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Discussing cables
If you find meaningful or important information in a cable, please link directly to its unique reference number. Linking to a specific paragraph in the body of a cable is also possible by copying the appropriate link (to be found at theparagraph symbol). Please mark messages for social networking services like Twitter with the hash tags #cablegate and a hash containing the reference ID e.g. #09JERUSALEM649.

Reference ID	Created	Released	Classification	Origin
09JERUSALEM649	2009-04-10 13:53	2011-08-24 01:00	UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY	Consulate Jerusalem

VZCZCXRO5445
OO RUEHROV
DE RUEHJM #0649 1001353
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 101353Z APR 09
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4638
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC PRIORITY

UNCLAS JERUSALEM 000649 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE AND IPA; TREASURY FOR AHERN/MOGER; NSC 
FOR KUMAR; JOINT STAFF FOR LTGEN SELVA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON PREL ETRD KWBG IS PINR
SUBJECT: ISRAELI STONE COMPANIES EXPLOIT WEST BANK; 
PALESTINIAN OPERATORS RESTRICTED 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: While Palestinian stone companies are 
denied access to the majority of the West Bank, Israeli 
quarrying operations are flourishing there.  Israeli NGO Yesh 
Din has petitioned to halt Israeli mining operations in the 
West Bank, and an Israeli Supreme Court hearing is scheduled 
for May 29.  The Israeli companies digging in the West Bank 
have so far refused ConGen requests to visit their sites. 
End Summary. 
 
Israelis Dig Up the West Bank 
----------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) A total of ten active (and two inactive) Israeli 
quarries operate throughout the West Bank ) all in Area C. 
Palestinian business contacts and representatives of Israeli 
NGO Yesh Din report that Israeli stone companies have been 
operating in Area C since the 1980s and that the GOI 
implemented the "law of absentee property" to legally justify 
issuance of licenses to these companies.  Two of the ten 
functioning quarries are co-licensed with a nearby 
settlement.  In these cases, quarry revenues are divided 
between the mining company and the settlement, and revenues 
are used for roads, schools, and other settlement activities. 
 
 
¶3. (SBU) Palestinian contacts claim Israeli mining companies 
looked to increase operations in the West Bank during the 
1990s, following implementation of Israeli legislation that 
discouraged mining within "Green Line Israel" for 
environmental reasons.  According to Yesh Din contacts, the 
GOI approved a "master plan" to expand an Israeli quarry near 
Beit Arie settlement (northwest of Ramallah) earlier this 
month. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Palestinian business contacts report that Israeli 
mining operations in Area C generate pollution, deprive the 
Palestinian Authority of revenue, and undermine the viability 
of West Bank businesses.  One contact said, "They are eating 
our mountains."  Another Palestinian stone exporter claimed 
that 90 percent of the land suitable for mining in the West 
Bank is in Area C, and therefore off limits to his firm. 
 
Israeli NGO: Quarries Illegal Under International Law 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Yesh Din argues that Israel, by issuing licenses to 
Israeli companies to mine in the West Bank, is breaching 
international law by supporting the "exploitation of the 
natural resources of an occupied territory by an occupying 
power for economic benefits."  Yesh Din cites GOI reporting 
that roughly 75 percent of the gravel/stone quarried by 
Israeli companies in the West Bank is transported into 
Israel, and 20-25 percent of all cement aggregate used within 
"Green Line" Israel originates in the West Bank. 
 
¶6. (SBU) In March 2009, Yesh Din petitioned the State of 
Israel to halt Israeli mining operations in the West Bank.  A 
Supreme Court hearing is scheduled for May 29, but Yesh Din 
representatives are not confident of their chances to win. 
Contacts at the PLO,s Negotiations Support Unit told 
EconOffs that they are following the issue closely, but 
waiting to see how it plays out in the Israeli legal system 
before considering any action of their own. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Israeli mining companies have so far refused all 
ConGen requests to visit their facilities in the West Bank. 
WALLES

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Viewing cable 09JERUSALEM649, ISRAELI STONE COMPANIES EXPLOIT WEST BANK;