ISRAELI STONE COMPANIES EXPLOIT WEST BANK;

UNCLAS JERUSALEM 000649 SENSITIVE SIPDIS NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE AND IPA; TREASURY FOR AHERN/MOGER; NSC FOR KUMAR; JOINT STAFF FOR LTGEN SELVA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON PREL ETRD KWBG IS PINR SUBJECT: ISRAELI STONE COMPANIES EXPLOIT WEST BANK; PALESTINIAN OPERATORS RESTRICTED ¶1. (SBU) Summary: While Palestinian stone companies are denied access to the majority of the West Bank, Israeli quarrying operations are flourishing there. Israeli NGO Yesh Din has petitioned to halt Israeli mining operations in the West Bank, and an Israeli Supreme Court hearing is scheduled for May 29. The Israeli companies digging in the West Bank have so far refused ConGen requests to visit their sites. End Summary. Israelis Dig Up the West Bank -------------- ¶2. (SBU) A total of ten active (and two inactive) Israeli quarries operate throughout the West Bank ) all in Area C. Palestinian business contacts and representatives of Israeli NGO Yesh Din report that Israeli stone companies have been operating in Area C since the 1980s and that the GOI implemented the "law of absentee property" to legally justify issuance of licenses to these companies. Two of the ten functioning quarries are co-licensed with a nearby settlement. In these cases, quarry revenues are divided between the mining company and the settlement, and revenues are used for roads, schools, and other settlement activities. ¶3. (SBU) Palestinian contacts claim Israeli mining companies looked to increase operations in the West Bank during the 1990s, following implementation of Israeli legislation that discouraged mining within "Green Line Israel" for environmental reasons. According to Yesh Din contacts, the GOI approved a "master plan" to expand an Israeli quarry near Beit Arie settlement (northwest of Ramallah) earlier this month. ¶4. (SBU) Palestinian business contacts report that Israeli mining operations in Area C generate pollution, deprive the Palestinian Authority of revenue, and undermine the viability of West Bank businesses. One contact said, "They are eating our mountains." Another Palestinian stone exporter claimed that 90 percent of the land suitable for mining in the West Bank is in Area C, and therefore off limits to his firm. Israeli NGO: Quarries Illegal Under International Law -------------- -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Yesh Din argues that Israel, by issuing licenses to Israeli companies to mine in the West Bank, is breaching international law by supporting the "exploitation of the natural resources of an occupied territory by an occupying power for economic benefits." Yesh Din cites GOI reporting that roughly 75 percent of the gravel/stone quarried by Israeli companies in the West Bank is transported into Israel, and 20-25 percent of all cement aggregate used within "Green Line" Israel originates in the West Bank. ¶6. (SBU) In March 2009, Yesh Din petitioned the State of Israel to halt Israeli mining operations in the West Bank. A Supreme Court hearing is scheduled for May 29, but Yesh Din representatives are not confident of their chances to win. Contacts at the PLO,s Negotiations Support Unit told EconOffs that they are following the issue closely, but waiting to see how it plays out in the Israeli legal system before considering any action of their own. ¶7. (SBU) Israeli mining companies have so far refused all ConGen requests to visit their facilities in the West Bank. WALLES