Permits seen as attempt by Defense Minister Ya’alon to appease settler leaders after High Court ordered demolition of two illegal structures in settlement of Beit El.
The Civil Administration in the West Bank is set to grant permits for the construction of a total of 906 new housing units on Thursday, the first such approval in a year.
The permits are seen as being part of an attempt by Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon to appease settler leaders following a High Court ruling that two illegal structures in the settlement of Beit El must be demolished.
Among the permits to be issued by the Civil Administration’s planning and building committee today is approval for the construction of 296 units in Beit El, to be built on the site of a Border Police base that will be evacuated. This construction is compensation for Beit El’s agreement to evacuate five buildings on the site known as Ulpana Hill, which had been built on private Palestinian land.
In other parts of the West Bank, 112 new units are to be built in Ma’ale Adumim on a 50-dunam (12.5-acre) site originally zoned for public buildings. The Ma’ale Adumim municipality gave up its claim to the area, giving the green light to the residential construction.
In Givat Zeev, 381 new units will be built in a 152-dunam area in the neighborhood known as Agan Ha’ayalot, and will be earmarked for an ultra-Orthodox population. In the settlement of Psagot, 24 buildings that are already standing will be retroactively approved. This is a complex built by the settlement association Amana, which is responsible for most of the illegal construction in the West Bank.
Another 22 buildings that were originally constructed illegally are to be retroactively approved in Giv’on, near Givat Ze’ev, as well as another 179 units built 20 years ago by Amana in the settlement of Ofarim.
In the settlement of Beit Arieh, construction of 27 units are to be approved. The original permit was withdrawn after it was discovered that the project encroached on a nature reserve. The plan was revamped, paving the way for its renewed approval.
Last year, the High Court ordered the demolition of the two buildings in Beit El, containing a total of 24 apartments, after the Palestinian landowners and the human rights group Yesh Din petitioned the court against the construction. However, the Civil Administration began moving ahead on granting a retroactive construction permit, on instructions from the defense minister, over the past month.
Last Wednesday, the Civil Administration heard the objection to the construction filed by the owners of the land. In an unusual step, it took only one day to reject the objection and retroactively approve the construction – with the stipulation that the building contractor would have to pay for evacuation and demolition of the buildings before he could receive new construction permits, if the High Court rejected his petition.
The office of the Coordinator of Government Actions in the Territories responded: “The committee’s decision was made after its members weighed all relevant considerations.”
“Can Israelis sever the emotional umbilical cord with the United States now that both major political parties have abandoned Israel?”
It is not a choice. Both parties have effectively forsaken Israel—the cord is severed. The question is, when will Israelis realize it and act accordingly, or will they try to graft it back together. Obama supported a bill as state senator that will allow killing a baby that survived an abortion attempt. The cord is cut, next Obama will move to abort Israel.
That upside is enormous, and in combination with the the story about superior technology is the key to survival. Can Israelis finally sever the emotional umbilical cord with the United States now that both major political parties have abandoned Israel?
@ RandyTexas:
What you are describing is a realistic possibility.
all that noise, but when the smoke clears we must wonder what happened to the BB coalition and how many members of the coalition and the Likud voted down the zoabi bill. Its like settlement in YS, lots of talky talk but when push comes to shove no walky walk.
What are the names of those in the coalition who voted against getting rid of the traitor zoabi and other 5th columnists?
I did not hear BB’s position but he obviously did not consider it important enough to call his members on it. when push comes to shove there is no right wing issue that BB supports in action. Taking the gov is supposed to result in legislation and actions which advance the party and coalition platform. At every opportunity BB fails to initiate, blocks those initiating, kills them outright by instruction to the coalition, or kills them covertly through “voting the conscience”. In any case they are always DEAD!!!!!!
We are nearing the end of diplomatic gamesmanship between Israel and the West. The capitulation to Western powers by Israel will come to an end soon, simply because we are entering into a time of hostility. A collective of nations (UN) will assume the roll America has for the past decades and support from the US government will effectively be gone. Yes, you will still hear rhetorical support for Israel—all a facade–but the policies will all be drastically tilted against the Jewish State placing Israel in a seemingly impossible situation. The upside is that this will set Israel free to act unilaterally. When you are alone there is no need to consider what others wish anymore. There are no deals to be made. We are not there quite yet, and there may be a grand attempt or two at diplomacy and deal making, but eventually the price will be way to high and Israel will be forced break and stand alone. This Sate of Israel needs to prepare for this scenario now. It is coming; in reality, it is here.
Knick knack paddywhack throw the dogs a bone
this is all token crap, and what will actually be built? I still dont see any building in E1 and how long ago was that “announced”.
the balfour mandate and LON mandate called for the immigration and settlement of jews in all of the mandate territory. It is pathetic to see decades of obstruction to that same jewish settlement emnating from the frauds touting themselves to be leaders of the Jewish people: I include secular and religious, left and right.
The only answer is the repudiation of the Judenrein policies embraced by the GOI and a declaration to restore justice to the Jewish people through a massive and speedy immigration and settlement policy in YS. Like the US homestead act, diaspora Jews should be given land grants to settle in YS. Any GOI who continues the judenrein polices in the Jewish homeland can also have no claims to Tel Aviv, the two are inseparable and any abandonment of one will weaken the authenticity of the other.
Come on Jews, let the Jews live in the jewish homeland of YS. No one else can be blamed for these nazi policies. The leadership can continue to sell out the Jews for the perks from europe, just as the kapos in europe did, or finally make “never again” something more than a BS homily.