CONCERNS ABOUT EXPECTED INCREASE IN EAST JERUSALEM

C O N F I D E N T I A L JERUSALEM 002154 SIPDIS SIPDIS NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE. NSC FOR ABRAMS/SINGH/WATERS. E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/05/2017 TAGS: KWBG PGOV PREL PTER PHUM KPAL IS SUBJECT: CONCERNS ABOUT EXPECTED INCREASE IN EAST JERUSALEM HOME DEMOLITIONS REF: JERUSALEM 01717 Classified By: Consul General Jake Walles, per reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Summary. Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD) Coordinator Meir Margalit told PolOff October 5 that according to Jerusalem Municipality sources the Municipality intends to use its remaining home demolition budget in the coming months. He said his organization received a number of calls recently from East Jerusalem residents reporting new demolition orders. Mordechay Levy of the Jerusalem Municipality told PolOff October 11 that the Municipality does not have a set number of homes to demolish by the end of the year. End Summary. POSSIBLE INCREASE IN HOME DEMOLITIONS -------------- ¶2. (C) Coordinator of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD) Meir Margalit told PolOff October 5 that Jerusalem Municipality sources told him to expect roughly 40 home demolitions in the next two months or so. He said the Municipality's annual budget allows for around 100 home demolitions, and there were approximately 60 demolitions January-September 2007. Margalit said ICAHD has received several recent phone calls from East Jerusalem residents who received home demolition notices. ¶3. (C) Mordechay Levy, Advisor to Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupolianski, told PolOff October 11 that the Municipality does not have a set number of demolitions to complete this year. He said that the Municipality so far has demolished 59 homes in East Jerusalem in 2007, and 20 homes in West Jerusalem. Levy added that demolitions in West Jerusalem never receive the same attention as East Jerusalem demolitions and complained that local NGOs turn a socio-economic issue; i.e., a home-owner's inability to afford a permit, into a political issue. (Note: West Jerusalem demolitions are usually of unpermitted additions or renovations to homes. End Note.) LEGAL ACTION AGAINST ICAHD -------------- ¶4. (C) Separately, Margalit added that the Legal Advisor to the Mayor of Jerusalem (please protect) warned him that the Municipality intends to take Margalit and ICAHD Coordinator Jeff Halper to court on charges that they helped reconstruct previously demolished homes (Reftel, para 6). Margalit told PolOff that a Municipality inspector secretly recorded a conversation in which Margalit admitted to aiding the reconstruction. Margalit said he welcomes the publicity for home demolitions the case will provide. WALLES