SETTLERS CELEBRATE ISRAEL'S - AND THEIR OWN -

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JERUSALEM 000793

SIPDIS

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

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/12/2018
TAGS: KWBG PBTS PREL PHUM IS
SUBJECT: SETTLERS CELEBRATE ISRAEL'S - AND THEIR OWN -
INDEPENDENCE

REF: JERUSALEM 546

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


1. (C) SUMMARY: Settlers demonstrated at three West Bank
locations - Homesh and Sanur, both evacuated in 2005 and
Migron outpost - on May 8, the 60th anniversary of Israeli
independence. Press reported 10,000 demonstrators at Homesh,
150 at Sanur, and 2,000 at Migron. Settlers now maintain a
24 hour presence (without the IDF) at Homesh, to which they
have repeatedly marched over the last year. Their arrival at
Sanur was the first since 2005. At Migron, which the GOI
recognizes as illegal and has pledged to dismantle by August
2008, settlers heckled Yesha Council leaders for negotiating
with the GOI over outpost evacuations. END SUMMARY

Homesh: "Are we annoying you?"
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2. (C) According to press, some 10,000 demonstrators
ascended the hilltop at Homesh on May 8, the 60th anniversary
of Israeli independence. Homesh was evacuated during Gaza
disengagement in 2005 and has become a flash point for
settlers over the last three years. The "Homesh First"
organization regularly leads marches to the hilltop, despite
IDF attempts to restrict the area as a closed military zone.
They had widely publicized the May 8 march. Settlers
typically reach the hilltop on foot, evading IDF obstacles
along the nearby roads. POLOFF verified March 26 that
settlers have established a 24 hour presence without IDF
supervision and re-established a makeshift yeshiva that had
existed there until 2005 (reftel).


3. (C) On May 9, Rabbi Elishama, who led the Yeshiva's
re-establishment, told POLOFF that "thousands" had gathered
at Homesh and that "Homesh belongs to the people of Israel,
not to America and not to the Arabs." Probing USG interest
in Homesh, Elishama asked "Are we annoying you...Is America
getting angry at our presence there?" He insisted, "We are
there all the time."

Retaking Sanur
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4. (C) North of Homesh and south of Jenin, Sanur was also
evacuated in 2005. According to the press, late May 8, some
150 settlers marched to the hilltop at Sanur, and as of
mid-day May 9, they had not been evacuated by the IDF. This
demonstration appears to have been planned quietly and
without coordinating with the IDF.

"Migron will...remain here forever"
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5. (C) Some two thousand demonstrators participated in a
May 8 Yesha Council rally and Independence Day celebration at
Migron to demonstrate solidarity with Migron settlers in the
face of a GOI commitment to evacuate the outpost by August

2008. Press quoted Yesha leader Dani Dayan saying "Migron
will become a permanent settlement and remain here forever."
However, Dayan was heckled by the settlers for negotiating
with the GOI on outpost evacuations, including Migron. The
hecklers were led by former Qedumim mayor and settler
activist Daniella Weiss, according to Yesha Council Director
General Pinchas Wallerstein. Wallerstein told POLOFF May 9
that these demonstrators accused the Yesha Council of not
being "tough enough" and of "giving up." He said, however,
that this group was small and that important settler rabbis
from the ideological settlements of Elon Moreh and Kiryat
Arba had advised Weiss not to make trouble. Weiss, he said,
"is focused on opposing any agreement with the government"
and her efforts with the hilltop youth amount only to
"demonstrations, not real outposts." (Note: Since retiring
last year, Weiss has focused her efforts to assist the
hilltop youth who regularly occupy temporary, symbolic
outposts. End Note).

Comment
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6. (C) The May 8 demonstrations confirmed that the hilltop
youth and their supporters can mobilize large numbers - as at
Homesh - and that they are expanding their geographic reach -
at Sanur. At Migron, they directly confronted the settler
leadership and made clear to the GOI that they will not
voluntarily evacuate Migron. Wallerstein downplays the
dissent in the settler ranks, but Dayan and the Yesha Council
are at a critical juncture in their leadership of the
movement. The mere perception that they are negotiating with

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the GOI over outposts like Migron is controversial within the
settler community. End comment.

WALLES