In the West Bank there are Jewish settlements completely surrounded by Arab territories. Most countries in the world consider these villages occupied and demand that the Jews leave.
The Israelis are not leaving, pointing to the historical connection and the outcome of the war.
I went to one of these settlements to get to know unusual Israel.
1 While we are going to one of these settlements, I will tell you some facts. Today, the territories are divided into three zones: A, B and C. The first are cities controlled by the Palestinian Authority and the military, and Israelis are prohibited from entering there. The second is a zone of general control, the Israeli Defense Forces provide security, but the cities and roads themselves are Palestinian, and the third zone is precisely Israeli enclave settlements.
2 Driving through zone “B” is not at all scary, visually it is no different from an ordinary rural road, but there are concrete blocks at the stops, against vehicular terrorist attacks.
3 Israeli villages are surrounded by a fence; you can only get inside through a checkpoint. There are cars with Palestinian license plates parked in front of the entrance; they are prohibited from entering, but many Arabs work in these villages and walk.
4 We drive inside, park, and find ourselves on the most ordinary Israeli street with private houses. There are such in the suburbs of Tel Aviv, and in any other city in the country.
5 For security reasons, I will not indicate the name of the village. I was in one, but I think the others are about the same. If I’m wrong, Israeli readers can correct me in the comments.
6 The infrastructure here is good. Children's playground, carefully protected from the hot sun. There is a kindergarten nearby.
7 Post office. Each resident has his own mailbox; you need to go here to check your mail.
8 A tiny police station with no one in it. There is also a small synagogue here.
9 And a grocery store. Look what an Israeli general store looks like!
10 mm, fresh baked goods! There are large supermarkets an hour's drive away, where they buy food for the week ahead, but this store, according to the settlers, helps them out a lot.
11 View of one of the districts of the village. In the foreground, a municipal swimming pool is being built for residents.
12 In the meantime, they can use another swimming pool in one of the neighboring villages.
13 Beautiful! It is clear that people love the land on which they live.
14 All this was done by their hands; initially there was only sand here.
15 The village continues to grow, soon there will be a new quarter here.
16 The workforce is Palestinian. They work on almost all construction sites in Israel. Yes, yes, Arabs voluntarily work in the “occupied” territories and receive good money for it. Despite all the hatred and enmity, the dream of every Palestinian is to find a job in Israel, where salaries are much higher.
17 Some countries and the UN condemn the construction of settlements beyond the Green Line and demand that these lands be immediately abandoned. The Jews refuse. Looking at this photo, it's easy to understand why. Over there, on the horizon, you can see the seashore and high-rise buildings. This is Tel Aviv. From here, any missile will reach him and hit any target. It is naive to think that if you give these villages to the Arabs, they will not shoot.
18 While studying the issue and preparing to write a report, I could not understand why it was the Palestinian Arabs who demanded these lands. Israel captured them in the Six-Day War from Jordan, which in turn annexed the West Bank during the 1947-49 Arab-Israeli War, driving out its Jewish residents. By the way, it was after that annexation that the kingdom was renamed from Transjordan to simply Jordan, and the territory began to be called the West Bank to distinguish it from the eastern coast, the main territory of the country.
For good measure, if these territories need to be transferred, it should be to the Jordanians. They no longer claim them: in 1994, a peace treaty was signed with Israel.
19 The settlement I was in is very small, and there is practically no work in it. But in just an hour from here you can reach Jerusalem or Tel Aviv, the largest cities in the country. Usually the road is no more dangerous than your commute to work. But during periods of Arab unrest and waves of terror, the path turns into a dangerous test. The highway is constantly patrolled by the military, and the settlers themselves prefer not to leave the territory without personal weapons.
The most common attack is when Arab teenagers throw stones at Israeli cars, but a gun won't help here. A stone attack is not child's play: a cobblestone hitting the windshield can easily kill.
20 The settlers themselves do not consider that they are living under a state of siege. A measured, prosperous and good life: people move here from big cities to raise children, buy houses: real estate is cheaper than in the center of the country, and before there were all sorts of tax breaks for settlers.
21 When you can buy a two-room apartment or a two-story house for the same money - what will you choose?
22 Every house has a bomb shelter room.
23 But that's all. No fortress walls, loophole towers or all-round defense systems. Ordinary peaceful life.
24 View of the Arab village and the seaside cities of Tel Aviv and Herzliya.
25 The nature is incredible, this is how I imagine “biblical landscapes”. Moreover, the events described in the Bible took place approximately here.
