200 PALESTINIAN OLIVE TREES UPROOTED IN

C O N F I D E N T I A L JERUSALEM 001098

SIPDIS

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

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/27/2018
TAGS: KWBG PBTS PREL PHUM IS
SUBJECT: 200 PALESTINIAN OLIVE TREES UPROOTED IN
JERUSALEM-AREA BARRIER CONSTRUCTION

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


1. (C) SUMMARY: On June 23, Israeli contractors guarded by
IDF troops uprooted some 200 olive trees on private land in
Bayt Hanina al-Balad, northwest of Jerusalem, and replanted
them on other Palestinian-owned land, in conjunction with
renewed separation barrier construction. Press reported
scuffles between IDF and villagers as the trees were uprooted
and as work began on the barrier between Ramot and Bayt
Hanina al-Balad. END SUMMARY

200 Olive Trees Uprooted
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2. (C) According to Palestinian press and local contacts,
Israeli contractors with heavy equipment, guarded by IDF
soldiers, uprooted some 200 olive trees in Bayt Hanina
al-Balad, prompting scuffles between villagers and Israeli
security forces. (NOTE: Bayt Hanina al-Balad is adjacent to
the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Bayt Hanina, but is
outside the GOI-defined Jerusalem municipal boundary and
route of the separation barrier. END NOTE). Haya Alayed of
UN OCHA told PolOff June 24 that the 200 trees were replanted
on nearby land belonging to other Palestinians without
consultation with either the owners of the trees or the new
land. Alayed said villagers told her that they did not want
the trees replanted on their land, but could not stop it.
Muhammad Dahleh, a lawyer who represents Bayt Hanina al-Balad
residents, told PolOff June 25 that the 200 olive trees were
very old, "Roman" trees that are virtually impossible to
relocate without killing. He said the replanted trees will
be inside the barrier once it is completed, while the owners
will be outside.

Construction Renewed on NW Jerusalem Barrier
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3. (C) There is renewed barrier construction northeast of
the Israeli neighborhood of Ramot and around Bayt Hanina
al-Balad, with heavy equipment leveling ground and preparing
associated infrastructure for the barrier. According to PA
Jerusalem Affairs Advisor Hatim Abd al-Qadr, recent changes
to the barrier's route will bring seven families inside the
barrier, who he said are rumored to have struck a deal with
local IDF commanders to give them access to both Jerusalem
and the West Bank.
WALLES