A number of contractors visited the Jordan Valley community of Maskiot as plans get underway to build a new neighborhood. The community, which began as an IDF Nachal, was established in 1982.
 
Not wasting any time, the extreme left-wing Peace Now organization released a statement that the timing of the tour, Sunday, is not coincidental, showing clearly that while Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is in Washington, back at home, plans to expand “isolated settlements” are underway.
 
Jordan Valley officials explain the construction is imperative, adding there is a widespread consensus regarding the Jordan Valley remaining under Israeli control, citing the security significance of the area. The community leadership also pointed out Maskiot is a legal authorized community, which was approved by Defense Minister Ehud Barak in 2008 and not an unauthorized outpost.
 
The government in 2007 prevented continued construction in the northern Jordan Valley community, freezing 180 homes, preventing the growth of the community, which also absorbed families who were expelled from Gush Katif in the government’s Disengagement Plan in 2005.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)