originally published by the Yesha Council, myesha.org.il, translated by Hillel Fendel
Several Israeli reservists, working undercover in Arab areas completely on their own, have revealed a detailed, ongoing Palestinian Authority plan to build the infrastructures for a future Palestinian state.
The activity, as reported by Channel 13 correspondent Tzvi Yechezkeli, is taking place on a daily basis in areas of Judea and Samaria that, according to the Oslo Accords, belong exclusively to Israel.
The undercover team members refer to the detailed PA documentation that they've discovered as the Archives of the Palestinian Nuclear Bomb: hundreds of construction plans, lists of donors, and lots of money that is being used, right under our noses, to expand the PA's reach to territory assigned by the Oslo Accords to full Israeli control!
Furthermore, all this is taking place without Israeli permission yet with full and open European Union support - in land on which Oslo forbids the PA to build.
Yechezkeli's TV report features scenes of the undercover team driving through Ramallah – as photographed from above by a drone – to meet with a high-ranking PA official, none other than the Chief Supervisor of the PA Area C Planning Program. The team is constantly on the alert - without fear - for unexpected violent developments, in the event that they come under suspicion from the locals. They all speak fluent Arabic, of course.
On this occasion, they are driving a Jewish woman, who grew up in an Arabic-speaking home, to pose as a Belgian journalist and interview Mr. Rabia. As she is dropped off for the meeting, the driver parts from her with a few final words of support, advice, and - "Shma Yisrael, Ado-nai Elo-heinu, Ado-nai Echad."
Another member of the team is a former soldier in the now-defunct Southern Lebanese Army, with which Israel was once aligned. His job is to pose as a photo-journalist during the "interview" with Rabia, and record every word he says.
But first, some further introductory information: Mr. Gilad Ach, Founder and Director of an organization named Ad Kan (see below), says: "What has been discovered here is essentially a mechanism for the establishment of a PA State, under the nose of the State of Israel."
Standing with Yechezkeli in a part of Area C just west of Gush Etzion, Ach points to the Arab village of Surif, just south of an important route to Beit Shemesh, and to another village, Jaba, just north of the same route. Ach explains, "Both of these Area B villages – under PA civilian control – have spread out into Area C, and are continuing to do so, towards this critical road onto which they are closing in and seeking to choke."
The story started when a group of IDF reservists, former mista'arvim [undercover agents] and residents of Yesha, got to talking together. "The landscape around us is changing," they said to each other: "We're seeing more and more Arab fields, more construction, more Arab projects being carried out… Yesha is being largely ignored by the State of Israel, while the PA is working overtime to take over these areas [the empty lands settled by neither Arabs nor Jews – HF] and pave the way for a future state."
They decided they had to reveal to Israel's decision-makers, and to the public, the scope of the PA master plan in Judea and Samaria – and how it was being executed. "If nothing is done, Israel will wake up suddenly to find a changed situation, with nothing we can do about it."
Back to Jihad Rabia. His job is essentially to take the millions given by the EU and others to the PA, and use them to outright change the reality in what they refer to as the West Bank. The interviewer was able to get access to him simply by calling the relevant PA office. She explained that her name was "Mirin," that she represented a Belgian news agency "here in Palestine," and that she wanted to do a report that would help bring additional EU donations.
Yechezkeli asked her afterwards, "How did a simple interview garner you so much information on the Master Plan for Area C?"
"It's a matter of connecting," she answered. "I was very cutesy, and the atmosphere was friendly, and then he brought in some more people from his Council and they showed me more and more plans… They all wanted to cooperate, because they really want to get these donations."
"And what did you discover?"
"We found how the Europeans simply ignore Israel's sovereignty there. They just tell the PA people, 'Ignore the Israelis, make believe they're not there.'"
Rabia was filmed saying outright that it was their plan to build the PA state without allowing anything to get in their way. "We made a Palestinian decision," he said, "to apply our sovereignty… We have to prove that the PA is working harder to develop this land than is the occupation [i.e., Israel]… We started doing this in 2008, with European Union support and accompaniment."
Rabia said that even when Israel destroys what they built, or confiscates equipment, "we'll build it again, thanks to the European Union, to Arab countries, and to other donors. The EU has promised us 16 million Euros per year, and others have promised us more than another 15 million."
He then acknowledged the incredible fact that a full 70% of the PA's budget for local projects goes to Area C – an area in which the PA is not allowed to build a thing!
And as Susanna Rodriguez, member of the EU's Area C work team and spokesperson, acknowledged, the EU is providing the money for this illegal activity, and is offering other practical help. She said it is a "top top priority" to work on land rights and land registry, because "that's the only way to defend the land."
Ad Kan head Gilad Achi, whose organization's goal is to track PA activities in construction, lands, environment, foreign funding, and more, said, "We now have all their plans for the next decade for their takeovers; we have maps, architectural blueprints, plans for farming, industry, roads – all their plans are in our hands."
Kobi Eliraz, former Advisor to Defense Minister on Area C, stated this worrisome fact: While the Oslo Accords stipulate that 60% of Judea and Samaria are Area C, in actuality, the situation is more than reversed, and only 30% of the area remains Area C, under full Israeli control. "We're watching a creeping annexation; we have fallen asleep on the watch. And it's not just a matter for the right-wing, because even the left-wing, if they wish to make a deal at some future date, will need some land to trade for a deal – but we won't have any; we're simply giving it away on a daily basis."
An Ad Kan researcher added: "The PA plans talk clearly of their intention to invest nearly a billion dollars (!) in construction in and around the Old City over the next nine years. We also see plans for $778 million for Hevron/Bethlehem, and another $500 million for Ramallah – not inside the cities, which are Area B, but outside the cities, in Area C!"
The IDF's Civil Administration – the governing body in Yesha – says that it enforces all the laws governing Area C. However, most unfortunately, a high-ranking Administration officer known only as M. told a foreign news agency this past December something very different: "There are places where we do nothing, such as outside cities like Tulkarem, Nablus, Hevron… where there is massive ongoing building; we don't even issue demolition orders. The policy is to not get involved with them [there]."
Will Israel wake up in time not only to make declarations against a PA state, but to also stop the PA from actively building one under our noses?