Prime Minister Levi Eshkol told a crowd of 13,000 border settlers near Israel’s Lebanese border today that 300,000 new immigrants are expected by 1970, and many of them will be settled in 42 new villages planned in the area.
The Prime Minister spoke at the close of ceremonies which were climaxed by the laying of cornerstones for four new villages intended to close gaps in Jewish settlement along the border of Lebanon. The Premier spoke in an amphitheater in Biranit, a recently-established village. Knesset Speaker Kaddish Luz, Agriculture Minister Haim Givati, Labor Minister Yigal Alon and Social Welfare Minister Josef Burg also spoke.
The Jewish National Fund has cleared about 60,000 dunam for cultivation in the area. But the livelihood of some settlers will be derived from poultry, sheep breeding and the raising of minks and other furred animals. The four new villages are named Hazon, Shetula, Netua and Zerait.
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