PALESTINIANS SUE GOI OVER INACTION TO EVACUATE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TEL AVIV 002306 SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE; NEA/IPA FOR GOLDBERGER/HOLSTROM; NSC FOR ABRAMS/PASCUAL; JCS FOR GENERAL SELVA/COL TUGGLE E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/09/2018 TAGS: PGOV PREL IS KPAL KWBG SUBJECT: PALESTINIANS SUE GOI OVER INACTION TO EVACUATE MIGRON REF: JERUSALEM 01846 Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Luis G. Moreno for reasons 1.4 ( b),(d) ¶1. (C) Summary: On October 5, five Palestinian landowners, through the Yesh Din human rights organization, filed a civil suit for NIS 1.5 million against the GOI for damages caused by its failure to evacuate the Migron outpost. According to Yesh Din legal advisor Michael Sfard, not only had the state failed to prevent settlers from illegally taking over the plaintiffs' land; it provided settlers with assistance to establish the outpost. GOI actions thereby violated legal obligations to protect the plaintiffs' private property and resulted in his clients losing revenue from cultivation of this land for the last nine years. Sfard, who is also Peace Now's attorney, told econoff that in cases where an outpost has been illegally established on Palestinian land, the organizations are planning to file both a High Court of Justice (HCJ) petition seeking the state's evacuation of the site and a civil suit for land use compensation. This two-pronged strategy aims to push the GOI to evacuate these sites or face possible monetary consequences if continued inaction persists. The GOI has 30 days to respond to the plaintiffs' claims. End summary. -------------- Palestinians Sue GOI -------------- ¶2. (C) The action filed by Palestinian landowners marks the first civil suit filed against the State of Israel on the grounds that failed to dismantle and remove trespassers from an illegally built outpost located on private Palestinian land. As a result of this inaction, the topography of the land has been changed beyond recognition and the plaintiff's access to the land on which the Migron outpost is located has been made impossible for nine years. According to the suit, "the State of Israel did not lift a finger to prevent the establishment of this outpost other than issuing evacuation orders that were never enforced." The lawsuit charges that the GOI was a partner to illegal settler actions by its funding infrastructure, allowing construction, and dismissing existing demolition orders against structures at Migron. ¶3. (C) The plaintiffs are seeking NIS 1.5 million (USD 427,000) in retroactive damages for nine years of land inaccessibility resulting from the GOI's failure to protect Palestinian private property from settler takeover. Sfard argues that while Palestinians would have used this land -- which sprawls over hundreds of dunams -- for agricultural purposes, settlers illegally established a new community at the site with assistance from the GOI. -------------- A New Strategy For the Palestinians... -------------- ¶4. (C) Sfard, who also serves as Peace Now's attorney, told econoff that in cases where an outpost has been illegally established on Palestinian land, the organizations are planning to file both a High Court of Justice (HCJ) petition seeking the state's evacuation of the site and a civil suit for land use compensation. This two-pronged strategy aims to push the GOI to evacuate these sites or face possible monetary consequences if inaction persists. Sfard told econoff that he felt optimistic about the possible outcome of the civil suit, noting that GOI does not dispute the illegal status of Migron and has acknowledged that the outpost must be dismantled. In addition to continued GOI inaction to dismantle this outpost, he added that GOI assistance in Migron's establishment has already been extensively documented in the 2005 Talia Sasson report. Between 2001-2005, Sasson estimated that the Ministry of Construction and Housing spent NIS 4,325,000 for the establishment of infrastructure and construction of public buildings. -------------- ...And Possibly for the Settlers... -------------- ¶5. (C) In June, several right-wing settler groups (including Youth for the Land of Israel, the Samaria Settlers' Committee, and the Binyamin Settler's Committee) launched a new anti-evacuation campaign, called either "Mutual Responsibility" or "Price Tag" (Ref A). This initiative has been publicized through notices posted on settlement boards and in local newspapers, according to press reports. The new plan aims to turn every evacuation into a day of chaos so that security forces cannot simply complete TEL AVIV 00002306 002 OF 002 an evacuation and leave. Through this campaign, activist committees call for settlers to come to affected outposts to try to hinder evacuation operations. If, however, settlers cannot arrive in time, they are called on to wreak havoc throughout the West Bank. Recommended methods include arson and road-blocking to force troops to abandon the evacuation and deal with the protesters' actions. While this strategy has already been used at least twice in June and July, the real test is expected to come if the government pushes ahead with plans to evacuate Migron. -------------- Update: Peace Now's Petition On Migron -------------- ¶6. (C) Regarding Peace Now's petition to the High Court of Justice on Migron's evacuation, the organization's Settlement Watch Coordinator Hagit Ofran told econoff that the next HCJ hearing will take place on November 5. She hoped that the GOI would identify when and where Migron would be resettled on this date, but voiced skepticism, saying that the GOI has repeatedly requested extensions to provide this information to the Court over the past two years. She opined that if the GOI asked for an extension, the HCJ would likely grant the request because the Court was hesitant to make a "political" vice "judicial" decision by telling the GOI when to evacuate the outpost. In "political" cases such those dealing with outposts or the route of the separation barrier, the Court preferred that the GOI make these decisions on its own or reach a consensus with the affected parties. ¶7. (C) According to press reports, Migron spokesman Gideon Rosenfeld has stated that the Migron families do not plan to leave the outpost and believe that the money invested by the government for the community's infrastructure is proof that the government at one point, planned to formally authorize the outpost. In previous conversations with Oded Herman, Senior Advisor to Pol-Mil Advisor Amos Gilad, Herman acknowledged that if the MOD had to forcibly evacuate Migron, "it will be war." ********************************************* ******************** Visit Embassy Tel Aviv's Classified Website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/telaviv You can also access this site through the State Department's Classified SIPRNET website. ********************************************* ******************** CUNNINGHAM