The Prime Minister’s Office is preparing documentation for Sunday’s cabinet
meeting to show that the authorization of three West Bank outposts is a
technical adjustment and does not constitute the creation of new
settlements.
Political sources have told The Jerusalem Post that the
cabinet is expected to authorize the three West Bank outposts of Bruchin,
Rehalim and Sansana, thereby converting them into legalized
settlements.
Israel has promised the international community not to
create new settlements and has not done so for over a decade.
But the
Prime Minister’s Office said that past cabinet decisions, that predate that
pledge, approve these three communities as settlements.
According to the
Prime Minister’s Office, the government approved the creation of Bruchin on May
19, 1983, Rehalim on November 27, 1991, and Sansana on June 28, 1998, as legal
settlements.
But it did not provide the text of the decisions.
The
Defense Ministry, however, never finished the authorization process, according
to the Prime Minister’s Office. As a result, they remained unauthorized
communities.
It added that part of the problem was a technical one,
involving the language of the initial decisions, which needs to be adjusted. All
three outposts are on state land, according to the Prime Minister’s
Office.
Attorney Talia Sasson included Bruchin and Rehalim in the 2005
report on outposts that she penned for the government.
According to
Sasson, Bruchin was established in May 1999 on state land, some two kilometers
away from the Alei Zahav settlement with NIS 3.3 million from the Ministry of
Construction and Housing.
She said it was unclear if it had authorization
from the government or the Defense Ministry. She did note that according to the
Civil Administration, it had been approved by the government.
Sasson
added that it also lacked zoning plans.
According to Sasson’s report,
Rehalim was created in 1991, near the Kfar Tapuah settlement, with NIS 980,000
from the Ministry of Construction and Housing. She said that it lacked
authorization from the government or the Defense Ministry. Sasson added that it
was built partially on state land and partially on land that belonged to private
Palestinians.
Peace Now lists all three communities as outposts. It
estimates that Bruchin, which is among the largest of all approximately 100
outposts, has a population of 350 people, with 52 caravans and 53 permanent
homes. It estimates that Rehalim has a population of 240 with 24 permanent homes
and 41 mobile ones.
It similarly estimates that Sansana has a population
of 240, with 21 mobile homes and 58 caravans.