35 STRUCTURES IN THE VILLAGE OF KHIRBET AL-AQABAH

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JERUSALEM 000650

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE AND IPA. NSC FOR ABRAMS/SINGH/PASCUAL

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/11/2018
TAGS: KWBG PGOV PREL PTER PHUM KPAL IS
SUBJECT: 35 STRUCTURES IN THE VILLAGE OF KHIRBET AL-AQABAH
FACE DEMOLITION

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


1. (C) Summary: PolOffs visited the northern Jordan Valley,
Area C village of Khirbet al-Aqabah for which there are
impending demolition orders. Mayor Haj Sami Sadeq said the
village of 300 has repeatedly sought construction permits,
all of which have been denied. He said there are standing
demolition orders against 35 structures, including the
village mosque, health clinic, kindergarten, and a women's
center. According to the orders, construction is not in
accordance with the town plan, which was approved in 1952
under Jordanian authority and not updated since. Khirbet
al-Aqabah's lawyer told PolOff that the High Court of Justice
will hear the case April 17 after unsuccessful attempts to
negotiate with the GOI out of court. The village is rumored
but not yet confirmed to be on the list of 25 Area C town
plans slated for approval announced by the GOI on March 31.
End Summary.


2. (U) Khirbet al-Aqabah (pop: 300) is located in Area C in
the Jordan Valley, southeast of Jenin. It is surrounded on
all sides by an IDF firing zone. From 1967 to 2002, the IDF
used the village and surrounding land for training. The
Israeli High Court of Justice (HCJ) in a 2002 ruling ordered
the IDF to close its training facility at the entrance to
al-Aqabah, and the camp was evacuated in 2003. (Note:
Al-Aqabah village council is made up of six Fatah members,
including one woman, who were appointed in 1998. End Note).

35 Demolition Orders
--------------


3. (C) Haj Sami Sadeq, Mayor of Khirbet al-Aqabah, told
PolOffs April 11 that the Israeli Civil Administration has
issued 35 demolition orders since 2003 against homes and
other structures in his village, including a kindergarten,
mosque, medical clinic, and women's center for being built
without a permit. Post has received copies of the demolition
orders. Sadeq said al-Aqabah residents applied for building
permits through the Civil Administration at a cost of 3000
USD per application, but all applications were denied. He
said the Civil Administration replied that some of the
building plans did not meet criteria specified by the
Jordanian town plan for al-Aqabah, which was approved in

1952. Sadeq also said the Civil Administration refused
residents' applications on the basis that their proposed
plans are located in an IDF firing zone.


4. (C) Sadeq expressed concern about the possible demolition
of the kindergarten and women's center, noting that 130
students from al-Aqabah, Tayasir, and Tubas attend the
kindergarten and 51 women participate in center events
weekly. He said the kindergarten was constructed by the
American NGO "The Rebuilding Alliance," and second floor
rooms were built with Japanese, Belgian, and Norwegian
funding.

Residents Face Unemployment
and No Room for Expansion
--------------


5. (C) Sadeq said village unemployment is high. Al-Aqabah
resident Sufian Hussni Ali Dabiyah told PolOffs April 11 that
before getting married, he had applied to the Civil
Administration for a building permit. When refused, he built
his home anyway and moved in with his new wife. Shortly
after, in May 2007, he received a demolition order. Sadeq
said some 700 al-Aqabah residents have moved to nearby
villages, like Tayasir and Tubas, in search of housing.

High Court to Hear Case
--------------


6. (C) Jerusalem attorney Elia Tusya Cohen told PolOff April
9 that he was hired by The Rebuilding Alliance to petition
the Israeli High Court of Justice (HCJ) on behalf of eight
al-Aqabah families contesting demolition orders for eleven
structures, including eight private homes, a mosque, women's
center, and kindergarten. After the petition was filed, the
HCJ permitted him to negotiate directly with the Israeli
Civil Administration. According to Cohen, the Civil
Administration proposed freezing the demolition orders for
structures built within a limited radius from the center of
al-Aqabah, encompassing the mosque, kindergarten, women's
center, and clinic. Cohen refused, since that would protect
only three of the eleven structures, and a HCJ hearing date
was set for April. Sadeq told PolOffs April 11 that only
twenty percent of al-Aqabah's land falls within the proposed
circle and at least 15 homes are located outside. Cohen told

JERUSALEM 00000650 002 OF 002


PolOff April 9 that al-Aqabah municipality has recently asked
him to take on up to 20 more cases, but the village has no
funds to pay (at some 2000 USD per case),and the current
case is too far along in the process to add in extra cases.

Villagers hoping for international help
--------------


7. (C) Villagers told PolOffs April 11 that the execution
of the demolition orders had been set for April 3, but was
canceled when Cohen obtained a court date for two weeks
later. Villagers said that previously, international
intervention prevented demolitions in the village and pointed
to Khirbet al-Aqabah's receipt of international development
assistance from the UK (clinic),Belgium (kindergarten
rooms),Canada (school roof),Denmark (kindergarten rooms),
Norway (water treatment),Germany (road),Japan (water
tanks),and USAID (cisterns) in addition to private NGO
assistance.
WALLES