NEW OUTPOST NEAR BEIT EL CROSSING

C O N F I D E N T I A L JERUSALEM 001755 SIPDIS SIPDIS NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE. NSC FOR WATERS/ABRAMS/SINGH E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/23/2017 TAGS: KWBG PGOV PREL PTER PHUM KPAL IS SUBJECT: NEW OUTPOST NEAR BEIT EL CROSSING REF: A) TEL AVIV 02508 B) JERUSALEM 1648 C) JERUSALEM 1569 Classified By: Acting Principal Officer Thomas M. Duffy, per reasons 1. 4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY. Settler youth have gathered at encampments in high-profile locations, including Givat Ha'or near Ramallah and Homesh in the Northern West Bank. The encampments involve little construction, but may serve test the depth of Israeli, Palestinian and international opposition to settlement expansion. END SUMMARY. Givat Ha'Or -------------- ¶2. (C) On August 20, PolOff visited Givat Ha'or ("Hill of Light"),a newly established West Bank structure directly opposite Beit El, the diplomatic checkpoint into Ramallah. Youth from the nearby settlement of Beit El have gathered at Givat Ha'or to use the natural hillside spring for ritual Jewish "mikve" baths on the Sabbath. Poloff saw the bath, which is small, brick structure blocked from view by a tarp that stands next to a small piece of aluminum siding at the spring. There are several Israeli flags and newly-planted olive trees in the surrounding area, and a rock line trail has been built from the main road. PolOff saw none of the caravans, tents, security perimeters, or electrical and water hook-ups that typically characterize a new outpost. ¶4. (C) Peace Now Settlement Watch Director Hagit Ofran told PolOff that after an extensive visit to the site, Peace Now believes Bnei Akiva (a well known Israeli religious youth organization) helped to build the baths and plant the olive trees. According to Peace Now, the youth's activities are coordinated with and protected by the IDF at the Beit El checkpoint approximately 35 meters away. (Note and Comment: Post could not determine the precise coordination between the IDF and youth, but the proximity seems to indicate a certain level of coordination, and IDF soldiers at the checkpoint told ConGen security contractors that the youth inform them of their planned Sabbath activities. End note and comment.) ¶5. (C) Rachelle Heller, who was an original settler at Beit El in 1977, told Poloff that Givat Ha'or is Beit El youth enjoying the spring and conducting ritual bath ceremonies and not a new outpost. Yisrael Medad of the nearby Shilo settlement told Poloff that the youth are engaging in a "harmless" Kabbalah ritual and dismissed their activity as "skinny dipping." They indicated that after summer the youth will return to school and abandon their structures Comment -------------- ¶6. (C) Per refs B-C, PolOffs have seen similar youth encampments this summer at Homesh in the Northern West Bank and Lucifer Hill in the South Hebron Hills, and Peace Now reports similar activities at Hashomonaim, Shevut Ami (south of Quedumim),Harchivi (next to the Alon Moreh settlement) and Maon in the Southern Hebron Hills. It is difficult to determine whether the settler youth will abandon these encampments at the end of summer, and quite possibly they do not intend them as proto-outposts. However, the encampments -- especially Givat Ha'or, because of its proximity to the Beit El checkpoint and the daily traffic of international diplomats and NGO's -- may serve to test the tolerance of the IDF, Israeli public opinion, Palestinians and the international community for settlement expansion and activity. END COMMENT. DUFFY