SETTLEMENT SUBURBIA: BUILDING GOES ON

C O N F I D E N T I A L JERUSALEM 002472

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE. NSC FOR ABRAMS/SINGH

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/03/2017
TAGS: KWBG PBTS PREL PHUM IS
SUBJECT: SETTLEMENT SUBURBIA: BUILDING GOES ON


Classified By: Consul General Jake Walles, per reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) SUMMARY: In suburban settlements between the green
line and the separation barrier, construction continues,
property values are high, and settlers dismiss recent
political developments. POLOFF visited four such settlements
- Barkan, Elkana, Oranit, and Hashmonaim - the week of 26
November, and most settlers said they would move in exchange
for fair market value of their homes, but they doubt the GOI
has the will for such an operation. Some also said they
worry an evacuation will radicalize other settlers. End
Summary

Elkana: Construction ongoing
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2. (C) Barkan, Oranit, and Elkana form the geographical
base of the Ariel finger as it extends 22 km eastward into
the heart of the West Bank. Settlers in this area are mostly
upper middle class, and many work in Tel Aviv and its
suburbs. According to Mel Borenstein, a long-time resident
of Elkana, construction is underway on a 300 unit housing
development approved 7 years ago by the GOI. POLOFF saw an
entire subdivision half completed with numerous crews at work
at Oranit, just inside the separation barrier. Barkan houses
300 families and the Samaria Regional Council Headquarters
and is largely an industrial area with some 120 factories
employing 5,000, including 2,500 Palestinians from Nablus and
surrounding villages.


3. (C) Borenstein told POLOFF that he chose to live 7 km
inside the West Bank to expose the arbitrary nature of the
green line and to foster Israeli safety. "Elkana or any
other West Bank settlement is no less Jewish than towns in
central Israel," he said, and by forcing debate on the border
now, the GOI will radicalize moderate settlers like himself.
He added that forced evacuations from West Bank settlements,
such as happened in Gush Katif, will not be greeted with
"hugs and kisses for the soldiers" carrying out their orders,
and the conditions are not right for peace.


4. (C) All interlocutors report that property values in
settlements West of the barrier are soaring. Kfar Etzion's
regional council chairman said empty plots in the area start
at USD 250,000, and Hashmonaim local council chairman Moti
Rosolio said a plot of land there is USD 300,000. (Note: 50
percent of Hashmonaim residents are new immigrants from the
U.S. working in Tel Aviv or Jerusalem. End Note.) Rosolio
said all of Hashmonaim is "privately owned," so no GOI
permits are needed for construction, and permits are obtained
by the Binyamin regional council to which Hashmonaim belongs.


Oranit: Surprising Politics;
No "hugs and kisses"
--------------


5. (C) Oranit settlement lies between the separation
barrier on its eastern border and the green line on its
western border. Mayor Zvika Mayafit told POLOFF most
residents are wealthy, secular Israeli professionals and
suggested that Oranit was included inside the separation
barrier to capture the tax base of its 1450 families.
According to Mayafit, a Kadima member, these settlers "would
gladly move back to Tel Aviv if given fair market value for
their homes." He noted that Gush Katif evacuees came to
Oranit after their evacuation from Gaza in 2005 but could not
afford the housing.


3. (C) Zvika Mayafit, Oranit's Mayor, told POLOFF that he
would gladly negotiate if there were a Palestinian partner
and that DefMin Barak's settlements coordinator Eitan Broshi
had visited one day earlier bringing assurances that the GOI
is not talking about freezing settlement activity west of the
separation barrier (Note: The majority of settlement growth
is currently occurring west of the separation barrier).


WALLES