Opponents of Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria ("settlements") charge that they drain our economy, diverting funds that should be spent within the 1949 Armistice ("Green") Lines. They accuse the government of giving settlers unwarranted discounts and subsidies in the form of building schools and clinics, infrastructure, such as roads, and providing security.
But is this true? Adding up all government allocations over the Green Line, they include building the separation fence/wall (NIS 18 billion), the 2005 withdrawal from the Gaza Strip (NIS 15b.), the development of the Iron Dome rocket defense system and added protection for communities near Gaza. None of this was done to help settlers. Jews were encouraged and assisted by the government to build communities in the Gaza Strip and northern Samaria; they cannot be faulted for what happened.
This simplistic method of calculation ignores the fact that government expenditures would be required regardless of where people live. Children need schools, parks and playgrounds, and basic medical care. Communities need religious and cultural facilities that the state is obligated to provide. And people need homes.
Destroying Jewish communities reduces the supply of homes while demand increases, resulting in even higher housing costs. Living in settlements near but outside densely populated urban and industrial centers provides growing families with affordable and adequate living space and employment opportunities. Without settlements the housing crisis would be even worse.
Building roads in Judea and Samaria - which are used by Jews and Arabs alike - is essential for economic growth, security and defense.
Were it not for the alternative highway (Route 443) to the Modi'in area and Ben-Gurion Airport, for example, getting there would be much more difficult, especially when the main Jerusalem-Tel Aviv Highway (Route 1) is blocked.
The Trans-Samaria Highway (Route 5) is a vital link to the Jordan Valley.
Building Jewish communities in Judea and on the Golan Heights began shortly after the Six Day War, under Labor governments; Jordan Valley settlements were established well before those in Samaria and the Gaza Strip. A consensus, settlements are acknowledged as strategic necessities.
Without settlements, aircraft, air and seaports would be vulnerable. Without settlements, our water sources would become polluted and depleted. Settlements offer a protective cover for the Coastal Plain.
Redeploying the IDF along the Green Line would make defense far more difficult and far more costly. Moreover, Israel would lose its strategic positions and buffer zones.
Settlements also contribute to the IDF's security system as first responders in emergencies.
The Gaza Strip and southern Lebanon were not evacuated to help settlers, obviously, and the resulting losses are incalculable, since the disastrous effects are ongoing, enabling Hamas and Hezbollah and turning the Sinai peninsula into a terrorist base.
