The Joint Settlement Committee of the government and the World Zionist Organization has approved an IL 30 million allocation to expedite the “southern project,” a major development and settlement undertaking that envisions about 100 new settlements in the south during the 1980s.
The project was initiated by Prof. Raanan Weitz, head of the WZO’s settlement department. The allocation will be used to study special farming techniques for the settlement area which extends from the Rafah salient to a point near Beersheba. Water will be piped in from the Tel Aviv region sewage system which will have to be re-cycled. Yesterday the Cabinet approved IL 575 million for the re-cycling project. An additional IL 350 million may be required to complete the project.
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