ROAD CONSTRUCTION AROUND NABLUS-AREA OUTPOST

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JERUSALEM 000627 SENSITIVE SIPDIS NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE AND IPA; NSC FOR SHAPIRO/KUMAR; JOINT STAFF FOR LTG SELVA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PBTS PHUM KWBG KPAL IS SUBJECT: ROAD CONSTRUCTION AROUND NABLUS-AREA OUTPOST REF: GMP20090330738007 ¶1. (SBU) Summary. Palestinians in the Nablus area have raised concerns about construction activity on three roads in the vicinity of Hayoval outpost, between the Palestinian village of Qaryut and Eli settlement. The Israeli High Court of Justice (HCJ) issued an injunction on April 5 against further construction of one road connecting Hayoval outpost to Eli settlement, but Israeli settlement-watchers doubt the settlers will comply with the order. End summary. ¶2. (SBU) Palestinian leaders and villagers in the Nablus area have raised concerns about recent road construction activity in the vicinity of Hayoval outpost, between the Palestinian village of Qaryut and Eli settlement. Poloff met with 'Abd al-Nasser Qaryuti, the mayor of Qaryut (pop. 2,600),south-east of Nablus, and residents, on April 6. Qaryuti said three roads have been constructed in recent months or are currently under construction, near Hayoval, an outpost of Eli settlement. Poloff was able to view and photograph two of the three roads. ¶3. (SBU) One "road" is a single-lane dirt path up a steep hillside that appears to connect Shilo settlement with Hayoval, crossing "Wadi Ali" valley between Qaryut and route ¶60. The mayor said construction on this road began in February and was completed on March 18. Settler contacts in Shilo told Poloff on April 3 that an "optical cable" has also been laid to connect Shilo to Hayoval. (Note: The dirt path appears suitable only for 4WD vehicles. No vehicles were observed during a 15-minute visit to an area near the path. End note.) ¶4. (SBU) A second, wider dirt road was observed connecting Hayoval to Eli Cemetery and route 60. The mayor and local residents of Qaryut noted that this road provides direct access to the main north-south West Bank arterial, while Palestinians are required to detour 22km around an earth mound blocking vehicle access via Wadi Ali. ¶5. (SBU) Poloff was unable to view a third project, which will reportedly involve paving a dirt road connecting the northern edge of Hayoval to Eli settlement, to the west. Qaryuti said it is difficult for Palestinians and NGO workers to monitor progress on the road, which runs along a ridgeline west of the village. Qaryuti said he and the head of Yesh Din, an Israeli NGO, were shot at by private settler security guards on March 17 while attempting to gather information about the progress of road paving. Poloff was confronted in the same area on April 6 by three armed civilian guards from Hayoval while walking towards the road and away from the outpost. Shouting in Arabic from approximately 100m away, one of the security guards ordered Poloff and a group of Palestinian villagers to turn around and return to the village. ¶6. (SBU) Dror Etkes, head of Yesh Din, separately confirmed to Poloff on April 6 that he had been fired upon during a previous visit to Qaryut by settler guards while attempting to view the road paving operations. He said the HCJ had issued an interim injunction on April 5 against further paving activity on the road between Hayoval and Eli, but speculated the settlers are unlikely to comply with the order. Attorney Michael Sfard told Poloff on April 7 that Israeli authorities agree with Yesh Din's claim that the road between Hayoval and Eli is built on privately owned Palestinian land, but have resisted efforts to require the Civil Administration to enforce a stop work order. ¶7. (U) Press reports (reftel) quote area settler leadership saying Hayoval is a "neighborhood" of Eli, not an outpost. Peace Now's public database of outposts, as well as the GOI "Sasson" report, list Hayoval as an outpost illegal under Israeli law, situated 1.25 km east of Eli settlement, with pending demolition orders for most structures. Peace Now notes that the outpost, founded in 1998, previously received 250,000 NIS (60,400 USD) in funding from the Israeli Ministry of Housing and Construction for unspecified infrastructure. Comment -------------- ¶8. (SBU) The road construction underway at Hayoval is seen as deeply provocative by local Palestinians who say it further legitimizes and reinforces an outpost that all parties (except the settlers) agree is illegal by any JERUSALEM 00000627 002 OF 002 standard. WALLES