REGIONAL SETTLER COUNCIL MOVES ON EXPANSION OF

C O N F I D E N T I A L JERUSALEM 000846

SIPDIS

NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE AND IPA; NSC FOR SHAPIRO/KUMAR; JOINT
STAFF FOR LTGEN SELVA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/22/2019
TAGS: PREL PGOV PINR PHUM ASEC IS KWBG KPAL EAGR
SUBJECT: REGIONAL SETTLER COUNCIL MOVES ON EXPANSION OF
MASKIYOT SETTLEMENT

REF: A. TEL AVIV 1109

B. 08 JERUSALEM 1382

Classified By: Acting Principal Officer Greg Marchese, per reasons 1.4
(b) and (d)


1. (C) Summary. The Jordan Valley Regional Council issued
a tender on May 12 for 20 houses in Maskiyot settlement for
settler evacuees from Gaza, and held a tour for contractors
on May 17. The 20 houses will be constructed outside
Maskiyot's built-up area, roughly doubling the settlement's
footprint. The Council Chairman said the timing of the
contractor tour, on the eve of Israeli Prime Minister
Netanyahu's meeting President Obama, was "purely
coincidental." Israeli NGO Peace Now said infrastructure
installation for Maskiyot's expansion could begin within a
few months and claimed that the Israeli Attorney General
advised Peace Now against appealing the plan. End summary.

Maskiyot spokesman: "many more houses" in master plan
-------------- --------------


2. (C) Poloff visited Maskiyot settlement on May 21 to
review the site where the Jordan Valley Regional Council
approved a tender on May 12 for water, sewage, and electrical
infrastructure for 20 houses for settler evacuees from Gaza
(Ref B). The 20 new houses will be constructed beyond
Maskiyot's built-up area and will roughly double the
settlement's current footprint. Maskiyot spokesman Yossi
Chazut showed Poloff the site, which is located on a hilltop
approximately 400 meters southeast of Maskiyot, and said
"many more houses" are included in the settlement's master
plan. Chazut said contractors bidding on the tender toured
Maskiyot on May 17.


3. (C) Chazut pointed out olive groves planted recently by
Maskiyot settlers, and the route of a planned road connecting
Maskiyot to the main highway, Route 578. Chazut said the
settlement is already profiting from olive oil that it sells
in "Green Line" Israel.

Jordan Valley Regional Council Chairman:
"We are Israel's security belt"
--------------


4. (C) Jordan Valley Regional Council Chairman David
Elhayani told Poloff on May 21 that the timing of the tender
and contractors' tour, on the eve of PM Netanyahu's meeting
with President Obama, was "purely coincidental." Elhayani
called the Jordan Valley "Israel's security belt," separating
the Palestinian territories from Jordan, saying "it is in
neither Israel's nor Jordan's security interests for a
Palestinian state to be physically connected to Jordan." He
said populating the Jordan Valley, including Maskiyot, with
settlers investing in agriculture will advance Netanyahu's
"economic peace initiative." Elhayani claimed Jordan Valley
settlers employ thousands of Palestinians, with whom they
have an excellent relationship.

Peace Now: Maskiyot "is a political issue"
--------------


5. (C) Head of NGO Peace Now's Settlement Watch Project
Hagit Ofran told Poloff on May 18 that the tender for
infrastructure on the 20 new houses will close on May 28, and
that installation of water, sewage, and electrical systems
could begin within a few months. She said Israeli Attorney
General Menachem Mazuz advised Peace Now several months ago
that they would not win a legal appeal on the Maskiyot
expansion plan. Peace Now decided not to pursue legal
action. Ofran said Maskiyot expansion "is a political
issue," and urged USG action.

Bio info: Yossi Chazut
--------------


6. (C) Chazut, who appears to be in his mid-30s, described
himself as the informal head of the settlement. He said he
was part of a group of 22 settler families who moved from
Alon Shevut settlement, south of Jerusalem, to Gaza
settlement Shirat Hayam, from which all 22 families were
evacuated in 2005. According to Chazut, the Ministry of
Defense approved the 20 new houses in Maskiyot specifically
for his group of settler evacuees from Gaza.

MARCHESE