150 FAMILIES TO MOVE INTO NEW GIVAT ZEEV

C O N F I D E N T I A L JERUSALEM 000847 SIPDIS NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE AND IPA; NSC FOR SHAPIRO/KUMAR; JOINT STAFF FOR LTGEN SELVA E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/20/2019 TAGS: PREL PGOV PINR PHUM ASEC IS KWBG KPAL CASC SUBJECT: 150 FAMILIES TO MOVE INTO NEW GIVAT ZEEV NEIGHBORHOOD IN AUGUST REF: 08 JERUSALEM 1539 Classified By: Acting Principal Officer Greg Marchese, per reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Summary. Poloff visited West Bank settlement Givat Zeev and observed more than 300 units nearing completion. According to the settlement's developer, 150 families will move into the new neighborhood, Givat Zeev Illit, in August. The developer said he has sold 800 units, exceeding the number of units in the GOI-approved plan, and claimed hundreds of tenders are "on (Israeli Minister of Defense) Barak's desk," waiting for approval. End summary. 150 Settler Families To Arrive In August -------------- ¶2. (C) Poloff traveled to Givat Zeev settlement on May 20 and met with Hanoch Kas, CEO of Nofei Israel, the developer of Givat Zeev's new neighborhood, Givat Zeev Illit. Kas showed Poloff several of the now mostly-completed 330 units, for which tenders were offered in March 2009 (reftel). Poloff toured several of the units, where heating and plumbing fixtures were being installed. Kas, who lives in Givat Zeev, said 150 families, at least half of them Amcits, will be moving into completed units in August. (Note: Givat Zeev's current population is more than 10,000, including an estimated 1,000 Amcits, and the settlement's website states that its "future population" will be "25,000 plus." End note.) ¶3. (C) Kas said all of these 150 families will consist of permanent residents. He did not permit units to be sold as vacation homes, in the hope that the neighborhood will become "a strong religious community." (Advertisements for the completed project are available on the Consulate General's classified website under the "Political Reporting Attachments" link at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/jerusalem/ind ex.cfm) 800 Units Sold Out of 750 Approved -------------- ¶4. (C) According to NGO Peace Now, the GOI has approved 750 units in Givat Zeev Illit. Kas said he has sold 800 units already, despite lacking approved tenders for most of them. He said more permits are "on (Israeli Minister of Defense) Barak's desk" awaiting approval. (Note: Kas would not confirm how many units are currently awaiting MOD approval. The maximum is 420, the remainder of the approved 750-unit plan. End note.) Kas said 1,500 units total are planned for the neighborhood, as well as a shopping mall and a large park. Head of NGO Peace Now's Settlement Watch Hagit Ofran told Poloff on May 20 that selling units before they are approved is "problematic but not illegal." MARCHESE