A clandestine undertaking on behalf of Israel, the Jets and the Jews.

 
The Settlers East Of The Fence

Probably the most inaccurate myth about the security fence Israel has been (very slowly) constructing is that it covers most of the Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria, with only "isolated settlements" on the east of the fence.

This is simply not the case. The reality is that most of the settlements are not slated to be within the fence, and many of these communities are quite large. Beit El, Ofra, Kiryat Arba and Tekoa are four of the many notable settlements outside the fence.

In an interesting feature in Haaretz's Weekend Magazine, an interview of former Shin Bet chief Ami Ayalon by Ari Shavit, the following revealing exchange occurred:

Ayalon:

I say that we must come and tell the truth to these settlers. We must accelerate the construction of the fence, in accordance with the High Court's directives, and we must tell the settlers that the State of Israel will not be on the eastern side of the separation fence. We must apply the Evacuation Compensation Law immediately to all the settlers to the east of the fence.

Shavit:

You're essentially talking about the evacuation of about 100,000 people from their homes within a few years.

Ayalon:

I'm not talking about 100,000. It's more like 50,000 or 60,000. And I say that by the end of the decade, within about five years, we will evacuate them. By the end of the decade, we'll create a reality of two states.

Shavit did not challenge Ayalon's assertion that "only" 50,000 or 60,000 people will live east of the fence. But in fact, Shavit was right. If everyone east of the fence is to be evacuated, around 100,000 residents of Judea and Samaria will be evicted from their homes.

This would be far more draconian than what was proposed under the Clinton Plan, which called for Israel and the Palestinians to "develop a map consistent with ... 80 percent of settlers" remaining under Israeli sovereignty.

In other words, Clinton was calling for approximately 50,000 residents of Judea and Samaria to be evicted in the context of a permanent and final peace agreement, while many Israelis are now ready to evict double that number in a unilateral move.
posted on 2/13/2006