History
The village was founded in November 1991 in memory of the victims of a terrorist attack on a civilian bus. Rachela Druk of Shilo, a mother of 7, and Yitzhak Rofe, the bus driver - who were on their way to a demonstration in Tel Aviv. On the night of the funerals, a group of students from the yeshiva in Shilo as well as two young couples, including a pregnant woman who gave birth a week later, established Shvut Rachel. The settlers moved on to the land without government permission.
In February 2012 the Israeli government approved the construction of new housing units in Shvut Rachel. This action was condemned by the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the European Union, Catherine Ashton, whose spokesperson said:
The High Representative is deeply concerned by the approval on 22 February by the Israeli Civil Administration of new construction in the settlements of Shvut Rachel and Shilo as well as the retrospective approval granted for housing units already built.
Settlements are illegal under international law. In addition the Quartet Roadmap states that Israel should not only freeze all settlement activity, but also dismantle those settlements erected since March 2001. It is particularly important at this point that neither party in the Middle East peace process undertakes provocative actions which undermine the prospects for continuing the dialogue which was re-established in January.
The High Representative calls on Israel to respect its obligations under the Roadmap and reverse this decision.
Read more about this topic: Shvut Rachel
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