PA tree-planting campaign in Binyamin
PA tree-planting campaign in BinyaminFlash 90

Shomron Regional Council head Yossi Dagan harshly attacked the Civil Administration following a new report stating the Palestinian Authority has appropriated hundreds of thousands of dunams in recent years in Judea and Samaria.

According to the document, written by the Civil Administration Agriculture Department head, the PA has planted some 400,000 dunams of olive trees in the past seven years with Civil Administration knowledge to establish facts on the ground and change the territories' legal status.

"This is a huge Civil Administration oversight, turning a blind eye to olive tree planting intended to establish facts on the ground, compared with the obsessive activity of the Civil Administration against every caravan and every hut Israelis build, it's nothing short of scandalous" Dagan emphasized. "Such oversight is tantamount to partnership in enemy action.

"The Civil Administration must come to its senses and understand its role in the field. It's inconceivable that the Civil Administration acts as if it were an elected body that determines policy and helps the enemy take control of territory on the one hand, while on the other hand tries to thwart the Israelis living in Judea and Samaria, whether with gratuitous bureaucracy unmatched by any tree-planting in the area or selective zoning enforcement."

Dagan made it clear he will fight: "This story's over. We won't allow this situation to continue. We expect the Civil Administration to conduct itself professionally, with equality for all parties in the field, and not like Meretz politicians within the body that's supposed to take care of the settler's welfare."

Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan
Samaria Regional Council head Yossi DaganFlash 90