Welcome to FMEP’s Weekly Settlement Report, covering everything you need to know about Israeli settlement activity this week.

To subscribe to this report, please click here.

July 19, 2024

1. Historic ICJ Advisory Opinion Says Israel’s Occupation is Illegal, Calls for Settlements to be Dismantled
2. Israel Grants Itself Civilian Control of An Additional 3% of West Bank Land
3. Settlers Enter Abu Nab House in Batan al-Hawa, Silwan As Shehadeh Family Faces 20-Day Eviction Notice
4. Palestinians Blast IDF Closure of Courtyard in Ibrahimi Mosque Complex
5. New Outpost Established East of Ramallah
6. European Union Issues New Sanctions on Israeli Settlers, Orgs, and Outposts
7. U.S. Sanctions Two More Individuals, Including First Military Target
8. Further Reading on Silwan, Masafer Yatta & More
9. Bonus Reads

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Historic ICJ Advisory Opinion Says Israel’s Occupation is Illegal, Calls for Settlements to be Dismantled

In an advisory opinion issued on July 19th, the International Court of Justice ruled that Israel’s occupation of East Jerusalem and the West Bank  is illegal, and its policies constitute apartheid. The Court said that Israel should immediately end its occupation, make restitution to those damaged by it, including dismantling settlements, evacuating all settlers, and dismantling parts of the Separation Barrier that fall east of the 1967 Green Line. It also calls for the return of all Palestinians who were displaced from their homes as a result of Israel’s occupation.

In delivering the Court’s findings, ICJ President Nawaf Salam said: 

“The sustained abuse of Israel of its position as an occupying power through annexation and an assertion of permanent control over the occupied Palestinian territory and continued frustration of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination violates fundamental principles of international law and renders Israel’s presence in the occupied Palestinian territory unlawful.”

Further, the Court – which is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations – calls on all States “not to recognize as legal the situation arising from the unlawful presence of the State of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and not to render aid or assistance in maintaining the situation created by the continued presence of the State of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.” This includes banning trade and investments that touch Israel’s settlements. Though the advisory opinion is non-binding, the Court’s rulings hold legal and moral authority.

The Palestinian human rights group Al-Haq issued a detailed explainer in advance of the opinion’s release, which is a good resource for understanding the legal questions the Court was considering. Following the publication of the opinion, Al-Haq posted on X:

“This is a first step towards rectifying the generational harm of Israel’s illegal occupation, ongoing Nakba, settler-colonialism and apartheid to the Palestinian people, which must be ended, and all Israeli discriminatory measures and legislation repealed. Set against a backdrop of aggressive settlement expansion, increased settler attacks & the GazaGenocide the Advisory Opinion is a stark reminder to States and corporations alike of the need to take concrete action against Israel’s crimes and end Israeli presence in Palestine.”

Even in advance of the release of the ICJ’s advisory opinion, Israeli government officials were bracing for its findings. Smotrich even called on Netanyahu to annex the West Bank in retaliation, a demand he reiterated after the opinion was published.

Israel Grants Itself Civilian Control of An Additional 3% of West Bank Land

Peace Now reports that the Israeli Commander of the Central Command has signed two new orders granting the Israeli government vast planning authorities an additional 3% or 41,300 acres (167,000 dunams) of the West Bank, in the areas to the east of and between Bethlehem and Hebron. Previously, these lands were under the (theoretical) civilian control of the Palestinian Authority (areas A & B according to the Oslo Accords), much to the dismay of settlers and their government allies who have been agitating for control over an ever-increasing amount of land in the West Bank in order, at least in part, to demolish Palestinian construction in the area.

The first order granted Israeli authority to operate in these areas, and the second order made construction in the areas illegal – establishing guidelines for Israeli authorities to demolish any/all Palestinian buildings if they were built after 1998 (the Wye Agreement). Importantly, Bezalel Smotrich and his allies hold authority within the Civil Administration to pursue and enforce demolitions.

Peace Now said in a statement:

“There is no end to the desire for control and annexation by the settler government. The Israeli government is taking upon itself authorities that Netanyahu himself transferred to the Palestinians under the Wye Agreement in 1998. There is no Israeli interest in demolishing Palestinian homes in Area B, which will only harm Israel’s security and international standing, but it solely serves the interests of messianic settlers. It should be noted that the “Agreed-Upon Reserve” is not a genuine nature reserve. It is an Israeli invention born out of the Wye Agreement, where Netanyahu sought to prevent the implementation of agreements signed with the Palestinians and to avoid transferring authority to them in these territories. Therefore, they were defined as “reserves” so that the territories would be transferred to Palestinians but with a prohibition on Palestinian construction. However, they do not constitute an actual reserve.”

Settlers Enter Abu Nab House in Batan al-Hawa, Silwan As Shehadeh Family Faces 20-Day Eviction Notice

Peace Now reports that on July 16th settlers entered the home owned by the Palestinian Abu-Nab family in Silwan and immediately began construction work inside. Last week the Jerusalem District Court ruled in favor of the settlers claim to home and ordered the immediate dispossession of the Abu Nab family. Settlers acted fast to take possession of the home while the family was not home, even as the Abu Nab family lawyer prepared an appeal against the ruling.

On the same day that settlers entered the Abu Nab family home, the Shehadeh family (who lives next door to the Abu-Nabs) received an eviction notice giving them 20 days to leave their home or face forcible eviction.  The Shehadeh family has already been denied an appeal by the Israeli Supreme Court.

Peace Now said in a statement: 

“This is a real alarm. If the government does not intervene and if pressure is not applied on it to intervene, we may see Israeli police forcibly evicting Palestinian families from their homes in Silwan in the coming weeks, and settlers moving in instead. This is a terrible injustice based on discriminatory laws and the exploitation of the vulnerability of East Jerusalem residents, who are not equal citizens living under occupation in Jerusalem. This is part of a larger scheme to expel an entire Palestinian community to make way for settlements in East Jerusalem, and this crime must be stopped. Now.”

Palestinians Blast IDF Closure of Courtyard in Ibrahimi Mosque Complex

The Palestinian-run Hebron Municipality condemned the closure of a courtyard outside of the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron. The director of the Hebron Endowments, Ghassan Al-Rajabi, on July 11th Israeli troops used sheet metal to close off the courtyard area. Rajabi called it, “a blatant assault against the sanctity and status of the Mosque.”

The Hebron Municipality issued a statement saying:

 “This assault comes as part of the statistical projects that seek to consecrate the honorable Abrahamic Shrine and its surroundings, and impose complete control over it by erecting tracks and an electric elevator earlier to facilitate the settlers’ access to the shrine, which will cause its historical and religious landmarks to be distorted and changed and violated the religious and cultural rights of the original owners of the land And the ability to exercise and access their religious rights freely and safely. Know that the occupation authorities had this plan for years and it has been objected and objected by the Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs, the owner of the legal, legal and administrative state on the shrine.”

New Outpost Established East of Ramallah

Palestinian sources report that settlers established a new outpost east of Ramallah on July 15th. 

Hassan Mleihat, the general supervisor of the Al-Baidar Organization said at a press conference: 

“A group of extremist settlers set up tents and placed barbed wire over land belonging to the village of Burqa, east of Ramallah…This area has seen rising conflicts between illegal settlers and Palestinians over land, and the new outpost is part of the occupation government’s plans to seize more land for settlement expansion.”

European Union Issues New Sanctions on Israeli Settlers, Orgs, and Outposts

On July 15th the European Union on Monday sanctioned five Israeli settlers, two outposts and one settler organization group that it deemed are “responsible for serious and systematic human rights abuses against Palestinians in the West Bank.” the European Council, the E.U. body that represents the heads of the member governments, said in a statement. 

These sanctions duplicated some of the sanctions the U.S. has imposed already. 

Israeli press reports that several additional countries – including the U.K. under new leadership – have warned Israeli officials that more sanctions should be expected should Smotrich continue his settlement and annexation activities. Haaretz reports that Israeli officials are concerned sanctions will be placed on the major settler groups Amana and Regavim.

U.S. Sanctions Two More Individuals, Including First Military Target

The United States made two announcements of new sanctions this week. First on July 17th the U.S. said it had designated Shlomo Yehezkel Hai Sarid, who is the head of the previously-sanctioned Tsav 9 settler organization. Then on July 18th the U.S. announced that it had sanctioned Elor Azaria, who is a former IDF sergeant who was filmed executing a wounded Palestinian in 2016. Azaria was convicted by an Israeli court and served only 18 months in prison. 

So far, the U.S. has placed sanctions on 11 settlers and 11 settler entities who have perpetrated violence and disorder in the West Bank. Azaria is unique among the designated individuals in that he was sanctioned for his actions while serving in the Israeli IDF some eight years ago, not for his active participation in settler terrorism.

Further Reading on Silwan, Masafer Yatta & More

Following FMEP’s publication of the Settlement Report last eek, several new must-read resources have been published regarding stories that FMEP closely follows.

On the pending mass displacement of Palestinians from Silwan:

• Peace Now published a very detailed explainer on the four legal cases at the forefront of the fight currently underway.

On the ongoing settler terrorism that is making live untenable for Palestinians in the South Hebron Hills:

• AP published, “Mounting home demolitions and settler attacks plunge a Palestinian village into crisis” (AP)

On the every escalating campaign by settlers to weaponize archaeology in pursuit of displacing PAlestinians and seizing control over the West Bank:

• The Jerusalem Post published an op-ed claiming that the Palestinian Authority is directing the “wanton annihilation of Jewish heritage” in the West Bank and calling for the Israeli government to seize control over all sites in Area B. 

Bonus Reads

1. “The US held off sanctioning this Israeli army unit despite evidence of abuses. Now its forces are shaping the fight in Gaza” (CNN)
2. “Some 100,000 Palestinian Residents of Jerusalem Receive Only 4-12 Hours of Running Water per Week” (Ir Amim)
3. “Israel’s legalization of settlements in the northern West Bank, explained” (Mondoweiss)
4. “Far-right groups that block aid to Gaza receive tax-deductible donations from US and Israel” (AP)
5. “What life is like for Palestinians living under Israeli occupation” (Al Jazeera Video)

Welcome to FMEP’s Weekly Settlement Report, covering everything you need to know about Israeli settlement activity this week.

To subscribe to this report, please click here.

