IDF DEMOLISHES 18 SITES IN NORTHERN JORDAN VALLEY;

C O N F I D E N T I A L JERUSALEM 000895

SIPDIS

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

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/05/2019
TAGS: PREL PBTS PREF PHUM KWBG KPAL IS
SUBJECT: IDF DEMOLISHES 18 SITES IN NORTHERN JORDAN VALLEY;
190 DISPLACED

Classified By: Deputy Principal Officer Greg Marchese for reasons 1.4 (
b) and (d)


1. (SBU) Summary. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF)
demolished structures at 18 sites in the northern Jordan
Valley on June 4, displacing 190 Palestinians from their
homes in Area C. Tubas Governor Sami Musallam claimed the
demolitions are designed to drive Palestinians from the
Jordan Valley and prejudge the outcome of future final status
negotiations. UN contacts expressed concern that a nearby
site, al-Hadidiya, would be demolished imminently, and
requested USG intervention to prevent further demolitions.
End Summary.

18 Sites Demolished; 190 Displaced
--------------


2. (SBU) On June 4, UN sources and local Palestinians
reported demolitions of Bedouin herding community houses and
structures in the Khirbet Ras al-Ahmar area of the Jordan
Valley, north of Beqa'ot settlement. Dozens of military
vehicles, three Civil Administration vehicles, three
bulldozers, and one crane demolished structures at 18
distinct sites in Area C, according to local residents and
the Governor of Tubas, Sami Musallam, displacing 190 people.


3. (C) Poloff visited the sites several hours after the
demolitions and was told that some families were given no
time to retrieve their belongings. At two sites, residents
said IDF soldiers tipped over water barrels, spilling the
contents on the ground to discourage the residents from
returning. A PA Ministry of Agriculture official estimated
damages at USD 400,000, including a six-month old UN/Japanese
livestock project. The project had received a verbal
approval from Israeli authorities, according to Musallam.


4. (C) An official at the UN Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs said OCHA's chief concern is the nearby
site of al-Hadidiya. Residents in al-Hadidiya received
demolition orders at the same time as Khirbet Ras al-Ahmar,
and IDF contacts told OCHA that both sets of orders had
received the necessary final approvals from IDF Central
Command.

Tubas Governor:
Demolitions Facilitate GOI Negotiating Position
-------------- --


5. (C) Musallam claimed to Poloff that the repetitive
demolitions are linked to a GOI negotiating strategy. "This
is part of the Israeli policy to evict Palestinians from
areas they don't want to negotiate about, namely the Jordan
Valley," Musallam said. "By these measures, they are
preparing to say in future negotiations, 'There are no
Palestinians here, so why do you want it?'," he added.
Musallam said these actions had the potential to push the
disproportionately young, conservative, and undereducated
Bedouin populace towards extremism: "The inability of the PA
to do anything" to counter the Israeli actions "may lead
people to take the law into their own hands, especially
against Israelis," he said.

Comment
--------------


6. (C) Since Defense Minister Ehud Barak's verbal commitment
in March 2008 to former Secretary Rice and PA Prime Minister
Salam Fayyad that the GOI would not demolish homes in Area C,
nearly 400 Palestinians have been displaced and over 160
structures have been demolished in the West Bank, including
the June 4 demolitions, according to Post and UN figures.

WALLES