The Palestinian Authority has been systematically taking over land for over a decade, the Regavim non-governmental organization said in a report published this week. The group promotes Zionist land use and strives to protect Israel's natural resources.
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According to the report, 12 years since the introduction of the "Fayyad Plan," the PA has been taking over Area C, which under the 1993 Oslo Accords is under full Israeli control, by employing tactics such as "mass-scale construction on vast swaths of land; incentivized relocation of Arab residents of Area A and B into Area C; creation of physical infrastructures to support a network of illegal outposts (roads, water systems and electricity networks); widespread agricultural work on Israeli land and destruction archeological sites that confirm Jewish ties to the territory" – all supported and funded by European donors.
Put forth in 2009 by then-Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, the plan was to create a de facto Palestinian state, not through negotiations with Israel, but by establishing facts on the ground – such as houses, farms and schools – in strategic areas throughout Area C.
According to Regavim data, the PA controls approximately one-quarter of Area C, of which 20% is taken up by Palestinian agricultural projects (20% of it on Israeli state land, absentees' land and IDF firing zones) and at least another 2.5% by illegal construction, including thousands of kilometers of illegal roads. In addition, the report said, the PA is planning, or has already begun constructing, illegal projects in another 5% of Area C.
"When viewed as a whole, the master plans are a clear statement of intent," the report said. "This massive effort aims to take control of the major traffic arteries serving the Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria, to disrupt Israeli territorial contiguity, to surround and isolate Israeli communities … to annex the Judean Desert and to lay siege to the Jordan Valley."
Regavim Director Meir Deutsch warned that unless Israel took immediate countermeasures, in only a few years, the Jewish state would face a hostile and irreversible new reality.
"We have been warming of the organized Palestinian takeover of open territories in Judea and Samaria for over a decade," he said. "Instead of stopping it, the state is giving the Palestinian Authority a hand and allows it to act in Area C as it pleases."
In response to the Regavim report, far-right Knesset member and Otzma Yehudit chief Itamar Ben Gvir lambasted the current government.
"The evil government sits with supporters of terrorism who are encouraging the Palestinian takeover of Area C. The government headed by [Prime Minister Naftali] Bennett must wake up before it is too late. We need to see the full picture and examine the consequences [of the PA's actions] on Israel's security."
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