The plan to apply Israeli sovereignty over the Jordan Valley has been revealed – the plan is promoted by a Knesset lobby led by dozens of MKs from both the coalition and the opposition.
The plan is comprehensive and offers legal, security and settlement solutions toward the application of sovereignty over the Jordan Valley.
Yehudit Katsover and Nadia Matar: “Sovereignty will ensure economic, tourism and industrial ramifications, and more.”
We are running toward sovereignty in the Jordan Valley: a comprehensive and thorough plan paves the way for the application of sovereignty over the Jordan Valley. The plan, which was revealed at the launching of the Knesset Caucus for Sovereignty over the Jordan calley First, is promoted by the Lobby for Sovereignty in the Jordan Valley First in the Knesset, which receives the support of dozens of members of Knesset, from both the coalition and the opposition, and is led by the Sovereignty Movement headed by Yehudit Katsover and Nadia Matar.
It is a comprehensive plan that offers a variety of solutions in the core issues – legal, security, transportation, agriculture, infrastructure and tourism.
The plan, which was initiated by the Sovereignty Movement, was drawn up by Kobi Eliraz, who was the consultant for settlement matters for four defense ministers and Atty. Eran Ben Ari, an expert in lands issues and the law in Judea and Samaria, who presented the new plan to the ministers and members of Knesset, detailing the next steps and phases required to apply sovereignty over the Jordan Valley.
According to the plan, in order to change the situation of settlement in the Jordan Valley, a fundamental conceptual change must be made to the existing mode of rural settlement in the area. In addition, the towns of the Valley must be significantly expanded, to create a community space in every cooperative moshav or kibbutz, and all state plans for dealing with the housing problem must be applied to the towns of the Jordan Valley, the northern Dead Sea and eastern Samaria.
The plan states that a number of roads, some of which are very dangerous roads, must immediately be widened. "We must widen Route 5 from Ariel to Eli, via Gush Shiloh to Patzael Junction in the Jordan Valley and have interchanges at connective points with Route 60 and Route 90. Also, we must widen Route 90 from Almog Junction to Zemach Junction to change it from a dangerous one-lane road to a modern highway. The broader and more free-flowing the traffic systems, the more they will be used, reducing the load in other parts of the country”, states the plan.
The plan also presents the idea of establishing a new international airport in the area. According to the plan, “We must establish an international airport under full Israeli control – in the Hurkania Valley or near the Allenby crossing. This airport will serve as an alternative to the Atarot airport, which was closed in Jerusalem as well as an alternative to Ben Gurion airport instead of the alternatives that are suggested today in Emek Yizrael and Nabatim. It can also serve the Palestinians who are residents of Judea and Samaria when they leave Israel without being required – as is necessary today – to fly via the Kingdom of Jordan. This step will significantly improve their quality of life as well as our standing in the international arena.”
The plan also deals with the unrealized potential of the area from an economic and commercial point of view. In the plan, it is written that “It is worth mentioning that even China has its eyes on our area and wants to increase global trade routes and the State of Israel is an important component in this land-sea transition and as a bridge to the West. Accordingly, China is already involved in projects in Israel such as the Haifa Port. As such, it has a real desire to serve as a highly influential actor in the region – in the economy, in matters of energy and militarily”.
In the area of tourism as well, the plan presents a number of various solutions to take advantage of the unique resources of the area in order to increase the number of tourists coming to Israel.
Among the proposed solutions – establishing a complex of hotels in the northern part of the Dead Sea, transferring control of Kasr al-Yehud from the Civil Administration to a commercial body that would change the service at the place, as well as establishing another tourist city next to the Jordanian border that would be a meeting point for business people from Israel, Jordan and Gulf countries and would be a tax-exempt area, like Eilat.
According to the plan’s authors, in order to bring the plan to fruition and begin developing the area, Israeli sovereignty must first be applied over the Jordan Valley. According to them, “the application of Israeli sovereignty will help to remove most of the barriers to land and planning matters and will send an important message to all investors and the international arena. The application of Israeli law over the territory of the Jordan Valley will transfer the responsibility for it to the Israeli supervisory bodies. The National Enforcement Unit, the Green Patrol, the Israeli Lands Authority supervisors and of course, overseers from the Nature Reserves Authority and the Antiquities Authority. This step will create a dramatic improvement in enforcement, including the responsibility assigned to the Jordan Valley Council, in which includes most of the area under its jurisdiction “
The authors of the plan did not ignore the difficulties that such a step may cause, and they offer solutions for these problems as well. According to the proposal, the area under Israeli sovereignty will not include the city of Jericho or the villages of Ujia and Tubas. Also, there can be access roads to the Allenby Crossing and the Arab residents of the remaining villages will receive the status of residency, as exists today in east Jerusalem.
The plan also includes comprehensive treatment of the tension with Jordan and the Abraham Accords. “Despite the commitment that apparently exists in the Abraham Accords to wait for the right time and not apply sovereignty immediately, it seems that with courage and resolve accompanied by hard diplomatic work, it is possible to base the application of sovereignty over the Jordan Valley and its expeditious development on the joint interests of both sides, especially for the Sunnis in the Kingdom of Jordan.”
“The implementation of this plan, or at least parts of it, is essential for the State of Israel. Continuing the present way, not promoting national plans in this part of the Land while on the other hand, when a Palestinian campaign to take over the open spaces is underway, would be a huge loss demographically, to security, the economy, tourism and agriculture.
The concept of investment in the Gedera- Hadera area, and even Be’er Sheva-Haifa, will not provide a suitable answer to the State of Israel’s expected demographic growth. The Jordan Valley is a good and possible solution, and the time has come to turn the ‘rift’ into a bridge”, as stated at the conclusion of the plan.
One of the plan’s writers, Kobi Eliraz, explains: “The plan that we wrote, which speaks of the ability to apply sovereignty over the Jordan Valley, deals with all the core problems, analyzes them and explains why it is possible. In the matters of infrastructures, transportation, agriculture, alternative energy and settlement as well. The plan also surveys the current situation and offers realistic, optimal solutions, which are feasible and practical.”
As mentioned, the plan was presented during the ceremony to establish the Lobby for Sovereignty over the Jordan Valley First. The lobby was established by members of Knesset Dan Illouz and Yosef Taieb, in collaboration with Yehudit Katsover and Nadia Matar of the Sovereignty Movement, with the aim of bringing about a significant achievement in the application of sovereignty in the Jordan Valley First, in the current term of Knesset. At the event to launch the lobby, there were ministers and dozens of members of Knesset both from the coalition and the opposition, along with heads of councils and other public figures. During the event, members of Knesset and ministers signed the Jordan Valley Covenant, which calls for broad cooperation in the matter.
Yehudit Katsover, one of the co-chairwomen of the Sovereignty Movement, together with Nadia Matar, stated in response to the plan: “There is broad support for the matter of sovereignty over the Jordan Valley. Sovereignty over the Jordan Valley will ensure broad settlement, a balance in population distribution without overcrowding in the narrow strip between Hadera and Gedera. It will move the eastern border. Sovereignty will ensure positive ramifications for the economy, for tourism, industry and solar energy. Sovereignty will contribute to the strengthening of the eastern border – the longest in our state. It will provide strategic depth to the State of Israel and prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state.”
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