AL-'AZARIYA: MAYOR ASKS FOR CHANGES IN BARRIER

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JERUSALEM 001859 SIPDIS SIPDIS NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE; NSC FOR ABRAMS/SINGH/WATERS E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/04/2017 TAGS: KWBG PGOV PREL IS PBTS SUBJECT: AL-'AZARIYA: MAYOR ASKS FOR CHANGES IN BARRIER ROUTE REF: JERUSALEM 1840 Classified By: Consul General Jake Walles, Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: In an August 31 meeting, al-'Azariya mayor Issam Farun said he hopes the GoI will re-route the separation barrier near Ma'ale Adumim to avoid cutting off al-'Azariya from its only vacant land. He said an alternate route would simplify barrier construction while retaining residents' access. He expressed concern that the current barrier route's consequences will radicalize residents. End summary. PALESTINIAN TOWN SEEKS TO CHANGE ROUTE OF BARRIER -------------- ¶2. (C) Al-'Azariya mayor Issam Farun told PolOff on August 31 that the separation barrier's planned route threatens to cut off the town from Ras al-'Ayazra -- a vacant hilltop of approximately 1500 dunums of vacant land (approximately 380 acres). Farun requested USG assistance to persuade the GoI to select a route that minimizes the land that will be separated from al-'Azariya by the barrier. (Note: Al-'Azariya is immediately east of Jerusalem and west of Ma'ale Adumim. End note.) Farun noted that al-'Azariya is the biblical town of Bethany (where the New Testament relates that Christ raised Lazarus from the dead),and contains many acres of religious property (including 37 dunums belonging to the Vatican) that the planned barrier will cut off from the town. ¶3. (C) Farun said al-'Azariya is surrounded by the separation barrier on the west (Jerusalem) side and by the town of Abu Dis on the south. The planned barrier route will surround the town to the north and east, boxing in the town and cutting it off from Ras al-'Ayazra, the town's last vacant land. He said the Municipality planned to develop a hospital, school, residences, and public buildings in Ras al-'Ayazara to compensate for loss of access to Jerusalem's hospitals and schools as a result of the barrier. LEGAL EFFORTS TO REROUTE BARRIER -------------- ¶4. (C) Farun told PolOff that he learned in 2005 that the barrier was going to isolate Ras al-'Ayazra from al-'Azariya. He petitioned the Israeli District Liaison Office in Bet El to allow al-'Azariya to develop the land. When the Liaison Office rejected the petition, al-'Azariya went to the Israeli High Court of Justice to change the route of the barrier. The High Court ruled that the Liaison Office must respond to al-'Azariya's development plan. Since December 2005, the Liaison Office has not replied, he said, and construction of the barrier continues pending resolution of the case. Farun said land ownership in Ras al-'Ayazra has been difficult to prove because of lack of records from Ottoman and British mandate times, but recently recovered records should help their case. CONSTRUCTION UNDERWAY ON BARRIER AND PALESTINIAN ROAD -------------- ¶5. (C) PolOff visited the barrier construction site around Ras al-'Ayazra with Farun and observed that land had been leveled around the base of the Ras al-'Ayazra hill for the barrier. Farun said GoI officials told him in July that the barrier will follow the route of the road that Israel is constructing for Palestinian use to bypass Jerusalem. ¶6. (C) PolOff observed that the northern and southern portions of the barrier and road come within 300 meters of connecting to each other on the north side of Ras al-Ayazra. However, rather than connect along the shortest path, the route circles 3 kilometers south around the Ras al-'Ayazra hilltop before connecting. Farun suggested that the shorter, 300 meter route would provide a more simple and direct barrier, and would retain residents' access to the hilltop's vacant land. He commented that the likely reason for the barrier's planned route is to prevent al-'Azariya's growth and force residents to migrate from the area. POSSIBLE BACKLASH OVER BARRIER ROUTE -------------- ¶7. (C) Farun told PolOff that he fears the barrier's consequences will radicalize residents. He said to date no attacks against Israelis have originated from al-'Azariya, JERUSALEM 00001859 002 OF 002 but the barrier's restrictions are taking a toll on the town's inhabitants. Al-'Azariya is home to 20,000 Palestinians who live in crowded conditions on 3000 dunums (about 750 acres) of land, he said, with unemployment jumping from roughly 25 percent to 65 percent since 2004 when the barrier separating al-'Azariya from Jerusalem was constructed. He said traffic congestion has also increased, as the town now has the only road most Palestinians can use to transit between the northern and southern West Bank. WALLES