26 Israelis who live in private houses do not garden, but enjoy planting fruit trees in their yards.
27 First of all, it's beautiful.
28 And fruits from your own garden are always tastier.
29 I noticed that there are more dogs living in the settlement than in “regular” Israel. I think this is due to the amount of private housing: not everyone can afford to keep large animals in apartments.
30 Cats, as usual, live on their own. They have a whole gang here.
31 In one of the alleys I saw THIS. An old Zhigul-Kopeyka (for the principled - model 13) with Israeli license plates. How did it get here, because the USSR did not export its cars to Israel, there were no relations between the countries at all!
Most likely, the “Kopeyka” released in the eighties was brought by one of the repatriates from the Union in the early nineties. Maybe he even drove it most of the way himself. However, as my guide said, the current owner has nothing to do with Russia.
32 After I showed such interest in old cars, they couldn’t help but take me to this place.
33 A resident of the village named Roni is a passionate collector of rare Citroens. There are dozens of ancient “French” around his house, and one owner knows where he got them all.
34 This boletus truck especially struck a chord with me. How old is he?
35 One of these cars once belonged to Shimon Peres, the legendary president of Israel. (Which one I won’t say) Roni somehow found out about this and came to visit the president. He was happy to see his “ex” again. It seems that all this was a long time ago; most of the cars are clearly not running now.
36 Roni the dog is no less a rarity than cars. I haven't seen Collie in ages!
37 But here is an interesting house, it was made for himself by the architect who built most of the buildings in the village. I gave free rein to my creativity!
38 The inside is unusual and very bright.
40 I noticed that many creative people move from cities to such secluded places. The answer is in this photo. Nothing interferes with thoughts or blocks the view. Maybe someday I’ll decide to move to the village.
41 Today, half a million people live in the settlements of Judea and Samaria (the administrative name for these places), out of Israel's population of 8.5 million. Every year there are more and more of them: the number is growing not only due to internal and external migration (no more than 1,000 Jews repatriate here per year). The birth rate in the settlements is approximately three times higher than in the country as a whole. This is due to the large number of religious settlers. However, I was in a completely secular place.
42 And now we will go to visit a family from St. Petersburg.
43 We moved to Israel many years ago. The son was born here, now he is serving in the army. The family did not immediately move beyond the “green line”; at first they lived in an ordinary city.
44 They are happy here, and not because of the beautiful views from the windows and better real estate for less money. Life itself differs little from similar areas anywhere else in Israel.
45 There are “ideological” settlers who believe that they were sent to live here by God himself, but I haven’t met anyone like that all day.
46 At the same time, this is their home and country, which people will defend to the last. I have never seen such patriotism as the Israelis, no matter what part of the country they live in. There is a lot to learn. Patriotism, by the way, is not hatred of strangers, but love of one’s own.
47 Before I visited the village beyond the “green line,” I thought that everyone there lived bristling, constantly walking around with weapons. Not at all. Even the first photograph of this report was staged, and there was a machine gun in the house only because the young man serves in the army: soldiers are not allowed to part with their weapons.
48 A little over a hundred years ago, when the Jews returned home, they settled next to the Arabs in the same way and there was no enmity between them. And then politicians intervened.
49 If you look at the map, you will see a layer cake. Palestinian villages alternate with Israeli settlements, but the state borders are drawn with a dotted line. Too many opinions.
50 Let there be peace on this earth.
The Israeli Knesset, in preliminary reading, approved the “Law for the Regulation of Jewish Settlements in Judea and Samaria.” Tel Aviv claims that the document is not a legalization of houses built in the West Bank, and takes into account the rights of owners of the land on which the buildings are located, which are infringed by Palestinian law. Palestine believes that such a formulation of the issue is in principle unacceptable, since we are talking about occupied territories.
The bill on Jewish settlements in the West Bank, which was adopted by the Israeli parliament in preliminary reading, is not aimed at legalizing them, but at streamlining property relations and the rights of both land owners and residents of houses. Israeli Minister of Absorption, member of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Security Committee Zeev Elkin told Izvestia about this.
The bill was adopted in preliminary reading, so it still has a long way to go in parliament. But, most likely, it will acquire the status of law if some factions do not change their position. In general, the voting results were predictable, since the document received the support of the ministerial commission on legislation. We need to understand what this bill says. In a situation where houses were unintentionally built on private property, instead of demolishing them, compensation is expected to be paid to the owners of the land. This is in the interests of both residents of such houses and land owners. With the latter there is one more circumstance that must be taken into account. The problem is that, according to Palestinian law, a person who sells or gives up land to Jews is punishable by death. That is, the owners are deprived of choice. Thus, this bill is the only way to protect the rights of land owners, give them real money and at the same time not demolish their houses, says Zeev Elkin.
