Afrasianet - The settlement enterprise in the West Bank has undergone rapid transformations since the formation of the Israeli ruling coalition on December 29, 2022. These transformations are based on a right-wing settler agenda based on three principles: 1) the move towards annexation of Lands C and the gradual imposition of comprehensive Israeli sovereignty over them; 2) Increasing the number of settlers to one million over the next two decades; 3) The Israeli army that administers the occupied territory, and its legal advisers who "flirt" with international law, are parties that are no longer valid and represent an outdated structure It is unable to meet the requirements of the new phase of settlement growth.
Below, a translation of a report released in August 2024, briefly analyzes the steps of the "silent coup" in the structure of the Israeli occupation since the formation of the current right-wing government coalition until today. The report was prepared by The Association for Israel Civil Rights in Israel, Breaking the Silence, the Israeli Center for Public Affairs, and Yesh Din. It is worth noting that the ideas and terminology presented below come from the report itself, and do not reflect Madar's orientation.
"[We] are really changing the infrastructure – legal, proprietary, legal – and changing the DNA of the [occupation] regime. We do it slowly. We do it professionally. We do it as an [ongoing] process... The results prove that we have indeed done impressive things..."
Bezalel Smotrich, July 2024 (Hebrew)[1]
Israel transformed the nature of governance in the West Bank using bureaucratic measures in secret, moving the regime from a military occupation with obligations to the occupied population under international law to one in which Israeli civilian government institutions run most aspects of Palestinian life in the West Bank, and are Israeli institutions whose mission is loyal to Israelis. Under Minister Bezalel Smotrich, giving adherents of the settler ideology greater control over the West Bank, effectively meaning having the necessary power to implement their ideological agenda.
The intentions of the current Netanyahu government were made clear early on, with the following government guidelines in the introduction:
"The Jewish people have an exclusive and indisputable right throughout the land of Israel. The government will promote and develop settlement throughout the land of Israel – the Galilee, the Negev, the Golan, Judea and Samaria."
The coalition agreements signed upon the formation of the government [dated December 29, 2022] are essentially a detailed action plan for the annexation of the West Bank. The appointment of Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich as an additional Minister in the Ministry of Defense and the power-sharing agreement in February 2023 that gave Smotrich most of the authority over various aspects of civilian life in the West Bank were only the first steps in changing the nature of Israeli control in the West Bank. Analysis reveals The measures taken by the government since its establishment, which are being carried out intensively even as fighting continues in Gaza, have not progressed vigorously with annexation in the West Bank on an unprecedented scale.
Fundamental change in the system of control over Palestinians through the transfer of governing powers from the military to the Israeli government authorities
"We have created a separate civil system. There is a ministry within the Ministry of Defense. There is a minister [for this ministry]. There is an administration [of the settlements] that resembles a government ministry. The head of the [settlements] administration is equivalent to the director general of a government ministry... There is the deputy head of the Civil Administration, a civilian, an employee of the Ministry of Defense, who reports not to the head of the Civil Administration, nor to the commander of the army's Central Command, but to the Settlement Administration. All the powers of the head of the Civil Administration have been delegated to him."
Minister Bezalel Smotrich, July 2024[2]
Establishment of the Settlements Administration
The Settlements Administration is a new government body within the Ministry of Defense that reports directly to Minister Smotrich and controls most areas of civilian life in the West Bank. The Settlement Department is tasked with designing government policies in the West Bank on matters not strictly related to security: conduct the work of the Civil Administration, the Planning and Law Enforcement Department (including demolitions) on unauthorized construction; Assume responsibility for land management policies, including land allocation, and complete the application of Israeli law to settlers through military orders, improving government services for settlers. Yehuda Eliyahu is appointed head of the settlement administration and is Smotrich's co-founder of Regavim (a settler organization that works to seize land and displace Palestinians in the West Bank). Eliyahu is a close aide to Minister Smotrich.
Madani appointed Deputy Head of Civil Administration for Civil Affairs
In late May 2024, for the first time, a civilian was approved for the position of deputy head of the Civil Administration to handle civilian affairs. The Civil Administration is the military body responsible for implementing the IDF's civilian policy in the West Bank. The [new] Deputy Head of Civil Administration assumed multiple and broad administrative powers related to most aspects of civilian governance in the occupied territories – including land management, planning, construction, monitoring and enforcement, commerce, economy, local authorities, management of nature reserves and archaeological sites, and more. As In some cases, the deputy was given the power to enact regulations in areas under his responsibility— previously granted through military orders issued by the head of the Civil Administration—making the deputy a secondary legislator. These powers are important because they form the core of Israeli governmental control in the West Bank, particularly with regard to policy-making and implementation on the ground.
The job title of "deputy head of civil administration" is misleading, as the position belongs to the settlements administration and not to the head of the Civil Administration, and the person holding this position does not take orders from the head of the Civil Administration, nor is he obliged to report or consult with him. After delegating these powers, the "deputy" essentially acts as head of the Civil Administration. The deputy head of the Civil Administration, who is effectively the new head of the Civil Administration, is subject to a hierarchy headed by Minister Smotrich as an additional minister in the Ministry of Defense. This hierarchy has effectively excluded the military from decision-making processes in most aspects of Palestinian life in the West Bank.
The person appointed to the position is Hillel Roth, a former member of the settler-led Od Yosef Chai Yeshiva religious Yusuf school in the settlement of Rivava. During the disengagement plan in 2005, Ruth served as director of finance and administration for Honenu, a group providing legal aid to right-wing currents. Ruth later served as treasurer of the Shomron Regional Settlement Council.
