C O N F I D E N T I A L   UNESCOPARI   03040319 
VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHFR #0319 0631709
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 041709Z MAR 09
FM UNESCO PARIS FR
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC
INFO RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV
RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L PARIS FR 000319 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958:  DECL: 3/04/2018 
TAGS: PREL UNESCO KWBG JO IS
SUBJECT: JERUSALEM TAKES DECISION ON MUGHRABI GATE 
 
REF:  PARIS FR 00211 
 
Classified by Charge Engelken for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
¶1.  (C) Summary:  The Jerusalem Planning Commission has taken a 
decision approving design plans for the reconstruction of the 
Mughrabi Gate, according to Israel's Ambassador to UNESCO.  While 
appeals to the High Court in Israel are possible, the decision, once 
made public, will guarantee the start of a very negative media 
campaign, which will be played out before and during UNESCO's 
upcoming Executive Board in mid-April. End Summary. 
 
¶2.  (C) Charge met with Israeli Ambassador to UNESCO, David Kornbluth 
today to discuss several issues of common interest that included an 
update on the situation concerning the reconstruction of the Mughrabi 
Gate in Jerusalem.  Kornbluth (Protect) informed us that he had just 
received this morning, March 4, a report saying that the Jerusalem 
Planning Commission had taken a decision to approve the design plans 
for the reconstruction of the Mughrabi Gate.  Kornbluth said that the 
approved design took into account the comments from Israel's expert 
on the World Heritage Committee, Dr. Michael Turner, as well as World 
Heritage advisory bodies, and had, according to earlier reports from 
Turner, also incorporated major changes from the original Israeli 
design, including some elements proposed by Jordan.  When pressed, 
Kornbluth made clear that he had no idea whether Jordan or the World 
Heritage Committee's advisory bodies will be satisfied with the 
outcome. 
 
¶3.  (C) Kornbluth explained that now that the Planning Commission has 
ruled, the process moves into its next phase, requiring the issuance 
of a building license before any construction may begin.  Kornbluth 
said that at any point, an appeal to the High Court may be made by 
any of the 14 organizations that had registered objections during the 
hearing process.  He said that, in order to be successful, they would 
have to demonstrate that the procedure followed for the hearing was 
wrong.  Kornbluth added that Dr. Turner believes that any attempt to 
block action through the Court due to procedural error would be 
difficult, as the Planning Commission's hearings were unusually 
transparent and open, due to the political implications of the 
decision. 
 
¶4.  (C) Kornbluth did not believe that word of the Planning 
Commission's decision can be kept quiet for long.  Once the news gets 
out, we can anticipate a flurry of media reaction against what will 
be portrayed as a unilateral Israeli decision.  It is unclear what 
steps, if any, UNESCO may be able to take in advance of the April 14 
Executive Board to defuse the situation.  When we asked Kornbluth if 
any further "technical encounters" might be possible using UNESCO's 
good offices now that the Planning Commission had acted, he said that 
he doubted it, but did not know for sure. 
 
¶5.  (C) Whatever the outcome at the Executive Board, it is sure that 
the issue will also be discussed at the World Heritage Committee 
meeting in late June in Seville. 
 
¶6.  (C) Comment:  The timing of this decision virtually guarantees 
that Middle East issues will bulk large on the agenda of the April 
2009 Executive Board meeting.  It had already been widely anticipated 
here that Arab members would submit resolutions on Gaza.  An 
emotional discussion of the Mughrabi Gate looks virtually certain as 
well. To compound the problem, Ambassador Kornbluth reported that 
Director-General Matsuura believes UNESCO's usual negotiator for 
Middle East issues, Deputy Director-General Marcio Barbosa (Brazil), 
should not perform this role again at the April Board.  While the 
Director-General did not explain his decision to Kornbluth, we expect 
it stems from Barbosa's ever more obvious intention to run for 
Director-General when Matsuura steps down. It is becoming 
increasingly difficult for Barbosa to separate his official actions 
from his personal ambitions.  Ambassador Kornbluth informed us that 
he had suggested to the Director-General that recently retired 
Canadian PermRep Gilbert Laurin be recalled to act as Middle East 
facilitator at the Board.  The Canadian Delegation has informed us 
that Laurin, whose diplomatic skills made a very favorable impression 
on us, has been approached by the Secretariat to take on this role. 
He is reportedly consulting with the Canadian Government on whether 
or not to accept. 
 
ENGELKEN