July 12, 2024

1. A Stunning, Expansive Time for Israel’s West Bank Annexation
2. Civil Admin Seizes Patchwork of Plots as “State Land” in Order to Legalize the Evyatar Outpost
3. Government Establishes Jurisdiction for New Settlement on World Heritage Site Near Bethlehem
4. Settlers Takeover New Building in Hebron
5. Historic Year for Land Grabs: Israel Seizes Over 3,000 Acres in the Jordan Valley as “State Land”
6. Civil Admin Advances Plans to Legalize Three Outposts & Build 5k New Units Across West Bank
7. Israeli Cabinet Gives Civil Admin Authority Over Antiquity Sites in Area B
8. Israeli Cabinet Supports Knesset Considers Bill to Transfer West Bank Antiquities Control from Civil Admin to Domestic Body
9. U.S. Issues New Round of Sanctions Against Settlers & Settler Organizations
10. Israeli Court Orders 11 Families Out of Homes in Batan al-Hawa, Silwan
11. Israeli Court Rules to Demolish Wadi Hilweh Info Center in Silwan
12. Israeli Court Tells Settlers To Leave Khalidi Library in Old City of Jerusalem
13. Israel to Advance 6,000+ Settlement Units in East Jerusalem in Coming Weeks
14. Amidst Wave of Violence, Settlers Lead Progrom On Massafer Yatta Region
15. Ariel Settlers Close Access Road to Palestinians
16. IDF Demolishes Outposts, Clashes With Settlers
17. Bonus Reads

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A Stunning, Expansive Time for Israel’s West Bank Annexation

Over the past two weeks, Israel has unleashed a flurry of settlement activity that makes its annexation of the West Bank complete. Even a small sampling of those acts, detailed below along with other news, are stunning when taken together. Indeed, Israeli National Missions Minister Orti Strock called this “a miraculous time,” referring to the control her and her allies have over key government bodies and how easy it is for them to fund settlement construction. Strock is a member of the Religious Zionism party, along with Bezalel Smotrich.

Renowned Israeli human rights lawyer Michael Sfard encapsulates this time powerfully in an article entitled, “Smotrich Has Completed Israel’s Annexation of the West Bank”:

“The only thing the annexationist criminals must be saying to themselves now is: why did we wait for 57 years? It’s so easy.”

Civil Admin Seizes Patchwork of Plots as “State Land” in Order to Legalize the Evyatar Outpost

On July 8th, the Israeli government declared 16 acres (66 dunams) of land south of Nablus as Israeli “state land” in order to pave the way for the legalization of the Evyatar outpost. Palestinians who have private ownership claims to the land have 45 days in which to submit an appeal. The declaration is the result of three years of “work” by Smotrich’s Settlements Administration to examine the status of the land in order to find a way for the state to take control of the land in order to legalize the outpost. The declaration comes one week after the Israeli Security of Cabinet decided in favor of legalizing the Evyatar outpost along with four other outposts.

The Evyatar outpost was illegally built by settlers on a strategic hilltop named Mount Sabih, located just south of Nablus on land historically belonging to nearby Palestinian villages Beita, Yatma, and Qablan. It was evacuated by the Israeli government in 2021 in the context of an agreement with settlers that left all construction at the site in place, maintained an IDF presence at the site, and made clear the government’s intent to legalize settlement at the site in the future – a goal which was made more than official when it was agreed to in writing as part of the coalition agreements that formed the current Israeli government.

To underscore the absurdity which has characterized the State’s blatant intent to legalize Evyatar even though Israeli law makes that an impossibility because parts of the land are recognized by the State as privately owned by Palestinians (which is the only reason Evyatar has yet to be legalized), the State’s new declaration of “state land” is a complete patchwork. The order does not include the land on which the central square of the outpost is built, nor does it include 11 buildings, or, very importantly, the access road leading from the main road to the outpost. The implications of this patchwork is that even though the privately owned land was not seized, Palestinians will remain unable to access the land and will, in practice, lose that land as well as land abutting the settlement as it grows, expands, and establishes control over the area with the assistance of the IDF.

Peace Now reports that this is the fifth “state land” declaration so far in 2024 bringing the total land in the West Bank taken into Israeli control this year to 5,879 acres (23,572 dunams), breaking all previous annual records combined. Israel invented the concept of “state land” in order to find means by which to confiscate land in the occupied West Bank, and to do so Israel cites Ottoman law which provided that land which has not been cultivated in consecutives years becomes the property of the sovereign. Peace Now explains:

“The declaration process is essentially a legal maneuver developed by Israel to circumvent the prohibition in international law against expropriating private property of the occupied population for the benefit of the occupying power. To “convert” private land into public land (termed “state land”) without expropriating it, Israel claims that it is not changing the land’s status but merely “declaring” it officially.

According to Israel’s interpretation of Ottoman land law, which underpins the land laws in the occupied territories, if a landowner does not cultivate their land for several years, the land is no longer theirs and becomes public property. To this end, the mapping personnel of the Civil Administration, now operating under the Settlements Administration with legal counsel under Minister Smotrich, examine aerial photographs to identify uncultivated lands and mark them as “state land.”

The declaration map for the Evyatar outpost shows that there were indeed several cultivated lands, even by Israel’s stringent interpretation. For example, the declaration creates an enclave of about 3.5 dunams in the middle of the area designated for the settlement, considered private land. In principle, Israel would argue that it is not expropriating this area and that the Palestinian landowners are still recognized as the owners. However, as in hundreds of similar cases, it is clear that they will not have access to their land and no possibility of using it when it is located in the middle of an Israeli settlement.

To enable an access road connecting the outpost to the main road without crossing private land, the map’s designers managed to “find” an 11-meter-long and 1.5-meter-wide corridor of land that they claim was uncultivated and thus considered state land. This interpretation of Ottoman law brings it to absurdity.

According to this, if a person has a plot and cultivates it intensively, but there is a small uncultivated strip on the edges, say a rock that cannot be plowed, that small part of the plot is not owned by the landowner. This interpretation is far removed from the purpose of the Ottoman law, which was to encourage the empire’s subjects to cultivate the lands to increase its tax revenues.

Regarding the access road – in any case, for modern vehicles, a road 1.5 meters wide is insufficient, and it is clear that to allow access to the settlement, the state will encroach on private Palestinian lands (requiring another legal maneuver). Thus, it can be said that this entire declaration of state land is essentially an unlawful expropriation under international law.”

Government Establishes Jurisdiction for New Settlement on World Heritage Site Near Bethlehem

On July 9th, the IDF Commander signed an order establishing the jurisdiction for a new settlement on the lands just west of Bethlehem, lands that are recognized as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Notably, the jurisdiction for the new settlement, called “Nahal Heletz”, does not include the land on which two illegal outposts already exist on Battir’s land. The new settlement is being planned for land that is between Bethlehem and several villages to its west (Walaja, Battir, and Husan) –  meaning that construction on this land will sever the territorial continuity of Palestinian land in the Bethlehem region, and, in the words of Peace Now: “turn them [the villages] into an enclave within Israeli territory.”

There are several extraordinary facts about this land and Israel’s legal acrobatics to establish a new settlement at this location:

1. 1. The status of the land within the new jurisdiction is unclear, and quite possibly includes privately owned Palestinian land. The Israeli Blue Line Team (a government effort to precisely map the boundaries of state land in the West Bank) has prepared updated maps to show the boundaries of state land in the area, but has yet to release it – meaning that the status of the land is unclear. The jurisdiction appears to stretch beyond the previously understood boundaries of land that Israel seized as “state land” in the 1980s, onto land that is privately owned by Palestinians. The updated boundaries might change that fact in the eyes of the Israeli government. But,once the new Blue Line in the area is made public, Palestinians will/should be able to contest it.
   2. There is no access road to the area, and it is surrounded by privately owned Palestinian land. Israel will have to unilaterally expropriate privately owned Palestinian land in order to pave a road to the new settlement – – an extraordinary act which Israel has done in the past (having invented a legal basis on which to do it, a concept which considers Israeli settlers as part of the “local population” of the West Bank).
   3. The jurisdictional area established by this new order is too small for real development  – just under 30 acres (120 dunams). Peace Now explains that “small settlements severely impact open spaces, require substantial resources for infrastructure and transportation, and contradict fundamental planning principles. The sole reason for establishing such a settlement is political: the desire to prevent a Palestinian territorial continuity in the Bethlehem area and the possibility of a viable Palestinian state.”
   4. The jurisdiction is a stones throw away from Palestinian houses and Area B.

Settlers Takeover New Building in Hebron

Peace Now reports that in early June 2024 settlers have taken over a building (“Beit HaTkuma”) in Hebron and established a new settlement enclave there. The house, which settlers illegally entered once before but were removed under the Bennet-Lapid government, on the main road leading from the Kiryat Arba settlement to the Tomb of the Patriarchs/Al-Ibrahimi Mosque.

Settlers claim to have purchased the house, which is a three-story building, from its Palestinians owners, and report that the Civil Administration has recently issued them a permit to begin the registration process. The timing of this permit coincides with the first days of Hillel Roth’s assumption of his role in the Defense Ministry as the civilian in charge of all land matters in the West Bank. Upon receiving the permit (allegedly), the settlers decided to enter and occupy the building although the permit does not provide for that. [map]

Historic Year for Land Grabs: Israel Seizes Over 3,000 Acres in the Jordan Valley as “State Land”

On June 25th, the head of the IDF signed an order declaring 3,138 acres (12,700 dunams) of land in the Jordan Valley as  “state land” – the largest state land seizure since the Oslo Accords were signed in 1993. This is the first declaration enacted under the authority of Hillel Roth, the new civilian deputy in the Civil Administration responsible for land policy in Area C of the West Bank. Peace Now reports that the legal opinion supporting this massive declaration of state land was crafted by lawyers in the Department of Defense and not legal advisors with the IDF.

Peace Now further reports:

“A significant part of the area that was declared as state land was previously defined as a nature reserve, and also as a “fire area”, for military use, for decades. Today’s announcement completes the Israeli takeover of this area that has been done so far through the declaration of the area as a military area and as a nature reserve – something that imposed many restrictions on the Palestinians’ ability to use their lands. The declaration creates a territorial continuity between the settlements in the Jordan Valley (Yifit and Masu’a) and the settlements at the eastern end of the mountainside (Gitit and Ma’ale Efraim).”

So far in 2024, Israel has declared 5,852 acres as “state land” a figure eclipsing any other year since the Oslo Accords were signed in 1993. The highest previous total was in 2014, and it was for 1,181 acres.

