EAST JERUSALEM RESIDENTS BLAME SETTLERS FOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L JERUSALEM 000234 SIPDIS NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE AND IPA. NSC FOR SHAPIRO/PASCUAL E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/22/2024 TAGS: IS KPAL KWBG PGOV PHUM PREF PREL PTER SUBJECT: EAST JERUSALEM RESIDENTS BLAME SETTLERS FOR COLLAPSE OF UNRWA SCHOOL FLOOR REF: A. 08: JERUSALEM 2264 ¶B. 08: JERUSALEM 292 Classified By: Consul General Jake Walles, per reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Summary. On February 1, eight Palestinian girls were injured when the floor of their classroom in an UNRWA school in Silwan collapsed. Residents of the area blamed the collapse on archeological excavations being carried out by the Elad organization. UNRWA is investigating the cause of the collapse. An Elad representative denied that excavations are taking place near the school. End Summary. SCHOOL FLOOR COLLAPSE LIGHTLY INJURES EIGHT GIRLS -------------- -------------- ¶2. (C) Eight fifth-grade Palestinian girls were lightly injured on February 1 when the floor of their classroom in an UNRWA girls school in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan collapsed. According to school director Fathiya Quttana, fourteen girls fell roughly two meters into an unused cellar in the school's foundation. She told PolOff that the floor had not shown signs of stress the day before. All the girls were released from the hospital by the evening of February 1. LOCALS BLAME SETTLERS FOR FLOOR COLLAPSE; UNRWA INVESTIGATING -------------- ¶3. (C) UNRWA Director for West Bank Operations Barbara Shenstone told RefCoord February 2 that the collapse triggered "an explosive response" from the Silwan community as rumors spread that the floor had collapsed due to Israeli excavations in Silwan (ref B). In February 2 conversations with PolOff, residents criticized the settler organization Elad and the neighboring City of David archeological park, which they blamed for general infrastructure problems in their neighborhood. UNRWA Operations Support Officer Solange Fontana told PolOff February 2 that UNRWA is investigating. ¶4. (C) Quttana and Fontana told PolOff that their primary concern is that the school not close. They said they hope to reopen the school quickly if the building is structurally sound. Quttana said the school has generally neutral relations with the neighboring settlers, but that some girls complain of mild harassment on the way to and from school. ELAD SETTLER ASSOCIATION SAYS DIGGING DID NOT UNDERMINE SCHOOL -------------- ¶5. (C) Elad representative Doron Spielman told PolOff February 3 that excavations in the City of David archeological park are not being conducted near the UNRWA school and did not undermine the building. He said that Elad believes UNRWA is strongly biased in favor of the Palestinians and the results of the UNRWA investigation should be viewed in this light. BACKGROUND ON THE SCHOOL -------------- ¶6. (U) UNRWA has rented the Silwan Girls School from the Abdo family since the 1950s. The school has between 170 and 200 UNRWA-registered refugee students from around East Jerusalem, ranging from first to ninth grades. It is located outside the Old City southeast of Dung Gate. The area is directly across the street from the southern face of the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount. The school is surrounded on two sides by settler homes and the City of David archeological park. WALLES