CONSTRUCTION PROGRESSES ON ADDITIONAL 330 UNITS IN

C O N F I D E N T I A L JERUSALEM 001539 SIPDIS NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE. NSC FOR ABRAMS/SINGH/PASCUAL E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/19/2018 TAGS: KWBG PBTS PREL PHUM IS CASC SUBJECT: CONSTRUCTION PROGRESSES ON ADDITIONAL 330 UNITS IN GIVAT ZEEV REF: 2006 JERUSALEM 277 Classified By: Consul General Jake Walles, per reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Poloff saw substantial progress on the construction of 330 units in Givat Zeev settlement, north of Jerusalem, that the GOI approved in March. The units appeared approximately 50 percent complete as of August 15. Developer Hanoch Kas said he has sold 550 units (beyond the GOI-authorized number). Kas is also developing the Nof Zion settlement project in East Jerusalem's Jabel Mukaber and said "forty to fifty" of the first 90 units there were sold and will be occupied in two months. END SUMMARY Givat Zeev -------------- ¶2. (C) Poloff traveled to Givat Zeev settlement north of Jerusalem August 15 and met with settlers Rabbi Ari Kahn (professor at Bar Ilan University),Daniel Sharon (CEO of Skype Israel),and Adrian Agassi (IDF appeals court judge for West Bank land issues). The settlers showed Poloff Givat Zeev (pop. 10,000, including an estimated 1,000 Amcits),some of its 13 synagogues, and an expansive new construction site in the Agan Haayalot section, where the GOI approved 330 new units in March. ¶3. (C) After Annapolis, the Ministry of Construction and Housing (MOCH) re-issued building permits for 330 units in Agan Haayalot that were stalled during the second intifada. Hanoch Kas, CEO of Nofei Israel, the site's developer, showed PolOff the construction site. According to Kas, infrastructure for 2,000 units was laid just prior to the outbreak of the second intifada, but development was halted because of security concerns and banks' reluctance to issue loans. ¶4. (C) Kas said his company subsequently lobbied the GOI to reactivate the expired building permits and that, since the building permits were issued in March, he has sold 550 units. (Comment: If these numbers are correct, Kas is building and selling units not yet GOI-approved. Post is aware of 180 more expired permits MOCH seeks to re-approve, but not more. End Comment.) Kas estimated that sixty percent of recent sales are to Amcits moving from Jerusalem. ¶5. (C) Kas said units began selling in March at 200,000 USD and now average 250,000 USD. He said that Givat Zeev has capacity for "at least 6,000 more units" (approximately 24,000 new settlers). He noted that Givat Zeev is attractive to Jerusalemites squeezed out of a difficult housing market, and that most Givat Zeev settlers commute to Jerusalem (15 minutes) or Tel Aviv (35 minutes). Nof Zion -------------- ¶6. (C) Kas' firm is also developing the Nof Zion settlement project in East Jerusalem's Jabel Mukaber neighborhood (reftel). Kas said that he sold "forty to fifty" of Nof Zion's first ninety units, "all to Americans," and that they will be occupied in two months. (NOTE: Marketing for Nof Zion emphasizes its panoramic vistas of Jerusalem's Old City and has targeted Amcits. END NOTE.) WALLES