E-1 UPDATE: POLICE STATION NEARLY COMPLETE,

C O N F I D E N T I A L JERUSALEM 000542 SIPDIS SIPDIS NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE. NSC FOR ABRAMS/SINGH/PASCUAL E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/22/2017 TAGS: KWBG PGOV PREL PTER PHUM KPAL IS SUBJECT: E-1 UPDATE: POLICE STATION NEARLY COMPLETE, OPENING SCHEDULED FOR MARCH 31 REF: JERUSALEM 00367 Classified By: Consul General Jake Walles, per reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Summary. Press reported on March 27 that the Israeli police station in the E-1 area between Jerusalem and Ma'ale Adumim will open Monday, March 31. During a March 24 visit to E-1, PolOffs observed minimal work on the building and on the road, both of which appear nearly complete. PolOffs observed little change in cleared areas previously noted, but a new area of land is being cleared immediately south of the police station. (Note: Photos are available on the Consulate's classified website at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/jerusalem/ind ex.cfm under the link for Political Reporting Attachments. End note.) End summary. E-1 Police Station Opening March 31 -------------- ¶2. (U) Local press on March 27 quoted the Israeli Public Security Ministry spokesman as saying the E-1 police station will open on Monday, March 31. The new station, located in the area between Jerusalem and Ma'ale Adumim, will replace the one in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Ras al-Amud as the headquarters for the Israeli police in the West Bank. ¶3. (C) At the police station compound on March 24, PolOffs observed that the building appears nearly complete. Workmen were still working on external buildings and the parking lot. PolOffs did not observe the interior of the building. PolOffs saw a small, previously unobserved sewage or water facility south of the police station. Fences and streetlights have been installed along the entire road leading from the highway to the police station. Scenic overlooks along the road are fenced but unpaved. PolOffs observed at least two dirt roads leading to the police station from the hills to the south and east. New Land Being Cleared -------------- ¶4. (C) The large, terraced area northwest of the police station noted in reftel appears largely unchanged since PolOffs' February 27 visit. The dumping area immediately north of the police station noted in reftel has been leveled. Additionally, PolOffs observed a bulldozer clearing a small patch of land on the slope south of the police station. WALLES