Civil Admin Advances Plans to Legalize Three Outposts & Build 5k New Units Across West Bank

On July 4th, the Israeli Civil Administration approved the advancement of plans for 5,295 settlement units, including plans which would in effect legalize three outposts under the guise of being “neighborhoods” of existing settlements. This is the first time the Civil Administration’s High Planning Council has met since it came under the authority of a civilian official, Hillel Roth, who was appointed by Bezalel Smotrich. The HPC last met in March 2024. The Associated Press has called Israel’s advancement of plans a “turbo charged settlement drive [that] threatens to further stoke tensions on the West Bank.”

The three outposts that are now on their way to legalization, once given final approval, are:

• Mahane Gadi – to be legalized as a neighborhood of the Masu’a settlement in the northern Jordan Valley. This outpost was built in 2018 on an abandoned Isareli military camp. The outpost currently functions as an educational campus and pre-military academy. Plans advanced this week are for the construction of 260 settlement units. Masu’a settlement, and its outpost satellites, were recently benefitted by the Israeli government’s massive declaration of state land that borders Masu’a.  
• Givat Hanan (Susya East) – to be legalized as a neighborhood of the Susya settlement located in the South Hebron Hills.
• Kedem Arava – it appears that the Kedem Arava outpost was legalized along with Beit Hogla in February 2023 (previously unclear), located south east of Jericho. Plans advanced this week are for 316 settlement units in the Kedem Arava outpost area, but filed as if they are plans for the Beit Hogla settlement. 

The settlement plans that were approved for validation (a near final step in the West Bank planning process) are:

• Beitar Illit – 298 settlement units. An additional 453 units were approved for deposit (751 settlement units total).
• Givat Zeev – 452 settlement units
• Mitzpe Yericho – 365 settlement units
• Nokdim – 290 settlement units
• Immanuel – 266 settlement units 
• Elon Moreh – 186 settlement units
• Kiryat Arba – 165 settlement units 
• Negohot – 158 settlement units
• Tzofim – 74 settlement units
• Ganei Modiin – 46 settlement units
• Etz Efraim – 12 settlement units. An additional 24 units were approved for deposit (36 units total)
• Eli – 24 settlement units
• Mitzad (Asfar) – 6 settlement units

The settlement plans that were approved for deposit (an earlier step in the West Bank planning process) are:

• Neria – 436 settlement units
• Modin Illit – 300 settlement units
• Gva’ot – 250 settlement units. There were over 1,000 plans for the Gva’ot settlement on the High Planning Council’s agenda, but only one plan was advanced, the rest continue to be worked on.
• Yakir – 168 settlement units. Haaretz reports that these units are slated to be built on land that is discontiguous from the built up area of the Yakir settlement,  on the far side of the settlement’s access road, effectively building a new settlement. The construction of these units requires the evacuation of a military base. 
• Kiryat Netafim – 136 settlement units
• Hagai – 135 settlement units
• Maale Shomron (Elamatan) – 120 settlement units
• Almon (Anatot) – 91 settlement units
• Shilo – 90 settlement units
• Pduel – 37 settlement units
• Revava – 16 settlement units
• Elkana – 8 settlement units
• Shaarei Tikva – 6 settlement units

Peace Now said in a statement: 

“Netanyahu and Smotrich’s agenda became evident through the decisions of the Planning Council: approval for thousands of housing units, the establishment of three new settlements, and strategic appointments of Smotrich’s allies in key roles instead of military personnel underscore the annexation occurring in the West Bank. Our government continues to change the rules of the game in the occupied West Bank, leading to irreversible harm. While the north is neglected and citizens across the country are abandoned, with 120 hostages still in Gaza, the process of annexation and land theft continues to expand, contrary to Israeli interests. This annexationist government severely undermines the security and future of both Israelis and Palestinians, and the cost of this recklessness will be paid for generations to come. We must bring down the government before it’s too late.”

Israeli Cabinet Gives Civil Admin Authority Over Antiquity Sites in Area B

In late June, the Israeli Cabinet approved several punitive measures against the Palestinian Authority, measures which included usurping the Palestinian Authority’s singular responsibility for antiquity sites in Area B. Under the decision passed last week, the Civil Administration was granted enforcement powers over antiquity sites in Area B that are alleged to be damaged. 

Emek Shaveh explains why this is incredibly significant:

“Approximately 6,000 archaeological sites have been identified in the West Bank. Almost every village or settlement contains archaeological and historical remains that require archaeological supervision to prevent damage to sites, structures, or findings. Thousands of sites are located in Areas A and B…expanding the powers of the [Civil Administration] into these areas represents another Israeli departure from the Oslo Accords. The implications of the decision for Palestinian residents are far reaching. The Staff Officer for Archaeology [in the Civil Administration], which derives its authority from the antiquities law effective in the West Bank (the Jordanian Antiquities Law of 1966), will now be empowered to perform various enforcement actions in Area B including:

• Declaration of archaeological sites, determining their boundaries.
• Issuing work stoppage orders for any development within the boundaries of a declared site or a site suspected of containing archaeological remains.
• Imposing fines for damage to an antiquity site, whether the site is declared or not.
• Demolishing structures located within a declared archaeological site or one that will be declared in the future.
• Collecting information, investigating, and requesting the arrest of suspects in antiquities theft or illegal antiquities trade.

This decision taken together with other decisions for Area B aimed at promoting annexation will dramatically reduce Palestinian space. It should be noted that the SOA consistently avoids enforcing the law when it comes to heritage site destruction by settlers (this is true in Hebron, Battir, and in other places)….

The expansion of archaeological activity into the oPt, especially as reflected in this cabinet decision, indicates the government’s intention to promote annexation by any means. It also fundamentally challenges the possibility of conducting impartial archaeological-scientific activity as long as it operates as part of an oppressive mechanism under military auspices. Israeli archaeological activity in the West Bank necessarily becomes an act of land appropriation and a deepening of Israel’s hold on the West Bank. This action violates international law and ethics, disregards the existence of the Palestinian community, and serves as a weapon for oppression.

The destruction of sites cannot and should not serve as a pretext for political action, and political action should not be disguised as archaeological activity. Blurring the distinction between heritage preservation and settlement and annexation activities turns the practice of archaeology into a weapon of oppression while undermining its professional legitimacy.”

Notably, Israel Hayom credits this Cabinet action to a settler group called “Keepers of the Eternal,” (or, “Guardians of Eternity” – an offshoot of Regavim) the leader of which called the new powers granted to the Civil Administration “dramatic.” FMEP has reported on this group repeatedly as it has increased its pressure on and work with the government to take control of West Bank antiquity sites. Dating back to June 2020, the “Guardians of Eternity” began surveying areas in the West Bank that Israel has designated as archaeological sites, looking for Palestinian construction (barred by Israel in such areas) that they could then use as a pretext to demand that Israeli authorities demolish it. The group systematically began communicating its findings to the Archaeology Unit of the Israeli Civil Administration.

Then in January 2021, the Israeli government committed funding to a settler initiative to surveil archeological sites under Palestinian control. While the objective of protecting antiquities might appear uncontroversial and apolitical, the true (and transparently self-evident) objectives behind this effort are: to support yet another pretext to surveil and police Palestinians; to establish and exploit yet another means to dispossess Palestinians of their properties; to expand/deepen Israeli control across the West Bank; and to further entrench Israeli technical, bureaucratic and legal paradigms that treat the West Bank as sovereign Israeli territory. It is the result of a campaign that has taken place over the past year in which settlers have escalated their calls for the Israeli government to seize antiquities and “heritage sites” located in Palestinian communities across the West Bank, especially in Area C, which Israel today treats as functionally (and legally) indistinguishable from sovereign Israeli territory. 

Israeli Cabinet Supports Knesset Considers Bill to Transfer West Bank Antiquities Control from Civil Admin to Domestic Body

Emek Shaveh reports that the Israeli cabinet gave its support to a bill in the Knesset that would transfer authority over West Bank antiquity sites from the Defense Ministry’s Civil Administration to the domestic Israeli Antiquities Authority, bringing the cultural, heritage, and archaeological sites in the West Bank under the direct control of the Israeli government in which West Bank Palestinians have no rights. 

The bill, as proposed by Likud’s Amit Halevi, explains that the move is justifiable because the West Bank antiquity sites (unbelievably) “have no historical or other connection to the Palestinian Authority.” The bill passed a preliminary vote in the Knesset on July 10th.

U.S. Issues New Round of Sanctions Against Settlers & Settler Organizations

On July 11th, the United States announced another round of sanctions targeting Israeli settlers and settler organizations it asserts are perpetrating violent crimes against Palestinians and Israeli solidarity activists in the West Bank. These sanctions expand the web or already sanctioned individuals and entities.

The individuals and entities sanctioned by the U.S. this week are:

• 1 settler organization: 
  • Lehava – a settler group led by Benzi Gopstein, who is already under U.S. sanctions.
• 3 individuals:
  • Issachar Manne – who established the Manne’s Farm outpost.
  • Reut Ben Haim – the co-head of the Tzav 9 settler group, which is already under U.S. sanctions;
  • Shlomo Sari – the co-head of the Tzav 9 settler group, which is already under U.S. sanctions;
• Four illegal outposts:
  • Meitarim Farm (established by Yinon Levi, who is already under U.S. sanctions);
  • HaMahoch Farm (established by Neria Ben Pazi, who is already under U.S. sanctions);
  • Neria’s Farm (established by Neria Ben Pazi, who is already under U.S. sanctions); and,
  • Manne’s Farm, established by Issachar Manne, who came under sanctions this week, and located in the South Herbon Hills.

Notably, The Times of Israel has previously reported that in 2021 a corporation owned by the Har Hebron Regional Council signed a legally binding contract with Yinon Levi (a previously sanctioned individual) to establish Meitarim Farm. This legal connection exposes the settlement municipality to US sanctions as well.

Aaron David Miler, a former state department Middle East negotiator now a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, tells The Guardian that the expanding targets of U.S. sanctions are creeping closer towards the Israeli government, saying:

“It appears that [the U.S. State Department] not just targeted extremist settlers but … introduced a linkage to territoriality by citing illegal outposts…It doesn’t take much imagination to conclude that the next target would be [Israeli] government financing for illegal outposts. And that would be a new departure to be sure.”

Sara Yager, Washington director of Human Rights Watch, said:

“In this case we’re pleased that the Biden administration is going farther than before with the alert…Now it’s time for sanctions against the Israeli authorities that are approving and inciting. We want to see the US, UK, Canada and others focus on power behind all this in the West Bank.”

