E-1 UPDATE FROM MID-JANUARY: POLICE STATION READY

C O N F I D E N T I A L JERUSALEM 000098 SIPDIS SIPDIS NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE. NSC FOR ABRAMS/SINGH/PASCUAL E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/17/2018 TAGS: KWBG PBTS PREL PHUM IS SUBJECT: E-1 UPDATE FROM MID-JANUARY: POLICE STATION READY FOR OCCUPANCY REF: JERUSALEM 00090 Classified By: Consul General Jake Walles, per reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: PolOffs observed January 17 that the final touches are being put on the police station at E-1 and the road leading to it. PolOffs also observed land immediately northwest of the police station continues to be cleared and graded, and a bridge now directly connects Maale Adumim with E-1. Pictures posted at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/jerusalem. END SUMMARY E-1 Compound Ready for Occupancy -------------- ¶2. (C) At the E-1 police station compound January 17, PolOffs observed a small crew of workers finishing construction of the building and for the first time saw a police van in the parking lot. PolOffs did not enter the station itself but observed that construction seems nearly finished. PolOffs observed further development of the road leading to the police station, including landscaping in boulevards and traffic circles, new blacktop paving, guardrails, and pedestrian railing. Newly installed electrical wires run from the direction of Maale Adumim to the police station. ¶3. (C) PolOffs observed a cleared and graded area larger than observed in December (now about the size of a football field) immediately northwest of the police station. Adjacent to this area and immediately north of the police station, PolOffs observed a second - and previously unseen - cleared and graded area that contains a road running behind the police station and extends approximately 200 yards east toward Jericho. E1 and Maale Adumim Connected -------------- ¶4. (C) PolOffs observed that the bridge connecting E-1 to Maale Adumim has been refurbished and roads have been paved connecting the police station to the bridge. PolOffs traversed the bridge (crossing over Route 1 from the E-1 side) and verified that the road leads into the settlement. Comment -------------- ¶5. (C) Comment: Our observation is that the police station is ready for occupancy, and nothing on the ground prevents the planned move from the Ras Al Amud police station to E-1. According to the reported agreement between the Israeli National Police (INP) and the Israeli Bukharan Community Committee of Ras Al Amud's "Maale Zeitim" neighborhood (reftel),the latter will occupy the Ras Al Amud police station once it is vacated. The impending move of the police headquarters to E-1 and the associated hand over of the Ras Al Amud facility to Israeli developers is likely to generate widespread media coverage and a strongly negative reaction among Palestinians, and more widely across the region. End Comment. WALLES