[News] Smotrich's covert plan for quiet West Bank takeover leaked

[Anti-Imperialist News]

english.almayadeen.net
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/smotrich-s-covert-plan-for-quiet-west-bank-takeover-leaked>
Smotrich's covert plan for quiet West Bank takeover leaked: NYT
Al Mayadeen English
June 22, 2024
------------------------------

The Israeli Finance Minister intends to shift authority in the West Bank
from the Israeli military to pro-settler officials within the Security
Ministry to avoid international scrutiny.
[image: 16e3bc36-846e-49c4-af05-fb0d0980beff.jpeg]

   - Illustrative: Palestinian villagers inspect the damage after Israeli
   settlers rampaged through the West Bank village of Duma in April, torching
   homes and vehicles. *(AFP)*

The far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich was reportedly
recorded telling supporters of the settler movement
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/clad-in-shepherds--attire--armed-israeli-settlers-usurp-west>
that the government is involved in a covert effort to alter how "Israel"
administers the West Bank, as per a report on Friday citing a recording of
the minister of the Religious Zionist party.

The *New York Times* indicated that the recording was from an event earlier
in the month where Smotrich
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/smotrich-calls-for-settlers-to-enforce-mass-expulsion-of-gaz>,
who also serves as a minister in the Security Ministry, told supporters
that the aim was preventing the West Bank from becoming part of a
Palestinian state.

A spokesperson for Smotrich confirmed the authenticity of the recording,
which the newspaper said was provided by a researcher from the Peace Now
anti-settlement group who attended the event on June 9.
Smotrich to deceive international community on West Bank governance

In the recording, Smotrich detailed his intentions to shift authority from
the Israeli military to pro-settler officials within the Security Ministry,
leveraging the extensive powers granted to him through his Religious
Zionism party's coalition agreement with Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu's Likud.

Smotrich stated, "We established a distinct civilian system," noting that,
to avoid international scrutiny, the government has permitted the Security
Ministry to maintain its involvement in the process, as reported by the
*Times*.

“It will be easier to swallow in the international and legal context,” he
went on to say. “So that they won’t say that we are doing annexation here.”

Smotrich also revealed that Netanyahu was "full on" with the plan.
IOF hand power over West Bank to pro-settler officials under Smotrich

Israeli occupation forces discreetly transferred substantial legal authority
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/iof-hand-power-over-west-bank-to-pro-settler-officials-under>
in the occupied West Bank to Israeli extremist groups ganging up under the
far-right Minister Bezalel Smotrich.

A directive published by the Israeli army on its website on May 29 shifts
the responsibility for numerous bylaws within the so-called "Civil
Administration", the Israeli body governing the West Bank, from the
military to public employees working under Smotrich at the Security
Ministry.

Smotrich and his gangs have long viewed control over the "Civil
Administration", or at least significant portions of it, as a way to extend
Israeli sovereignty in the occupied West Bank. Their ultimate aim is to
achieve direct control by the central government and its ministries. This
transfer reduces the likelihood of legal restrictions on settlement
expansion and development.

Israeli politicians have long aimed to find methods to permanently put
their hand on the occupied West Bank, which they occupied in 1967 and where
millions of Palestinians reside.

Michael Sfard, an Israeli human rights lawyer, said as quoted by Times of
Israel, “The bottom line is that [for] anyone who thought the question of
annexation was foggy, this order should end any doubts. What this order
does is transfers vast areas of administrative power from the military
commander to Israeli civilians working for the government.”
Smotrich's latest coup

The calamitous move marks the latest coup for Smotrich, who secured roles
as finance minister and a minister in the Security Ministry following a
coalition agreement between his far-right party and Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu’s Likud party.

The "Civil Administration" primarily oversees planning and construction in
Area C of the West Bank, which comprises 60% of the occupied Palestinian
territories. Additionally, it enforces regulations against "unauthorized
construction", meaning that if a permit is not issued by the Israeli army
in Area C, the IOF would confiscate any construction tools found and
demolish any new structures built without authorization.

