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."




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