Israeli Court Orders 11 Families Out of Homes in Batan al-Hawa, Silwan

This week the Jerusalem District Court ruled on two significant cases affecting 11 Palestinian families in Silwan facing forcible eviction from their homes at the hands of the Ateret Cohanim settler organization. Both cases were found in favor of the settlers, leaving 11 families at risk of imminent mass displacement from East Jerusalem. The Palestinians plan to appeal the ruling to the Israeli Supreme Court – though it was only a month ago that the Supreme Court rejected an appeal by the Shehadeh family whose case is similar to those decided this week.

On July 9th, the Israeli court rejected the final appeal of the Gheith and Abu Nab families (4 family units totalling 22 individuals) and ordered their immediate eviction. The families were also ordered to pay the legal fees incurred by Ateret Cohanim.

On July 10th, the Israeli court rejected the final appeal of the Rajabi family (7 family units, 65 individuals), ruling that the 66-member family must vacate their longtime home by January 2025.

In both cases, Ateret Cohanim claims ownership of the buildings becuase it gained control of the historic Benvenisti Trust, which oversaw the assets of Yemenite Jews who lived in Silwan in the 19th century. In 2001 the Israeli Charitable Trust Registrar granted Ateret Cohanim permission to revive the trust and become its trustees following 63 years of dormancy. In 2002, the Israeli Custodian General transferred ownership of the land in Batan al-Hawa to the Trust (i.e., to Ateret Cohanim). Since then, Ateret Cohanim has accelerated its multi-pronged campaign to remove Palestinians from their homes, claiming that the Palestinians are illegal squatters. Silwan is just one site of Ateret Cohanim’s work to establish Jewish enclaves inside densely populated Palestinian neighborhoods of East Jerusalem, for the explicit purpose of “reclaiming” Palestinian parts of Jerusalem for Jews.

Ir Amim explains:

“These families are among some 85 Palestinian families, consisting of over 700 individuals, who face largescale displacement and settler takeovers of their homes in Batan al-Hawa. This is a result of eviction claims filed by a Jewish trust established in the 19th century, which is now controlled by the Ateret Cohanim settler group who is exploiting it to take over Palestinian homes. 

While carried out under a veneer of legitimacy, the proceedings are underpinned by discriminatory laws, political motivations, and a system that is rigged against Palestinians from the outset which deprives them of equal access to justice. Moreover, theses measures are a violation of international law and could amount to a form of forcible transfer. 

Rather than adjudicating these cases from a broader perspective, which includes moral, geopolitical, and humanitarian considerations, as well as international law, the Israeli judiciary is instead complicit with these moves.

These cases are part and parcel of a coordinated and systematic political campaign aimed at uprooting Palestinians and expanding Jewish settlement in the heart of Palestinian neighborhoods. While the eviction claims themselves are initiated by settlers, they are aided and abetted on all levels of the state, which carry far-reaching implications on the future of Jerusalem and the conflict as a whole.”

Israeli Court Rules to Demolish Wadi Hilweh Info Center in Silwan

On July 3rd, the Jerusalem Court of Local Affairs ruled that the Wadi Hilweh Information Center will be demolished within a year, and fined the Center over $5,000 (NIS 20,000). The Wadi Hilweh Information Center is run by prominent activist Jawad Siyam, who along with the center is a fixture in Silwan and an important interlocutor with diplomats and alternative tourism who are seeking to learn about Palestinian history in the area and current struggles to remain there while enduring state + settler harassment and displacement.

The Center was opened in 2009, at which time the Jerusalem Municipality issued a warning notice demanding the demolition of part of the building that was recently “renovated” (the roof was repaired) because the Center did not obtain an Israeli-issued building permit to do the work. The Center says that the building itself predates Israel’s control of the area in 1967. It currently stands in the shadow of the massive “City of David Visitors Center” complex that the Elad settler organization has built over the years.

Peace Now said in a statement: 

“Instead of taking care of all the residents of Jerusalem, Jews and Arabs, the Jerusalem Municipality works to harm the Palestinian residents and make their lives difficult. The tourist settlement in the Palestinian neighborhoods around the Old City, which is massively supported by the government, is aiming at erasing the Palestinian presence from the public space in East Jerusalem. The pressures exerted by the municipality against the Wadi Hilweh Information Center in Silwan and the intention to demolish it, are for the political purpose of not allowing the residents to organize and make their voices heard in the public domain.”

Israeli Court Tells Settlers To Leave Khalidi Library in Old City of Jerusalem

On June 30th, the Jerusalem District Court made a group of settlers vacate ta building in the Khalidi Library complex located in the Old City of Jerusalem after they broke into the building and occupied it three days prior. The library is within eyesight of the Western/Wailing Wall plaza (Kotel Plaza), on Chain Gate Road, which leads to the Haram al-Sharif. There is an IDF checkpoint right outside of the door, reflecting what an intensely sensitive area it is in.

The settlers had forged documents claiming to have purchased the building, but upon review of the Khalidi families’ own documents which show the family has owned the building for at least 160 years, the Court ordered the settlers to leave. There is another hearing set in the coming weeks which will allow the settlers, if they choose, to make their case.

Listen to Rashid Khalidi explain the history of the Khalidi Library, the current situation and its importance, and the ongoing fears of settler takeover in a conversation with FMEP Fellow Peter Beinart on a recent episode of FMEP’s “Occupied Thoughts” podcast. 

In a statement, the Khalidi family said:

“Despite this temporary success, there is an ongoing fear of settler violence and the chilling effect of the occupation. Two of the settlers involved have been identified as Eli Attal ad Erez Zaka, the former linked to previous takeovers of Palestinian properties in the old city. After today’s ruling, scores of settlers remain lingering  outside the house and on the rooftops filming and occasionally bagining on the doors and windows, posing a threat of breaking and entry and further illegal actions.”

Israel to Advance 6,000+ Settlement Units in East Jerusalem in Coming Weeks

Ir Amim reports that within the next two weeks Israel is planning to advance plans for 6,700 new settlement units in East Jerusalem. Plans to be advanced include:

• • Givat Hamatos  – plans for 3,500 new units, 1,300 new hotel rooms, five synagogues, and two mikvahs (ritual baths). This plan wouldl double the number of units in the settlement and expand its size by nearly 40%;
  • Gilo – two plans for a total of 1,288 new settlement units, expanding hte settlement to the south east, further choking the Palestinian neighborhood of Beit Safafa and severing neighborhoods in southern Jerusalem from the Bethlehem area;
  • Ramot – plans for 800 new settlement units.

Details of the plans slated for advancement are reported here by Ir Amim, and will be reported by FMEP in more detail when they are advanced.

Amidst Wave of Violence, Settlers Lead Progrom On Massafer Yatta Region

Palestinian residents in Masafer Yatta, an area of small villages in the South Hebron Hills, have been live streaming the frequent and intensifying terror that Israeli settlers have been inflicting on them for years. The terror peaked to unimaginable levels over the last weeks when, on multiple occasions, armed settlers descended on villages in the area inflicting terror, violence, and intimidation.

Eid Suleman, a prominent activist in Umm al-Khair, told the Associated Press:

“We know what this is. They’re trying to expel us out of here. The military did the dirty job last week and now the settlers are following up.”

Some of the events that have transpired include:

On June 26th, the IDF arrived in Umm al-Khair early in the morning and proceeded to demolish a third of Umm al-Khair’s structures (11 homes), leaving 38 people (30 children) homeless).

On July 1st, armed settlers descended on Umm al-Khair, some dressed as IDF officers, and fired live ammunition toward Palestinians, deployed tear gas, and attacked people with wooden sticks.  Israel soldiers and police were nearby but did not intervene.

On July 2nd, settlers were accompanied by Isreali soldiers as the entered the village of Umm al-Khair and built a tent in the center square, where 40 settlers gathered in a sort of celebration. When they eventually left, the settlers cut the water pipes supplying the village and warned of their plans to return the next day.

On July 3rd, settlers descended on the nearby village of Khalled al-Daba’a and set agricultural crops and trees on fire. The settlers then proceeded to march on the homes in the village carrying cans of gasoline and guns.

On July 4th, Palestinian residents reported that 100 settlers attacked the village of Khaled al-Daba, setting fire to fruit trees and shooting live ammunition directly towards Palestinians. Settlers proceeded to beat villages with sticks. Israeli forces arrested one Palestinian.

Settlers then moved to Mufagarah, a nearby village, where they destroyed vehicles and prevented emergency medical workers from reaching Palestinians and internationals in need. Palestinians report several Palestinians and two internationals were injured by the settlers.

On July 7th, the IDF arrested members of the Hureini family – who are all prominent activists in the area – who had called the police to report that settlers had shepherded flocks of sheep onto the Hureini’s land.

The Center for Jewish Nonviolence (which maintains a protective presence in Masafer Yatta and closely allied with the local population there) reports that “the attacks on Umm al-Khair after the demolition on Wednesday are being led by a settler named Shimon Atiya (or Atia), a leader of the nearby illegal outpost, Havat Shorashim (or “Roots Farm” in English). For months, he has been one of countless settlers acting with impunity while wreaking havoc on Palestinian communities across Area C.”

The events in Massafer Yatta bring into stark relief the intensity and persistence of settler terrorism in the West Bank, especially since October 7, 2023. AIDA (Association of International Development Agencies) has recorded 1,000 incidents of settler violence since October 7th.

The outgoing head of the Israeli Army’s Central Command, Yehuda Fuchs, used his farewell speech to criticize Israel policy makers for their failure to deter settler terrorism in the West Bank.

Ariel Settlers Close Access Road to Palestinians

The Mayor of the Ariel settlement has blockaded on the main access road leading to the nearby Palestinian village ofSalfit, boasting about his actions in an Instagram post. In addition to building a blockade of boulders and a welded gate, workers also destroyed parts of the road. The Civil Administration has attempted to remove the blockades and restore use of the road, but each time the settlers have re-constructed the blockade.

The Ariel settlement Mayor, Yair Chetboun, said in the video:

“Security is foremost upon us, upon the city. We trust the IDF, love the IDF, but if the senior levels don’t understand the importance of blockading this route – which led to attacks and enables car theft. We won’t permit such a reality. We are also operating on the political front but also on the ground.”

IDF Demolishes Outposts, Clashes With Settlers

On July 3rd, settlers clashed with Israeli authorities as they attempted to demolish the illegal outpost “Oz Zion B.” Haaretz reports that five settlers were arrested for violence against Israeli Border Police, and four were quickly released without questioning or restrictions. One settler who pepper sprayed an officer was brought to court for a hearing but later released and forbidden from going near the outpost.

