Defense Minister Naftali Bennett gave initial approval to a 7,000 unit West Bank construction project in Efrat, in a move that would help expand building within the settlement’s municipal lines in the direction of the Palestinian city of Bethlehem.
The left-wing group Peace Now plans to petition the High Court of Justice against the unusually large construction project.
Bennett’s authorization allows planning to commence on a hilltop known as Givat HaEitam, thereby marking a significant turning point in both the 20-year battle to develop that part of Gush Etzion area and in the transformation of Efrat into a city.
Left-wing and Palestinian opponents of the project have dubbed it “E2,” viewing it as one more step that stymies the potential expansion of Bethlehem which is increasingly squeezed on two sides between development in Jerusalem’s Har Homa neighborhood and building projects in Efrat.
For the Palestinians, the project plays the same role in the Gush Etzion region as the E1 building project within the Ma’aleh Adumim settlement. That one project only includes 3,500 units. This E2 project is double the size.
Both projects are seen by Palestinians as major stumbling blocs to the contiguous development of areas which they hold will be part of the final boundaries of their state.
Moving the 7,000 unit Givat HaEitam project forward is one of a number of high level steps Bennett has taken to make his mark in the West Bank, in what are likely his final weeks as Defense Minister.
In announcing the project advancement, Bennett’s office said it would “enable the arrival of new residents [to Efrat], the continued expansion of the settlement as part of reinforcing the grater Gush Etzion region.”
Bennett said, “earlier I gave a green light for thousands of new apartments in Efrat in Gush Etzion. I instructed the defense establishment to continue to strengthen the settlements in a resolute fashion.”
Efrat Council head Oded Revivi said, “Today we mark an important moment in a 20-year journey during which we have overcome a host of political, legal and professionals hurdles to obtain the appropriate permits for Givat HaEytam.” He added that this has included cases before the High Court of Justice.
“Over the years Efrat has become the heartbeat of Gush Etzion. [The community] welcomes the faith the government of Israel, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has placed in its ability to expand and build so that it can absorb new immigrants, young couples and families who seek a quality life in a settlement near Jerusalem,” Revivi said.
Peace Now charged: “This is a cynical move by a caretaker defense minister at the end of his mandate, while the nation is still reeling from the corona crisis, to advance a dangerous plan aimed at entrenching permanent Israeli domination in the southern West Bank and harming the prospect of a two-state solution. The right thing to do is to allocate the land for Palestinian construction, but the Ministry of Defense is currently run by an irresponsible politician willing to cross any red line in the name of his anti-democratic ideology.”
PLO Executive Committee member Hanan Ashwari accused Israel of an “outrageous exploitation of the COVID-19 global pandemic to advance the illegal settler project and irreparably damage any prospect of political breakthrough.”
She called the advancement of the project a “crime” and a “grave violation of international law,” and linked it with Israel’s pending plans to annex West Bank settlements.
“It is obvious that Israel and its allies in the current US administration are unfazed by the serious yet still rhetorical international opposition to annexation plans, which are unfolding on the ground everyday,” Ashwari said.
She called on the international community to take Israel to task for such actions.
“All efforts must focus on confronting this reckless and lawless annexation agenda legally, politically, economically and through all possible actionable avenues,” Ashwari said.