Freitag, 19. November 2010

5. Siedlungspolitik Israel - Zionist-Israeli Planning: The Fabrication of Israel III.3 Discriminative Housing Policy



Neue Veröffentlichung! Teil 5 online verfügbar (siehe unten)

THE FABRICATION OF ISRAEL

About the Usurpation and Destruction of Palestine through Zionist Spatial Planning

A Unique Planning Issue

Viktoria Waltz - Herausgeberin - Dortmund 2010 – Eigenverlag


Die hier in loser Folge zur Veröffentlichung vorliegenden Texte geben einen detaillierten Einblick in die Vorgänge, die zum Konstrukt Israel geführt haben und lassen keinen Zweifel daran, dass es unter den bestehenden zionistischen Rahmenbedingungen um nichts geringeres als das Ganze geht, um ein jüdisches Israel ohne Palästinenser und mit keinem Impuls für zwei Staaten, die nebeneinander leben könnten und auch nicht um eine Integration Israels in den Nahen Osten, sondern um die Fortsetzung des aggressiven, zerstörerischen Kurses bis hin zu weiteren Kriegen. (wöchentlich mittwochs online)
Kassem Egbaria
3. Discriminative Housing Policy in Israel's Palestinian localities:
The Example of Tayibe
from last part 4 (see blog/archiv Nov. 2010):
... The development of the physical planning of the Palestinian Arab sector is guided by the geopolitical views and ideological considerations of the planning authorities, aiming to promote Zionist ideology and enhance Jewish immigration and settlement. Fear of being surrounded by Palestinian villages and towns was the primary factor influencing the physical development of Jewish colonies; consequently, this affected all Palestinian localities.
Furthermore, control over land was also achieved by expropriating land from Palestinian residents and transferring it to the state for the establishment of new Jewish colonies, or the development of national and regional infrastructure networks. This transfer was carried out gradually and systematically from the earliest days of the state, and has resulted in decreasing the space available to Palestinian localities.
Accordingly, it is obvious that the expropriated private land owned by Palestinian residents as a matter of fact constituted the Israeli urban and rural development. On the other hand Palestinian citizens suffered from the fact that very little public land was devoted to the development of their community, whether in urban or rural areas. In addition, Israeli Palestinian citizens have very limited possibilities to own or use Israeli public land due to a series of discriminatory laws and practices. ...
It becomes clear that existing spatial planning in Israel harms the Palestinian citizens in all aspects of life. Certainly, such policies can create very strong feelings of frustration and alienation. Land and questions about control of land are the main issues of the dispute between the Palestinian citizens and the governmental institutions. Allocating space and land on an equal basis regardless of ethnic belonging might solve the problems of spatial development of Palestinian citizens. Thus, it becomes clear that the problem is not easy to be solved, since the Israeli territorial planning is an issue of ‘ethnocracy’. For this reason, a policy debate on land allocation, land ownership, municipal boundaries, land confiscation and settlement patterns is urgently needed – against and in opposition to the announced policy of ‘transfer’ (of the Palestinians) of some members of the recent Israeli government. Comprehensive institutionalised spatial planning covering all aspects of inequality in the allocation of spatial resources might be the first step to creating a more equitable situation for Palestinian and Jewish communities. Certainly, such a framework would not only improve the socio-economic situation of the Palestinian residents, but will also enhance the solidity of the state and serve as evidence of a real change to a democratic character of the State of Israel.
Kassem Egbaria
3. Discriminative Housing Policy in Israel's Palestinian localities:
The Example of Tayibe
Israel is a country of a widely diverse population from many ethnic, religious, cultural and social backgrounds. Of its 7.411 inhabitants, 5.472 million Jews (including 187.000 living in West Bank colonies, 20.000 in Golan Heights and around 177.000 in East (Palestinian) Jerusalem). According to the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS, 2009), 'Arabs' in Israel comprise about 20,6% of the overall population. Almost all Palestinians have been resident since before the establishment of the State of Israel. The Palestinians in Israel are mainly concentrated in three geographical regions that include; the Galilee, Triangle and Negev regions.
Israel is a welfare state that views the development of housing for its citizens as a major goal within which all social and ethnic groups should have an easy access to housing market mainly through offering subsidised mortgages and land provision and other aspects that help in the process of housing supply. It is argued that in contradiction to that, the combination of urban factors such as demographic growth, lack of development/master plans; land expropriation applied by the state; rigid building and planning regulations; lack of an appropriate housing finance system; limited land market; and discriminative government social policies contributed to the decline of housing provision (supply) in the Palestinian areas in Israel. ...