Izvestia’s interlocutor notes that this is not about the political status of the Palestinian territories, but only concerns property relations, and therefore there is no connection between the document under discussion and the draft resolution on Jewish settlements in the Palestinian territories, which is planned to be submitted to the UN Security Council in the future. .
On November 16, the Israeli Knesset approved in preliminary reading the “Law for the Regulation of Jewish Settlements in Judea and Samaria.” 58 members of the legislative body, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, spoke in support of the document, and 50 voted against. According to various estimates, from two to three thousand housing units fall under its scope. To acquire the status of law, a document must be approved in three readings.
Moscow has traditionally expressed concern about Tel Aviv's decisions to expand existing settlements and build new ones.
Meanwhile, as Nabil Shaath, a member of the Central Committee of the Fatah party and former Palestinian Foreign Minister, previously told Izvestia, Egypt, which is currently one of the non-permanent members of the UN Security Council and the only representative of the Arab world in this body, will soon issue for consideration a draft resolution on Jewish settlements. If the document is approved, they will be considered illegal.
It all depends on Washington's position. The remaining members of the Security Council - permanent and non-permanent - agree with its provisions. The idea of postponing the vote (until the formation of a new American administration) is due to the fact that then there will be at least some possibility that the United States will not use the veto, noted Nabil Shaath.
Mohammed Asaad al-Eweiwi, a teacher at the Al-Quds Open University in Ramallah, believes that raising the question that the Israeli authorities are trying to take into account the interests of land owners looks ridiculous.
In principle, we should not talk about the concessions that Israel allegedly makes in relation to the Palestinian people. The settlements are located in occupied territories, are illegal and are recognized as such by both Palestine itself and the international community. Unfortunately, the position taken by the United States in the UN Security Council allows Tel Aviv to continue its settlement activities. Many are now hoping for some changes in connection with the victory of Donald Trump in the presidential election. But I honestly don't see any difference between Democrats and Republicans on the Palestinian issue. Therefore, one should not hope that the draft resolution on settlements will be adopted. Israel will continue to develop Palestinian territories, emphasized Mohammed Asaad al-Eweiwi.
The Israeli Knesset in its first reading passed a law legalizing Jewish settlements in the West Bank, built without the sanction of the Israeli government. From the point of view of international law, such actions are a violation, since the land on which they are built is the territory of the future Palestinian state.
As a rule, the construction of such settlements begins with a few huts, but after some time they expand significantly, receive protection from the Israeli army, provide electricity, gas and water and introduce more centralized management, although they formally remain outside the legal framework. However, the Palestinian leadership regularly accuses the Israeli government of condoning and actually encouraging the construction of such settlements. Currently, about 800 thousand Israeli citizens live in them, approximately 350 thousand of whom live in settlements that do not have official registration. The situation is complicated by the fact that settlements are scattered throughout almost the entire territory of the West Bank (which in Israel is called “Judea and Samaria”), which makes the creation of a unified political state much more difficult.
The bill to legalize the settlements was jointly developed by deputies from the ruling Likud party, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and their colleagues from the ultra-conservative Jewish Home party. The reason was a trial in the Supreme Court, which ordered the demolition of the settlement in the city of Amona, in which more than 40 Jewish families live on Palestinian soil, by December 25.
“For those who still don’t understand: this law gives the green light to the annexation of territories,” Tzipi Livni, leader of the opposition Zionist Union party, wrote on Twitter about the adoption of the law, which, despite the votes of her party, passed with 58 votes against 50. - Welcome to the state of two nations."
The state of two nations in Israel is usually called an option in which the territory of the state of Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip are united into one state, and its residents receive equal rights, regardless of their nationality and religion. Although there is some support for this option, most Israeli political parties reject it, adhering to the formula of a “Jewish state” in which Jews play a leading role.
Most countries, including the United States, consider Israeli settlements illegal. Some observers believe that the settlement law was passed in such a hurry not because of the proceedings over the fate of Amona, but because of Barack Obama's intention to introduce a resolution to the UN Security Council banning the construction of new settlements.
