LARGE SETTLEMENT PROPOSAL IN EAST JERUSALEM FACES

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JERUSALEM 001756 SIPDIS NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE AND IPA. NSC FOR SHAPIRO/KUMAR E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/22/2024 TAGS: PGOV PBTS KWBG KPAL IS SUBJECT: LARGE SETTLEMENT PROPOSAL IN EAST JERUSALEM FACES UNCERTAIN FUTURE REF: JERUSALEM 303 Classified By: CG Daniel Rubinstein for reason 1.4 (d). ¶1. (C) Summary. Israeli developers are resubmitting for GOI review a proposed settlement project in al-Walajah (southwest Jerusalem). If approved and completed, the Givat Ya'el neighborhood would become the largest settlement undertaking in East Jerusalem in the past decade. Jerusalem Municipality sources say they oppose the plan because it calls for illegal construction on land zoned as "green space." One Post contact speculated that settlers might attempt to circumvent the municipal planning process, with encouragement from the Ministry of Interior (MOI). However, another contact discounted the likelihood of this scenario's success, since the planned development extends beyond the municipal boundary into the West Bank and would require Defense Ministry approval as well. End Summary. BACKGROUND ON THE GIVAT YA'EL PROPOSAL -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Israeli press reported on September 25 and 30 that a proposal to build 14,000 new housing units in al-Walajah will soon be brought before the MOI's District Planning Committee, as well as various municipal bodies, for approval. The planned neighborhood, named Givat Ya'el, would be located on Palestinian-owned land located between the settlement of Gilo and the Gush Etzion settlement bloc, straddling the Jerusalem municipal boundary. These reports indicate that the project would be the largest settlement in East Jerusalem since Har Homa, with a footprint of 740 acres and housing sufficient to accommodate 40,000 residents. The investment group sponsoring the project, also named Givat Ya'el, is headed by Meir Davidson, who was previously affiliated with the settler organization Ateret Cohanim. Previous Palestinian efforts to pursue housing development projects in this area have failed, most recently in February of this year. JERUSALEM MUNICIPALITY CONDEMNS GIVAT YA'EL PLAN -------------- --- ¶3. (C) In response to these press reports, the Jerusalem Municipality issued a statement on September 30 discrediting the proposal, noting, "the Jerusalem Municipality does not advance the (Givat Ya'el) plan because it contradicts the Jerusalem area plan and the district area plan that was deposited for review in 2008." Stephan Miller, an aide to Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat, told PolOff on October 1 that the plan is unfeasible and its construction would be "illegal" because the housing project would be built on land currently zoned as green space. "There is nothing to this," Miller claimed. LOOPHOLE EXISTS, BUT UNLIKELY SETTLERS CAN EXPLOIT IT -------------- -------------- ¶4. (C) Nonetheless, Jerusalem City Council member Meir Margalit told PolOff on October 1 that the Ministry of Interior (MOI) encouraged Givat Ya'el to resubmit its plan and suggested that the MOI's Regional Committee would approve it. Ordinarily, East Jerusalem construction on public land is approved through a five-step process which can take several years to complete. Building plans require approval by both a local and regional committee, a 60-day public review period and final board approval, publishing and awarding of tenders, and finally issuance of construction permits. Margalit pointed out that a loophole exists in the land development process which could allow Givat Ya'el to bypass the Jerusalem Municipality permitting process entirely. Margalit said that the settlers may attempt to circumvent the municipality by exploiting a provision ("Amendment 43") issued by Ariel Sharon during his tenure as Minister of Housing, which was originally intended to facilitate rapid development of residential property to accommodate the influx of Russian immigrants in the 1990s. ¶5. (C) Separately, Jerusalem-based lawyer Daniel Seidemann told PolOff on October 1 the likelihood that the Givat Ya'el project would succeed is extremely small. He discounted the possibility that settlers would succeed in exploiting the Amendment 43 loophole because the Givat Ya'el project extends beyond the municipal boundary into the West Bank and would therefore require Ministry of Defense approval as well. Seidemann suggested the project was being resurfaced by Ateret Cohanim to bolster settler land claims in East Jerusalem. The project, he said, is still dangerous in the long run because it underscores settler ambitions to develop JERUSALEM 00001756 002 OF 002 the corridor between Gilo and the Gush Etzion bloc. RUBINSTEIN