JORDAN VALLEY SETTLER: ANNAPOLIS "IRRELEVANT"

C O N F I D E N T I A L JERUSALEM 002429

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE. NSC FOR ABRAMS/SINGH/WATERS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/23/2017
TAGS: KWBG PBTS PREL PHUM IS
SUBJECT: JORDAN VALLEY SETTLER: ANNAPOLIS "IRRELEVANT"

REF: TEL AVIV 04994

Classified By: Acting Principal Officer Tom Duffy, per reasons 1.4 (b)
and (d)


1. (C) SUMMARY: Jordan Valley Regional Council chairman Dubi
Tal told PolOffs 20 November that economics are the key to
peace, and Israelis and Palestinians are only in the Jordan
Valley "to make money." He did not press his previous claim
(reftel) that GOI control of the Jordan Valley is crucial for
Israeli security, but told PolOffs that peaceful evacuation
of Jordan Valley settlements would be possible in exchange
for real peace. END SUMMARY.

Money making
--------------


2. (C) PolOffs met November 20 with Jordan Valley Regional
Council Chairman Dubi Tal, the charismatic leader of 4,000
agrarian settlers in 21 settlements stretched over 82km along
the Jordan River. These settlers occupy thirty percent of
the West Bank and produce ten percent of Israel's total
agricultural exports (dates, spices, grapes),valued at USD
120 million annually. Tal moved to the area in 1976 with the
offer of a free home from the GOI, but said the GOI no longer
provides such incentives to Jordan Valley settlers.


3. (C) Jordan Valley settlers are religious and secular
and, according to Tal, share a goal of making money. Tal has
previously emphasized to Post his constituency's strategic
importance to Israel's security, but said November 20 that
the Jordan Valley is important strategically, but he "doesn't
personally care" about the land itself and "if we're told to
go, we'll go... we won't resist like Gush Katif." He said he
would consider living as a non-Palestinian in a Palestinian
state, as long as the Jordan Valley remains lucrative. A
successful economy, he said, is the prerequisite for
stability.


4. (C) Tal said as Regional Council Chairman, he issues
building permits for construction in existing settlements,
and the Israeli MOD must issue building permits for any new
settlements. He noted that recently the MOD has been slow to
issue such permits.

Palestinians "pleased"
--------------


5. (C) Tal said Jordan Valley settlers employ up to 7,000
Palestinians during harvests, and he believes these seasonal
laborers want to maintain the status quo, including IDF
checkpoints near Nablus, Jenin, and Tubas, because they are
earning money and do not want an influx of job seekers or
trouble makers. He said local Palestinians are "pleased" that
settlers cultivate the land and many followed the settlers to
the area. He confirmed that there are currently minimal
security problems or IDF presence in the Jordan Valley,
noting that past security incidents were the work of
outsiders, not local Palestinians.

Quiet, not peace
--------------


6. (C) Tal was not panicked or angry unlike many settlers
PolOffs have met just before Annapolis. He was relaxed and
displayed a combination of cynicism and optimism. He said,
"Peace is only an illusion because nobody - neither Israelis
or Palestinians - want it, preferring quiet instead." He
dismissed Annapolis as a distant exercise and said "diplomats
having cocktails in Annapolis" is irrelevant to Jordan Valley
settlers.
DUFFY