proposal shortens the barrier from 11
kilometers to 6.5 kilometers, and leaves out almost 9 square
kilometers of land from the southern section of the Ma'ale
Adumim bloc. His recommended route excludes 128 families
from the Jahhalin Bedouin tribe, as well as the "new" and
"old" Qedar settlements. (Note: The "new" Qedar settlement
is the largest, and closest to the bloc. End note.)


3. (C) Arieli commented that Col. Danny Tirza, the barrier's
architect, defended the current route of the barrier in this
section in court by saying that the GOI wants to take in the
Qedar settlements. Arieli said that he argued that new Qedar
is currently connected to Ma'ale Adumim by a settler-only
road, so he suggested that this road be protected with
fencing for settlers from new Qedar to enter the bloc if need
be. He resisted including Qedar in the bloc, however,
because the settlement actually belongs to the Gush Etzion
municipality, not the Ma'ale Adumim municipality. He
mentioned to econoff during the meeting that he knows that
the GOI is trying to change the municipal status of Qedar to
try to annex the land.


4. (C) Arieli did not go into detail on his proposal for the
northern section of the Ma'ale Adumim bloc, but said that he
would be discussing it in court soon. He showed econoff maps
of this proposal, and noted that he is leaving the
settlements of Allon, Almon, Kfar Adumim, and Nofei Prat out
of the Ma'ale Adumim bloc. He explained that if the High
Court accepts his suggestions for the northern and southern
sections of the route of the barrier, the entire Ma'ale
Adumim bloc will be 58 percent smaller than that proposed by
the Ministry of Defense. (Note: Econoff obtained copies of
the maps and will electronically forward them to NEA/IPA and
INR. End note.)

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A-Ram
--------------


5. (C) In discussing the route of the barrier around a-Ram,
north of Jerusalem, Arieli said that Chief Justice Aharon
Barak in early March asked him and Tirza if it would be
possible to cut off the "finger" that surrounds the Atarot
Industrial Area and the airport, and separates A-Ram and Bir
Nabala. Tirza reportedly rejected this idea because the GOI
wants to keep the airport and the industrial zone, but Barak
asked them to study the possibility anyway. Arieli
acknowledged that it would be difficult to cut off the finger
because it is in the municipal boundaries of Jerusalem, and
therefore "in Israel," but he presented his proposal to the
High Court late last month regardless, and showed econoff a
map with his suggestions. (Note: Econoff will
electronically forward this map as well. End note.) Arieli
also provided a written translation of his explanation to the
court in which he makes the following points:

-- a "road defense" segment would need to be added between
the Atarot roadblock and the Qalandiya crossing, most if
which already exists;
-- a checkpoint would need to be added between Beit Hanina
and A-Ram for school children, teachers, service providers,
and others who are residents of the Beit Hanina and Shuafat
neighborhoods located within the Jerusalem boundary;

-- a change in the route of the barrier would facilitate the
removal of the wall between the Qalandiya crossing and Beit
Hanina;

-- the Bir Nabala enclave would be open to the north and the
east;

-- A-Ram would be connected to its environs, and no longer be
in an enclave;

-- the Atarot roadblock could be removed because access would
be controlled through the Qalandiya and Beit Horon crossings
in the east and west, respectively; and

-- the wall around the airport could be removed, restoring
links between Palestinian villages in the area.

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Secondary Barrier on Rt. 317
--------------


6. (C) Arieli informed econoff that he would be attending a
hearing on Monday, April 3, to discuss the secondary barrier
being built along Rt. 317 from Shima to Karmel settlements in
the Hebron hills. He explained that the GOI is arguing that
this barrier serves a security purpose by preventing
potential terrorists from infiltrating Green Line Israel to
commit terror attacks, and then escaping into Yattah village,
south of Hebron. Arieli argued that the security argument is
invalid in this area because the land is too hilly and no one
can easily escape, and jersey barriers could prevent cars
from using roads while still allowing pedestrian traffic and
sheep herders to get through. Moreover, he said that 70
percent of the security problems in this part of the West
Bank relate to settler attacks on Palestinians, not
Palestinian attacks on settlers. (Comment: Embassy cannot
vouch for the figure of 70 percent, but Consulate reporting
over the past years has amply shown that in Hebron, settlers
are the perpetrators of most violent incidents. End
comment.) Arieli reported that he is helping the Association
for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) prepare an opinion on the
barrier, and they will try to show that the GOI is trying to
cut the livelihood of Palestinians who live south of Rt. 317.
He explained that this barrier would prevent sheep herders
who live in the Palestinian villages of al-Tuwani and Khirbat
al-Tuwamin from grazing near Yattah, so they will eventually
abandon their lands and the State can take over them.

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