From reasons of conservatives' rise in Israel; Discrimination of Jews in the Galilee settlements

The State of Israel presents: Discrimination of Jews in the Galilee settlements

The planning institutions allow the marketing of land to the Arab sector at low prices compared to land in Jewish settlements - Also, these settlements do not even receive areas for expansion • The head of the Misgav Council: "The state is expelling us"

Idan Avni, Israel Hayom, January 5, 2023.

While the Arab sector claims discrimination between the Jewish and Arab communities, the data in the Galilee region show that the state actually works in the opposite way.

In the last 15 years, there has been a significant decline in the proportion of Jews in the Galilee, compared to a significant increase in the proportion of Arab residents. The reason: Actions taken by the governmental planning institutions enable the marketing of state lands to the Arab sector at very low prices, while in the nearby Jewish settlements the cost of land is high and without subsidies from the state, and the settlements do not even receive additional areas for expansion.

The Lev HaGalil area is demarcated between highway 85 in the north and highways 77 and 79 in the south, and highway 65 in the east and highway 70 in the west. Within its scope are cities such as Tamra, Shfaram [Shefa-'Amr], Arraba and Sakhnin. On the other hand, there are no Jewish cities and there are only a few dozen watchtowers built in the 1980s.

In the last 15 years there has been a demographic change, and the Jews, who made up 25% of the residents of the area, now make up only 14%. The reason, they say in the Shiloh Policy Forum, is that "the State of Israel subsidizes land for the housing of minorities, and on the other hand charges the full price from the Jewish settlers." Since 2005, the number of Jews in the area has increased by 1,200 residents and now stands at approximately 98,000 residents, while the number of Arab residents in the area has increased from 441,000 residents to 576,000.

Major General (Res.) Eyal Ben Reuven, a member of the Galilee Security Forum and a resident of Yodfat, explains: "This reality has a security significance. If the state does not take care of strengthening the Jewish settlement by another million residents, we will degenerate into a security reality that the 'Guardian of the Walls' was just its promo. We will reach a situation where we will need tanks to open axes."

Reduction and expansion

In the Jewish settlements, settlement is conditioned by acceptance committees, but in settlements with an urban character, it is clearly visible how the proportion of Arab residents has increased. In Nof HaGalil and Karmiel, about 10% of the residents are already Arabs, and in Kfar Vradim, a demographic change has also been seen in recent years. According to an estimate, about half of the houses that are offered for sale in the settlement are sold to the Arabs of the area, and the number of non-Jewish families already makes up close to 10% of the population.

The Shiloh Policy Forum, which accompanies the residents of Lev HaGalil, says that the actions of the planning authorities, the Ministry of Housing and the Israel Land Authority in the last two decades, contribute to the reduction of Jewish settlement and the expansion of Arab settlement. Dr. Anat Roth, CEO of Shilo Policy Forum, warns: "The demographic reality in the heart of the Galilee today is the same as it was here 75 years ago, when the partition plan determined that this strip of land would be part of the Arab state. If the State of Israel does not strengthen the settlement here immediately, The heart of the Galilee will become the Israeli Donbas region."

The head of the Misgav council, Danny Ivry, faces the problems frequently: in his council there are 29 Jewish settlements that inhabit only 17 thousand dunams. His request to receive an additional 7,000 dunams was refused. The territory of Misgav Council is spread over 164 thousand dunams. Recently, 22 thousand dunams were taken from it in order to expand Arab settlements.

On top of that, the prices paid by Misgav Council residents are sky high compared to their Arab neighbors. While the state markets land at a cost of 1.15 million shekels in the settlement of Gilon and 1.1 million shekels in Koranit, the neighbors in Sha'ab are required to pay only 50 thousand shekels for half a dunam of land owned by the Israel Lands Administration. In Shfaram, a similar piece of land was sold for NIS 74,000.

