The World Zionist Organization’s settlement department is going ahead with a project to establish new settlements in the Rafah salient of northern Sinai despite Premier Menachem Begin’s peace plan that would return that region to Egyptian sovereignty.
The project, which calls for about 100 new settlement in the southern regions of Israel and northern Sinai, was presented to the WZO Executive yesterday by the chairman of the settlement department, Raanan Weitz. Known as the “southern project,” it envisages a population of 10,000 families earning their livelihood from agriculture and another 25,000 families employed in related fields.
Weitz presented a similar plan for the Jordan Valley where 3500 Israelis presently live and work in about 21 settlements. He proposed the settlement of another 10009 families there. According to Weitz there will be no difficulty finding recruits because dozens of young people have expressed interest in settling in the region.
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