Photo Credit: Courtesy B’Tselem
Israel’s Defence Minister, Benny Gantz, is cooperating with the biggest real estate scam this country has ever seen. He does this in two ways: first, by taking advantage of the current make-up of the coalition government and making moves to legalize a number of illegal Arab outposts in Judea-Samaria, the heartland of the ancient Land of Israel. And secondly, by continuing his policy of ignoring illegal Palestinian construction and agricultural activity in Area C that he began as Defence Minister in the previous government.
Only last week, we were made privy to the effrontery of the PA and their apologists. On 10 February, MK Ahmad Tibi (Joint List) published a Tweet in which he accused Israel of stealing Arab land by destroying an agricultural field, saying this is the face of the “occupation”. However, a deeper examination shows that Israeli state land has been illegally cultivated by residents of the nearby Palestinian town. In other words, Tibi spread the lie that Israel stole land when it is the reverse that is the truth.
The Context of the Scam
To understand the context of the scam, one must understand recent history: Judea-Samaria was called the “West Bank” by the Jordanians who occupied it from 1948 to 1967, a name that has stuck until today, just like the old Roman Empire’s occupation name of “Palestine” has stuck until today. Renaming occupied territories is a way to…
