JERUSALEM MAYOR PRESENTS NEW TOWN PLAN, FAILS TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JERUSALEM 000783

SIPDIS

NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE AND IPA. NSC FOR SHAPIRO/KUMAR

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/22/2024
TAGS: IS KPAL KWBG PGOV PHUM PREL PTER
SUBJECT: JERUSALEM MAYOR PRESENTS NEW TOWN PLAN, FAILS TO
SATISFY PALESTINIANS

REF: A. TEL AVIV 1033

B. JERUSALEM 736

C. JERUSALEM 337

D. 08 JEUSALEM 2264

Classified By: Consul General Jake Walles, per reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) Summary. Jerusalem Mayor Barkat presented a new
Jerusalem town plan to the District Planning Committee on May

5. The new town plan aims to develop jobs and tourist areas
in Jerusalem, and specifically mentions developing East
Jerusalem and constructing new housing in East Jerusalem.
Municipality employees said the plan could take years to
approve and implement, but that the Mayor is already treating
it as an official policy document. A city council member
said the plan allows for significantly greater construction
in Palestinian areas, but that Palestinians could still have
trouble obtaining permits because their neighborhoods lack
adequate infrastructure to support large buildings, and
because their land is often not registered in the National
Land Registry. The Palestinian Governor of the Jerusalem
District said the plan serves Israeli interests over
Palestinian needs. End Summary.

MAYOR BARKAT PRESENTS REVISED TOWN
PLAN FOR DISTRICT COMMITTEE APPROVAL
--------------


2. (C) Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat presented his final draft
of Jerusalem's new master town plan to the Jerusalem District
Planning Committee -- an Israeli Ministry of Interior body --
May 5. Barkat's office stated that the plan was begun by the
administrations of former mayors Ehud Olmert and Uri
Lupolianski, and that Barkat made changes to the plan to
encourage environmentally friendly construction, affordable
housing for young residents, and an increase in available
high-tech jobs. The plan includes developing East Jerusalem
by allowing construction of up to 13,550 residential units,
presumably for Palestinians, over the next few decades.
Barkat's plan aims to develop certain neighborhoods for
tourism, and designates land for five parks. The plan
promises to conserve historic areas. Barkat's office said
this is the first plan for the city since 1959.

TOWN PLAN REQUIRES PUBLIC REVIEW, BUT
ALREADY OFFICIAL MUNICIPALITY DOCUMENT
--------------


3. (C) Director of the Jerusalem Municipality Building,
Licensing, and Enforcing Department Tzachi Katz told PolOff
May 7 that the District Planning Committee recommended
changes to Barkat's plan. He said that the plan will be
published once those changes are made -- "in a couple of
months" -- and the public will have sixty days to present
objections to the District Planning Committee. Katz said
Mayor Barkat has already published parts of the plan in the
interest of making the process transparent.


4. (C) Jerusalem City Council member for East Jerusalem
Affairs Yakir Segev told PolOff May 7 that the new town plan
allows for more Palestinian residential construction, but
does not specifically address homes that have been built
without permits. He said the new plan might make a higher
number of unpermitted homes eligible to receive retroactive
permits, because the new plan authorizes larger buildings in
Palestinian areas than previously. Segev said that approving
the plan could take years, based on the number of objections
presented to the District Committee, but that the
Municipality will treat the plan as a valid policy document
in the meantime.

PALESTINIANS WILL STILL FACE OBSTACLES
TO CONSTRUCTION IN EAST JERUSALEM
--------------


5. (C) Jerusalem City Council member and founder of the
Israeli Committee Against Home Demolitions (ICAHD) Meir
Margolit told PolOff May 8 that the new town plan is an
improvement, but Palestinians will still face significant
obstacles to construction. On the positive side, he said,
the permitted construction density will increase in most East
Jerusalem neighborhoods. For example, he said, construction
in Beit Hanina was restricted to 75 percent of each plot of
land; under the new plan, that will increase to 240 percent,
allowing Palestinians to build taller buildings that
accommodate more residents. High density is a good thing in
these neighborhoods, Margolit said, because it means fewer
people have to move outside of Jerusalem. Margolit said that
Israeli neighborhoods typically have a higher average

JERUSALEM 00000783 002 OF 002


construction density allowance than Palestinian
neighborhoods, and some neighborhoods in East Jerusalem --
such as Shaykh Jarrah -- appear to have been zoned with
settler plans, rather than Palestinians, in mind.


6. (C) Margolit said two main obstacles will prevent
Palestinians from building, in spite of the new plan. First,
he said, the Municipality will not issue construction permits
until appropriate infrastructure is in place. He said he
doubts the Municipality or the GoI is willing to invest the
millions of shekels necessary to bring most Palestinian
neighborhoods up to par. Second, he said, Palestinians often
have to prove ownership of the land. Most Palestinians have
not registered their land in the National Land Registry,
which the Municipality requires before issuing permits.


7. (C) Margolit shared a copy of the new town plan with
PolOff, pointing out green areas designated as parks and open
space. He said the controversial Silwan neighborhood is
designated as a park. He said that Barkat's plan divides
East Jerusalem into "areas of high national interest" --
including the Old City and Holy Basin -- and "northern and
southern Jerusalem" -- areas where the Municipality does not
plan to invest. Margolit said this might reflect the concern
some Israelis have that the northern and southern areas could
end up as part of a future Palestinian state.

PALESTINIANS BELIEVE PLAN FAVORS ISRAELIS
--------------


8. (C) PA Jerusalem District Governor Adnan Husseini told
PolOff May 11 that the new plan is designed to serve Israeli
interests, and does not consider Palestinian needs. He said
the plan focuses on the Old City and Holy Basin, integrating
the city in a way that will complicate any discussion of a
future Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem. He said the
creation of parks in many cases will require the demolition
of Palestinian homes, particularly in Silwan. He said that,
even if new areas become available for Palestinian
construction, the town plan displaces Palestinians from their
current neighborhoods.

COMMENT
--------------


9. (C) The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs (OCHA) and the Israeli planning NGO Bimkom are
separately working on analyses of the plan; both are due
later this month. An initial review by Post shows an
increase in land available in East Jerusalem for
construction, and an increase in the size of buildings
allowed in most areas. Although some contacts emphasize the
positive aspects of the new plan, Mayor Barkat's own
admission that Palestinians were not part of the planning
process (ref B) ensures that Palestinians will not be
satisfied.
WALLES