The demolition of the outpost was reportedly ok’d by Prime Minister Netanyahu – going over the head of Bezalel Smotrich and the Settlement Administration, which has seized control of building enforcement in the West Bank. The outpost, according to the Shin Bet, was the source of violent terror.

Bonus Reads

1. “Road to Redemption: How Israel’s War Against Hamas Turned Into a Springboard for Jewish Settlement in Gaza” (Haaretz)
2. “A look at how settlements have grown in the West Bank over the years” (AP)
3. ​​“West Bank Annexation and Destabilization in the Shadow of the Israel-Hamas War” (J Street) 
4. “The Status of De Jure West Bank Annexation” (Israel Policy Forum)
5. “Mounting International Sanctions Against Powerful Israeli Settler Group Could Be Earth-shattering” (Haaretz)
6. “A warm relationship is being built between Judea, Samaria and America” (JNS)
7. “Why there is no uprising in the West Bank – yet” (Mondoweiss)
8. “In His Retirement Speech, Israel’s Top Officer in the West Bank Revealed the Hidden Truth” (Haaretz)
9. “The Companies Making it Easy to Buy in the West Bank” (The Intercept)

 

Welcome to FMEP’s Weekly Settlement Report, covering everything you need to know about Israeli settlement activity this week.

To subscribe to this report, please click here.

June 28, 2024

1. West Bank Annexation: Israeli Military Cedes Control of West Bank Civilian Affairs to Settler
2. In Secretly Recorded Tapes, Smotrich Confirms Israel is Annexing the West Bank via Bureaucracy
3. Israel Authorizes Five Outposts, Hints at Thousands of Units & More Annexation to Come
4. Knesset Forms Caucus to Push for Resettlement of Gaza
5. Canada Sanctions Prominent Settler Groups & Leaders
6. Israeli High Court Hears Petition Challenging De Facto Annexation in the Jordan Valley
7. Bonus Reads

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West Bank Annexation: Israeli Military Cedes Control of West Bank Civilian Affairs to Settler

In an act of de jure annexation of the West Bank, on May 29th the head of the Israeli Civil Administration signed an order ceding a significant part of the military’s authority over affairs in the West Bank to a newly created, civilian administrator who reports to Bezalel Smotrich. Filling that role is Hillel Roth,  a close ally of Smotrich and resident of the radical, violent Yitzhar settlement. Roth was appointed as Deputy head of the Civil Administration and now has authority over the enforcement of building regulations in settlements and outposts; West Bank real estate transactions; government property; land and water arrangements; protection of holy places (except the Cave of the Patriarchs, Rachel’s Tomb and Samuel’s Tomb); forestry laws; tourism; public bathing; planning of cities, villages and construction; some land registration processes; management and administration of regional councils; and many more.

Smotrich stressed that these changes are meant to be long lasting, and that if the current government changes, the architecture of annexation will remain.

This is a significant continuation of the transfer of control over the West Bank from the Israeli military – which has acted as the occupying power of the West Bank since 1967 – to Israeli civilian government elected by Israelis (and not Palestinians living in the West Bank) to advance Israeli state interests. It’s reasonable to expect that Roth, working in tandem with Smotrich, will continue to advance annexation, accelerate settlement construction, outpost legalization, and enforcement against Palestinian construction. To learn more about why this transfer of power matters, listen to a new FMEP podcast featuring FMEP Fellow Peter Beinart speaks with Professor Yael Berda.

Longtime anti-settlement activist Yehuda Shaul described the step as “de jure annexation,” claiming that “Israeli civilian governance has been extended into the West Bank under Smotrich’s guidance.”

Mairav Zonszein, a senior analyst for Israel-Palestine at Crisis Group, told 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] normalisation 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…Half the people he has brought in to the defence ministry are from [the pro-settler Israeli NGO] Regavim. The same people who worked at Regavim to disposess Palestinians in Area C are now in government positions.”

In Foreign Policy, David Rosenberg writes: 

“Control over public bathing may seem like a minor business on par with dog catching. But it is not: A big part of the contest for the future of the West Bank is about demographics—increasing the settler population—and control of land. The Settlements Administration is meant to give the settlers the tools to do that more effectively. The natural springs that dot the West Bank serve Palestinian farmers as well as Israeli bathers and constitute one of many battlegrounds for control of the land and its resources.”

In Secretly Recorded Tapes, Smotrich Confirms Israel is Annexing the West Bank via Bureaucracy

At a settler event on June 9th, members of the Peace Now team secretly recorded a speech Bezalel Smotrich made in which he detailed how the Israeli government is bringing the West Bank under Isreal’s civilian/domestic government through a series of administrative moves that were designed to obscure Israel’s annexation from the world, making it appear that the military is still in charge. Smotrich described the efforts as “mega dramatic” saying that the government is cementing its control over the Area C of the West Bank by transferring powers from the military to civilians, but doing it in a way that: 

“would be easier to swallow in the political and legal context, so that people wouldn’t say that we are now doing an annexation, and sovereignty, etc., so we did not change the legal status of the land. The military commander is still the sovereign.”

Smotrich went on to detail what the government has accomplished over the past several years, including the establishment of the Settlement Administration and the transfer of powersf from the military to that civilian body, establishing a legalization bypass route to grant outposts authorization, and the upcoming transfer of legal authority from the military to an official under Smotrich’s control. To read more about these moves, see Peace Now’s reporting.

Smotrich’s ultimate goal is, of course, to have no distinction between Israel’s governance regime over 48 Israel and the whole West Bank, not just Area C. A Palestinian settlement expert, Khalil Tafakji,  told Mondoweiss that the next logical step is for Smortich to set his sights on Area B, where the Palestinian Authority is empowered to oversee civilian affairs.

Peace Now said in a statement:

“Smotrich said out loud what Netanyahu is trying to hide. While all eyes are on what the Israeli government is doing in Gaza, they are also actively pursuing annexation of the West Bank. Since the war began over two dozen new outposts have been established, and a similar number of Palestinian communities have been forcibly displaced. And in a blatant violation of international law, the government has transferred power in the Occupied West Bank from the army to a civilian body. This illegal act of annexation makes clear that two legal systems are now officially at play for the Palestinians and one for Israeli settlers.”

Michael Sfard, an Israeli human rights lawyer, told The Guardian: 

“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.”

The Haaretz Editorial Board writes:

“Netanyahu, Smotrich and their colleagues are annexing the West Bank right now. They are instituting apartheid and destroying the two-state solution. And if they succeed, Israel will cease to exist as a democratic country.”

Israel Authorizes Five Outposts, Hints at Thousands of Units & More Annexation to Come

On June 27th, the Israeli Security Cabinet approved the retro legalization of five outposts along with a series of punitive sanctions on the Palestinian Authority. In announcing the decision, Smotrich said the Cabinet also approved the advancement of plans for thousands of new settlement units across the West Bank as well as forcible transfer of authority over a specific West Bank nature reserve in Area B from the Palestinian Authority to Israel (an act of de jure annexation). According to the Times of Israel the nature preserve, which is not named, has been an obsession of Regavim and other settler groups which allege the Palestinian Authority has been building there (entrenching a Palestinian presence on land the settlers want) and damaging heritage sites – which is a common and often baseless accusation settlers level against Palestinians.

The Prime Minister’s office has not independently confirmed the details of the Cabinet’s decisions, but the Cabinet Secretary Yehuda Fuchs did confirm the decision to legalize the five outposts. The outposts set to be legalized as full-fledge settlements – which will be afforded the ability to expand its territory, receive Israeli services, etc etc – are:

1. Evyatar, which was built on a strategic hilltop named Mount Sabih, located just south of Nablus on land historically belonging to nearby Palestinian villages Beita, Yatma, and Qablan. The history of the Evyatar outpost and the Israeli government’s efforts to legalize were headline news in 2021, with Palestinians staging regular protests against the outpost and settlers along with the IDF violently attacking those protests. Since 2021, the Israeli government has been “examining” the land in order to find a basis by which to declare the area as “state land” and allow settlers to once again live there. For further background, see here.
2. Sde Efraim;
3. Givat Asaf, located east of Ramallah;
4. Heletz, in the southern West Bank;
5. Adorayim, in the southern West Bank.

The proposal for authorizing these outposts was first promoted as a response to European states – Norway, Ireland, Spain, and Slovenia – announcing recognition of a Palestinian state. 

As a reminder, the Israeli government has spent decades finding means by which to grant authorization to outposts that settlers have illegally built (oftentimes with the open encouragement and funding of the government) throughout the West Bank. The outposts that, to date, are still illegal under Israeli law for the most part are either newly constructed outposts, or they are located on land that even the Israeli government has in the past recognized as privately owned Palestinian land. For the past five years at least, the Israeli government has been inventing new legal bases by which to expropriate privately owned Palestinian land in order to authorize those remaining and new illegal outposts – even tasking government teams to design legal pathways for each outpost to receive authorization. Newly invented legal tools have included most notably the Regulation Law (which was later overturned by the Israeli High Court), and the Market Regulation Principle, and the findings/recommendations of the 2018 Zandberg Report. It remains unclear what basis will be used for these five new outposts set for legalization, or if the Israeli government intends 

​​Knesset Forms Caucus to Push for Resettlement of Gaza

Two members of the Knesset recently launched the “Knesset Caucus for the Renewal of Settlement in the Gaza Strip.” The Caucus is dedicated to push legislation and policy in favor of establishing Jewish settlements in Gaza, an increasingly popular idea even beyond settlers and their allies. A recent survey by the Pew Research Center found that 50% of Jewish Israelis support occupying the Gaza Strip after the war against Hamas ends — although it did not explicitly ask about settlement.

Canada Sanctions Prominent Settler Groups & Leaders

On June 27th, the government of Canada announced sanctions against 5 settler entities and 7 individuals, including prominent settler groups like Amana, Lehava, and the Hilltop Youth, as well as prominent settler leaders, including Daniella Weiss. Canada is the first foreign government to issue sanctions against Weiss or Amana, which is one of  the most powerful and well resourced settler organizations behind the illegal construction of outposts in the West Bank. Amna has also received Israeli government funding despite its very public involvement in illegal activities.

In a statement the Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said:

“We remain deeply concerned by extremist settler violence in the West Bank and condemn such acts, not only for the significant impact they have on Palestinian lives, but also for the corrosive impact they have on prospects for lasting peace. We call on authorities to ensure the protection of civilians and hold perpetrators of such violence accountable.”​​

Israeli High Court Hears Petition Challenging De Facto Annexation in the Jordan Valley 

On June 22nd, the Israeli High Court held a hearing on a case submitted by Palestinian herders in the Jordan Valley who have had their livestock seized by the Jordan Valley Regional Council. The Palestinians, whose petition is supported by Yesh Din, argue that the settler regional council does not have authority to enforce its bylaws on Palestinians. 

