(BESA Center for Strategic Studies-Bar-Ilan University) Prof. Hillel Frisch - The PA is consolidating its control over Area C of the West Bank. According to the Oslo Accords, Area C was to remain under exclusive Israeli jurisdiction until a final-status agreement. A report by Regavim documents illegal encroachment on state land by the PA over the past decade. In 2009, the majority of built-up space in Area C was populated by Jews (47,000 dunams compared to 46,000 for the Palestinians). By 2019, after a 10-year settlement push directed by the PA, most of the built-up space is Palestinian (79,000 dunams compared to 57,000 inhabited by Jews). Behind the PA's successful settlement drive stands an array of EU and UN institutions that both finance the project and provide much of the planning. The writer is a professor of political and Middle East studies at Bar-Ilan University and a senior research associate at its BESA Center.
2021-02-18 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive