Settlers plead with Netanyahu to stop Palestinian construction near Area C
The residents of Binyamin are claiming that the work being carried out by the Palestinian Authority is too close to two Gush Shilo Israeli settlements in Area C, causing security concerns.
By ZACHARY KEYSERA Jewish settler walks at the Jewish settlement outpost of Adei Ad B in the West Bank(photo credit: REUTERS/NIR ELIAS)
Residents who live in the Binyamin region recently sent a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other cabinet ministers, pleading with the Israeli government to halt work being done in Area B, which is controlled by the Palestinian Authority, due to a fear of security concerns.The residents are claiming that the work being carried out by the PA is too close to two Gush Shilo Israeli settlements in Area C – Adi Ad and Amichai – an area controlled entirely by the Israeli government.The residents contacted the IDF, which is responsible for security control over Area B, which reported that the construction work was in order to create agricultural roads for Palestinian farmers. However, after a few residents visited the construction site, they secretly documented a Palestinian contractor claiming the roads are to map out an initial infrastructure for a new Palestinian city, according to Ynet News.According to their conversation with the contractor, the paving of infrastructure will be completed within two months and the first stage of homes will contain 150 plots, one dunam each, spread over 250 hectares of land."This is a construction that seriously harms the personal security of every Israeli living in the communities of Gush Shilo and especially in Amichai, and the public expects the cabinet to wake up, take responsibility and stop this thing immediately," the letter to the cabinet read."The IDF's security in the area is carried out by way of overt and covert means, and according to an assessment of the situation, which stems from various considerations. The IDF and the security forces are constantly working to protect the security of the residents, and law and order in the Judea and Samaria area," the IDF spokesperson said in response to the allegations.The protesters are expected to hold a rally Tuesday night, demanding the Israeli government bring an immediate stop to the construction being carried out by the PA, which they claim threatens their personal security.
