Israel is placing major responsibilities in the occupied West Bank under an administrator who is responsible for a hardline government minister, Bezalel Smotrich, who favors annexation of the territory , which analysts and human rights activists describe as the latest step toward the far-right cause. the purpose of expanding Israeli settlements there.
The administrative move is a long-term goal of Mr. Smotrich, the finance minister and settler leader, and increases his official power over many areas of civic life, including building permits. construction and demolition, an important tool for settlers who saw construction as a way to achieve their goals. strengthen their control in the West Bank.
It is the latest of many changes over the past two years that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, the most right-wing in Israel’s history, has made to how the West Bank is governed. Since the beginning of 2023, the Government has Simplify the planning process for new and gradual settlements transferred more power from defense minister Yoav Gallant to Mr. Smotrich, a longtime settlement activist who wants to prevent the possibility of establishing a Palestinian state in the territory.
These moves go far beyond placing the West Bank entirely under civilian control, and they have a limited effect on the 40 percent of the West Bank that is administered by the Palestinian Authority, a semi-autonomous body run by Palestinians. physical. But critics say they together bring Israel one step closer to annexing the territory in all but name.
For decades, Israel has defended its territorial control there by saying it has been a temporary military occupation since the 1967 war, in compliance with international law applicable to the territories. occupied territory, rather than permanent annexation placing the West Bank under sovereign control. of the Israeli civil government. But giving power to Mr. Smotrich, a civilian minister, tested the limits of that argument.
The latest move, to create a civilian head for an area previously overseen only by the military, was finalized by the Israeli military on May 29, according to copies of two military orders that The New York Times saw it. It names a deputy head of the civil administration in the West Bank who will answer to Mr. Smotrich, an ultranationalist member of Mr. Netanyahu’s coalition who has an extensive portfolio in West Coast.
Settlers like Mr. Smotrich want to build more Israeli settlements across the West Bank on land that Palestinians hope will be the core of a future Palestinian state. While previous Israeli governments and generals have built and protected hundreds of settlements, the latest order will likely accelerate that process, analysts and activists said.
Critics have accused the government failed to control illegal settlement construction and settler violence, as well as obstructed law enforcement measures.
Since the war began in October, the government has clamped down on the territory with almost daily military strikes that it says target terrorists. The government has also enterprising settlers and promulgate new regulations putting additional economic pressure on Palestinians.
“We are talking about a change with a very clear political dimension that would allow for all kinds of plans,” said Michael Milshtein, an author and Palestinian studies expert at Tel Aviv University. plan to build the settlement quickly and without any problems.”
For decades, the military was responsible for civilian administration in most of the West Bank as well as security, and critics say the shift to civilian administration, a long-term goal of Mr. decision-making with Israel’s internal politics. However, analysts note that Defense Secretary Yoav Gallant will withhold input and could block certain measures.
Aviv Tatarsky, a researcher at Ir Amim, an Israeli NGO, said the order was “historic” because “for the first time you can officially govern in the West Bank without Done not through the military but through the Israeli Civilian Political System.”
Civilian political influence on the junta existed to some extent, he said, although it was hidden from view, “but now it has stopped playing the game.”
A spokesman for Mr. Smotrich did not respond to a request for comment.
Analysts say the person appointed to the new administrative position, Hillel Roth, is a settler and member of the nationalist religious community who will likely act to facilitate favorable conditions for Mr. Smotrich’s agenda.
Mr. Milshtein noted that Mr. Smotrich had his own aim of weakening the Palestinian Authority, which governs several areas in the West Bank. Mr. Smotrich announced in May that Israel would retain revenue from the government, exacerbating its dire financial crisis. In June, Mr. Smotrich said he had claimed about $35 million in taxes Israel collected on behalf of the authority. directed to the families of victims of Israeli terrorism.
Since Israel occupied the West Bank, formerly controlled by Jordan, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, the government has encouraged Jews to settle there, providing land, military protection , electricity, water and roads. More than 500,000 settlers currently live among the 2.7 million Palestinians in the territory.
Most of the world considers the settlements illegal. Some Jews in Israel justify the settlement on religious grounds, others on historical grounds – both ancient and modern – while some argue that Israel must control the territory to prevent Palestinian armed groups from coming to power.
Patrick Kingsley Report contributions.
