Sunday, September 15, 2019

Skewed News, Illegal Building by Palestinians, Lack of Recognition of Israel's Legal Borders

SKEWED NEWS ALERT and learning opportunity! 

A couple of weeks ago, a member asked about this and I am re-sharing it because others may have the same question or may be confused when they see something like this in the news. PLEASE read below where it says “IMPORTANT.”


QUESTION: Does anyone have information as to what the truth is in this situation? I fail to believe the article is truthful. (Article here)


ANSWER: In the article it does say that Israeli authorities gave her a notice saying the building was constructed without the correct permits. It was also located on a site where houses have been razed twice before. Clearly the owner was aware of this and there were issues before, which she ignored. These illegal buildings also pose a risk to IDF stationed on the border.
There are Palestinians building homes very close to the border with Area C, and the IDF sees this as a security threat. Israel has dealt with issues like this in the past, with Palestinians building closer and closer to Area C. We know this is dangerous for Israelis living in other parts of the West Bank (areas where they are legally allowed to enter, Jews are not allowed to enter area A as it is run completely by the Palestinian Authority). After all, it had been near Bethlehem where Dvir Sorek was murdered not very long ago. 


IMPORTANT: Many times, the media will simply listen to claims made by Palestinians and other news sources. They will blindly believe that the area they are referring to is truly under control of the Palestinian Authority (PA). HOWEVER, as we know, many Palestinians do not recognize Israel’s borders and so claim that a certain area is under PA control although it is not. They will simply state that where they are standing and 20 miles over into Israeli territory is theirs as well. This is what happens when you are trying to make peace with a people who ignore all your efforts and legal boundaries. It creates issues. Then when they build in illegal areas and have their buildings destroyed (with fair warning!!!), they blame Israel. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND! I do not know what the specific situation was in this case, but this occurrence is not uncommon. Many Palestinains do not recognize Israel and so therefore do not acknowledge Israel's borders. We also know that the media loves to victimize the Palestinians and so will coddle basically anything they claim to be true when in fact it's all lies. 


Some more info on Palestinians and Area C: 


Ever since a decision in January 2012, the EU has been committed to the expansion of illegal Palestinian settlement in Area C in conjunction with the PA. This is in blatant disregard of the Oslo accords, which the EU purports to uphold. The objective is to create continuous Palestinian settlement throughout the West Bank and thereby isolate and strangle Israeli communities.


This arrangement raises numerous issues such as settlement building in Area C: According to the Oslo Accords, Israel is legally allowed to build there i.e. the Palestinian negotiators agreed to it. Despite this, Israel is often accused of settlement expansion against the wishes of both the Palestinians and many in the wider international community. Also, the influence of the European Union and other foreign governments: Palestinian communities in Area C have benefited from foreign aid and development. The Israeli government considers this to be political meddling. European aid for Palestinian construction in Area C is regarded as illegal by Israel.


It is often alleged that Israeli settlement in Judea and Samaria is “gobbling-up” Palestinian lands in Area C. This is nonsense, as a straightforward encounter with basic facts makes clear that most of Area C is breathtakingly empty: the Judean desert, the northern Samarian desert and the Jordan Valley. These precincts are mostly nature reserves, firing zones and grazing grounds, amounting to more than half of the land in Area C (200,000 of the 350,000 hectares, or 500,000 of 860,000 acres).


All Jewish and Arab inhabitation of Area C cover only about 40% of the land mass. That consists of about 200,000 Palestinians in 25 towns and hundreds of unorganized hamlets, with homes sitting on 8% of the territory and agriculture on another 25%. There are also 400,000 Israelis living in Area C, and their settlements sit on only 2.5% of Area C (which means that their population density is currently more than six times as much), with plans for expansion to another 7%.

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