Peres: Invest in the Sea, not Judea/Samaria

[Pastor Dale Morgan]

*Perilous Times*

Peres: Invest in the Sea, not Judea/Samaria

by Hillel Fendel

(IsraelNN.com) At a conference entitled "The Sea as an Economic
Resource," Shimon Peres says Israel should stop investing in Jude and
Samaria and build artificial islands in the Mediterranean instead.

The conference, which opened yesterday (Wednesday) in the seaside town
of Mikhmoret, north of Netanya, deals with "opportunities and threats
presented by the sea." Topics on the agenda include pollution of the sea
and coasts, the economic potential of the sea for Israel, and more. The
conference is sponsored by the Ruppin Academic Center.

In his remarks, Vice Premier Shimon Peres said, "The State of Israel has
a narrow waistline [less than ten miles between Netanya and Tul Karem,
for instance - ed.]... Israel has invested some 60 billion shekels in
the territories [Judea, Samaria and Gaza]. Instead of this, we must
invest in the sea, and stretch our western border in that direction by
building artificial islands."

It was Peres who, as Minister of Defense in the mid-1970's, approved the
establishment of the first Jewish communities, Kedumim and Elkanah, in
Samaria. He has since become very anti-settlement.

Some view with irony his remarks about investing in the sea, especially
in light of his well-known position in favor of a New Middle East and
well-known Arab threats to throw the Jews into the sea.

Peres' support for artificial islands, though not a lone voice, is also
controversial. Plans to build an international airport a quarter-mile
offshore from north Tel Aviv are currently being discussed by an
inter-ministerial committee. Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai and
Transportation Minister Sha'ul Mofaz recently agreed to proceed with
plans on between one and five such islands along the central Israel
coast between Bat Yam and Netanya as a way of alleviating central
Israel's land shortage problem.

However, environmental groups such as the Israel Union for Environmental
Defense (IUED) say that the idea gravely threatens the future of
Israel's tranquil Mediterranean waters and sandy beaches. "Before the
airport-island scheme gains irreversible momentum," IUED urges "full
exploration of terrestrial alternatives, including direct development
costs, environmental impacts, and feasibility of rail transport links to
population centers."

Other participants at the Mikhmoret conference include water industry
experts, environmentalists, and more. Conference Chairman Buki Oren, a
former Chairman of Israel's official Mekorot Water Company, said, "There
is enough water in the world to supply all its needs; the challenge is
to know how to use it wisely and develop appropriate technologies." He
said that Israel must take the lead in raising international awareness
regarding the use and preservation of water resources.

Environmentalist businessman Morris Kahn had criticism both for
companies that pollute and for the Environment Ministry's lackluster
efforts to enforce ecological regulations. "Personal responsibility must
be imposed on companies and their directors that pollute the environment
and the sea," Kahn said. He added that the Minister of Environment is
frequently a politician who never really wanted the job in the first
place, noting that the late Yehudit Naot of Shinui was an exception to
this rule.