Israel Carries Out Census in Jordan Valley

Arab World

June 12th, 6:32am

Tel Aviv - Nazir Magally

A delegation made up of European and British diplomats as well as members of development institutions, pose for a picture with residents of the Jordan Valley, to show solidarity against Israeli plans to annex the occupied West-Bank territory, on June 11, 2020. (Photo by JAAFAR ASHTIYEH / AFP)

Israel is preparing to carry out a census of the Palestinian population in Jordan Valley in the West Bank out of fear of a Palestinian influx to territories that the country plans to annex. Security sources in Tel Aviv are concerned that thousands of Palestinians would relocate to the annexed territories for personal motives, or to seek a job in Israeli companies and settlements. They further fear that some might be dispatched by the Palestinian Authority and armed organizations to act as sleeper cells that would jeopardize Israeli security. PA data showed that there are more than 100,000 Palestinians in the territories that Israel plans to annex. But Israel claims this figure is exaggerated, compelling it to lay out a plan for a census. In line with a peace plan announced by US President Donald Trump in January, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he intends to extend Israeli sovereignty to Jewish settlements and the Jordan Valley. Netanyahu is adamant to carry out the annexation gradually starting in July, political sources in Tel Aviv affirmed. A US official backed his step. “There are gaps between the Americans and us on this issue and between us and our senior partner in the unity government, Blue and White,” Tzipi Hotovely, the minister of settlement affairs, told Army Radio, referring to the centrist party headed by Defense Minister Benny Gantz that has called for a broad international dialogue on the matter. Sven Kuhn von Burgsdorff, who heads the European Union’s delegation to the Palestinian territories, said that if the annexation happens, it “will have consequences for the relationship between Israel and the EU." He did not spell out what those consequences might entail during a visit with other diplomats to an area of the West Bank where Israel has pledged to apply its sovereignty. A committee of US and Israeli officials is drawing territorial lines in the West Bank under the proposal of Trump. “There is still no agreed map on this issue. It has to be agreed by parts of the (Israeli) government and by the American side,” Hotovely said.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2330316/israel-carries-out-census-jordan-valley