The three-judge panel appeared to at least partially sympathize with the legal argument of the Palestinians, which assert that the settlers do not have jurisdiction to regulate Palestinians or the land. Instead, one of the judges asked the settlers why they do not just call the Israeli Civil Administration to handle the issue.

Since October 7th, Yesh Din has documented several instances of settlers conspiring with the Jordan Valley Regional Council to confiscate herds of livestock belonging to Palestinians based on the claim that they are illegally grazing in the Regional Council’s jurisdiction, and then demanding exorbitant fees for their return. Yesh Din identifies this not only as an illegal practice, but as a policy “designed to annex and take over Areas C while pushing Palestinians out…to force Palestinian communities from their homes.

The IDF’s own legal council has issued a legal opinion confirming that settler municipalities do not have jurisdiction or authority to enforce any laws or regulations against Palestinians. But the settler regional council rejected this opinion, saying that its jurisdiction applies to an area of land (and anyone/thing who enters that land) – not just a certain type of people (i.e. Israeli settlers). 

Yesh Din explained why this is a significant legal claim:

“The danger posed by the pretension of the regional council, which seeks to hold the power to regulate the grazing of Palestinian herders, has enormous ramifications. This is a new and predatory form of economic  violence by settlers and an authority that has distinct annexationist aspects, as it expresses the degradation of the military commander’s responsibility in the occupied territory and the assignment of its authorities to civilian governmental bodies.”

Bonus Reads

1. “A settler shot my husband. Then Israel bulldozed my childhood home“ (+972)
2. “Is the US poised to sanction an Israeli minister for the first time?” (The Times of Israel)
3. “Settler Real Estate Company Allegedly Sold Land It Doesn’t Own. Israel Threatens Legal Action” (Haaretz)
4. “Israeli legal team seeks clarification on US sanctions against protest group” (JNS)

 

Welcome to FMEP’s Weekly Settlement Report, covering everything you need to know about Israeli settlement activity this week.

To subscribe to this report, please click here.

June 14, 2024

1. Israel Ministry of Agriculture Has Made Long Term Investments into Illegal Farming Outposts Over Past Six Years
2. U.S. Sanctions Settler Entity Behind Attacks on Gaza-Bound Aid Convoys
3. Israeli Settler Group To Hold Conference on Settling Southern Lebanon
4. Bonus Reads

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Israel Ministry of Agriculture Has Made Long Term Investments into Illegal Farming Outposts Over Past Six Years

Peace Now published a new report detailing evidence that the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture has given $448,000 (1.66 million NIS) to the leaders of illegal farming outposts over the past six years. Agricultural outposts (also called farm outposts) have proliferated over the past several years, and have become a preferred means by which settlers can take control over vast areas of land with only a few individuals grazing herds of livestock.

Peace Now reports that the list of settlers who have received support via the Agricultural Ministries program titled “Preserving Open Areas Through Animal Grazing,” includes three individuals – Nerya Ben Pazi, Moshe Sharvit and Zvi Bar Yossef – who have been sanctioned by the United States (the government funding of these illegal outposts appears to pre-date the U.S. sanctions) due to their involvement in violence against Palestinians and activists.

Peace Now said in its report: 

“All the farm outposts established in recent years in the occupied territories present themselves as ‘guardians of state lands’ and are part of a system designed to dispossess Palestinians and prevent them from accessing extensive areas in Area C. The vast majority, if not all, of the farms are involved in expelling Palestinian farmers and shepherds from the vicinity, some of them through threats or by calling on IDF forces to remove or expel Palestinians, and some even resort to physical violence. In the past year, especially after October 7th, over 1,000 Palestinians were forced to flee their homes out of fear of attacks by settlers. In almost all cases they were in places where a farm outpost was established in the area.”

U.S. Sanctions Settler Entity Behind Attacks on Aid Convoys

On June 14th the U.S. Department of State announced that it had imposed sanctions on the Tzav 9 organization, which it called “a violent extremist Israeli group.” Tzav 9 and its members have led organized efforts to stop aid trucks from reaching Gaza. Four of its members have been arrested by Israeli police in association with attacks on aid convoys, though no indictments have been filed. Notably, the U.S. did not sanction any individuals associated with the attacks, though the identity of at least four is known. The State Department detailed:

“For months, individuals from Tzav 9 have repeatedly sought to thwart the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, including by blockading roads, sometimes violently, along their route from Jordan to Gaza, including in the West Bank.  They also have damaged aid trucks and dumped life-saving humanitarian aid onto the road.   On May 13, 2024, Tzav 9 members looted and then set fire to two trucks near Hebron in the West Bank carrying humanitarian aid destined for men, women, and children in Gaza….We will continue to use all tools at our disposal to promote accountability for those who attempt or undertake such heinous acts, and we expect and urge that Israeli authorities do the same.”

The U.S. based advocacy group DAWN had previously called for the U.S. to impose sanctions on Tzav 9 as well as entities that fundraise for it, specifically highlighting two Israeli charities, one U.S. charity (JGIVE-Friends of Asor Fund USA Inc.) and the payment processor Stripe. Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man, director of research for Israel-Palestine at DAWN, said:

“Tzav 9’s violent attacks to block humanitarian aid for Gaza could not take place without the well-oiled network of companies and organizations funding and supporting them. If the U.S. is serious about punishing all of those responsible for this kind of criminal activity, it should sanction companies like TickChak, which has repeatedly financed violent settlers, including their attacks on humanitarian aid convoys.”

Tzav 9 means “Order 9” in Hebrew, which is a direct reference to call-up orders for Israeli military reservists.

Israeli Settler Group To Hold Conference on Settling Southern Lebanon

According to a flier shared on X, a group calling themselves the “South Lebanon Settlement Movement” is planning to convene a conference on June178th to explore the “biblical, historic, legal, and practical consideration of Israeli colonization of Lebanon.”

Bonus Reads

1. “Settlers Expelled This Palestinian Family From Its Village. Then the Terror Began All Over Again” (Haaretz)
2. “Israel army accused of ‘active’ support for settlers in West Bank violence” (Al-Monitor)
3. VIDEO – “Palestinians in the West Bank Are Living in the Shadow of the War in Gaza” (New York Times)
4. “Apple Matches Worker Donations to IDF and Illegal Settlements, Employees Allege” (The Intercept)
5. “Water Supply Reduced in Palestinian Neighborhood in East Jerusalem Amid Heat Wave” (Haaretz)

Welcome to FMEP’s Weekly Settlement Report, covering everything you need to know about Israeli settlement activity this week.

To subscribe to this report, please click here.

June 7, 2024

1. Jerusalem Flag Parade Terrorizes Jerusalem, Ben Gvir Tests Temple Mount Status Quo
2. IDF Demolishes Outpost, Ben Gvir Calls (Again) for Gallant to Be Dismissed
3. Settlers & Knesset Call for Israel to Create “Special Regime” With Open Fire Directives to Fortify Settlement Safety
4. Israeli Govt is Working with “Friends in the U.S.” To Cancel/Reduce Sanctions on Settlers
5. Bonus Reads

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Jerusalem Flag Parade Terrorizes Jerusalem, Ben Gvir Tests Temple Mount Status Quo

On June 5th, tens of thousands of Israelis – including ministers and Knesset members – took part in the annual Jerusalem Flag parade [of terror] through the Old City of Jerusalem, going from the Damascus Gate, through the Muslim Quarter, and culminating with a rally at the Western Wall Plaza. Demonstrating how inflammatory the march and many of its participants are each year, and how particularly frenzied and emboldened the participants were expected to be this year, 3,000 police officers were deployed along the parade route and throughout the city. In addition to the chants common for years (including “May your village burn,” “Death to Arabs” “Muhammad is dead,” and “May their name be erased”) marchers physically assaulted Palestinians, activists, and Israeli and Palestinian journalists – flaunting their incendiary, criminal behavior while police and military officers largely stood by (thirteen people were arrested, and five detained, including a Palestinian journalist who was attacked). 

In addition, Haaretz reports that hundreds of Israelis were permitted entry to the Temple Mount on June 5th as part of the parade day, which posed a serious test of Netanyahu’s control over his National Security Minister Ben Gvir as well as Netanyahu’s commitment to upholding the delicate and ever-eroding Status Quo on the Temple Mount, which has been succinctly articulated by Bibi Netanyahu himself as: “Muslims pray on the Temple Mount, non-Muslims visit the Temple Mount”. 

Ben Gvir, in his role as the Israeli National Security Minister, is ostensibly in charge of ensuring the security of Jerusalem and on the Temple Mount. True to his ideology and political commitments, Ben Gvir caused a serious panic as the parade began by saying that he had revoked the status quo and that Jews can freely pray on the Temple Mount (an incendiary demand by the Temple Mount Movement to which Ben Gvir subscribes). Netanyahu’s office countered by quickly issuing a statement that the Status Quo has not and will not change. 

While the political drama swirled, Haaretz reported that some of the Jewish Israeli parade-goers who were permitted to go to the Temple Mount started to sing and pray, and then were stopped and removed by Israeli police. An activists who went to the Temple Mount told Arutz Sheva that dozens were removed.

After being overruled by Netanyahu, Ben Gvir did not back down, telling Army Radio after the march that “My policy is very clear on this matter: Jews can be anywhere in Jerusalem, pray anywhere.” 

The Temple Mount issue is not the only headline Ben Gvir made that day. While arriving at the Damascus Gate to join the festivities (along with Smotrich), Ben Gvir he told reporters:

“I came here for one thing, to send a message to Hamas and every house in Gaza and also in the north. Jerusalem is ours. The Damascus Gate, Temple Mount is ours. Today, according to my policy, Jews entered the Old City freely. And also the Temple Mount where they prayed freely. We say in the simplest way, it’s ours. This is the message to Hamas. I pray for the wounded, pray for the release of the hostages. But I say Hamas and Hezbollah must be defeated in war, only in war! And this is ours, our Temple Mount, our Damascus Gate. Let the whole world know it.”

One of the journalists who was assaulted that day, Nir Hasson of Haaretz, later wrote:

“The Flag March on Jerusalem Day is an accurate thermometer of the condition of Israeli society. It measures the levels of hatred, racism and violence in the religious Zionist society and the tolerance of the police and the rest of society to these traits. This year’s diagnosis is terminal. Wednesday’s march was one of the most violent and ugliest I have seen – and I have witnessed every single one over the past 16 years.”

