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| Location | Strategic Importance | Demography | Water |
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Location The western Benyamin Region is situated on the western slope of the Benyamin Mountain range, at about 500 to 600 meters above sea level within the jurisdiction of the "Mate Benyamin" regional council. The group of settlements there include Ateret, Neve Tzuf, Nachliel, Talmon, Neria, Dolev and Charesha. These settlements create a large Jewish bloc with almost no Arab towns, and cover an area of over 50 square kilometers. An additional chain of settlements lies West of the bloc and closer to the "Green Line". This bloc includes the settlements of Beit Aryeh, Ofarim, Naale, Nili, Kiryat Sefer, Chashmonaim and Matityahu. [All these settlements lie near roads leading to major cities: southward to Jerusalem, westward to Tel-Aviv. The road to Jerusalem has been closed since the start of the "Al Aqsa Intifada", forcing inhabitants to drive an additional half an hour to reach Jerusalem. Similarly, the road to Beit El and the rest of east Benyamin has been closed since the start of the intifada. back to top Strategic Importance The Talmon-Dolev bloc is centrally located on the southwestern slopes of the Benyamin hills, equidistant (approximately 20 kilometers) from Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. A mere 15 minute drive from the bloc lie the cities of Modiin, Kiryat Sefer and Shoham. (Givat Ze'ev, once equally as close, must now be accessed by a different and much longer road, due to the Palestinian violence.) The Talmon bloc overlooks the heavily populated Tel-Aviv metropolis which includes the area between Ashkelon and Hadera as well as the Ben Gurion airport. The western Benyamin Region serves as an outpost guarding densely populated Israeli areas: Similar to the settlements of the western Shomron, which expands the circumeference of Israeli control of Netanya and Hertzlia, and similar to the Gush Etzion bloc which secures the southern section of Jerusalem, the western Benyamin bloc secures the Tel-Aviv area from the east, and Jerusalem from the north. Loss of control of the area could endanger Israeli airspace and create a "strangle hold" on Jerusalem and the Tel-Aviv metropolis as well. The western Benyamin Region separates the densely populated Palestinian cities of Ramallah and Bir Zeit, and the Jewish "Gush Dan" population. It also keeps the city of Ramallah and outlying suburbs from expanding westwards. The western Binyamin bloc serves as a link in the defense chain around Jerusalem which includes Gush Etzion from the south and Maale Adumim from the east. back to top Demorgaphy Arab population: The western Binyamin settlement are located in a low Arab population area. Most of the land is, as yet, unsettled. Arab population, in the western Binyamin region, numbers approximately 35,000. The villages are small and are developing slowly for the following reasons: a. The region is mountainous and is inappropriate for farming and agriculture b. There are no cities and industrial areas in the region as exist in the western Shomron (such as Kalkilia and Tulkarm). c. There is a growing urbanization among the Arab populace. Many have been leaving towns and villages and moving to the cities. According to statistics provided by the Israeli government, the Arab population in the western Binyamin area will double itself in the next twenty years. Jewish population: The Jewish population in the western Binyamin Region numbers approximately 17,000. According to the statistics provided by the Ministry of Interior, the Jewish population in the region doubles itself every four years. If we project the Jewish population growth forward, in accordance with the growth over the past decade, there will soon be a Jewish majority in the area. This rapid growth can be attributed to the following factors: a. The western Binyamin Region is close to major cities and places of work such as Jerusalem, Gush Dan, and Modiin. b. There is a relatively high standard of living in the settlements in the area with breathtaking views of the mountainous landscape. c. There is hope that with relatively small investments in roads and infrastructure, the area will grow and develop even more. All of this leads to the conclusion that with some effort the western Binyamin Region can become a flourishing Jewish metropolis. back to top Water The amount of water used in Israel per year is approximately 1400 cubic meters. Of this, the amount of water provided by the mountain groundwater basin (aquifer) in the Yesha area adds up to approximately 600 cubic meters per year, 40% of the total water supply. Other water sources in Israel include the Kineret and the coastal groundwater basin. Due to large amounts of sea life, algae, seaweed and silt, the water provided by the Kineret (about 500 cubic meters) is of mediocre quality. The coastal groundwater basin is also not pure as the result of various polluting processes which exist along the coast. These water sources supply irrigation water, not drinking water. The mountain groundwater basin provides pure drinking water to approximately 2.5 million inhabitants in Jerusalem, Gush Dan and other major Israeli cities.. The western Binyamin Bloc, together with the settlements of the western Shomron region, lies on the western section of the mountain groundwater basin, referred to as the “Yarkon-Taninim Aquifer”. This section provides 340 cubic meters of drinking water per year, thus filling an extremely important, strategic function. Under Palestinian control,it is likely that the Palestinians will illegally draw millions of cubic meters from this water supply in an unsupervised fashion, creating a threat to Israel’s drinking water supply. back to top |