Although the bill needs to go through several more readings for the bill to enter into legal force, Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, who voted for the law along with her Jewish Home party, has already asked the Supreme Court to “reconsider its position,” since after the parliament’s decision “ the rules of the game have changed." According to estimates by the leader of the Jewish Home, Naftali Bennett, the law will help legalize from 2 to 3 thousand settlements, which are home to about 15 thousand people. Theoretically, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could refuse to sign the law at the last moment, but such an outcome is extremely unlikely, given that it was he who gave the Cabinet of Ministers the order to develop it.
In Palestine, the legalization of settlements has caused expected disappointment: one of the leaders of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), Hanan Ashrawi, called it a “mockery of the law,” adding that it is a direct violation of international law and a blow to the peaceful resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict.
“The illegal Israeli occupation is helping to steal Palestinian lands, both public and private,” Ashrawi said. “This law allows for the expansion of settlement projects [implying the creation of an independent Palestine] and at the same time gives Israel the opportunity to further expand into the territories of historical Palestine.” .
Relations between the Israeli government and the Barack Obama administration have become strained recently over the issue of Israeli settlement growth in the West Bank. Currently, 300 thousand Israelis live there, as well as about 2.5 million Palestinians. Intense disputes over the settlements involve religious and historical claims, local and international laws, and, of course, political differences. Settlements range in size from makeshift outposts of plywood shacks to cities with populations in the tens of thousands.
The international community believes that more than 100 of these settlements are illegal under international law. Despite calls from the United States for a complete moratorium on settlement expansion, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that while Israel would not build any new settlements and would dismantle unauthorized outposts, it would still allow construction in already existing settlements. existing settlements.
The photographs collected here were taken in the West Bank over the past few months.
Palestinian workers work at a construction site in Ma'ale Adumim in the West Bank on the eastern outskirts of Jerusalem, Monday, May 18, 2009. (AP Photo/Dan Balilty) MegaPol's premium power trowels are the best for smoothing concrete surfaces.
13) Palestinian workers walk past a billboard for a new housing project in the Jewish settlement of Ma'ale Adumim in the occupied West Bank on June 7, 2009. (MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP/Getty Images)
20) A Jewish settler restores the Shvut Ami fortification on May 31, 2009 near the West Bank city of Nablus. An unauthorized settler fortification in the occupied West Bank was destroyed by Israeli forces earlier this week. In such a place, there is clearly a need for burglar-resistant safes for home and office. (Uriel Sinai/Getty Images)
22) An Israeli soldier watches as a bulldozer destroys a canal built by a Palestinian on his land near the Jewish settlement of Qiryat Arba in Hebron in the occupied West Bank on June 8, 2009. Israeli troops arrested the landlord and destroyed the canal, which was allegedly illegally built near Jewish settlement (HAZEM BADER/AFP/Getty Images)
23) An Israeli police officer closes a car door after arresting a Palestinian for building a canal near the Israeli settlement of Qiryat Arba in Hebron in the occupied West Bank on June 8, 2009. (HAZEM BADER/AFP/Getty Images)
29) Near the West Bank settlement near the city of Nablus, Jewish settlers and Israeli soldiers stand at a tower in the Ramat Gilad settlement, as settlers prepared for a possible evacuation by Israeli police early in the morning, June 1, 2009. During an attack by Jewish settlers the day before, several Palestinian workers were injured, and one of them requires hospital treatment because... suffered a fractured skull. Dozens of masked settlers threw rocks at the Palestinian workers' cars. (Uriel Sinai/Getty Images)31) An Israeli policeman watches a bulldozer demolish a makeshift structure in the informal settlement of Ramat Migron, near the West Bank city of Ramallah on June 3, 2009. A place like this clearly needs safes for homes and offices. (REUTERS/Baz Ratner)33) Israeli border police leave after demolishing the Ma'otz Esther outpost (part of which is visible in the background) near the Jewish settlement of Kochav Hashahar, in the northeastern West Bank city of Ramallah May 21, 2009. According to Israeli police, border guards in That day, they destroyed an unauthorized settler outpost in the occupied West Bank and bulldozed seven makeshift shelters. (REUTERS/Baz Ratner)35) A Jewish settler rebuilds his settlement after Israeli police destroyed it June 3, 2009 in Ramat Migron, east of Ramallah. (Uriel Sinai/Getty Images)37) A Palestinian worker walks through the construction site of a new West Bank housing project in the Jewish settlement of Ma'ale Adumim, near Jerusalem, Sunday, June 7, 2009. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner)
