Aryeh King, a self-described activist on behalf of Jewish settlement in eastern Jerusalem, told Arutz-7 today that he was witness yesterday to an attempt by Defense Ministry officials to "buy" Arab quiet at the price of Jewish properties in eastern Jerusalem.
"I was making my usual rounds yesterday morning," King said, "when I saw a large convoy of vehicles making its way in Abu Dis. We quickly found that it was headed by Defense Ministry Dir.-Gen. Amos Yaron. He and his large entourage - including Jerusalem Municipality officials - were on their way to visit Dr. Sari Nusseibeh, head of Al-Quds University in Abu Dis. Nusseibeh had invited Israeli government officials to see if something could be done about the partition fence that is planned for Jerusalem. Nusseibeh wants the fence be built to the west of the city's municipal border, in order to allow the university to expand in the future. What this means is that he's asking the government to give up privately-owned Jewish land, in order to buy Arab quiet and ensure that the local Arabs do not protest the fence...
"I personally am against a fence closing in our capital - but even if it is built, it is inconceivable that it should leave Jewish-owned land on the 'other' side!... Defense people are also against the idea, since it will leave the patrol road vulnerable to attack from Al-Quds University, which has already produced some terrorists..."
A Cabinet meeting at which the final route of the partition fence/wall is to be decided once and for all is scheduled for tomorrow. Supporters of the partition say it is necessary to keep terrorists away from Israeli population centers, but its opponents say that this is merely a mechanism by which to separate Yesha from pre-1967 Israel. They say that terrorism cannot be stopped simply by physical barriers. One of the questions to be decided tomorrow is whether the city of Ariel, in central Shomron, will be encompassed by the partition or not. The United States has come down strongly against including Ariel inside the wall's "protective" cover.
Yesha Council officials warn that if the government in fact agrees to the American dictates regarding the wall's route, Highway 443 from Modiin to Jerusalem and points north will also not be included. Council Chairman Adi Mintz told Arutz-7 today,
"According to the planned route to be submitted to the Cabinet tomorrow, the partition will be built mostly adjacent to the Green Line [the line set in 1949 between Judea/Samaria and the IDF-controlled areas]. As such, travelers on Highway 443 - the second-most important route from Jerusalem to the Coastal Plain region - will have to pass through a gate near Givat Ze'ev and will exit through another one near Modiin...
"The planned route will also pass very near Ben Gurion Airport. This is, of course, unacceptable, as it turns the wall into a political one, as opposed to a security wall, and makes a Palestinian state a foregone conclusion...
"We have spoken to many ministers from the NRP, National Union, and even the Likud, and many of them support our plan to build the wall deeper inside Samaria, so as to ensure that it remains a security partition and does not create unwanted political facts on the ground."
Welfare Minister Zevulun Orlev (National Religious Party) told Arutz-7 today that his party's position is that the government must "just say no" to the United States, and "must make it clear that we are not an American colony, and that our first priority is to protect our citizens in Ariel and everywhere else." He said that Route 443 is a critical highway, and that the thought of not including it in the Israeli areas is a "bad joke."
"I was making my usual rounds yesterday morning," King said, "when I saw a large convoy of vehicles making its way in Abu Dis. We quickly found that it was headed by Defense Ministry Dir.-Gen. Amos Yaron. He and his large entourage - including Jerusalem Municipality officials - were on their way to visit Dr. Sari Nusseibeh, head of Al-Quds University in Abu Dis. Nusseibeh had invited Israeli government officials to see if something could be done about the partition fence that is planned for Jerusalem. Nusseibeh wants the fence be built to the west of the city's municipal border, in order to allow the university to expand in the future. What this means is that he's asking the government to give up privately-owned Jewish land, in order to buy Arab quiet and ensure that the local Arabs do not protest the fence...
"I personally am against a fence closing in our capital - but even if it is built, it is inconceivable that it should leave Jewish-owned land on the 'other' side!... Defense people are also against the idea, since it will leave the patrol road vulnerable to attack from Al-Quds University, which has already produced some terrorists..."
A Cabinet meeting at which the final route of the partition fence/wall is to be decided once and for all is scheduled for tomorrow. Supporters of the partition say it is necessary to keep terrorists away from Israeli population centers, but its opponents say that this is merely a mechanism by which to separate Yesha from pre-1967 Israel. They say that terrorism cannot be stopped simply by physical barriers. One of the questions to be decided tomorrow is whether the city of Ariel, in central Shomron, will be encompassed by the partition or not. The United States has come down strongly against including Ariel inside the wall's "protective" cover.
Yesha Council officials warn that if the government in fact agrees to the American dictates regarding the wall's route, Highway 443 from Modiin to Jerusalem and points north will also not be included. Council Chairman Adi Mintz told Arutz-7 today,
"According to the planned route to be submitted to the Cabinet tomorrow, the partition will be built mostly adjacent to the Green Line [the line set in 1949 between Judea/Samaria and the IDF-controlled areas]. As such, travelers on Highway 443 - the second-most important route from Jerusalem to the Coastal Plain region - will have to pass through a gate near Givat Ze'ev and will exit through another one near Modiin...
"The planned route will also pass very near Ben Gurion Airport. This is, of course, unacceptable, as it turns the wall into a political one, as opposed to a security wall, and makes a Palestinian state a foregone conclusion...
"We have spoken to many ministers from the NRP, National Union, and even the Likud, and many of them support our plan to build the wall deeper inside Samaria, so as to ensure that it remains a security partition and does not create unwanted political facts on the ground."
Welfare Minister Zevulun Orlev (National Religious Party) told Arutz-7 today that his party's position is that the government must "just say no" to the United States, and "must make it clear that we are not an American colony, and that our first priority is to protect our citizens in Ariel and everywhere else." He said that Route 443 is a critical highway, and that the thought of not including it in the Israeli areas is a "bad joke."