BARRIER CUTS OFF BIDDU AND JABA' FROM JERUSALEM

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JERUSALEM 000815

SIPDIS

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

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/13/2018
TAGS: KWBG PGOV PREL PTER PHUM KPAL IS
SUBJECT: BARRIER CUTS OFF BIDDU AND JABA' FROM JERUSALEM

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


1. (C) Summary. Mayor of Biddu Ismail Qadan told Poloffs
April 30 that the separation barrier cuts off Biddu residents
from 4,000 dunums (1,000 acres) of land and 5,000 olive
trees. He said the GoI recently completed a tunnel that
shortens the drive from Biddu to Ramallah but required the
expropriation of 200 dunums (50 acres) of land. Mayor of
Jaba' Abd al-Karim Bisharat told Poloffs April 30 that the
separation barrier isolates Jaba' from Jerusalem and has
caused unemployment to reach 65 percent. End Summary.

Barrier Cuts Off Biddu Land
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2. (C) Ismail Qadan, Mayor of Biddu (pop: 8,500),told
Poloffs April 30 that the separation barrier cuts off Biddu
residents from 4,000 dunums (1,000 acres) of land and 5,000
olive trees. He said the IDF requires permits for Biddu
residents to cross through four gates in the barrier to
access their land. Qadan commented, however, that all
residents who have applied for permits have been refused.
Local council member Mufida Hamaidan said Biddu residents who
own land inside the barrier and do not have gate permits must
therefore take a long route around the barrier to access
their lands. She said many farmers have stopped harvesting
their crops in recent years, because it is difficult to carry
their produce back to Biddu, and they instead buy vegetables
at the market. Qadan said he has an upcoming meeting with
the Beit El Civil Administration to discuss permits.


3. (C) Qadan said the GoI recently completed a tunnel,
connecting Biddu to Ramallah, that runs below the separation
barrier and 443, an Israeli-only road linking Jerusalem and
Tel Aviv. Qadan said the previously one hour drive to
Ramallah now takes 15 minutes. He said, however, that the
IDF expropriated 200 dunums (50 acres) of Biddu lands to
build the tunnel. (Note: Qadan was elected mayor in 2005 and
heads an eleven-person council with five Fatah members, four
Hamas, and two DFLP. Qadan is Fatah and also heads the
Council for Joint Services for ten villages northwest of
Jerusalem. End Note).

Unemployment Pushes Women into Workforce
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4. (C) Hamaidan said unemployment and domestic violence are
high in Biddu. She urged the local council to build a
women's center to teach embroidery and cooking skills and
said 250 women from Biddu and eight surrounding villages now
use the center. Hamaidan also started a program to prepare
housewives for hih school exams and encourages them to go to
univrsity. She arranged for a female doctor to come tothe
Biddu clinic once a week to see up to 40 femle patients for
5 NIS (1.50 USD) each. She saidBiddu residents receive a
limited amount of wate from Har Adar settlement and from
municipal watr tanks, but the village still faces a water
shorage. Hamaidan said "the council works as a team ad my
male colleagues generally welcome my ideas.

Barrier Isolates Jaba' from Jerusalem
--------------


5. (C) Abd al-Krim Bisharat, Mayor of Jaba' (pop: 4,500),
told Ploffs April 30 that Jaba' land was expropriated fo
construction of the separation barrier in 2004. He said the
barrier has pushed unemployment in aba' to 65 percent.
Council member Lyla Bisharatsaid, "Jaba' is marginalized.
We are so close to Jerusalem, yet feel so far away because of
the wall." Council member Basila Abd al-Latif said the
barrier cut off Jaba' laborers from the Jerusalem job market
and forced women to seek work outside the home. As a result,
Abd al-Latif said the council has provided women with job
training.


6. (C) Bisharat said the municipality is struggling for
money. Its yearly income is generated from residents' fees
for water, electricity, and building licenses and 150,000 NIS
(42,857 USD) from the PA. Bisharat also said Jaba' is in
Area B, but PA security forces cannot access the town because
they must cross through Area C, where the GoI has civil and
security control. Bisharat noted that without a police
force, locals take matters into their own hands. (Note:
Bisharat was elected mayor in 2005 and heads a nine-person
council with seven Fatah members and two PFLP. Bisharat is
Fatah and was "mukhtar" or village leader of Jaba' from
1975-1996 and was appointed mayor from 1996-2005. End Note).

Comment
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7. (C) In these and other meetings, local officials
expressed significant appreciation for USG visits, which are
notable because few USG officials have reached these small
villages in recent years. Many of these meetings were a
working level review of MEPI small grants, but the mayor also
presented village concerns and pressed for increased USG
engagement. One female council member wrote that the
Poloffs' visit "let me gain confidence in front of the other
municipality members ... and I had a feeling of strength that
will push me to serve the people of my country."
WALLES