FORMER CIVIL ADMINISTRATION HEAD RECOUNTS PRESSURE

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 TEL AVIV 001042

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE; NEA/IPA FOR
GOLDBERGER/SHAMPAINE/ROSENSTOCK/PECCIA; NSC FOR
ABRAMS/SINGH/PASCUAL; JCS FOR GENERAL FRASER

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/30/2017
TAGS: PGOV PREL IS KPAL KWBG
SUBJECT: FORMER CIVIL ADMINISTRATION HEAD RECOUNTS PRESSURE
TO APPROVE E-1

REF: TEL AVIV 01013

Classified By: Ambassador Richard H. Jones for reasons 1.4 (b),(d)


1. (S) Summary: With the ongoing transfer of the West Bank
police headquarters from Ras al-Amud (East Jerusalem) to E-1
(West Bank),there has been much speculation on whether the
headquarters at E-1 was legally established (reftel). On May
13, Brigadier General (ret.) Ilan Paz, head of the West Bank
Civil Administration from 2002-2005, confirmed to econoff
that the police headquarters and accompanying road from Route
1 were legally built in compliance with Israeli law.
According to Paz, although infrastructure construction
commenced illegally at E-1 in mid-2004, plans for this
construction were legally approved after he left the Civil
Administration in July 2005. Paz recounted to econoff being
repeatedly pressured by then Prime Minster Ariel Sharon and
former Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz to approve E-1's
construction from 2004-2005, saying that it was in Israel's
"national security interest" to build up this area. End
summary.


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Pressure to Build, Although Illegal
--------------

2. (S) Although he served as the head of the West Bank
Civil Administration from 2002-2005, Paz told econoff that he
did not have to deal with E-1 for much of his tenure due to
US sensitivities to building at this site. In mid-2004,
however, Paz learned -- by reading a Washington Post article
-- that construction for a police station and an accompanying
road was underway at E-1. After verifying that construction
had illegally commenced based on approvals granted by Ma'ale
Adumim's municipal council, Paz subsequently ordered a halt
to the construction. Despite Ma'ale Adumim municipal
council's approval of E-1 building plans, the municipality
did not obtain permission from the regional planning
commission for Judea and Samaria, an organ of the Civil
Administration. The regional planning commission must approve
a town's planning scheme before building permits are issued
and construction can commence.


3. (S) Although some portions of the road and planned
construction were located on private Palestinian land, Paz
says that then-Prime Minister Sharon and then-Defense
Minister Mofaz (currently Israel's Minister of
Transportation) pressured him to approve construction of the
neighborhood and police station at E-1, saying that it was in
Israel's "national security interest." Paz recounted to
econoff instances when Mofaz publicly chastised him for not
approving the plans and said that for more than a year, he
received letters on a monthly basis from Mofaz asking if he
had approved the construction plans.


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Police Station and Road Subsequently Approved
--------------

4. (S) Paz confirmed to econoff that plans to build the
police station were approved after he left the Civil
Administration in July 2005. The regional planning
commission found that it could approve the halted
construction of the police station and road if it split E-1's
planning scheme into two separate plans, said Paz. Two new
separate plans were subsequently submitted to the Civil
Administration -- one for the neighborhood, and another for
the police station and road. These new submissions enabled
construction to proceed on state land instead of private
Palestinian land. While in 2005 the Civil Administration
approved plans to build the road and the police station, the
plans for the neighborhood were temporarily shelved,
according to Paz. In response to econoff's questions on how
the E-1 police station was financed or the fate of the Ras
al-Amud building, Paz said he did not know who financed
construction of the police station at E-1. He had heard
rumors that settlers were supposed to take over the Ras
al-Amud building once it was vacated, but noted that he did
not have nor has seen any information substantiating these
claims.


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What About the Residential Units?
--------------

5. (S) On May 16, Jerusalem lawyer Danny Seidemann told
econoff that he has not seen any indication that the GOI is

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pushing forward plans to build at E-1, further than the
police station, road, and current infrastructure that has
been built at the site. An approved master plan exists for
construction of the neighborhood and commercial center, but
he does not believe that this construction will be allowed to
go ahead under this current Israeli government. Plans for E-1
include the construction of 3,500 housing units, 10 hotels,
and a commercial center.


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Who is Ilan Paz?
--------------

6. (S) Brigadier General (ret.) Ilan Paz is a retired
high-ranking IDF officer with broad expertise derived from 28
years of varied military service. From 1978 to 1995, he
served in the Naval Commando (Navy Seals),rising to the rank
of Deputy Commander of the IDF branch. Paz then became the
West Bank Territorial Brigades Commander from 1996 to 2002.
From 2002 to 2005, Paz held the position of Head of the Civil
Administration in the West Bank. He is currently a senior
strategic consultant to the Economic Cooperation Foundation
(ECF),as well as several NGOS, think tanks, and academic
institutions.

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