イスラエルの併合を「心待ち」　西岸のユダヤ人入植地、不動産ブーム

【アリエルＡＦＰ＝時事】イスラエルで不動産業を営むペリ・ベン・シニアさんは、パレスチナ自治区ヨルダン川西岸のユダヤ人入植地アリエルが、イスラエルに併合されることを心待ちにしている。自らの不動産会社にとって、目玉となるに違いないからだ。（写真はユダヤ人入植地アリエル）
　人口２万５００人、大学やショッピングセンターもあるアリエルは、ドナルド・トランプ米大統領の支持を受けて進む、パレスチナ自治区にあるユダヤ人入植地のイスラエル併合計画の第１弾に含まれる可能性が高い。
　トランプ氏が１月に発表した中東和平案は、国際法上違法とみなされているユダヤ人入植地を含めた、ヨルダン川西岸の広範囲をイスラエルに併合するための支援を米国が約束する内容で、物議を醸した。
　ベン・シニアさんは自身の不動産会社で取材に応じ、イスラエルのベンジャミン・ネタニヤフ首相が、トランプ大統領の計画を前進させてくれることを期待していると語った。「需要が増えれば、マンションや土地の価格も上がるだろう」
　米国の和平案が発表され、併合計画がメディアの見出しを飾るようになって以降、不動産会社のヨルダン川西岸の物件販売が飛躍的に伸びている。
　アリエルにほど近いエリ入植地で同じく不動産業を営むダニエル・ワッハさんはＡＦＰに、「この２か月間で、過去数年分の取引があった」と語った。

■普通の場所
　イスラエルがヨルダン川西岸を併合した場合どの地域でも、現在の軍事法ではなくイスラエルの民法が適用される。
　ワッハさんはヨルダン川西岸を意味するイスラエル風の呼称を使い、「ユダヤ・サマリア地区に人が集まっているもう一つの理由は、今や普通のイスラエル市民とみなされるようになったから、普通の場所になったからだ」と話した。

■安い相場
　併合計画の詳細は不明だが、併合される土地が将来のパレスチナ国家の一部になることはないというのが大方の見方で、トランプ氏の計画でもそうなっている。
　パレスチナ国家の樹立を目指した１９９０年代のオスロ合意以降、ヨルダン川西岸のイスラエル人入植地の人口は３倍以上に増え、４５万人に上っている。
　ヨルダン川西岸の入植地には、宗教的あるいは政治的な理由で家を構える人に加えて、イスラエルの不動産市場よりも大幅に安い相場に引き寄せられた多くのイスラエル人がいる。
　イスラエルとパレスチナの境界「グリーンライン）」を挟んでヨルダン川西岸にあるアルフェイメナシェ入植地と、わずか約１２キロしか離れていない場所に、クファルサバがある。
　ワッハさんによると、クファルサバでは敷地面積２００平方メートルの全７部屋の集合住宅の価格は４５０万シェケル（約１億４０００万円）前後だ。ところが、アルフェイメナシェへ行けば同様の条件の不動産価格はその約半額になるという。
　「併合直後には価格が今よりも１０～１５％上昇し、今から５、６年後、あるいは７年後には少なくとも３０％程度上昇するだろう」
　先月、過去最高の売上高を記録したゼーブ・エプスタインさんも、ワッハさんと同じく楽観する。「大きな市場になるだろうから準備し、懸命にこの機会をつかむ必要がある」 【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2020/07/08-13:13）

In the Jewish settlement of Ariel, Perri Ben Senior can't wait for Israel to annex this part of the occupied West Bank, hoping it will be a boon for her real estate firm.
With its 20,500 residents, a university and shopping centres, Ariel has been tipped as one of the settlements likely to be included in a first wave of Israeli annexations taking advantage of support from US President Donald Trump.
A controversial peace plan unveiled by Trump in January promised US backing for Israel to annex swathes of the West Bank, including Jewish settlements considered illegal under international law.
Speaking at her real estate agency, Ben Senior said she hoped Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would forge ahead with implementing Trump's plan.
It will raise the price of apartments and land because there will be more demand, she anticipated.
Elsewhere in the West Bank, other agents have seen a leap in sales since annexation began dominating headlines after the launch of the US plan.
Daniel Wach, whose real estate business is in the Eli settlement a short distance from Ariel, told AFP he has done as much business in the past two months as the last few years.
We closed six deals in the past 10 days in Alfei Menashe, another nearby settlement.
The houses have been on the market for many months, so I asked the families why do you want to buy now, he said.
They fear the prices are going to get higher because of the decision of the government to annex the territory, he said.
- 'A normal place' -
If Israel does annex any parts of the West Bank, those areas will become subject to Israeli civilian law, rather than the military law currently in place.
It's another reason to come to Judea and Samaria because now they are considered as normal citizens of Israel, it's a normal place now, Wach said, using the Israeli term for the West Bank.
While the details of the plan remain obscure, many assume that annexed lands will not become part of the future Palestinian state, which is also part of Trump's plan.
Currently, people are afraid to buy in the territories because they say to themselves: 'What if tomorrow we give the territories back? Who will reimburse me? What about the house I bought? said Ben Senior.
Since the Oslo accords of the 1990s, which were meant to lead to the formation of a Palestinian state, the population of Israeli settlements in the West Bank has more than tripled to 450,000.
In addition to those making their home in the West Bank for religious or ideological reasons, many Israelis have been drawn to the settlements by their housing costs, which are significantly lower than Israel's expensive real estate market.
- Opportunity -
Just 12 kilometres (7.5 miles) west of Alfei Menashe, on the other side of the green line between Israel and the West Bank, lies Kfar Saba.
There, a seven-room apartment on 200 square metres of land would cost around 4.5 million shekels ($1.3 million, 1.1 million euros), Wach said.
A similar property in Alfei Menashe would cost around half of that, he said.
Immediately after annexation, the prices will jump around 10 to 15 percent up, and in around five, six, seven years from now, it'll go around 30 percent up, not less.
Zeev Epstein, who recorded a record number of sales last month, shares Wach's optimism.
Annexation will make a big difference, said Epstein, whose real estate firm Harei Zahav (Hebrew for golden mountains) deals exclusively in Israeli settlements, he told AFP.
It's gonna be a big market, we'll need to get ready, work hard for this opportunity.
While Netanyahu has yet to make any concrete annexation moves, despite being able to do so from July 1 under the US plan, Wach can already feel a certain momentum.
When Israel decides this place is ours, the common reaction is -- ah, finally! he said.