The Jewish Agency’s agricultural settlement department blamed the Zaryit settlers today for the poor economic conditions in that Upper Galilee village and accused them of making no effort to raise their living standards but demanding instead to be subsidized endlessly. The Agency issued the statement after the villagers abandoned the town yesterday and said they would not return for a week in protest against the poor land they have been given to cultivate.
The move was unprecedented in the annals of Israeli settlement in the border areas. Zaryit, a moshav (small holders settlement) is near the Lebanese border in an area that has been a target of terrorist incursions. The settlers said, however, that it was not lack of security that motivated their departure but poor land which forced them to seek employment outside the village. Yechiel Admoni, director general of the Agency’s department, said the settlers rejected a proposal to establish an industrial plant at Zaryit in which they would later find employment.
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