Shea Levin — text status

Israel's Defense Ministry is advancing a plan to remake the Jordan Valley and the eastern border, combining a 500-kilometer security barrier with dozens of new communities and a goal of doubling the Israeli population along the frontier within a decade. Officials are examining shifting parts of the barrier eastward to the Jordan River itself, which would allow Route 90 to be widened. The ministry is promoting about 40 new communities, including the new agricultural moshav Batron. About 20,000 Israelis live on the Israeli side versus about a quarter of a million on the Jordanian side.