MORATORIUM: GOI ADDRESSING EXCEPTIONS, RELIEF

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TEL AVIV 002683

SIPDIS

NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE. NSC FOR SHAPIRO/KUMAR. JOINT STAFF
FOR LTGEN SELVA, JERUSALEM PASS DAVID HALE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/04/2019
TAGS: PREL KWBG IS
SUBJECT: MORATORIUM: GOI ADDRESSING EXCEPTIONS, RELIEF
MEASURES

REF: TEL AVIV 2590

Classified By: DCM Luis G. Moreno for reasons 1.4 b/d


1. (U) Summary/Comment: Nearly two weeks into settlement
construction moratorium enforcement, the GOI is addressing
the difficult issues of exceptions and compensation, while
facing increased opposition from the settler movement. The
MOD has established an exceptions committee to consider
petitions for public and commercial construction that do not
violate the freeze order, and the Knesset's Finance committee
has begun talks on potential relief packages for those losing
money because they are unable to build for the next 10
months. Settler opposition has planned a series of protests
in Jerusalem and continue to slow inspectors' attempts to
tour sites and issue work stoppage orders. PM Netanyahu
maintains that the moratorium will not be rescinded, but in
attempts to defuse some of the opposition, has vowed not to
renew it past the 10 month period and to rectify mistakes
made in the framework and initial implementation of the
freeze order. In addition, the MOD has announced that it will
not evacuate any illegal outposts during the implementation
of the order, due to manpower constraints. (Comment:
Netanyahu's intention not to extend the moratorium and the
MOD's decision to yield on outpost evacuations makes it
increasingly imperative that the MOD rapidly expand its
capacity to enforce the freeze, or risk diminishing its
political and practical impact. End Summary/Comment.)

-------------- --------------
GOI Establishes Exceptions Committee, Mulls Compensation
-------------- --------------


2. (U) On 2 December, MOD Barak established an Exceptions
Committee, as outlined in the official order delivered by the
Civil Administration, that will allow settlers to seek
permission to construct additions or make repairs to their
housing units, as well as to build public or commercial
buildings. The committe will meet daily and will accept
public petitions several times a week. On 8 December, Amir
Heller, assistant to the Director General of the Ministry of
Construction and Housing, told Econoff that the MOCH already
began forwarding all such petitions to the MOD for
consideration by the committee. (Note: A translated copy of
the GOI's official order can be viewed on the Embassy's
classified website at
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/telaviv/ under the link
"Reporting Attachments." End note.)


3. (U) The GOI is also begining to discuss compensation for
private citizens financially harmed by the moratorium.
According to Israeli meda, the moratorium affects
approximately 18,000 housing units, but it is unclear how
many of these properties had begun construction but had not
laid a cement foundation before the order's cut-off date. The
Knesset's Finance Committee met on 7 December to discuss the
matter, though the Ministry of Finance and the Prime
Minister's Office, which are still preparing their proposals,
failed to send representatives. Reports suggest the PMO's
proposal may include, inter alia, education grants and the
reduction of municipal taxes. By all accounts, the MOF and
the Knesset will need at minimum several months to approve a
special budget for compensations, which eventually could
total in the hundreds of millions of shekels range.

--------------
PM Vows No Order Renewal, Considering Easings
--------------


4. (U) PM Netanyahu emphatically pledged at the start of the
weekly Cabinet meeting on 7 December that the moratorium will
not be renewed and that construction will resume upon
completion of the 10-month period. In addition, Netanyahu
admitted to settler leaders that mistakes occurred in the
framework and initial implementation of the moratorium,
telling them that the GOI will fix such errors and is willing
to consider relief measures that do not violate the
government's freeze order. According to Israeli press, one
such "easing" being considered by the GOI would allow local
mayors in the settlements to issue permits to enclose porches
and build storage sheds, instead of forcing settlers to go
through the exceptions committee. The GOI hopes these
measures will quell increasing opposition from settler
groups, and prevent moderate "economic" settlers from joining
the ranks with the vocal and active "ideological" settlers.


TEL AVIV 00002683 002.2 OF 002


--------------
Moratorium at the Expense of Outpost Removal
--------------


5. (U) Less than a week after the start of the moratorium,
the State Attorney, acting on behalf of the MOD, notified the
Israeli High Court that the IDF would suspend the demolition
of illegal structures in West Bank settlements and outposts
because it could not both meet those requirements and enforce
the moratorium with existing resources. Oded Herman of the
MOD's Political-Military Bureau, confirmed this to Econoff on
7 December, explaining that the priority to implement the
moratorium trumped the IDF's responsibilities to demolish
illegal settler houses and evacuate outposts. On 9 December,
settlers established a new outpost called "Etz HaRimon" in
the Binyamin area of the West Bank in protest to the
moratorium, according to settler news organization, Arutz 7.

--------------
NGOs: "What Freeze?"
--------------


6. (U) On 9 December, Hagit Ofran from Peace Now told Econoff
that despite the freeze on new construction, more building
per capita will still occur in West Bank settlements than in
green line Israel during the 10 months that the moratorium is
in effect. According to a Peace Now press release,
approximately 3,500 housing units are eligible for
construction during the freeze, meaning that 1,167 units will
be built per 100,000 Israeli residents in the West Bank. This
contrasts with green line Israel, where 836 units per 100,000
citizens are currently being built. Israeli press report on 8
December, suggests that the foresight of settlers, who
expedited the issuance of municipal building permits and
construction starts during the months preceding the
moratorium, is responsible for the significant descrepancy.
According to one settler leader quoted in the Yediot Ahronoth
report, "we enlisted every last architect and surveyor in
Judea and Samaria...we worked at that pace down to the last
day."



7. (C) Comment: PM Netanyahu's pledge that the moratorium
would not be extended past 10 months and the IDF's admission
that it will yield on outpost evacuations makes it even more
imperative that the MOD rapidly expand its capacity to
enforce the moratorium. If the MOD requires several months or
longer to fully implement enforcement, as suggested by MOD
contacts (reftel),the political and practical impact of the
moratorium will be significantly diminished. Ideological
settlers are likely to be emboldened by the lack of IDF
attention to outposts, and may accelerate establishment of
small "protest outposts."


CUNNINGHAM