[THIS MONEY WOULD BE BETTER SPENT ON EVACUATING ARABS.]
The evacuation of isolated West Bank Jewish communities outside of the settlement blocs could cost the government more than NIS 250 billion, the Council of Jewish Communities of Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip said on Monday.
It released this figure amid renewed United States efforts to revive direct negotiations for a two-state solution. Any final-status agreement achieved through negotiations would likely involve the evacuation of isolated West Bank settlements.
But the figure itself was part of a detailed response to a Peace Now YouTube video released last week, which urged Finance Minister Yair Lapid to cut spending for West Bank settlements.
The animated video called “Lapid, here’s the money,” reminded the finance minister of his statements prior to the elections, when he said that Netanyahu, at the expense of the middle class taxpayer, had increased West Bank settlement spending by 38 percent since taking office in March 2009.
The video noted places of extra settlement spending that Peace Now already publicized in a report released last year, in which it said that the government spent NIS 1.6 billion annually on West Bank settlements, above and beyond what it spent on citizens within the pre-1967 lines.
To arrive at this figure, it used data from the 2010, 2011 and 2012 budgets.
Peace Now included 2012 figures of NIS 65.8 million to relocate settlers from the Migron outpost that was demolished, as well as NIS 21.8 million to relocate 30 families from the Ulpana outpost. It also added in NIS 50 million for Ariel University.
The Council of Jewish Communities of Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip shot back that the NIS 87.6 million for Migron and the Ulpana outposts was spent to appease left-wing groups who had petitioned the High Court of Justice against the outposts, simply to promote a political agenda.
After such wasteful spending, there is nothing more infuriating than Peace Now thinking it can make suggestions to Lapid about ways to save money, the council said.
Since the 1993 Oslo Accord, NIS 52 billion had been wasted by the government in dealing with the impact of failed left-wing policies, including the 2005 withdrawal from Gaza and terror attacks, the council said.
It included in this figure funds to protect communities along Israel’s southern border from Palestinian-launched rockets from Gaza, as well as the cost of the 2005 Gaza withdrawal.
Hagit Ofran of Peace Now said that the council’s argument was illogical.
The High Court of Justice rulings in favor of evacuating the outposts, were not “decrees from heaven,” she said, but rather a response to illegal settler activity.
Her organization, Ofran said, is not responsible for everything that has happened to Israel in the last 20 years since the Oslo Accords.
However, she noted, that had a final status agreement emerged from the Oslo Peace Process, Israel would have withdrawn from the West Bank years ago and been at peace with the Palestinians, she said.
Leftists are deceiving us once again…the big money during the last years went essentially to: Evacuation of Gush Katif’s successful, self supporting Jewish communities and their resettlements (which is after all those years not yet completely and satisfactorily solved)and the consequences thereof namely the construction of massive protection infrastructure in Southern Israeli communities, towns and villages (Because of the rockets from Gaza)the needless “Cast Lead Military Operation” and the second military build-up.. all direct consequences of that senseless onesided, unilateral and stupid leftist policy conducted by Sharon and his gang (Olmert, Livny and scores of other deserters). How many billions there? Let us also not forget the Olmert-Livni, again senseless, needless Lebanon 2 War, which brought us a rain of rockets and destruction on our Northern towns and villages, without not even a single benefit..Don’t get me wrong I am all for military operations against ou enemies but only if we have a clear goal, the capacity and resolve to finish the job to the finish with the expected results. Nothing short of Hizbollah’s complete defeat in Lebanon and the end of the Hamas regime in Gaza.
CuriousAmerican Said:
Idiot the principle is if the Government of Israel can ethnically cleanse Jews and destroy their homes and property why not Arabs? You made no similar outcry of bigotry when it went against Jews. If they are speaking about ethnically cleansing Jews from Y&S about a 1/4 million Jews or more why not a million plus Arabs?
When Christians are murdered by these scum you are silent. When Christian communities of a thousand or more years are depopulated you are silent.
When up to a hundred thousand Arabs are slaughtered in Syria you are silent. Arabs have murdered other Arabs to the tune of some 11 million since 1948 but you are silent.
What gives you a wet dream is getting your grubby christian hands on a bunch of Arabs and having the stupid Jews pay for it. Sticking it to the Jews double?
I worked or a couple of years with christian Arabs outside of Bethlehem. They hatd jews more than Muslims and exploited the poor Muslims in their employ not much better than slaves. When the Jews started to pay them a decent wage they lost most of their work force and were forced to meet the higher Jewish wage level to complete their project. Big cost overruns for them but their hatred and venom against the Jews was nothing less than vicious and vile, they didn’t even attempt to mask it. I found that Jew Hatred among than was doubled both by being christian and Arab a toxic mix for Jews.
You are quite the hypocrite.
Now, I see where you get your cool, rational demeanor.
I recommended paying the Arabs to leave … and I got slammed.
$200 Billion is about what I estimated it would cost to pay them to get them to leave voluntarily for South America. Maybe less if there are only 1.5 Million as Yoram Ettinger says.
Everybody is coming around to my point of view – with roughly the same numbers – so why am I still slammed?
Pay them to leave.
A family of five gets $500,000 which would buy them a working ranch in Argentina or Brazil with enough left over for a car, and money in the bank. Half of them would take it.
Israel has not settled the refugees she ethnically cleansed from Gush Katif, less than 10,000 people.
The evacuation of the Sinai settlements and the cost of relocating 15 years of massive Sinai construction and infrastructure civilian and military put Israel into 15 years of severe stagflation and inflation reaching 23% each month at peak. Only the massive Russian Jewish immigration pulled Israel out of the economic cesspool Begin and company put us in.
Begin was such an egotistical asshole that he never considered the consequences of his stupidity and criminal folly. When he realized the true ramifications of his dastardly deed he like the true coward he was, went into depression which forced him to resign, never to be seen alive again in public. When he returned from Camp David and after the consequences to us in Sinai became clear, we who believed that liar and demagogic blowhard, invited him to meet with us. He refused to meet us face to face like a man. He sent ass kissing underling assistants instead. Once one of them pissed us off so much we pelted him with eggs and burned his car.
The government of Israel did everything in their power to reduce the cost of compensation to the residents of Yamit and Ofira. We hired the best Attorney who screwed us too Ram Caspi. He took between 2-5% of what ever we got. Since he represented the group he wouldn’t fight for individual claims not part of the general terms. That was significant for some of us individually but for the Lawyer peanuts not worth his time or trouble.
I learned valuable lessons. A- never believe or trust the government. B- Never allow myself to be put in a situation where they can do it to me twice.
The Government will not pay the settlers they will allow the Arabs to drive them out. They might make an initial offer and if reused rescind it and wash their hands of the settlers. If the settlers will not fight for their homes and beliefs then they are finished and the government of Israel know how to reduce them to all but a small group who will fight and stay what ever the cost. They will be destroyed or abandoned in the end.
Only a real believable threat to civil war can stop a determined government from giving up all of Y&S and Jerusalem.
I haveno faith in the democratic process or that a real majority will oppose BB, Livni and Obama.
Really? What does she base this fantasy on?
Evacuating the whole stinking Knesset can be done at a fraction of the price and solve a myriad of problems at the same time.
And I will personally be happy to toss the heads of Piss Now over the Gazan or Lebanese border – free of charge.