The Shomron Regional Council has prepared an extensive slide show, concentrating on several aspects of construction and authorization of new neighborhoods and communities in Israel. It aims to offset the Sasson report of over a year ago.
In March 2005, State Prosecution attorney Talia Sasson prepared a report against the outposts in Judea and Samaria, terming the construction of new communities in Yesha over the years "institutionalized law-breaking." The report listed the ways in which the government "closed its eyes and enabled" the establishment of the new settlements. Various ministries and official bodies gave their own approval to each individual step, but the final approval was rarely given until much later, if at all.
The Shomron Council presentation, citing the State Comptroller's report of 2005 and many other sources, shows that the outposts were built in the same manner as many towns in Israel over the years. For instance:
* Yardena - along the Jordan River, north of Beit She'an - was established in 1952, but received its final authorization only 30 years later.
* Gilon - 15 kilometers east of Acre, in the Galilee - was built in 1980, and waited until 1988 until its final authorization.
* Towns established in 1949 include N'vei Ur (just north of Yardena) and Barkai (northeast of Hadera), but they were finally authorized only in 1975 and 1980, respectively.
The report also notes the extent of illegal Arab construction that is being all but ignored by the relevant authorities. It cites 399 illegal Arab-sector construction sites throughout the country, including no fewer than 30,444 units. In eastern Jerusalem, of 5,657 illegal units, only 261 were razed in the years 2001-2004, or less than 5%.
A fair share of the Shomron Council presentation relates to the illegal use of land by large municipal councils around the country. In the Hof HaSharon (Sharon Coast) Regional Council, for instance, the community of Batzra used agricultural land for commercial purposes, and other towns similarly misused land. In addition, between 1988 and 2004, primarily in the 1990s, the city of Tel Aviv-Jaffa built 223,100 square meters (over 2.4 million square feet) of office space in an area where, up until 2001, such construction was forbidden.
The State Comptroller, in his report on this issue in 2005, wrote, "It must be thoroughly checked what causes a large local council to adopt alternative methods to those stipulated by the law, in order to implement its planning policies. Claims that municipal councils are restricted in their building plans must be dealt with."
An important aspect of the Shomron Council's presentation on outposts is a 1999 Knesset speech by then-MK Ariel Sharon explaining the rationale governing the construction of the outposts. Ironically, it was Sharon, as Prime Minister, who later asked for and accepted Sasson's report against the outposts.
Sharon told the Knesset,
"Why did the government, at the time, decide to establish outposts on the hilltops? Was it just a whim, or a way of outsmarting someone? Not at all. The hilltop outposts were designed to enable the Jewish communities that were built by the Alignment [Labor] and Likud governments ever since the Six Day War, in areas that were designed to be security areas in our control under any agreement, to live in security, even while the diplomatic process continues.
"The very decision to evacuate outposts, to the loud applause of the Palestinians... without ever seriously considering what the purpose of these outposts is, and why they were built, and how they would contribute to a decrease in friction in the future and to the creation of a better atmosphere for the continuation of the process - this is a reason why the government deserves to be toppled... It is imperative that we connect these communities with emergency roads to main roads that will always remain in our control, such as connecting Elon Moreh, Itamar, and the Shilo bloc communities to the Alon Highway to their east, which will always remain under our control..."
The entire presentation, in Hebrew, can be seen at "www.shomron.org.il/". A campaign is underway to email the presentation to many Knesset Members. Send email here for more information.
In March 2005, State Prosecution attorney Talia Sasson prepared a report against the outposts in Judea and Samaria, terming the construction of new communities in Yesha over the years "institutionalized law-breaking." The report listed the ways in which the government "closed its eyes and enabled" the establishment of the new settlements. Various ministries and official bodies gave their own approval to each individual step, but the final approval was rarely given until much later, if at all.
The Shomron Council presentation, citing the State Comptroller's report of 2005 and many other sources, shows that the outposts were built in the same manner as many towns in Israel over the years. For instance:
* Yardena - along the Jordan River, north of Beit She'an - was established in 1952, but received its final authorization only 30 years later.
* Gilon - 15 kilometers east of Acre, in the Galilee - was built in 1980, and waited until 1988 until its final authorization.
* Towns established in 1949 include N'vei Ur (just north of Yardena) and Barkai (northeast of Hadera), but they were finally authorized only in 1975 and 1980, respectively.
The report also notes the extent of illegal Arab construction that is being all but ignored by the relevant authorities. It cites 399 illegal Arab-sector construction sites throughout the country, including no fewer than 30,444 units. In eastern Jerusalem, of 5,657 illegal units, only 261 were razed in the years 2001-2004, or less than 5%.
A fair share of the Shomron Council presentation relates to the illegal use of land by large municipal councils around the country. In the Hof HaSharon (Sharon Coast) Regional Council, for instance, the community of Batzra used agricultural land for commercial purposes, and other towns similarly misused land. In addition, between 1988 and 2004, primarily in the 1990s, the city of Tel Aviv-Jaffa built 223,100 square meters (over 2.4 million square feet) of office space in an area where, up until 2001, such construction was forbidden.
The State Comptroller, in his report on this issue in 2005, wrote, "It must be thoroughly checked what causes a large local council to adopt alternative methods to those stipulated by the law, in order to implement its planning policies. Claims that municipal councils are restricted in their building plans must be dealt with."
An important aspect of the Shomron Council's presentation on outposts is a 1999 Knesset speech by then-MK Ariel Sharon explaining the rationale governing the construction of the outposts. Ironically, it was Sharon, as Prime Minister, who later asked for and accepted Sasson's report against the outposts.
Sharon told the Knesset,
"Why did the government, at the time, decide to establish outposts on the hilltops? Was it just a whim, or a way of outsmarting someone? Not at all. The hilltop outposts were designed to enable the Jewish communities that were built by the Alignment [Labor] and Likud governments ever since the Six Day War, in areas that were designed to be security areas in our control under any agreement, to live in security, even while the diplomatic process continues.
"The very decision to evacuate outposts, to the loud applause of the Palestinians... without ever seriously considering what the purpose of these outposts is, and why they were built, and how they would contribute to a decrease in friction in the future and to the creation of a better atmosphere for the continuation of the process - this is a reason why the government deserves to be toppled... It is imperative that we connect these communities with emergency roads to main roads that will always remain in our control, such as connecting Elon Moreh, Itamar, and the Shilo bloc communities to the Alon Highway to their east, which will always remain under our control..."
The entire presentation, in Hebrew, can be seen at "www.shomron.org.il/". A campaign is underway to email the presentation to many Knesset Members. Send email here for more information.