LETTER FOR THE SECRETARY FROM EVICTED EAST

UNCLAS JERUSALEM 001397 SENSITIVE SIPDIS NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE AND IPA. NSC FOR SHAPIRO/KUMAR JOINT STAFF FOR LTGEN SELVA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: IS KPAL KWBG PGOV PHUM PREL PTER SUBJECT: LETTER FOR THE SECRETARY FROM EVICTED EAST JERUSALEM FAMILIES REF: JERUSALEM 1344 EVICTED FAMILIES PRESENT LETTER OF APPEAL AT CONSULATE GENERAL -------------- ¶1. (U) Members of the Hanun and Ghawi families, who were evicted from their homes in East Jerusalem's Shaykh Jarrah neighborhood August 2 (ref),arrived at the Consulate General's Post 2 facility August 10 carrying a letter addressed to the Secretary. The letter describes the families' evictions and asks the Secretary to pressure the GoI to restore their ownership of the homes. The letter affirmed the families' commitment to peace. The letter was signed by the Hanun, Ghawi, and al-Kurd families, who have all been evicted from their homes in the past ten months. ¶2. (SBU) Maher Hanun, head of the Hanun household, told PolOff that the families hoped this letter would lead the USG to convince the GoI to restore the families to their homes. Husni Abu Hussayn, a lawyer representing the families, noted that appeals to Israeli courts following the evictions had been overruled. Hanun and Abu Hussayn said that the policy of evictions and home demolitions in East Jerusalem indicates that the GoI is not serious about working toward peace. They said this is leading to a sense of hopelessness among Palestinians that could lead to violence. TEXT OF THE LETTER -------------- ¶3. (U) Following is the unedited text of the letter: HE Hillary Clinton Secretary of State USA Jerusalem 9 August 2009 Dear Mrs. Clinton, We are very grateful to you for the statements you have made and the action you and your representatives have taken since our eviction a week ago. However, a week on, we continue to suffer, particularly the women and children. As a mother and as a woman who comes from a country where family life and family values mean so much, we appeal to you to take steps to have us restored to our homes. The women and children of the Ghawi and Hanoun families are suffering untold hardships because of our sudden and violent eviction. As the Secretary of State with much influence over Israel I appeal to you to put pressure on the Israeli government to reinstate us to our homes. You and President Obama have launched a peace initiative and have appointed Mr. Mitchell to implement this with the parties on the ground. I appeal to all of you to raise our case and relieve our plight. We believe that more evictions are planned and we are convinced that these, together with the past evictions are fatally undermining your peace efforts. The changing of facts on the ground are alienating many Palestinians who are losing faith in the peace process. This situation must be confronted and reversed if your peace efforts are to bring about justice, peace and stability in the Middle East, an objective that Palestinians everywhere remain committed to. Yours sincerely, The Hanoun, Ghawi, and Al Kurd families End text of letter. WALLES