Council Heads from Judea and Samaria gathered for an urgent discussion in light of the disturbing escalation in efforts by the PA to take over open areas and determine Arab facts on the ground.
The heads of authorities and employees in the Land Departments of Judea and Samaria gathered this week for an urgent meeting initiated by the Gush Etzion Regional Council on the matter of preserving state lands in Area C. This, in light of the intensification of the Arab takeover of open areas throughout Judea and Samaria.
Among the participants of the conference: Head of YESHA Council and head the Jordan Valley Council David Elhayani, host of the conference, Head of Gush Etzion Council Shlomo Ne’eman, Head of Binyamin Council Yisrael Gantz, head of Har Hevron Council Yohai Damari, Head of Samaria Council Yossi Dagan, Head of Beit-El council Shai Alon, head of Kedumim council Hananel Durani and people from the lands authorities in the councils of Judea and Samaria.
At the meeting, which was defined as a closed meeting, the council heads discussed the extremely serious developments concerning national lands in Judea and Samaria and they issued a clear, unequivocal statement: “This battle is to exist or cease to exist, it is an existential battle for the entire People of Israel; we are all obligated to act together in order to stop the hostile takeover of our lands, and most importantly, for the future of the settlement”.
The heads of the authorities took a number of operative decisions, among which was to establish a joint system for all of the councils and to establish a united front vis-à-vis IDF bodies, the Civil Administration and of course, vis-a-vis the political system in the battle over state lands.
In an interview for Arutz 7, Gush Etzion Council Head Shlomo Ne’eman, who initiated the meeting of authority chiefs, explained the situation that led to the urgent gathering: “We have been exposed to this activity for many years. There is ongoing activity by the PA to steal state lands throughout the area of settlement and Area C. We are continually monitoring the situation and there is much more aggressive activity lately; there are a lot more violations and a lot more infiltrations, much more massive activity and using tools; while in the past, they made dirt roads, they are now paving state lands with asphalt in Area C; the situation of neglect and lawlessness is terrible and we are witness to this”.
According to him, “It could be that someone on the other side sees this and thinks that the new government will not take any action so they allow themselves to take more aggressive measures against us. This is why we met, in order to investigate possible actions and demand the government to act and take control of the situation”.
Ne’eman continued, noting that even before overseers are found who will begin to operate in accordance with standards approved by the government, we must act from day to day: “The request is simple – we have an army. Give the order to the brigade commanders to get serious with these robbers who want to change the state’s borders. These are not simple farmers trying to make a living; this is aggressive activity by the enemy that can be tracked accurately with maps. We don’t have 14 days to make suggestions. Meanwhile, send soldiers to stop it and then decide whether to establish special units within the Border Police or some other framework; we can’t be silent any longer. We must first freeze the situation and then take further action”.
He has an example of the systematic Palestinian takeover of land in his own council: “We know that all Israeli governments have stated that Gush Etzion will always remain in Israel’s hands and the maps of the accursed Oslo Accords are delineated accordingly. They left the Arab villages as enclaves and allowed for settlement in the area of Beit Shemesh. And now, the Arab side is doing hundreds of infiltrations, illegal building, working the fields and more, in the same passages that we have left open to connect with Beit Shemesh. We can see by viewing the map of infiltrations, that their goal is to cut us off from one another and the entire area from Beit Shemesh. I can illustrate this in every one of their buildings, roads and tractors”.
The Sovereignty Movement views the escalation in activity of Arab takeover of Area C as additional proof of the ramifications of the Israeli government’s hesitation to apply sovereignty over Judea and Samaria. “The Arabs are not maintaining the status quo and are not freezing the situation. There are immediate ramifications to the Israeli decision not to apply sovereignty over Judea and Samaria in the loss of national lands in favor of the Arab enemy who does not weaken in the battle to expel us from the Land of Israel. The Israeli government must make clear its determination to fulfill its Zionist mission by applying sovereignty, which will lead to the restoration of governance and political and governmental responsibility to Judea and Samaria and constitute a block against the Arab quest to establish a Palestinian state upon the ruins of Israel”.