BEIT EL RECEIVES NEW TRAILER WITH IDF PERMISSION

C O N F I D E N T I A L JERUSALEM 002473 SIPDIS SIPDIS NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE. NSC FOR ABRAMS/SINGH E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/02/2017 TAGS: KWBG PBTS PREL PHUM IS SUBJECT: BEIT EL RECEIVES NEW TRAILER WITH IDF PERMISSION REF: JERUSALEM 01755 Classified By: Consul General Jake Walles, per reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Beit El Settlement Mayor Moshe Rosenbaum told PolOff November 29 that he had received a new trailer with IDF permission. He said Givat Haor, the hillside outpost occupied by Beit El youth and removed in November, was only a ritual bath but he wants it to be reestablished as an extension of Beit El. END SUMMARY Settlers bring in New Caravan; Look to Expand Outposts -------------- ¶2. (C) Mayor Moshe Rosenbaum, a founding resident of the Beit El settlement (since 1977),told PolOff November 29 that he had received November 27 a new and intact trailer (caravan) intended for use as a synagogue. "The Minister of Defense tried to delay it", he said, but the IDF approved it, because it was for religious purposes, not housing. From Beit El's highest point, PolOff observed settlers building another caravan piece by piece (NOTE: In response to IDF's recent refusal to issue permits to transport caravans to West Bank hilltops, settlers are carrying in pieces and assembling them on site. END NOTE). PolOff also observed that most of the 50 caravans at Beit El are in poor condition and occupied by newlyweds. Rosenbaum said Beit El currently has no major construction projects, but "we are building here and there." ¶3. (C) The hillside outpost of Givat Haor is just above the Beit El checkpoint into Ramallah that is used daily by diplomats (reftel). Over the summer, settler youth built a ritual bath there, but they dismantled it in November. Rosenbaum dismissed the outpost as a children's project, but said he hopes it will some day be the next neighborhood of Beit El and that "one day, all of Ramallah will be called South Beit El - without the Arabs." Settlers groups recently announced that they will ascend Givat Haor again during Hanukkah to establish a "new settlement. " PolOff also observed that Beit El provides electricity and administrative services to Givat Assaf outpost, a collection of 20 caravans also visible daily by diplomatic convoys turning off Route 60 onto the Ramallah/Beit El road. (Note: Givat Assaf is believed to be on the GOI list of outposts to be removed. End Note) "Abraham and all his children" -------------- ¶4. (C) Rosenbaum told PolOff "None of this land is illegal...God gave this land to Abraham and all his children" long before there were "Palestinians". Rosenbaum said Israel "cannot afford to give up even one inch." He added that the settlements pose no threat to neighboring Arab villages, noting their minimal security expenses. ¶5. (C) On the day of PolOff's visit, Beit El Rabbi Aharon Trop called on IDF soldiers to refuse orders to evacuate settlements. According to press, he said "This is a moral crime raised on a black flag, and it justifies and even demands order refusal." (Note: Many West Bank settler Rabbis made such calls during the recent evictions of settlers in central Hebron, although settler political leaders have not publicly supported this call. End Note.) WALLES