PERMITS FOR 24 NEW HOUSING UNITS ON MOUNT OF

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JERUSALEM 000026 SIPDIS NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE AND IPA; NSC FOR SHAPIRO/KUMAR E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/06/2020 TAGS: PGOV PREL KPAL IS SUBJECT: PERMITS FOR 24 NEW HOUSING UNITS ON MOUNT OF OLIVES FUEL CONTROVERSY Classified By: Consul General Daniel Rubinstein for reasons 1.4 (b,d). ¶1. (SBU) Summary: In a January 5 vote, the Jerusalem Municipal Planning Board approved construction permits for 24 apartments in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of at-Tur on the Mount of Olives. NGO sources and press reports suggest the developer of the project is backed by settler organization Elad. Opponents of the project quickly filed an appeal, which they claim will delay final issuance for a few weeks at most. Municipal officials and supporting members on the council defended the vote, while official Palestinian sources publicly criticized it. NGO activists and press reports suggest that other controversial East Jerusalem property issues may be on the horizon, including the possible start of construction at the Shepherd Hotel site, and increased pressure by pro-settlement groups on the Jordanian operators of the Seven Arches Hotel, located atop the Mount of Olives (septel). End Summary. Jerusalem Municipal Board Approves 24 Apartments -------------- --- ¶2. (SBU) On January 5, the Jerusalem Municipal Planning Board approved construction permits for four three-story residential buildings comprising a total of 24 apartments adjacent to the Beit Orot yeshiva (religious seminary) on the Mount of Olives, in East Jerusalem. According to Hebrew-language daily Yedioth Ahronoth, the buildings will be constructed on private land in the Arab neighborhood of at-Tur, which AmCit investor Irving Moskowitz purchased in the 1990s from the Armenian Patriarchate for USD 1.5 million, with the intent of building a "Jewish residential neighborhood" on the site. ¶3. (C) According to Jerusalem Municipality officials, NGO contacts, and local press reports, a "Town Planning (zoning) Scheme" was approved by the municipality in the 1990s, allowing residential construction in the area. Eighteen years passed before construction permits were requested by the current developer of the site, identified by anti-settlement NGO Ir Amim and English-language Israeli daily Haaretz as "Ha-Ma'ayan Tourism Enterprises." Note: Haaretz reported -- and NGO activists noted in conversations with Post -- that Ha-Ma'ayan is backed by the Elad organization, the mission of which Haaretz described as "the advancement of Jewish settlement in East Jerusalem and the Palestinian neighborhoods in the city." End Note. Opponents Achieve a Short Delay... -------------- ¶4. (C) Meir Margalit, a Meretz party-affiliated municipal council member, told Post that his party had appealed the decision, causing issuance of the permits to be delayed for a few weeks at most. Separately, citing municipal council sources, Yedioth Ahronoth reported that the request for construction permits reached the board three months previously, "just prior to Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat's visit to Washington," and that "the Mayor asked the committee to withhold its permission, since issuing the permits would embarrass Barkat in the course of his visit." Meretz Deputy Mayor Yosef Alalo told Haaretz that "at a time when everyone is pressing for a renewal of the talks, and (Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu) too may have new intentions for the negotiations, the addition of 24 housing units could only do harm." ...While Municipality and Likud Council Members Defend Decision -------------- ¶5. (C) Stephan Miller, aide to Mayor Barkat, described the issuance of construction permits as a pro forma step near the end of a long permitting process. He told Post that the same municipal meeting had approved construction permits for 34 Arab-owned residential units and an Arab-owned grocery store. Deputy Mayor Kobi Kahalon told Israeli media that the municipal decision had "nothing to do with political aims." In press statements, Likud party city council member Elisha Peleg put the permits' issuance in a political context, saying, "all Jewish construction in East Jerusalem distances the idea of a possible division of Jerusalem as part of a permanent settlement ... only in this way will be able to keep Jerusalem under Israeli sovereignty." Palestinian Leaders and NGOs Issue Public Criticism -------------- -------------- JERUSALEM 00000026 002 OF 002 ¶6. (SBU) In press statements, Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) Chief Negotiator Saeb Erekat condemned the municipal decision "in the strongest possible terms." Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesman for Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas, stated that, "the decision attests to the Israeli government's lack of seriousness with respect to renewing the negotiations." NGO activists and press reports suggest that other controversial East Jerusalem property issues may be on the horizon, including the possible start of construction at the Shepherd Hotel site, and increased pressure by pro-settlement groups on the Jordanian operators of the Seven Arches Hotel, located atop the Mount of Olives (septel). RUBINSTEIN