Maariv: Breaking Ground on New Settlements 1 Day After Netanyahu-Obama TalksMaariv reports in Hebrew, and since they don’t provide a translation, here’s my quick one:
Specifically Now: Extending the Settlements in the Jordanian Valley
In Contrast to the American Position Declaring Regarding Resumption of Construction in the Settlements, Youths in the Village of Maskiot in the Valley Toured Engineers Toward the Establishment of a New Communityby: Roy Sharon, 5/18/2009
President of the United States Barack Obama may have planned to lecture Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to freeze all building of settlements, but that didn’t prevent a gathering of engineers/contractors to arrange yesterday a tour of the settlement Maskiot that’s in the Jordan Valley, to arrange the development of a new community.
There are indications that in closed discussions Netanyahu made clear his preparations to establish Palestinian entities under “self rule” in Palestinian occupied territories, but his intention is to oversee the villages of the Jordan Valley (in which is Maskiot) in Israeli hands, as well as its aggregation of communities and the settlements in the hills.
The settlement of Maskiot has be taking place over the past twenty years, and [accomplished little? "וכמעט ננטש"]. However, after the implementation of settlement plans after the assurances of previous Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, and his evacuation of the settlement of Shirat HaYam in the Gaza Strip, they decided to settle there.
Maskiot received its status as a community with a new determination by the Department of the Interior a year ago, and since then enough have moved in to begin light work on infrastructure and expansion. The settlement is believed to have 30 new families looking to come from a nearby settlement, twenty preparing from Shirat HaYam, and ten others from other settlements near Gush Katif.
In the community itself only eight families have moved in, [according to a directory of Shirat HaYam listing those who'd live there when building is completed?]. In July 2008 it was first reported in Maariv that the [Council of Superior Planning?] that the civil administration made known the bestowing of the area for settlement activities. According to the authorization given in the office for the guarantee, the first phase of development is the building of twenty fixed homes there.
The meaning of the authorization at the time was the approval of city-building activity for Maskiot, and declaration of the location as a community ["yishuv"]. Without this action it wouldn’t be possible for anyone to create foundations of electricity, water and buildings.
The last settlement that received similar approval in the Jordan Valley was Naamah in 1982.
In the past week, the [oversight council?] for the Jordan Valley privately assigned engineers their work on infrastructure and development to initiate the establishment of the new community, and already yesterday this existed in the area of the engineers’ tour.
Head of the Council David Alchini(sp?) said to Maariv “The settlement in the Jordan Valley and populating it are national interests. There is a political consensus, and today more than ever it’s possible to say that the valley is the [indicator of safety? "חגורת הביטחון"] of the state. I believe that all the political noise is a blessing for every family in the Jordan Valley. The settlement has received all the appropriate certifications from the Interior Ministry. The residents of the Jordan Valley are residents observing the law, and are working only on the word of ruling government of Israel.”
The movement Peace Now said in a statement: “Publicizing the building and the arrangement of the tour of engineers on the day that Netanyahu arrives in the United States is to contradict the clear message to the United States. And really, this message is aimed at the Israeli government to broaden building of settlements.”
(via South Jerusalem)
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[...] The Jerusalem Post’s story quotes Jordan Valley Regional Council head David Elhaiini stating that permits have not yet been given for construction of the West Bank settlement, in contradiction to Maariv’s report. [...]
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