(Jerusalem Post) Josh Hasten - Over the past decade there has been a huge upsurge in the number of structures going up in illegal Bedouin villages and encampments on both sides of Highway 1 from Jerusalem to Jericho. These aren't just small herding communities, but strategically placed mini-towns set up by the Palestinian Authority and financed by the European Union to the tune of hundreds of millions of euros, with the explicit goal of taking over strategic lands. By creating substantial facts on the ground, the PA with the support of the international community seeks to lay claim to those areas and demand that they be part of "Palestine." Over 1,000 illegal structures, with more being erected nearly daily, now proudly bear the EU flag. The Israeli government has repeatedly gone out of its way to offer permanent housing solutions for these Bedouin families. Blueprints for the establishment of a legal town to be called Ramat Nueimah near Jericho were drawn up, but that plan has been shelved due to the PA and EU refusal to accept a practical solution which would enhance the lives of these Bedouin but would lessen their grip on the strategic Jerusalem-Jericho corridor. The writer is the international director for Regavim.
2017-03-15 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive