Bibi to Build a New Neighborhood in Dolev, Near Latest Terror Attack

By: Arye Green

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on Monday, directed the Director-General of the Prime Minister’s Office to prepare the groundwork necessary for the establishment of a new neighborhood in Dolev, with approximately 300 new residential housing units.

The new neighborhood is planned in Dolev, the town adjacent to the Dani Spring, where terrorists murdered Rina Shnerb and severely injured her brother and father on Friday.

Netanyahu explained his rationale, building where terrorists have attacked civilians “We will deepen our roots and strike at our enemies. We will continue to strengthen and develop the settlement of Israel.” He said.

The Yesha Council has responded to Netanyahu’s plan with enthusiasm. “We condone any policy that aims to strengthen the settlement and deepen the roots in Judea, Samaria and the Jordan valley. The terrorists, who aim to separate us from our land, will fail.”

They also hinted that the approval of new building in the region ought not to be dependent on acts of terror. “It is our position that plans should be approved regularly, throughout the year, all across Judea and Samaria. The Zionist answer has always been building and development, and we must carry on with that tradition.”

In other developments, following a 15-year-long legal battle, on Monday morning Security forces removed an illegal Palestinian settlement built on Private Jewish land in Gush Etzion.

The land was purchased by the Himnuta Company back in 1969. It is situated between Gush Etzion and Jerusalem and constitutes an essential strategic purpose for securing Jewish presence in the region.

The Jewish National Fund bought plots of land in the area at various periods, both before Israel’s independence and after the six-day war, when Israel returned to the area after Jordanian occupation. In recent years there have been attempts by Palestinians who live in the area to take over the Jewish-owned plots of land.

The land grab in question occurred in 2005 when a Palestinian family built a large home, a farm and a restaurant on the premises. The buildings have been removed in the past by security forces, but they were rebuilt.

In a recent ruling by the High Court of Justice, the judges decided the land is legally privately owned and therefore the buildings ought to be removed. “The building was built illegally, on private land, disobeying direct orders regarding the matter,” the ruling read.

The Regavim organization which monitors and pursues legal action against illegal construction by Palestinian or Bedouin settlers said that in this case justice was served, but it took a long time.

“In this case, it took 15 years between the land grab and the final court ruling,” they said. Adding that “This is a good example that proves the necessity of the proper registration of land in Judea and Samaria, an important first step in the prevention of Palestinian land grabs in the future.”

            (TPS)