BARAK APPROVES NEW SETTLEMENT CONSTRUCTION

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TEL AVIV 002555

SIPDIS

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

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/14/2018
TAGS: PGOV PREL IS KPAL KWBG
SUBJECT: BARAK APPROVES NEW SETTLEMENT CONSTRUCTION

Classified By: DCM LUIS G. MORENO FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) and (D)


1. (C) Summary: Minister of Defense (MOD) Barak since April
2008, has approved dozens of construction permits for
residential and municipal projects in the major settlement
blocs and in a number of smaller settlements. This
construction, if completed, will pave the way for continued
population expansion in these areas. Israel in the past has
justified similar construction projects as necessary to meet
the growing demand for housing in the larger settlement
communities, a point that Israeli officials probably will
highlight when justifying this latest round of approvals.
However, some of these construction projects are slated for
smaller settlements independent of the larger blocs and
settlements located to the east of the security barrier.
Construction in these areas seems to contradict Israel's
previous justification for continued settlement construction
and undermine its commitment to the Roadmap. End Summary.

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ADJUSTING FOR POPULATION GROWTH IN THE SETTLEMENT BLOCKS
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2. (C) Barak in recent months has approved permits for
construction projects in a number of the larger settlement
blocs, which many Israeli officials claim will remain part of
Israel following a peace agreement with the Palestinians,
according to an Israeli press report on November 14. Israeli
officials probably will argue that approval of this
construction does not contradict Israel's adherence to the
Roadmap because it is in response to natural population
growth in these areas and falls within the boundaries of
existing master plans. Reports say that Barak signed permits
for the registration and publication of future construction
projects--although the roadmap prohibits advertising
settlement expansion--in Ariel, Modi'in Ilit, Ma'aleh Adumim,
Mevo Horon, Efrat, Neveh Daniel, Oranit, Alon Shvot, Har
Adar, and Givat Ze'ev. This report states that he approved
the marketing of dozens of housing units and plots of land in
Beitar Ilit, Ma'aleh Adumim, Efrat, and Ariel. Barak also
issued permits to construct a commercial center in Efrat and
a cemetery in Ma'aleh Adumim, which do not directly address
the concern of population growth, according to the same press
report, and indicates that Israel is considering retaining
these settlements in the context of a two-state solution.


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CONSTRUCTION OUTSIDE OF THE SETTLEMENT BLOCS
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3. (C) Israeli press also reports that Barak issued permits
for construction in a number of smaller settlements outside
these major settlement blocs, which seems to contradict
Israel's standing commitment not to build in these areas.
According to the press report, Barak authorized the
construction of 60 homes in the settlement of Eshkolot near
Hebron. Although this settlement is situated to the west of
the security barrier, the actual construction site is in an
isolated area several kilometers away from the population
center, which could allow settlement leaders to eventually
expand the municipal boundaries and the overall size of the
settlement. Barak also signed permits for the construction
of houses in Beit El, Kochav Ya'akov, and Talmon, granted
permission to an Israeli water company for construction plans
in Qiryat Arba, and authorized construction of an
"experimental electricity production farm" near Mount Hebron,
according to Israeli press. All of these settlements are
located to the east of the security barrier and are clearly
independent of the major settlement blocs.

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COMMENT
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4. (C) Barak's decision to authorize further construction in
these settlements appears to be in line with his policy of
both compromising with settler leaders and expanding
settlements within the major settlement blocs. He has made
efforts to reign in the expansion of settlements outside of
these blocs, as well as larger outposts, by offering carrots
to settlement leaders in exchange for cooperation, most
recently seen in his attempts to relocate the Migron
settlement closer to the major settlement blocs. However,
his decision to authorize the construction of housing in a
number of settlements to the east of the security barrier
(the furthest, Talmon, is approx. 7 km from the barrier) may
indicate a further concession to settlement leaders, and

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signal his willingness to consider these communities as part
of a larger settlement bloc that Israel would seek to retain
in the framework of a final peace agreement.

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