The Knesset has approved a request by MK Uri Ariel (National Union), authorizing the prestigious Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee to discuss the discrimination against Jews in Yesha regarding illegal construction.

MK Ariel quoted a Civil Administration report of two weeks ago, showing that in 2008, illegal Jewish structures were demolished by the government at a rate more than twice as much as illegal Arab structures. 

Fewer than 300 illegal Jewish homes were reported in Judea and Samaria, yet 105 of them were torn down – a rate of 36%. In the Arab sector of Yesha, illegal Arab construction is much more rampant, yet is enforced much less strictly. Out of 646 illegal Arab structures – 2.2 times more than Jewish ones – only 17% were razed.

“Hiding our head in the sand at the sight of the widespread illegal Palestinian construction,” MK Ariel said, “will bring only troubles, and we will not be able to deal with them even if we want to... When the Supreme Court rules in favor of evicting [only] Jews, this is not justice, as the left-wing claims, but simple discrimination against Jews.”

Blaming Barak, Bibi

The Binyamin Residents Committee – a grassroots organization from the Binyamin area in southern Samaria – puts the blame on Defense Minister Ehud Barak: “The entire law enforcement system in Judea and Samaria is based on Barak’s approach of trying to harm the Jewish settlement enterprise. Policies of the extreme left have taken over the Civil Administration.”

Others blame Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu for not doing away with the left-wing policies of the previous government - in which Barak was Defense Minister as well. Binyamin Regional Council head Avi Roeh says, “Even the ban on moving caravans [mobile homes without wheels] from one place to another is still in force.”

The Quiet Expulsion

This past Monday, the Yesha Council of Jewish Communities in Judea and Samaria convened a press conference, decrying the “quiet expulsion” currently in force from these areas.  “We voted for a right-wing government that promised us things,” said Council Chairman Danny Dayan, “but I say clearly: A quiet expulsion of hundreds of young couples from Judea and Samaria is underway. They were born and grew up here and want to build their homes near their childhood homes, yet because of the ongoing construction freeze they cannot do this – and are essentially banished from their homes.”

“The numbers are astounding,” Dayan said.  “Every year, at least 2,100 couples register for marriage – yet this summer, there will not be more than 400 or 500 housing units for them. That means that four out of every five couples that grew up here and want to build their homes here are all but thrown out.”

Roeh said that in Binyamin, the situation is even more acute: “We are the largest regional council, with 50,000 residents in 32 towns, and 54% are under age 21. This means that the natural growth is much higher than in the rest of the country.”

“Most unfortunately,” Dayan said, “the Olmert government’s policy of strangling and banning construction has not been changed.”