The administration of the occupied West Bank is costing Israeli taxpayers 100 million pounds ($28.5 million) a year, Defense Minister Moshe Dayan told local Arab leaders during a visit to the West Bank town of Jenin yesterday. He said that Israel would be willing to turn over local government on the West Bank entirely to the Arabs provided they were willing to accept the responsibility and conditions were ripe for the transfer.
The Defense Minister said that until a peace treaty was signed, at least with Jordan or with a “Palestinian” state, Israeli authorities constituted the government on the West Bank and were running all the services that were previously the responsibility of Jordan. He said the main burden falling on Israel’s taxpayers were the salaries paid to municipal employees and teachers on the West Bank. In addition, he noted, Israel recently provided 2,000 blankets for needy West Bankers and gave nine kilograms of flour per person in the Jenin region. The funds were provided by Israel’s Ministry of Social Welfare.
Gen. Dayan also announced measures to strengthen the defenses of settlements in the Jordan Valley from attacks by infiltrators. He told Parliament that more guards, lighting and shelters would be provided to such settlements, particularly in the Beisan area, a major target of both infiltrator raids and Jordanian shelling.
He said, in response to a question, that deferment from military service had been granted to 4,500 yeshiva students in 1966 and to about 5,000 in 1967.
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