HCJ: IDF MUST REROUTE WEST BANK BARRIER SEGMENT

C O N F I D E N T I A L TEL AVIV 002670 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE; NEA/IPA FOR GOLDBERGER/SHAMPAINE/ROSENSTOCK/PECCIA; NSC FOR ABRAMS/SINGH/WATERS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/30/2017 TAGS: IS KPAL KWBG PGOV PREL SUBJECT: HCJ: IDF MUST REROUTE WEST BANK BARRIER SEGMENT REF: A. A. TEL AVIV 00604 ¶B. B. TEL AVIV 02630 Classified By: Ambassador Richard H. Jones for reasons 1.4 (b),(d) ¶1. (U) On September 4, the Israeli High Court of Justice (HCJ) ruled that the IDF must reroute a section of the West Bank separation barrier near the Israeli settlement of Mattityahu East, located in the Modi'in Illit settlement bloc north-west of Jerusalem. The Court ruled that the current route had been designed to allow the construction of two phases of settlement expansion in Mattityahu East, and therefore was not solely planned on the basis of security. The Court also noted that the current barrier near the Palestinian village of Bil'in stretches over topographically unsuitable areas in order to encompass the full area planned for the expansion of Mattityahu East. The Court's ruling was issued in response to a petition filed by Peace Now and Palestinians from Bil'in, which claimed that the barrier's route annexed the village's agricultural land in order to accommodate future expansion of Mattityahu East (ref a). ¶2. (C) Michael Sfard, lawyer for Peace Now and Bil'in Palestinians, happily told econoff that the Court's decision granted "much more than anyone expected." However, he pointed out that the ruling only returned about 1,100 dunams (272 acres),or half of Bil'in's land. (Note: Approximately 300 settler families are currently squatting in 400 apartments that had been constructed on the other half of Bil'in's land (ref b)). Following the Court's decision, the GOI must prepare, within a reasonable time, a proposal for an alternative route which would leave Bil'in's lands east of the barrier. Sfard does not foresee an immediate change in the barrier's route since it will likely take months for the GOI to come up with a new proposal. After a new route is proposed, legal proceedings will follow to either approve or object to the proposed route. Until a new route is completed, however, the GOI must leave the current agricultural access gate to Bil'in's land open daily from 6:00 am to 8:00 pm. ********************************************* ******************** Visit Embassy Tel Aviv's Classified Website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/telaviv You can also access this site through the State Department's Classified SIPRNET website. ********************************************* ******************** JONES