It may not be the best look, and it's Sysephian and bleak, but it's the truth: Every day in Judea and Samaria, the noose around Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria tightens.
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With generous European assistance, the Palestinian Authority is paving and planting. Everything is done out in the open. In fact, the PA is flaunting its actions. Every minute of every hour, it is working to implement former Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad's 2009 plan to establish a de facto Palestinian state on the ground. The Jewish residents in the settlements don't feel it. It's not terrorism, thank God. It is, however, silent strangulation.
If you stop at the outlook by Fatsa'el, a Jordan Valley moshav, you will see an incredible sight: huge expanses of land and then clusters of Arab construction. An aerial view offers a gloomy picture: The clusters are situated precisely on the border of Area C, registered state lands under the jurisdiction of the nearby Tomer moshav. And so, while Areas A and B – which are either under total or partial Palestinian jurisdiction – remain empty, Area C is being conquered. This is not the result of a shortage of available land for Arab construction but the intentional construction around settlements on state lands.
You will encounter a similar sight should you look out from the northern neighborhoods of Efrat: The Arabs' homes are built just dozens of meters from the community's streets. Efrat's dedicated residents have established their own war room. They track every brick and every bit of cement that is spilled and report it to the authorities. They know every demolition order that is issued but not enforced, and they do not give up. But the state quite simply does not exist. The Civil Administration is failing at its task and by choice.
There is no one to trust. It's not that the Civil Administration lacks the ability, manpower, or money to do what needs to be done. It simply isn't interested in protecting state lands in Judea and Samaria. A majority of the slots intended for the campaign for Area C have been allotted to other tasks. This was done because the Civil Administration is not interested in enforcing the law on illegal Arab construction around the settlements. A phone call to the body is met with indifference. Everything is slow, lazy, or in the worst case – intentional.
We've reached a stage where there is no state on which to rely on major issues. Real leadership from leaders who will get off the fence is needed. Local leadership in Judea and Samaria, whether elected or civilian organizations, must get off the fence and protect state lands, settlement lands, our homeland. It should be done intelligently, responsibly, and in a law-abiding manner. We should not resort to violence or vandalism against the Arab population, but rather go about this in a positive way, by planting trees and working the land, by showing our presence on the ground. If we will not be for ourselves, who will be for us? There simply isn't any choice.
We must get off the psychological and physical fence and defend our land.
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