Givat Zeev - the technique of settlement expansion

We went by taxi.  We were delayed because of two flat tires, but it was an excellent arrangement.

08:15  Jib checkpoint, Givat Zeev, Agan Ha’ayalot (Deer Basin)

The checkpoint has been transformed into a huge, roofed structure.  There’s one narrow pedestrian lane.  The rest is for vehicles crossing to Area B, Ramallah and Qalandiya on a road that passes under Highway 443.  Even though it’s fairly late in the morning, workers with permits are still crossing.  Some don’t receive a monthly pay slip, from which we infer their permits aren’t legal.  Most of them work in Givat Zeev.  The soldiers at the checkpoint never heard of us.  They’re suspicious and don’t allow us to approach.  We don’t insist, because there’s not much to see now.

We decided to drive to the additional construction at Givat Zeev – Ramat Givat Zeev and Agan Ha’ayalot.  It’s the same old system:  a settlement is established a few kilometers from Givat Zeev (Agan Ha’ayalot), and then it’s connected to an additional settlement between the original town and the farther onet.  The neighborhood in the middle is already named for the original town/neighborhood (Ramat Givat Zeev).  The construction has shaved the hillside and houses ultra-orthodox families.  There are many elaborate playgrounds and additional areas ready for building.

There’s no checkpoint leaving Givat Zeev, but entrance from Highway 443 is limited by a checkpoint.  We didn’t go there.

Agan Ha’ayalot (Deer Basin)

Ramat Givat Zeev – connected the existing Givat Zeev to Agan Ha’ayalot.

Nabi Samwil

We came to see what had changed in this little Palestinian village trapped by the Nabi Samwil site and the nature preserve that had been established there.  According to the owner of the kiosk at the entrance – everything’s great, “and whoever says otherwise is lying.”