BEIT SAHOUR HOPING FOR ISRAELI APPROVAL OF

C O N F I D E N T I A L JERUSALEM 001614 SIPDIS NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE. NSC FOR ABRAMS/SINGH/PASCUAL E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/22/2018 TAGS: KWBG PBTS PREL PHUM IS SUBJECT: BEIT SAHOUR HOPING FOR ISRAELI APPROVAL OF CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL; SETTLERS AIMING TO SABOTAGE REF: A. 2007 JERUSALEM 2021 ¶B. JERUSALEM 843 Classified By: Consul General Jake Walles, per reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Poloffs visited the West Bank village of Beit Sahour, where NGO Cure International wants to build a children's hospital on Area C land. According to Beit Sahour Mayor Hani al-Hayek, GOI Civil Administration officials support the project. The proposed hospital site is near the abandoned Shdema IDF base (Oush Grab),and settlers have recently begun weekly demonstrations to prevent permit approval. Mayor al-Hayek asked for USG assistance in urging the GOI to approve the project. END SUMMARY Proposed Hospital in Area C: GOI Approval Required -------------- -------------- ¶2. (C) Beit Sahour Mayor Hani al-Hayek told Poloffs August 21 that he is pressing for GOI approval to construct a children's hospital adjacent to Beit Sahour (east of Bethlehem) at the former site of the Shdema IDF military base (also known as Oush Grab),which was abandoned in 2006. The land is in Area C and requires Civil Administration approval to build. NGO Cure International has funding and plans to build a 40-bed cardiac and orthopedic children's hospital. ¶3. (C) Mayor al-Hayek and project engineer Husam Salsa' told Poloffs that they have regular, "positive" meetings with GOI officials, and that "the Israelis want the project to happen," because having a hospital near Bethlehem would reduce the number of Palestinians seeking medical treatment in Jerusalem. Al-Hayek said he personally met with COGAT Generals Mishlev and Mordechai about the project. Salsa' noted Israeli Health Ministry support for the project. Mayor al-Hayek asked explicitly for USG assistance in urging the GOI to approve the project. Settlers Protest -------------- ¶4. (C) According to al-Hayek, as of two months ago, settlers have been demonstrating "weekly" at the site to protest approval of the hospital project. Local press has reported settler demonstrations for "a Jewish Shdema" at the site. The settlers do not claim a religious or legal right to the site, but argue that the hilltop location poses a security threat to the "Lieberman Road" below, which runs from Har Homa to the settlements of Tekoa and Nokdim (REF A). Gush Etzion regional council chairman Shaul Goldstein told Poloff August 5 that "giving Shdema to the Arabs is stupid -- we need it because of the connection of the road to Har Homa". ¶5. (C) Mayor al-Hayek said the Civil Administration rejected Beit Sahour's initial proposal to build the hospital on the Oush Grab hilltop, where the settlers hold their protests. He said, instead, the municipality and Civil Administration are looking at an alternate site 150 meters southwest and downhill from the abandoned base. Poloffs visited the sites August 21 and confirmed the distance between them, and that the proposed hospital site does not overlook the "Lieberman Road." Beit Sahour: Positive Use of Area C Already -------------- ¶6. (C) The proposed hospital site is 500 meters north of a recreational park built by USAID contractor ARD and inaugurated in February. On August 21, Poloffs toured the park with Mayor al-Hayek, who said it has been "a huge success," with some 1000 Beit Sahour residents visiting nightly during the summer to enjoy picnic areas, barbecue pits, playground, climbing wall, and Astroturf soccer field. The park has generated much-needed revenue for Beit Sahour, the Mayor said. He noted that the park was built in Area C, but permits were not required for the non-permanent structures, such as canopies and lattice structures. WALLES