Bezeq operating license for Area C formalized after 36 years
Settler housing approval in Beit El 'meaningless' unless army base moved.
By TOVAH LAZAROFFThe logo of Bezeq Israeli Telecommunication Corp Ltd, the country's largest telecom group, is seen outside their headquarters in Tel Aviv, Israel June 21, 2017.(photo credit: REUTERS/AMIR COHEN)
Bezeq Israel Telecom was on Sunday awarded its first license to operate in West Bank Area C that will allow it to provide uniform high-speed internet services to settlements and along roads and public areas.Bezeq has operated in the area without a license for 36 years in a limited capacity, but its coverage has been patchy and settlers have long complained that there were black spots in some stretches of the territory, and this created a safety hazard, particularly because they could be vulnerable to attack from Palestinians and would not be able to call for help.Rival company HOT already operates in Area C with a license, but the spokesman for Communications Minister Yoaz Hendel said it only provides services to a relatively small clientele compared to Bezeq, which serves most of the settlers.The spokesman said the absence of Bezeq’s license so far had prevented the ministry from being able to ensure the company's compliance with regulations and this meant it could not respond to customer complaints.Hendel said that granting the license was part of the ministry’s efforts to reduce service gaps and provide infrastructure equity to all Israelis. The license does not differentiate between settlements and outposts that Bezeq also serves, the ministry spokesman said, and now that it is licensed, it can continue to do so.“Everyone is entitled to advanced infrastructure that will allow” them to work, study and receive medical assistance via the Internet, he said. For example, the need for online medical services has increased with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.Yesha Council head David Elhayani welcomed the granting of Bezeq's license and he took the opportunity to call on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to authorize the some 100 outposts in the West Bank.Separately, Beit El settlement has complained that while it received authorizations to build 346 homes, such approvals were meaningless, because an active military base occupies the site designated for the construction project.The 346 units announced were part of a large slate of plans for 5,288 new settler homes that the Higher Planning Council for Judea and Samaria approved last week.On Sunday, Beit El Council head Shai Alon said that despite the fanfare regarding the approvals, building could not proceed unless the base was relocated.“We in Beit El are sincerely thankful that after so much effort, the saga to obtain the required approval for the homes has ended... [but] this is a classic, Israeli-style concoction: the right hand does not know what the left is doing,” Alon said.
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