Givat Harel
Photo: Dudi Vaaknin
UK millionaire builds home in illegal outpost
Former Ladbrokes chairman Cyril Stein attends house warming party in West Bank outspost of Givat Harel
British Jewish millionaire Cyril Stein last week flew from London to Israel to attend a house warming party in an illegal outpost in the West Bank.
Settlers in the Givat Harel outpost near Shilo welcomed Stein, 79, as a guest of honor. The former chairman of the Ladbrokes betting and real estate empire funded the house's construction.
It is no secret that rich Diaspora Jews doll out tens of thousands of dollars each year either to purchase homes from Palestinians in east Jerusalem and the West Bank or to fund settler construction projects there.
Donors include Yosef Yitzhak Gutnik of Australia and Irvin Moscovich of the US, know for being keen on purchasing homes in east Jerusalem and Hebron.
The Yesha council recently launched a campaign aimed at encouraging American Jews to buy West Bank homes in government-approved construction projects.
Stein's investment however is risky. The government deems unapproved constructions in settler outposts illegal and his house in Givat Harel may be destroyed should the government go ahead with plans to uproot all illegal outposts in the West Bank.
As Stein is unwilling to abandon his posh house in London to live in the outpost, a settler family from Givat Harel purchased the house and the money will be invested in new construction projects for settlers.
Modi Kreitman contributed to this report
