VZCZCXRO1620
PP RUEHROV
DE RUEHJM #1097 1801529
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 291529Z JUN 09
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5275
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NSC PRIORITY C O N F I D E N T I A L JERUSALEM 001097 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE AND IPA. NSC FOR SHAPIRO/KUMAR 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/29/2019 
TAGS:              
SUBJECT: ANNOUNCEMENT OF MUNICIPALITY PLAN TO SCALE BACK 
DEMOLITIONS NOT WHAT IT SEEMS 
 
REF: JERUSALEM 783 
 
Classified By: Deputy Principal Officer Greg Marchese, per reasons 1.4 
(b) and (d) 
 
 1. (C) Summary.  Jerusalem Municipality contacts confirmed a 
June 29 Ha'Aretz article, which claimed that the municipality 
is developing a plan to legalize Palestinian homes that do 
not interfere with municipal development, such as the 
construction of roads and schools.  Jerusalem Legal Advisor 
Yossi Havilio questioned the Mayor's authority to 
retroactively legalize Palestinian homes, while Meretz City 
Council members said the plan would not be operable in the 
short term or ease demolitions in the politically sensitive 
Holy Basin.  They also speculated that the announcement was 
timed to relax pressure on the GOI as Defense Minister Barak 
prepares to head to Washington for meetings.   End Summary. 
 
JERUSALEM MUNICIPALITY PLANS 
TO LEGALIZE SOME UN-PERMITTED HOMES 
----------------------------------- 
 
 2. (C) Ha'Aretz reported on June 29 that Jerusalem Mayor Nir 
Barkat plans to freeze the demolition of 70 percent of East 
Jerusalem's approximately 20,000 illegal Palestinian homes. 
The freeze, according to the article, is part of a plan that 
would work with the owners of the other 30 percent of homes 
to negotiate compensation and relocation.  The article quoted 
Yakir Segev, calling him Deputy Mayor for East Jerusalem 
Affairs, as saying that the Municipality does not have the 
means to enforce all existing demolition orders, as each 
demolition requires a lengthy court process and a heavy 
security presence.  The Municipality only has the budget to 
demolish roughly 100 houses a year, the article says. 
 
 3. (C) Segev, a City Council member, confirmed the story to 
PolOff, saying that the Mayor hopes to have the plan's 
details worked out by year-end so he can implement it in 
 2010.  Segev said the Municipality is establishing criteria 
that would allow un-permitted homes to receive retroactive 
permits based on their location and size.  Thus, Segev said, 
moderately-sized homes in residential areas could become 
legal, while homes built on public land or planned roads 
could not.  In cases where the Municipality cannot change the 
building's legal status, Segev said, Mayor Barkat may adopt 
an official policy of "turning a blind eye."  In this case, 
he said, the Municipality would inform home owners that their 
property remains illegal, but does not risk being demolished. 
 Segev said the plan benefits all parties, as taxes collected 
on the "legalized" houses would fund infrastructure 
development in East Jerusalem, while home owners could stop 
paying to fight demolitions in court. 
 
JERUSALEM LEGAL ADVISOR: MAYOR 
LACKS AUTHORITY TO LEGALIZE CONSTRUCTION 
---------------------------------------- 
 
 4. (C) According to Jerusalem attorney Danny Seidemann, the 
Municipality's Legal Advisor, Yossi Havilio, told him that 
Mayor Barkat lacks the authority to legalize un-permitted 
construction.  Havilio also said that the plan could reduce 
demolitions in some Palestinian neighborhoods while 
increasing them in politically sensitive areas like Silwan. 
Havilio said the announcement demonstrates that the 
Municipality is "trying to deflect pressure after the 
(recent) Quartet announcement" calling on Israel to meet its 
Roadmap obligations. 
 
CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS SAY ANNOUNCEMENT TIMED 
FOR BARAK VISIT, HOME DEMOLITIONS STILL A PROBLEM 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
 5. (C) City Council members Pepe Allalo and Meir Margolit, 
both of Meretz, downplayed the Mayor's plan, telling PolOff 
that it is in the conceptual stage and will not be executed 
for months or years.  Margolit and Allalo speculated that the 
Municipality leaked information about the plan in 
anticipation of Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak's visit 
to Washington.  Margolit added that, in a best-case scenario, 
the Municipality only intends to legalize Palestinian homes 
on Jerusalem's periphery -- in areas like Beit Hanina to the 
north and Sur Bahir to the south -- while intensifying 
demolitions in the politically sensitive Holy Basin. 
WALLES