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Revision as of 09:52, 20 February 2008 by Wizziemizzie (talk | contribs)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)The Yesha Council (Template:Lang-he, Moatzat Yesha) is the umbrella organization of the various municipal councils of Jewish communities in "Yesha," a Hebrew acronym for Judea, Samaria, Gaza, which are otherwise referred to as the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
The council's main activity is to facilitate the construction of illegal settlements in Palestinian territories occupied in the 1967 war.
The settlements are mostly populated by radical religious fundamentalists or political radicals and their presence in the occupied territories is seen as a major obstacle to peace.
The council was founded in the 1970s as the successor to Gush Emunim, an organization formed to oversee the return of Jews to what they see as their Biblical homeland. The Jewish population of the towns, cities, and villages that comprise Yesha stands at around 225,000, although it is more around 500,000-700,000 by de-facto liberal estimates, conducted by NGOs.
The council consists of 25 mayors and ten community leaders of illegal settlements. Its mandate is to provide security: for example, by arranging for the acquisition of bullet-proof ambulances and buses; to oversee improvements to the infrastructure, like roads, electricity, and water supplies; and to act as domestic and international emissaries on behalf of residents of illegal settlements.
In addition to municipal and security cares the council aims to serve as a political representative of the Jewish residents of Yesha, and a lobby for their cause. It aims to lobby their interests in the Knesset and the government, and has appointed itself in charge of public relations campaigns and certain grass=root protests.
In 2005, it led the campaign against the disengagement plan with mass protests: the human chain of 130,000, the Kfar Maimon march of 50,000, the Kotel rally of 70,000, and the Tel Aviv rally of 200,000. However, a massive anti-settlement movement has largely discredited the council.
On July 2007, Dani Dayan was elected as Chairman of the Yesha Council. Dayan is a secular businessman, resident of Maale Shomron.