Agricultural Minister Uri Ariel calls for annexation of West Bank’s Area C
Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel called on the government to annex Area C of the West Bank during a tour of Judea and Samaria led by the Knesset Land for Israel Caucus.
As he spoke the Bayit Yehudi member stood on the hilltop of a controversial unbuilt area of the Ma’aleh Adumim settlement known as E1.
Ariel has long been a vocal proponent of building in E1 and of unilaterally extending Israeli law to include Area C where all the settlements are located. Areas A and B of the West Bank, where the bulk of the Palestinians live, are under the civil control of the Palestinian Authority.
“We should tell the prime minister, the government and the Knesset that the time has come to annex Area C,” Ariel said.
“If someone asks about Areas A and B, than their time will come. When, we will see. For now, lets agree on Area C. There is more than 60% of the [West Bank] territory, with 50,000 Arabs. They do not pose a problem to the state of Israel,” he said.
“I am suggesting that we unite around this call,” he said.
Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria lack the full rights granted Israeli citizens in the rest of the country, said Ariel.