Palestinian Authority rejects plan for new Bedouin village in Jordan Valley

The Palestinian Authority has rejected Israel’s plan to build a new village for the Bedouin population in the Jordan Valley region. The Minister of Housing and Public Works in Ramallah, Maher Ghoneim, told the Chinese Xinhua news agency that the plan announced by Israel’s Defence Minister is neither acceptable nor legal.

According to Mr Ghoneim, the proposal is a part of Israel’s efforts to establish “facts on the ground” unilaterally and “complicates” a two-state solution. He added that the Israeli authorities seek to gather the Jordan Valley Bedouin population in specific areas in order to control the valley and build even more illegal settlements there.

The village in question is planned to be built in the north of the Areha governorate, in so-called “Area C”, which falls under full Israeli control according to the terms of the Oslo Accords.

The Israeli Coordinator of Government Activities in the occupied Palestinian territories, Major General Eitan Dangot, proposed the plan to house hundreds of Bedouin families after their forced evacuation from their land.