PALESTINIANS CRITICIZE GOI PLANNING PROCESS IN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JERUSALEM 001356

SIPDIS

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

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/28/2018
TAGS: PGOV PBTS KWBG IS
SUBJECT: PALESTINIANS CRITICIZE GOI PLANNING PROCESS IN
AREA C VILLAGES

REF: JERUSALEM 1174

Classified By: Consul General Jake Walles for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary. In a series of meetings with PolOffs,
Palestinians and NGO representatives were uniformly critical
of the GOI's planning process for Area C villages. All
contacts criticized the GOI initiative to create master plans
for several villages in Area C as an opaque process that will
stifle growth and not provide for public infrastructure.
Most villages indicated they are not aware of details of the
GOI's plans. The Association for Civil Rights in Israel
(ACRI) is planning legal action on residents' behalf. End
summary.

Village Heads, NGO Planners/Advocates
Criticize GOI's Proposed Plans
--------------


2. (C) In late June and early July, Poloffs met with
representatives of eight villages (Ti'inik, Dhaher al-Abd,
Akkaba, Umm al-Rihan, Bayt Sahur (Jabel Harasa),al-Shaykh
West (al-Shawawra),Jurat al-Sham'a, and Idhna),and NGOs and
international organizations concerned with planning issues in
Area C (Jerusalem Legal Aid Center (JLAC),UN Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA),ACRI, and
Bimkom). These contacts all criticized the GOI Civil
Administration's planning process in Area C. (Note: The GOI
informed the USG and Quartet Envoy Blair earlier this year of
its initiative to introduce master plans for Area C villages.
Following a March 30 trilateral meeting the State Department
spokesman issues a statement that indicated that the GOI had
approved master plans for 25 Palestinian villages in Area C.
End note.) Village representatives noted that they were not
included in the Civil Administration planning process.


Villages Not Involved In, Usually Unaware of
Israel Civil Administration Planning Process
--------------


3. (C) Most of the mayors and village representatives
PolOffs spoke with were unaware that the Civil Administration
was finalizing master plans for their villages. When shown
copies of the proposed master plans, villagers told Poloffs
either that they had never seen the map and were unaware a
master plan was being prepared, or that they had seen the
"new" proposed map years before and rejected it. Specific
complaints included:
-- Several villages complained they did not receive timely
notice of the process. In Umm al-Rihan, the mayor said he
learned second-hand that a public notice was published in
Hebrew in Ha'aretz, not in a place likely to be seen by
residents;
-- Residents of Umm al-Rihan told Poloffs that the map
closely resembled a plan for which they previously received
verbal approval, but with different limits drawn much closer
to existing structures;
-- In Dhaher al-Abd, residents told Poloffs that they were
aware of completed plans dating to 2005, but were uncertain
as to the exact boundaries because they never received an
official map.
-- Residents of Akkaba had a copy of the map, but complained
to Poloffs that 20 of the village's 70 houses were left
outside the plan. (Note: Akkaba is not the same village as
al-Aqabah, which Post has previously reported on in Reftel.
End note.)


Civil Administration Controls Planning Process
-------------- -


4. (C) Bimkom architect Alon Cohen-Lifshitz told POLOFF July
23 that planning for Israeli-controlled parts of the West
Bank is handled by the Civil Administration's Higher Planning
Council at Beit El, which has no Palestinian representation.
Sa'ad Abd al-Haq, a field worker for UN OCHA, told POLOFF
June 27 that Palestinians who appeal to Beit El and submit
their own master plans are subject to "harassment" by the
bureaucracy. He cited a case where an application requiring
20 copies of a map was rejected because the maps were rolled
instead of folded. NGO architects and planners told POLOFF
that they consider the Civil Administration plans sloppy and
technically deficient.


What Happens Next? Heightened Fears of Demolition
-------------- --------------


JERUSALEM 00001356 002 OF 002



5. (C) Most of the village councils told Poloffs that they
are concerned about the fate of structures left outside the
Civil Administration's planning boundaries. Many villages
own structures outside these plans' boundaries with stop work
or demolition orders pending. Cohen-Lifshitz of Bimkom said
"the fact that there is a plan for a village creates a very
good background for them to issue demolition orders for
houses outside the plan." Bimkom is preparing a report on
Area C planning including case studies of several of the 27
villages with GOI-published plans. Both ACRI and Bimkom
indicated they intend to file petitions to the Israeli High
Court of Justice (HCJ) for at least a handful of test cases,
and ACRI will seek a ruling that settlers and Palestinians
must receive equal treatment.

WALLES