T. Belman. Frager fails to mention that this illegal construction is financed by the EU. Nor does he mention the other problem, namely that the Arabs are taking advantage of Israel law (going back to Ottaman law) that provides that by cultivating the land you get ownership of the land.
Unless, Israel wakes up in time, much of Israel will have been snatched from right under their eyes.
The new Netanyahu government could not have been elected too soon to thwart the illegal land grab by the Arabs in Judea and Samaria. The new coalition has made this thankfully a priority. It’s about time.
The government is to be commended for demolishing illegal Arab outposts in Wadi Rahhal and Irtas in the Gush Etzion Area recently. This is just the tip of the iceberg. Illegal Arab construction has been going on for years in Jerusalem and Area C of Judea and Samaria. Area C was designated in the 1993 Oslo Accords as solely the land of Israel. The Arabs have plenty of land to build legal structures in Area A and B.
They decided on their own that they wanted to build illegally on Area C. Unfortunately, the previous government which had the RA’AM/Arab party as part of their coalition turned a blind eye to the illegal construction. In 2009 the PM of the PA, Salam Fayyad laid out a plan to create a de facto PA state not through negotiations but through illegal building in area C to create a contiguous terrorist entity.
According to “Regavim” illegal Arab construction increased by 80% in 2022. 5,535 illegal structures were built in 2022 compared to 3,076 structures in 2021. Overall the Arabs have built 81,317 illegal structures covering 38,000 acres. This is twice the land mass now lived in by Israeli Jews. This is a ticking time bomb which is about to explode. Using meticulous field work, aerial photography and GS mapping these illegal structures are not some makeshift shacks. They are palatial residences, resorts, amusement parks and high rise buildings. Some are entire villages. Unless they are demolished many of the Jewish towns in Judea and Samaria will be strangled.
In Jerusalem the situation is just as bad. Nature reserves have been taken over and illegal buildings have been built. Over 6000 illegal homes have been built by the Arabs in Jerusalem over a 4 year period. Only 200 were demolished. Hundreds of millions of dollars have poured in from the PA and Arab countries to build illegally in Jerusalem and in Area C. Unless, Israel wakes up in time, much of Israel will have been snatched from right under their eyes. This is a crying shame that has to be rectified.
First of all, thanks to Regavim for their invaluable research.
Second, it should be noted that, starting in the 1990’s, Palestinian Arabs (with the full backing of the Jordanian Waqf) dug several huge underground caverns on the Temple Mount ostensibly to be used as subterranean mosques, and causing irreparable harm to historical objects of inestimable archaeological value that were dumped as part of the soil and debris that were dug up. The Israeli government did absolutely nothing to stop that outrageous violation of the status quo on the Temple Mount, just as the government has done nothing to date to stop the Palestinian Arabs from snatching large swaths of Area C.
The time has come to realize that the Oslo Accords and the slogan “Peace Now” were meant to distract from Palestinian efforts to erase Jewish history and snatch Jewish land. The time has come for the Israeli government to take firm and decisive action against illegal Arab construction with the slogan “Demolish Now.”
Jan 24, 2023
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/366380
It is sickening to me that Israel has allowed this to happen.
I want to see Itamar Ben-Gvir take action and destroy every illegal Arab structure in Area C.
I am NOT religious!
Why has IL allowed the Arabs to build without permits?
Why has IL tolerated the EU ingerence in J & S?
Mind boggling!
This smells destructive liberalism!