Ir Amim said in a statement calling for the parade to be re-routed away from the Muslim Quarter:

“Against the backdrop of the ongoing devastating war in Gaza and growing international criticism over Israel’s conduct, the Israeli authorities are preparing to mark Jerusalem Day on June 5, which commemorates the “liberation” of East Jerusalem and “re-unification” of the city. This year, the date on which Jerusalem Day is celebrated according to the Hebrew calendar falls on the exact date of the start of the 1967 War and marks 57 years of Israeli occupation and illegal annexation of East Jerusalem. Over the past nearly six decades, consecutive Israeli governments have continued to create irreversible facts on the ground to entrench Israeli control over Jerusalem in its entirety and foil any prospect of an agreed political resolution with two capitals in the city. As a result, it continues to cement a one-state reality of permanent occupation and systematic oppression of Palestinians.”

IDF Demolishes Outpost, Ben Gvir Calls (Again) for Gallant to Be Dismissed

On June 4th the IDF demolished an illegal outpost in the northern West Bank, which was built by settlers without permission on privately owned Palestinian land southwest of Nablus near the settlement called Yair’s Farm. The Israeli Civil Administration reports that a total of six structures were demolished.

The Civil Administration’s action against the outpost elicited the latest repudiation of Gallant by his fellow Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who called on Netanyahu to fire Gallant over the outpost demolition. As a reminder, as a result of a power struggle between Gallant and Smotrich in forming the current government (circa February 2023), Defense Minister Gallant ceded most all authority over civilian matters in the West Bank to Smotrich – – except for the authority over building enforcement laws. However, the compromise was the Gallant had to notify Smotrich of any plans to demolish settlement/outpost construction.  In March 2024, news leaked that Smotrich is actively trying to wrest demolition powers from Gallant, though the demolition this week makes clear that Gallant remains in control (because Smotrich is opposed to enforcing Israeli law if it means holding settlers accountable).

Settlers and their leaders are also furious over the demolition of the outpost, which they say was built in memory of Moti Shamir, who was killed during the Hamas attack on Israeli towns on October 7, 2023. Settlers also say that the land is not privately owned by Palestinians, instead they feel justified in building there because they expect the government to declare the land as “state land” soon. 

Settlers & Knesset Call for Israel to Create “Special Regime” With Open Fire Directives to Fortify Settlement Safety

This week saw several media hits and a Knesset hearing pushing a call along similar lines for the Israeli government to drastically step up its military operations in the West Bank to protect settlements and outposts.

At a Knesset subcommittee hearing on June 2nd, settlers called for the military to undertake more proactive military operations against Palestinian population centers. 

In an op-ed published in Israel Hayom on June 2nd, former national security advisor Meir Ben Shabbat urged the government to establish a “special regime” with “unique open-fire instructions for the Seam Zone”

Yigal Dilmoni had an op-ed published in The Jewish Press on May 28th,  in which he warned that the IDF needs to increase its operations in the West Bank and for settlements to expand in order to prevent another October 7th.

Israeli Govt is Working with “Friends in the U.S.” To Cancel/Reduce Sanctions on Settlers

The Associated Press reports that Bezalel Smotrich said the Israeli government is working with “our friends in the U.S.” to cancel or reduce the Bedien Administrations sanctions on settlers and settler entities believed to be perpetrating violent attacks on Palestinians and activists in the West Bank. The AP’s reporting also demonstrates just how ineffectual those sanctions are, with one of the sanctioned individuals saying that it has only further emboldened him to continue his activities in the West Bank, and that he only experienced financial punishment for two months before the Israeli government and banking sector reopened his accounts, and crowd-funding campaigns raised tens of thousands on his behalf.

Bonus Reads

1. “Worshipers who arrived at Mount Ebal detained by the IDF” (Arutz Sheva)
2. “UN rights office criticises Israel over deaths of 500 Palestinians in West Bank” (Reuters)
3. “In the West Bank, Guns and a Locked Gate Signal a Town’s New Residents” (The New York Times)
4. “Rising violence strikes fear into West Bank school” (Al-Monitor)
5. “Trump Is Desperate for Miriam Adelson’s Cash. Her Condition: West Bank Annexation” (Haaretz)
6. “US sanctions Palestinian group under decree used to target Israeli settlers” (Al Jazeera)

Welcome to FMEP’s Weekly Settlement Report, covering everything you need to know about Israeli settlement activity this week.

To subscribe to this report, please click here.

May 31, 2024

1. Gallant Further Rolls Back 2005 Disengagement Law to Allow Reestablish of Three More Settlements in Northern West Bank
2. Israel Court Finalizes the Dispossession of Shehadeh Family in Silwan
3. Activists Petition for Demolition of Violent Jordan Valley Outpost Under Int’l Sanctions
4. Two New Outposts Reported
5. Extensive Updates on the Continued Politicization of Archaeology in Service of Settlements
6. 21 New Roadblocks & 8 Newly Closed Gates Propel Settler Takeover in Bethlehem Area
7. Bonus Reads

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Gallant Further Rolls Back 2005 Disengagement Law to Allow Reestablish of Three More Settlements in Northern West Bank

On May 22nd, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant announced that he had ordered the IDF to lift the military order barring Israeli citizens from entering the areas where the Sa-Nur, Ganim, and Kadim settlements once stood in the northern West Bank. Gallant said:

“The Jewish hold on Judea and Samaria guarantees security, the application of the law to cancel disengagement will lead to the development of settlement and provide security to residents of the area,” 

The Times of Israel reports that the head of the IDF Central Command, Maj. Gen. Yehuda Fox, signed lifted the military order as Gallant had ordered, but Fox also signed a new order making the three settlement sites closed military zones. Intimating the eventuality of the settlers’ return to the areas, a source in the Israeli military was quoted by Army Radio explaining that the IDF will need to plan and move additional forces to the area in order to provide security for the settlers. Peace Now further reports that over the past year, settlers have visited and held events in the evacuated settlement areas with coordination and security from the IDF.

As a reminder, the Israeli Knesset passed legislation repealing the 2005 Disengagement Law in order to clear the way for settlers to reestablish four settlements in the northern West Bank – Homesh, Sa-Nur, Kadim, and Ganim. The IDF then issued a military closure order against three of the settlements, allowing settlers to enter the Homesh area (where settlers had illegally built and continue to run a yeshiva). 

Peace Now said in a statement: 

“Instead of safeguarding Israel’s security and political interests, Gallant is catering to the extreme settler factions. The last thing Israel needs is more isolated and unnecessary settlements that will be a security burden and move us further away from a necessary and urgent political solution. Our political leadership must change direction, work to end the war and pursue a comprehensive regional agreement based on two states. Only this way will we bring security, return the hostages, and prevent international isolation. This is the real victory.”

Israel Court Finalizes the Dispossession of Shehadeh Family in Silwan

On May 26th, the Israeli Supreme Court rejected a last ditch appeal by the Shehadeh family against their eviction from their home in Silwan at the behest of the Ateret Cohanim settler organization. In dismissing the procedural appeal (which alleged that the presiding judge mishandled the case, seeking a retrial), the Court once again affirmed its April 2024 ruling that ordered the 15-member family to leave their home by June 1, 2024 – or face eviction by Israeli authorities. 

The Shehadeh family has spent years fighting against their eviction from their home of 60 years in the Batan Al-Hawa section of Silwan at the behest of the Ateret Cohanim settler organization. The settler group’s claim to the home is based on having gained control of the historic Benvenisti Trust, which oversaw the assets of Yemenite Jews who lived in Silwan in the 19th century. In 2001 the Israeli Charitable Trust Registrar granted Ateret Cohanim permission to revive the trust and become its trustees, (following 63 years of dormancy). In 2002, the Israeli Custodian General transferred ownership of the land in Batan al-Hawa to the Trust (i.e., to Ateret Cohanim). Since then, Ateret Cohanim has accelerated its multi-pronged campaign to remove Palestinians from their homes, claiming that the Palestinians are illegal squatters. To date, 14 Palestinian families have been evicted under legal campaigns waged by Ateret Cohanim, with many more under threat.

Underscoring how the Israeli legal system is fundamentally unequal, Ir Amim writes:

“The Shehadeh family is among some 85 Palestinian families, numbering over 700 individuals, who face largescale displacement from Batan al-Hawa as a result of eviction demands filed by the Ateret Cohanim settler group, via the Benvenisti Trust…The eviction lawsuits are filed on the basis of the 1970 Legal and Administrative Matters law. Article 5 of this law exclusively affords Jews with land restitution rights for assets they allegedly owned in East Jerusalem before 1948 despite many of these properties now inhabited by Palestinians. This provision was established despite the fact that some Jews who lost properties in East Jerusalem in 1948 reportedly received compensation at the time by the state in the form of alterative property in West Jerusalem (formerly belonging to Palestinian refugees). No parallel legal mechanism exists for Palestinians to recover pre-1948 assets on the Israeli side of the Green Line, many of which are now inhabited by Jews. To the contrary, the 1950 Absentee Property Law enshrines that Palestinians who were forced to abandon their homes and lands in what became Israel after the war of 1948 can never retrieve them.”

The Supreme Court ruling ignores ongoing litigation initiated in 2020 by Ir Amim that challenges the legitimacy and legality of Ateret Cohanim’s control of the Benvenisti Trust. In response to the filing, the Israeli Registrar of Trusts (department within the Justice Ministry) announced that it will open an investigation into the allegations. Ir Amim is still awaiting news on the investigation.

Activists Petition for Demolition of Violent Jordan Valley Outpost Under Int’l Sanctions

Peace Now and activists in the Jordan Valley filed a petition with the Israeli High Court of Justice seeking the enforcement of existing demolition orders against the illegal outpost called “Moshe’s Farm.” The outpost is is illegal under Israeli law and has recently been subjected to international sanctions by states targeting settlers and associated organizations that perpetrate violence in the West Bank. The founder of the outpost, Moshe Sharvit, was also sanctioned.

The Israeli Civil Administration issued demolition orders against Moshe’s Farm in 2021 because it has been build without Israeli building permits. The demolition orders have never been enforced, allowing the outpost to take over more land, terrorize surrounding Palestinian communities, and expand the number of buildings and amenities – including a water and electricity supply for air conditioning, a pool, and enough infrastructure to support up to 100 people. The outpost also herds livestock in the area – which has proven to be and effective means for settlers to coerce the displacement of Palestinians and assert control a maximal amount of land with a minimal number of Israeli settlers.