"I have 6,000 people from Misgav who are ready to build houses, just give them land. But they are being evicted from here only for the real estate data of the Israel Land Administration. The rural area was given up. There is no such thing in the planning authorities as a Jewish village, only an Arab village. There is no natural reproduction in a Jewish settlement, why do the Arabs have it? I am in favor of giving it to the Arabs, but also giving it to the Jews.

Apartheid slur and Arabs often first class in democratic for all - Israel

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A Road for Arabs only' - reported in Sept 2023.

Amichai Shilo, A road for Arabs only, Hakol H., 09/13/2023.

Since the inauguration of a bypass road Al-Arroub, the residents of the area are struggling to keep the old road open to Jews as well

Since then, a bypass road Al-Arroub [العروب] was inaugurated about two months ago, sparking a struggle for residents to maintain access to the old road. Since the road passes through the village and since there is now a new road designed to replace it, Route 60 in this section was abandoned to the Arabs. Residents of the area complain about many stone throws and a clear message from the army that they have nothing to look for on the old road.

"This road leads to a Palestinian settlement. Entry for Israelis is dangerous," announces a red sign placed on the old road. And indeed the IDF forces that until recently were deployed along the axis are beginning to withdraw from their positions.

"The IDF is currently on the old road, but the trend is to move the positions from there," says Aviad, a resident of Carmei Tzur, in a conversation with us. "There is no reason to have one road open only to Arabs and a new road where Arabs and Jews travel together." A protest group that was opened and includes members from hundreds of residents of the area is trying to keep the road open to Jews as well, either by demonstrations or by daily driving on the road. "I go to work every day and come back via the old road." another resident of the area tells us. "This is how we make sure that the road remains open and the road remains safe." Beyond the problem of the abandonment of a part of Eretz Israel to the Arabs and the security abandonment of the area, there is great doubt whether the new road solves the traffic problems in the area. "The new road is great, but every accident is small and it can be blocked for many hours" Aviad tells us. "There's no reason why I can't turn on the Wayze in the morning and based on the routes decide which way to travel." "There was an accident on the road towards Kiryat Arba," describes another resident, "the whole road is at a standstill. There is no traffic for several hours."

Prevented from Jews and not from Arabs

About a week ago, after the IDF soldiers eliminated a terrorist who had thrown a rocket launcher in the village, the Etzion Brigade, Col. Itai Matek, issued a closed military area order on the old axis. In order to enforce the order, the Brigadier General stationed soldiers at the beginning of the road and prevented Jews from passing, but the road remained open to Arabs despite the order. According to the residents, the IDF force that was there checked vehicles with yellow license plates and did not allow Jews to pass, while Palestinian vehicles passed without General inspection. The order was for twelve hours on the day of the terrorist's funeral. "It is serious, and it is forbidden under any circumstances to close the road to Jews," Eliyahu Liebman, head of the Kiryat Arba council, tells us. "Even on a point-by-point basis, in any situation, you have to make sure that this axis is open"

Bypass roads, security or lawlessness?

The issue of bypass roads has been open for many years in the settlement. Some see them as a blessing because of the security they bring and the speed of travel that usually increases thanks to them, and some lament the loss of land that involves switching to another road. In the case of a bypass road Al-Arroub on the other hand, there is almost no dispute that the old road should be left open. This is because the new road is small and does not already meet the needs of the residents of the area, and also because it is very close to the village and already serves as a target for Arabs who throw stones.

Another resident with whom we spoke tells us about the difficult feelings with which he left the conversation with the general. "The first time stones were thrown at me was on this road," he says. After stones were thrown at him on the road, he spoke to the general in an attempt to convince him to increase the army's presence in the area, but left with hard feelings. "At the end of the conversation I felt as if it was my fault that stones were thrown at me," he describes. "I'm really afraid that the police will suddenly tell me that I'm not entitled to compensation for the damage at all because I drove in a place where it's not allowed to drive."

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