Israel Plans 10 New Negev Towns After Beersheba Attack
Israeli Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked delivers a statement to members of the media, at the Knesset in Jerusalem, Nov. 19, 2018. Photo: Reuters / Amir Cohen
i24 News – Israel’s Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked and Housing Minister Ze’ev Elkin revealed plans on Wednesday to construct 10 new communities in the Negev — just one day after a fatal attack in the country’s south.
On Sunday, five of these communities — known as the “Mevo’ot Arad settlements” — are expected to be approved by the government, according to Israel’s Channel 12 news.
They will be constructed in areas north of Arad and east of Beersheba, a city where one day prior an armed assailant killed four people in a combined car-ramming and stabbing attack.
Elkin said that the new proposal for additional settlements will help to ensure the security of the Negev.
“The establishment of new settlements will move residents from the center of the country south, [which will] strengthen the Negev economy and increase security throughout the region,” the official said.
Shaked praised the initiative, and explained it “has strategic and national importance in strengthening the settlement of the Negev,” according to The Jerusalem Post.
“Creating ten new communities is Zionism in all its glory,” she added.
Additionally, plans for the potential construction of five other towns along Israel’s Highway 25 will also be considered by the government on Sunday.