NEW EAST JERUSALEM EVICTION, HOME DEMOLITION

C O N F I D E N T I A L JERUSALEM 001992

SIPDIS

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

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/31/2018
TAGS: KWBG PGOV PREL PHUM IS
SUBJECT: NEW EAST JERUSALEM EVICTION, HOME DEMOLITION
EXPECTED

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


1. (C) Summary. The UN Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the Israeli Committee Against
Home Demolitions (ICAHD) confirmed press reports that the
Jerusalem Municipality intends to evict two Palestinian
families from their homes in Bayt Hanina and possibly
demolish the building. ICAHD said they do not expect the
Municipality to conduct demolitions before November 11
mayoral elections. The Jerusalem Municipality told POLOFF
they have no demolitions scheduled the week of November 2,
but did not comment on the possible eviction. End Summary.

ICAHD: MUNICIPALITY TO DEMOLISH
DISPUTED BAYT HANINA BUILDING
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2. (C) UN OCHA representative James Weatherill confirmed to
PolOff October 31 a story in the Palestinian press that
Israeli authorities intend to evict two Palestinian families
from a duplex in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Bayt
Hanina and demolish the building. According to press
reports, the property will come under the control of the
Israel Lands Authority (ILA),which claims the land has been
under ILA control since 1967, because it was Jordanian
state-owned before then.


3. (C) Weatherill said that the Jerusalem Municipal Court
ruled in November 2007 that the two families did not have the
right to reside in the building. The families' lawyer
managed to suspend the eviction, but the court ruled in late
September that the families have until November 6 to vacate
the property. Weatherill said ownership of the land is
unclear. He said the two families living in the duplex --
the Musalamanis and the Jamjums -- pay rent to the Jerusalem
Islamic Waqf, which controls many formerly-Jordanian East
Jerusalem properties. Weatherill said the Waqf has refused
to defend its ownership of the land in Israeli courts.

ICAHD EXPECTS WAVE OF DEMOLITIONS
AFTER MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS
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4. (C) Coordinator for the Israeli Committee Against Home
Demolitions (ICAHD) Meir Margalit told POLOFF October 31 that
ICAHD worked to preserve the Musalamani and Jamjum families'
residences in Israeli courts, but failed. He said the
Municipality is unlikely to conduct demolitions before the
November 11 mayoral elections, but will probably demolish at
least 20 homes before the end of 2008, to exhaust its
remaining demolition budget. He said several East Jerusalem
homes are under threat of "imminent demolition," including a
complex in the Abu Tor neighborhood that houses 30
Palestinian families.


5. (C) Naftali Levi, Assistant to the Jerusalem Municipality
Head of the Department of Licensing and Planning, told POLOFF
November 2 that the Municipality has no scheduled demolitions
the week of November 2, but he did not comment on the
possible eviction of the two families.

BACKGROUND ON THE BUILDING
--------------


6. (U) The Bayt Hanina home was built in 1954 on Jordanian
state land, but was generally vacant for 30 years following
the 1967 war. The Waqf renovated the building in 1995 and
the Musalamanis and Jamjums began renting the building from
the Waqf in 1997. It currently houses 22 family members.
The building sits in East Jerusalem between the Palestinian
neighborhood of Bayt Hanina, the Israeli neighborhood of Neve
Ya'acov, and an Israeli military installation.

WALLES