JERUSALEM MAYOR BRIEFS ON AL-BUSTAN DEVELOPMENT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JERUSALEM 001790

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/06/2019
TAGS: PREL PGOV PBTS KWBG KPAL IS
SUBJECT: JERUSALEM MAYOR BRIEFS ON AL-BUSTAN DEVELOPMENT
PLAN

Classified By: Consul General Daniel H. Rubinstein
for reasons 1.4 (b,d).

This is a joint Consulate General Jerusalem - Embassy Tel
Aviv message.


1. (C) Summary. Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat informed the
Consul General and Ambassador Cunningham on October 7 that
the Municipality intends to roll out a development plan for
the al-Bustan neighborhood of Silwan in East Jerusalem
sometime in early November. The plan calls for the
demolition of nineteen homes in the western half of the
neighborhood in order to build a park, as well as the
development of upscale commercial and residential properties
in the eastern half. Barkat said the intention is that the
current residents in the neighborhood, including those in the
buildings to be demolished, could remain in the eastern half
and have their status legalized. Barkat claimed that
al-Bustan's Arab residents generally approve of the plan.
Separately, a lawyer for the al-Bustan residents told
Consulate staff that residents do not accept the plan in its
current state, but held out hope that a compromise could
eventually be reached. Given the political sensitivity of
any changes to the status quo in East Jerusalem's Palestinian
neighborhoods, anything less than full buy-in by al Bustan's
Palestinian residents and international stakeholders will
likely provoke some international controversy, particularly
with tensions already running high in the city. End Summary.

Mayor Briefs on al Bustan Development Plan
--------------


2. (C) In an October 7 meeting, Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat
briefed Consul General Rubinstein and Ambassador Cunningham
about the Jerusalem Municipality's development plan for the
al-Bustan neighborhood of Silwan in East Jerusalem. (Note:
the proposed development area is referred to in the
Municipality's Hebrew-language planning documents and maps as
"Gan Hamelekh," or Garden of the King. End Note.) The Mayor
presented aerial photographs documenting the neighborhood's
evolution from open space into an Arab residential
neighborhood over the past twenty years. His plan envisions
transforming the western part of al-Bustan into parkland,
which will require the demolition of nineteen homes. In this
area, he said, water from the Pools of Siloam would be used
to re-create waterworks which reportedly existed at the time
of King David. In the eastern part of the neighborhood, the
plan calls for legalization of most existing properties, and
their use as a base for further development. Note: In the
absence of an approved neighborhood development plan, most
homes in al-Bustan were constructed without permits, and
eighty percent of them are subject to demolition orders,
according to Barkat. End Note.


3. (C) Barkat said that he envisioned an area of high-end
residential and commercial buildings, with first-floor
properties catering to tourists, and higher-floor properties
functioning as residences. The plan calls for a change in
zoning restrictions in effect in East Jerusalem to permit the
construction of four-story buildings (al-Bustan is currently
zoned for two stories),allowing an increase in population
density in the eastern half. "We can fit in all the current
residents of the area," Barkat said, "despite the fact that
they built illegally." He noted that the plan also calls for
construction of a community center, kindergarten, and tourist
facilities at the southern tip of the neighborhood.

Barkat: Months of Negotiations with Residents
--------------


4. (C) Barkat said that the Municipality had been
negotiating the plan with al-Bustan's residents "for the past
two to three months" through the offices of Ziad Kawar, a
Jerusalem lawyer involved in advocating against home
demolitions in the area. "In spite of the fact that we don't
need (the residents) permission," Barkat argued, "it is
important for us to work with them." He produced a
memorandum of partnership regarding confidence-building
measures signed by a Municipality official and an al-Bustan
resident (Fakhri Abu Ziad) who the mayor described as a
community leader as evidence of local buy-in. Barkat noted
that al-Bustan residents had not leaked the fact of their
discussions with the media - which Barkat took as signaling
their approval of the plan. He added that new roads and
street lighting had been installed in the area as a gesture
of goodwill towards residents.


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5. (C) Barkat said that he felt it was important to be
transparent with all parties involved, particularly the U.S.
He dismissed the notion that the plan could introduce
demographic changes to the neighborhood, saying, "how is
there a demographic change? Everyone will try to derail this
project, and we know that -- which is why we want to share
this plan with you now. The plan is not new, but now is the
right time." Barkat provided few details about the financing
of the plan, saying that funding for the project would "sort
itself out." He added that he believed there would be
international interest in the project, and that he welcomed
third-party investment. He provided no firm date for the
plan's rollout, noting that he planned to travel to
Washington November 5-6. "If pushed," he said, "we'll do
(the rollout) before the trip. If not, then after."

Questions on Finance, Legal Claims
--------------


6. (C) It remains unclear how land ownership claims in the
neighborhood would be resolved under the terms of the current
plan. "In this area," Barkat said, "no one controls the
land." He noted that current al-Bustan residents would have
an option to buy newly-developed properties in the area, but
did not discuss any planned provisions for financing or
residents' relocation. With regard to prospects for
approval, he said that the plan - which he claimed the PM's
Office is aware of -- will pass through the standard approval
process, and would be presented sequentially to local and
then district-level planning committees. "We will follow the
formal legal process," Barkat said, adding, "the park is not
negotiable, but the individual residences are negotiable."

Al Bustan Residents May Remain Opposed
--------------


7. (C) In a separate, previously scheduled October 7
meeting with Poloff, al-Bustan lawyer Ziad Kawar raised the
municipal plan unprompted, and cast doubt on whether the
Municipality in fact has local residents' support. Kawar
said he had met with the mayor and city planner that same
morning to discuss the al-Bustan plan. Kawar told PolOff
that the plan would require the demolition of approximately
forty homes (nearly double the mayor's estimate). He claimed
to have told the mayor that local residents refuse to accept
the plan in its current state, and that the mayor had
responded that the residents of al-Bustan were not in a
position to negotiate with the Municipality since most of
them live in illegally-built homes. "I believe there is a
possibility of finding a middle ground between the residents
of al-Bustan and the Municipality," Kawar said. "But such a
solution is a long way off."


8. (C) Comment. Given the political sensitivity of any
changes to the status quo in East Jerusalem's Arab
neighborhoods (particularly one immediately adjacent to the
Old City),anything short of full buy-in by al Bustan's Arab
residents and international stakeholders will likely provoke
some international controversy. The timing of the mayor's
initiative is also poor, given recent tensions in the Old
City, the Palestinian leadership's weakened state in the
aftermath of the Goldstone report's deferral, and the
resulting internal and region political firestorm.
RUBINSTEIN