Palestinians in Area C of the West Bank live in constant fear of being
expelled from their homes and lands by Israeli authorities. In the first
three months of 2023, Israeli forces have already forcibly displaced 218
Palestinians through demolitions in Area C. This figure represents more
than one-third of the 594 Palestinians forcibly displaced there throughout
the entire year of 2022, according to United Nations (UN) data.

It is worth noting that the occupied West Bank was divided into three
administrative sections under the 1993 Oslo Accords, with Area A managed by
the Palestinian Authority, Area B under alleged shared sovereignty, and
Area C – the largest area, accounting for around 60% of the occupied
Palestinian territories – under full Israeli administrative and security
control.

According to the accords, Area C, the only contiguous portion of the
occupied West Bank with the most fertile land and valuable natural
resources, was meant to be gradually transferred to Palestinian
sovereignty, but this has never occurred.

Instead, Area C is now occupied by over 400,000 settlers, who control 70%
of the area and prohibit Palestinian development.
Dive deeper

The transfer of legal authority, which was hiding in plain sight in
"Israel", is the result of a prolonged effort by extremist politicians to
gain many of the legal powers previously held by the military.

These laws pertain to various areas, including building regulations,
agriculture, forestry, parks, and bathing locations. Legal experts have
long cautioned that shifting these powers from military to political
control could lead "Israel" to violate its international legal obligations
further.

Once in government, Smotrich swiftly approved thousands of new settlement
units, legalized previously unauthorized outposts, and made it more
challenging for Palestinians to build homes and travel freely.

Reports in Israeli media indicate that US officials have privately
considered imposing sanctions on Smotrich due to his destabilizing actions
in the West Bank, where he resides in a settlement deemed illegal under
international law.

Netanyahu has increasingly leaned on the support of Smotrich and other
extremist groups within his coalition government following the departure of
Benny Gantz from "Israel’s" emergency war cabinet amid schisms over the
strategy of war on Gaza and efforts to secure the release of Israeli
captives.

Smotrich has openly expressed his ambition to establish a stronger presence
in the Ministry of Security to advance his policy agenda, dismissing the
significance of this move as merely procedural.

In April, Smotrich appointed Hillel Roth, a longtime ideological ally, as a
deputy in the "Civil Administration", tasked with overseeing building
regulations in settlements and outposts.

Roth, who previously lived in Yitzhar, a West Bank settlement known for its
history of violence and extremism, has ties to Smotrich’s Religious Zionist
party through his involvement with Bnei Akiva.

According to Sfard, this transfer of authority signifies that legal control
in the West Bank now rests with a structure led by an Israeli minister
focused solely on advancing Israeli interests.

Furthermore, Sfard highlighted that while the head of the "Civil
Administration" traditionally reports to military command, Roth, as a
settler, now answers directly to Smotrich.

Sfard's perspective aligns with a legal analysis published by three Israeli
jurists last year, cautioning that shifting authority away from the
military could legally constitute annexation. They warned that Smotrich
prioritizes advancing the interests of Israeli settlers in the West Bank
over the well-being of the Palestinians.

Mairav Zonszein, a senior analyst for Israel-Palestine at Crisis Group,
said as reported by The Guardian, “The big story is that this is no longer
‘creeping annexation’ or ‘de facto annexation’, it is actual annexation."

“This is the legalisation [and] normalization of a long-term policy.
Smotrich is basically re-establishing the way in which the occupation works
by taking a large part out of the hands of the military," he stressed.

“Half the people he has brought in to the defense ministry are from....
Regavim. The same people who worked at Regavim to disposes Palestinians in
Area C are now in government positions,” he concluded.

Israeli occupation forces have been conducting violent, daily raids in
several West Bank cities since October 7, arresting and brutally killing
Palestinians
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/israeli-forces-shoot-dead-one-palestinian-in-beit-lahm--west>,
including children, in addition to bulldozing roads.
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