Gatestone
Institute - by Bassam Tawil, December 5, 2016
For the full
article go to - http://tinyurl.com/zctqunt
While
construction in Jewish settlements of the West Bank and neighborhoods of
Jerusalem has long been carried out within the frame of the law and in
accordance with proper licenses issued by the relevant authorities, the
Palestinian construction is illegal in every respect.
The
Palestinian goal is to create irreversible facts on the ground. The sheer
enormity of the project raises the question: Who has been funding these massive
cities-within-cities? And why? There is good reason to believe that the PLO and
some Arabs and Muslims, and especially the European Union, are behind the
Palestinian initiative.
The
Jewish outpost of Amona, home to 42 families, is currently the subject of fiery
controversy both in Israel and in the international arena. Apparently,
settlements are only a "major obstacle to peace" when they are
constructed by Jews.
The
EU and some Islamic governments and organizations are paying for the
construction of illegal Palestinian settlements, while demanding that Israel
halt building new homes for Jewish families in Jerusalem neighborhoods or
existing settlements in the West Bank.
The
hypocrisy and raw malice of the EU and the rest of the international community
toward the issue of Israeli settlements is blindingly transparent. Yet we are
also witnessing the hypocrisy of many in the Western mainstream media, who see
with their own eyes the Palestinian settlements rising on every side of
Jerusalem, but choose to report only about Jewish building.
As the international community continues to slam Israel
for construction in Jewish settlement communities, Palestinians are quietly
engaging in massive construction of entire neighborhoods in many parts of the
West Bank and Jerusalem. In addition to overlooking the Palestinian building
project, the West has clearly been neglecting a crucial difference between the
two efforts: while the construction in the Jewish settlements of the West Bank
and neighborhoods of Jerusalem has long been carried out within the frame of
the law and in accordance with proper licenses issued by the relevant
authorities, the Palestinian construction is illegal in every respect.
In this behind-the-scenes endeavor, which does not meet
even the most minimum standards required by engineers, architects and housing
planners, the Palestinian goal is to create irreversible facts on the ground.
A quick tour of the areas surrounding Jerusalem from the
north, east and south easily exposes the colossal construction that is taking
place there. In most cases, these high-rise buildings are slapped together
without licenses or any adequate planning or safety concerns.
An example of massive
illegal Palestinian construction near Shufat and Anata,
on the northeastern
outskirts of Jerusalem.
An example of massive illegal Palestinian construction
near Shufat and Anata, on the northeastern outskirts of Jerusalem.
The Jewish outpost of Amona in the central West Bank,
home to 42 families, is currently the subject of fiery controversy both in
Israel and in the international arena. In 2006, the High Court of Israel ruled
that the outpost is illegal under Israeli law because it lies on private
Palestinian land. In 2014, the High Court ordered the government to evacuate
and demolish the entire outpost within two years.
In Israel, as Amona demonstrates, no one is above the
law. Israel boasts an independent judiciary system that is second to none.
Yet as the debate in Israel intensifies over the fate of
Amona, the Palestinians are making a mockery of laws and building regulations
by embarking on massive construction of illegal neighborhoods and buildings.
Apparently, settlements are only a "major obstacle to peace" when
they are constructed by Jews.
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