GOI PUBLISHES TENDERS FOR 416 HOUSING UNITS IN HAR

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TEL AVIV 001713

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: 07/09/2018
TAGS: PGOV PREL IS KPAL KWBG
SUBJECT: GOI PUBLISHES TENDERS FOR 416 HOUSING UNITS IN HAR
HOMA AND BETAR ILLIT

REF: A. TEL AVIV 01247

B. TEL AVIV 01095

C. JERUSALEM 02609

D. JERUSALEM 02524

Classified By: Charges d'affaires Luis G. Moreno for reasons 1.4 (b),(
d)


1. (C) Summary: On August 7, Ministry of Construction and
Housing (MOCH) Director General Chaim Fialkoff called econoff
to inform Embassy Tel Aviv that the MOCH had published
tenders to build 416 new housing units in the settlements of
Har Homa and Betar Illit. The MOCH's publication of tenders
for 130 units in Har Homa is a new approval to build new
settler housing. Tenders for the 286 housing units in Betar
Illit, however, are part of -- not an addition to -- the 682
units that Prime Minister Olmert had re-approved for building
in early April 2008, according to Fialkoff. Although GOI
officials, including Prime Minister Olmert, continue to tell
Israeli press, the USG, and other international interlocutors
that Israel's Roadmap commitments to stop settlement
construction do not apply to neighborhoods within Jerusalem
(e.g. Har Homa) or the "settlement blocs," (e.g. Betar Illit)
as defined by Israel, Embassy Tel Aviv views these actions as
inconsistent with Israel's commitments to the USG and counter
to the spirit of the Annapolis process. The Secretary may
want to raise this issue with the GOI on her upcoming visit
to Israel. End summary.


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Tenders Published
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2. (C) Har Homa: The MOCH's publication of tenders for 130
units in the East Jerusalem settlement of Har Homa is a new
approval to build housing in settlements. According to
Fialkoff, the tenders published for 130 new housing units are
part of plans to build 250 housing units in the Har Homa
B/Homat Shmuel neighborhood in East Jerusalem. These 130
units will be built as housing for the elderly.


3. (C) Betar Illit: Construction of 286 housing units in
Betar Illit, located in the Gush Etzion settlement bloc
southwest of Jerusalem, will make up one neighborhood in the
settlement. Unlike the Har Homa tenders, these 286 units are
part of the 682 total housing units in Betar Illit that Prime
Minister Olmert had previously unfrozen in April (REFS A and
B) and are not a newly approved settlement plan. Fialkoff
noted that these units are being built to address a "very
intense demand for housing in the ultra-orthodox community
inside and close to Jerusalem." According to the tender
announcement, these units will be built in five subsites and
complete development of the Betar Illit B2 neighborhood. In
addition to these units, the MOCH also published an
additional tender to build 31 commercial units in the Betar
Illit B1 site. In May, Fialkoff noted to econoff that the
MOCH last issued tenders for construction in Betar Illit
approximately two years ago (REF B).


4. (C) Comment: Although the MOCH has not issued a tender
for construction in Betar Illit since 2006, construction in
this settlement and Har Homa constitute two of the largest
construction projects in the territories. Since 1999, the
GOI has either approved construction, or published and/or
issued tenders for construction for 3,745 housing units in
Betar Illit and 4,437 units in Har Homa.

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It's "Contiguous" and "Inside" Settlement Boundaries
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5. (C) Fialkoff noted that in both Har Homa and Betar
Illit, construction of these units will be "contiguous to an
already existing neighborhood and is located inside the
settlement municipal boundaries." Recent commercial imagery
and visits by Consulate Jerusalem poloffs to Har Homa and
Betar Illit in the December (REFS C and D) indicate that
ongoing and planned construction at these settlements are
outside what the USG would consider to be the current
built-up area. Most construction ongoing in Har Homa and
Betar Illit are located in adjacent areas which are
continuously cleared outward, therefore expanding the
footprint of these settlements.


6. (C) Moreover, if the USG were to accept the GOI
definition of municipal boundaries as settlement perimeters,
Har Homa could potentially expand to three times the size of
its current built-up area. Har Homa could add as much as 600

TEL AVIV 00001713 002 OF 002


additional acres to its current footprint, if existing
settlement plans are realized. Betar Illit could also
potentially expand by 300 additional acres using this
definition of boundaries, according to Peace Now's Hagit
Ofran's GIS calculations.

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Comment
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7. (C) Comment: Although GOI officials, including Prime
Minister Olmert, do not consider construction in Har Homa and
Betar Illit as inconsistent with their interpretation of
Roadmap obligations, Palestinians have publicly voiced their
growing frustration with ongoing settlement activities and
have stated that settlements are obstacles to peace. Despite
our and the international community's objections, the GOI has
approved or published tenders for approximately 3,000 new
housing units in West Bank and East Jerusalem settlements. We
anticipate that the GOI will continue to plan and approve new
housing units in areas they define as Jerusalem or in
"settlement blocs." The Secretary may want to raise this
issue with the GOI on her upcoming visit to Israel. End
comment.

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