Transfer of legal advice from the military to a civilian authority
The appointment of Madani as deputy head of the Civil Administration completes the gradual process of transferring responsibilities from the military to civilian government bodies in Israel. An important step in this process is the transfer of responsibilities from the Attorney General's Office ("Legal Advisor to Judea and Samaria") to the Legal Counsel of the Ministry of Defense. In practice, legal advice on many crucial and sensitive issues is now provided by advisers recruited by the Settlements Administration and working under Smotrich in the Ministry of Defense. These advisers also replace the Military Prosecution. By acting as legal advisers to the Deputy Head of Civil Administration.
This is not a technical matter. For years, the military has prevented the approval and implementation of some policies in the West Bank because its legal advisers considered them a violation of Israel's obligations under international law. The transfer of the position of legal adviser to the Ministry of Defense removes controls that prevented abuse of power—which were already weak and limited.
This means that the allegiance of the Legal Counsel has shifted from a commitment to the norms of international law to a specific loyalty to the interests of the Israeli people. Under this government, this shift in responsibility to Israeli civil interests will make it easier to expand Israeli settlements at the expense of the basic rights of the occupied population. More importantly, this change also allows, more than ever, political influence on the appointment of legal advisers themselves.
The One Million Settlers Target: A Major Boost to Settlement Expansion and Improved Living Conditions for Settlers
"It's like a time of miracles. We are witnessing some kind of miracle. Like someone standing at a traffic light ... Then the light turns green... We want to accomplish as much as possible..."
Minister Orit Struck, July 2024 (Hebrew)[3]
On June 2023, the Israeli government passed a resolution,[4] which is an amendment to Government Decision No. 150 of 1996, which allows the required approval from government levels to be bypassed at various stages related to planning procedures and approval of settlement expansion (including licensing outposts as neighborhoods of existing settlements), except for the first phase, where plans are submitted to planning authorities for review. According to the new decision, once a government official agrees to promote a construction plan in a particular area, no need to obtain Another approval from the political level. Bezalel Smotrich, as the additional minister in the Defense Ministry, has become the sole authority to approve the proceeding with planning procedures. The decision shifted the government's participation in planning procedures in the West Bank to what is in place within Israel. Indeed, the process is easier in the occupied territories, where only one minister now holds power. This change will make operations smoother and allow for retroactive approval of several unlicensed outposts in the West Bank – an important step towards the overall expansion of settlements.
Settlement expansion has seen significant progress since the formation of the government, including:
• 70 outposts have been identified which will be subject to a retroactive approval process. Most of the hotspots have been classified under a new name – "under approval". Obtaining this designation alone precludes any enforcement action to demolish illegal construction and allows these outposts to receive direct government funding and connect to infrastructure.
• According to Peace Now,[5] since the formation of the government [on December 29, 2022], 44 new outposts have been established. At least half of these outposts are agricultural/pastoral settlements involved in land grabbing and the systematic expulsion of Palestinians from the area.
• Approval and/or development of approximately 18,000 new settlement housing units.
• More than 22,000 dunams were declared state land, compared to 13,000 dunams declared between 2014 and 2,600 dunams out of 22,000 are located between the settlements of Ma'ale Adumim and Kedar in Area E1. Construction in this area would split the West Bank in two, posing a strategic obstacle to a two-state solution.
Erase the Oslo model
"I have only one mission in life... Since I was a child. That's why I founded Regavim. That's why I went to the Knesset and the government... The mission of my life is to thwart the establishment of a Palestinian state."
Minister Bezalel Smotrich, Channel 14, Israeli TV, June 14, 2024
Changing the system of control in Area C and settlement expansion in the West Bank seek to promote the full and lasting institutionalization of Israeli sovereignty in the occupied territories and thwart the possibility of a future Palestinian state. An important trend that seeks to negate the idea of a Palestinian state is the erosion of the Oslo model, and according to this model, there is an implicit understanding shared by Palestinians that the majority of the West Bank will be allocated to be under Palestinian control.
Under the terms of the Oslo Accords, Israel may operate in Areas A and B only for security purposes, while civil affairs fall under Palestinian control. Area C, which makes up 60 percent of the West Bank and is ultimately allocated to a future Palestinian state, is under Israeli security and civil control. However, for more than a decade, settlers have been engaged in a campaign to reframe Palestinian construction in Area C as an attempt to seize Area C and "violate Israeli sovereignty over Area C."
More recently, the settler campaign has shifted its focus to "alleged Palestinian takeover of open areas," claiming that these areas, including Areas A and B, should be treated as Israeli territory. As part of this campaign, Minister Smotrich has been distorting the definition of security in a way that allows Israel to operate in Areas A and B, thereby strengthening Israeli settlement contiguity and exacerbating Palestinian fragmentation, as an issue of Israeli national security. If this misrepresentation succeeds, it may It would be a future justification for demolitions and prohibitions on Palestinian construction in Areas A and B under the guise of security.
A notable example of systematic efforts to blur the lines between Areas A, B, and C, as defined in the Oslo Accords, occurred in June 2024 when the Israeli government assumed law enforcement authorities in "agreed nature reserves" in Area B. Following this decision, the West Bank military commander signed orders giving Israel authority to demolish Palestinian homes in "agreed nature reserves."