PUNITIVE HOME DEMOLITION ORDERED BY MOD

C O N F I D E N T I A L JERUSALEM 000716 SIPDIS NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE AND IPA. NSC FOR SHAPIRO/KUMAR. JCS FOR LTGEN SELVA E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/22/2024 TAGS: KWBG PGOV PREL PTER PHUM KPAL IS SUBJECT: PUNITIVE HOME DEMOLITION ORDERED BY MOD REF: A. JERUSALEM 686 ¶B. JERUSALEM 629 Classified By: Consul General Jake Walles, per reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Palestinian press reported April 28 that GoI Minister of Defense Ehud Barak signed a demolition order for the home of Qassem al-Mughrabi, a Palestinian who was shot to death on September 22, 2008, after injuring 16 IDF soldiers and one civilian with his car in downtown Jerusalem. Press reported that the order is effective from April 21-28. As of 1600 local time April 28, no demolition had occurred. The building where al-Mughrabi lived is located in East Jerusalem's Jabal al-Mukabbar neighborhood and contains several apartments. It is unclear what portion of the building the demolition order covers. ¶2. (C) Advisor to PM Fayyad for Jerusalem Affairs Hatem Abdul Qader confirmed that the demolition order had been served and told PolFSN April 28 that the PA intends to support the family's legal attempts to stop the demolition. Abdul Qader said he hoped to at least delay and possibly prevent the demolition. ¶3. (C) COMMENT: The demolition of al-Mughrabi's home, like the Duwayit home demolition on April 7 (ref B),would be inconsistent with the Roadmap, which calls on the GoI to take "no actions undermining trust, including...confiscation and/or demolition of Palestinian homes and property, as a punitive measure or to facilitate Israeli construction." WALLES