Highlighting the impact the outpost has had on the area, Peace Now writes:

“Since the farm was established, the lives of the surrounding Palestinian shepherd communities have become unbearable, to the point that some have been forced to flee their homes. Moshe Sharvit and other young people from the farm go out daily to drive away Palestinian herds and prevent them from reaching grazing areas. The Jordan Valley Activists group, a group of Israeli volunteers who invest their time and energy in trying to assist and protect the Palestinian shepherd communities in the Jordan Valley, began accompanying the shepherd communities near Sharvit’s farm immediately after the farm was established. They go to the grazing areas with the Palestinian shepherds, document the harassment and attacks, try to prevent harm to the Palestinians and reach out to the police. The Jordan Valley activists have accumulated testimonies and videos of dozens, if not hundreds, of incidents of harassment and violence by the farm residents, for which dozens of complaints have been filed with the police.”

Two New Outposts Reported

Peace Now reports that settlers have illegally constructed a new outpost in the South Hebron Hills, near the Otniel settlement. From pictures, it looks like settlers have driven in at least six mobile homes onto a cleared plot of land. This outpost is the 200th illegal outpost that Peace Now has documented.

In addition, Wafa News also reported a new outpost north of Jericho in the Jordan Valley. According a local activist Ayman Gharib, “Around 15 illegal settlers brought building equipment and set up a new settlement outpost about 300 meters from Al-Auja water canal.” Gharib further reports that this is the second new outpost in the area in the same number of weeks and that the canal is a significant source of water for communities north of Jericho.

Extensive Updates on the Continued Politicization of Archaeology in Service of Settlements

Emek Shaveh provides extensive updates showing how antiquity continues to be weaponized by Isareli settlers in full cooperation with the government, including the following news:

• New Chief Executive Officer in the Ministry of Heritage. On Sunday May 5th the Israeli government approved the appointment of a new CEO for the Ministry of Heritage, Itay Granik, who is a right-wing political activist. 
• Head of IAA is strengthening relationships with ultra nationalists. The Director General of the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) Eli Escusido gave a lecture at Ben Gvir’s Jewish Power party faction meeting in the Knesset. Emek Shaveh writes: “The fact that the IAA is deepening its partnership with political actors and ideological-messianic organizations represents a further shift away from the authority’s obligation to professionalism and public service.  The choice to harness archaeology to the agenda of the extreme Right in Israel and their evangelical counterparts is a highly worrying departure from its professional and ethical foundations. Pursuing this path  will no doubt result in the  growing isolation of the entire Israeli archaeological community.”
• Tender for Jerusalem Cable Car possibly coming up. Emek Shaveh says, “The progress made by the JDA in recruiting multiple consultants lead us to believe that a tender for construction of the cable car will likely be published in the near future.”
• Hapoalim Bank Subsidizes Visits to Settler Sites in the West Bank: Bank Hapoalim and the Jewish National Fund (JNF) sponsored, advertised and subsidized tours/events for Israelis in settlement sites in the Greater Jerusalem area, including at a site operated by the Elad settler organization in the Hinnom Valley, in Nabi Samuel, and in collaboration with a settler organization called “Eshkolot“, which runs tourist centers for Israelis in the West Bank.

21 New Roadblocks & 8 Newly Closed Gates Propel Settler Takeover in Bethlehem Area

In a new report entitled, “An Israeli roadblock: How Israel Took Control Over the West Bethlehem area,” Kerem Navot takes a detailed look at how – in the wake of October 7, 2023 –  Israeli settlers and the IDF have significantly entrenched and expanded their control over the areas to the south and east of Bethlehem through the restriction of freedom of movement and denial of access to agricultural land. Kerem Navot emphasizes that “the reality described [in this report] is the outcome of decades of planning and efforts aimed at taking control of lands and displacing their owners. These efforts have been greatly intensified since October 7.”

The report’s main findings are that, since October 7th:

• 21 roadblocks and barriers have been added on agricultural roads. Today, there are a total of 60 roadblocks and barriers. This means that over a third of the roadblocks and barriers in the area were installed in the seven months following the onset of the war. The new roadblocks and barriers in this area serve two interconnected purposes: 1) Preventing Palestinians from exiting their villages onto the bypass roads. 2) Blocking agricultural roads leading to agricultural lands, primarily situated west of Route 60.
• A roadblock on the Nahalin-Bethlehem road was relocated from its original location to a new location, in order to facilitate the settlers of Neve Daniel in taking control of an area west of the settlement.
• One metal gate was relocated and completely closed to the east of the illegal outpost of Sde Boaz, enabling the settlers to extend their control over additional areas surrounding the outpost.
• Three gates (two on the access roads to Husan village and one south of Nahalin village) that were open prior to the 7th of October have been completely closed ever since.
• Four gates that Palestinian farmers previously used to access their lands adjacent to the settlement of Efrat, have been completely sealed off to Palestinians. As a result, these lands remained uncultivated ever since.

The report was covered by Haaretz, in which Amira Hass wrote:

“The de facto expulsion of Palestinian farmers and shepherds is one of the means through which the army and the settlers have been preventing Palestinians across the West Bank from cultivating fields and vineyards, or from tending their flocks, more intensively so since October 7. Here, west of Bethlehem, in an area dotted with settlements and outposts in what is known as “Gush Etzion,” the expulsion of Palestinians from their lands is also achieved through an extensive network of locked iron gates, as well as 24 rock and earth barriers across agricultural roads. This is in addition to barriers across exits to main roads, meant to reduce the traffic of Palestinian vehicles….Theoretically, every roadblock requires some kind of land expropriation order. Etkes is unaware of any such order, and in truth, there are no supporting orders for the old roadblocks either. For a long time, it’s been hard to distinguish between local initiatives by settlers (military or civilian) to block access to Palestinians and temporary orders of the army. The boundaries are completely blurred”

Bonus Reads

1. “PRESS RELEASE Booking.com sued for laundering profits from Israeli war crimes in Palestine” (Al-Haq, SOMO, ELSC, TRF)
2. “Al-Aqsa ‘belongs only to Israel’, says Ben Gvir during ‘incendiary’ visit” (Middle East Eye)
3. “Israel’s FM Cuts Ties Between Spanish Embassy and West Bank Palestinians After Recognition of Palestinian State” (Haaretz)
4. “​​Opinion | The Polite Israeli Settlers, Courteously Dispossessing Palestinians” (Amira Hass, Haaretz)
5. “Backing settlement, Ben Gvir says he’d be ‘very happy to live in Gaza’ after the war” (The Times of Israel)

Welcome to FMEP’s Weekly Settlement Report, covering everything you need to know about Israeli settlement activity this week.

To subscribe to this report, please click here.

May 17, 2024

1. Haqel Details High Court Order for the Return of Bedouin in South Hebron Hills
2. Calls to Build Settlements in Gaza Grow Louder Within Israeli Government
3. In First, Human Rights Groups Sue Irish Investment Fund Over Settlement Profiteering
4. New York Times Profiles Israel’s Historic & Current Failure to Check Settler Extremism
5. Further Reporting on Settler Activities This Week
6. Bonus Reads

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Haqel Details High Court Order for the Return of Bedouin in South Hebron Hills

As covered in last week’s report, the Israeli High Court of Justice  ruled in favor of returning 360 Palestinians to their homes in Khirbet Zanouta, a herding community which was forcibly expelled from their lands in the South Hebron Hills by extreme settler violence. The case of Khirbet Zanouta was recently profiled in a longform New York Times investigation, which highlights the human rights group Haqel and details how the Israeli legal system is designed to protect settlers and operated to deny Palestinians access to justice.

In a new brief about the ruling, Haqel explains that the order demands three things of the State:

1. An outline of all measures planned to ensure the safe return of residents to the villages of Zanuta and Um Darith, focusing on their security and the protection of their property and livestock. This also applies to the petitioners in an additional petition heard jointly with Haqel’s petition. 
2. The State justify the absence of a dedicated emergency contact center for the petitioners or their representatives. 
3. An explanation of the absence of police response to incidents following complaints by petitioners and the lack of evidence collection.

Explaining the significance of the ruling, Haqel says:

“The illegal construction in outposts and settlements is an organized crime on a huge scale. It’s time for the law enforcement authorities to do their “This decision sets an important precedent for cases involving the protection of communities at risk of forced displacement and for those communities who were expelled from their homes and villages. Haqel will closely evaluate the actions of the State on the ground and the means in which they plan to ensure the return of the villagers to their homes.” 

Calls to Build Settlements in Gaza Grow Louder Within Israeli Government

Haaretz reports that many Israeli elected officials, including Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, joined a march to Gaza on May 14th (Israeli Independence Day) to demand the removal of PAlestinians from Gaza and Israeli settlement of the strip.

Ben-Gvir called the removal of Palestinians and Jewish settlement the “true solution” to Israel’s current war on Gaza. At a speech at the march, he said:

“First, we must return to Gaza now! We are coming home to the Holy Land! And second, we must encourage emigration. Encourage the voluntary emigration of the residents of Gaza. It is moral!”

Settler leader Daniella Weiss, whose organization – Nahala – organized the march and appeared on-stage with Ben Gvir, told the protestors:

“Instead of this smoke [rising over Gaza] we want to see Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip.”

In First, Human Rights Groups Sue Irish Investment Fund Over Settlement Profiteering

On 15th May, Global Legal Action Network (GLAN), Al-Haq and Sadaka – the Ireland Palestine Alliance submitted a complaint against the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF), alleging that the fund’s investments in 11 companies that are linked to Israeli war crimes and are therefore liable for seizure by Ireland’s Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB). The complaint outlines how revenue generated by activity of these 11 companies supports both Israel’s illegal settlements and its ongoing Gaza offensive.

The groups say this is the first petition of its kind anywhere in the world,

Shawan Jabarin, the General Director of Al-Haq, said:

“The illegal settlements are one key part of Israel’s broader apartheid regime imposed on the Palestinian people. ISIF must face legal accountability for investing in companies complicit in the crime of apartheid. It is imperative that the Irish government carries out an immediate action plan to cut all of Ireland’s economic ties profiting from this heinous crime”. ​

New York Times Profiles Israel’s Historic & Current Failure to Check Settler Extremism 

The New York Times published a three-part article investigating the rise of ultranationalist politics in Israel, and how the failure to enforce the rule of law in the West Bank is at the heart of that story. The article starts with the rise and current role of Bezalel Smotrich, opening with the revelation that the head of Israel’s Central Command, Maj. Gen. Yehuda Fuchs (Fox), has been critical of Smotrich for the ways in which he undermines law enforcement efforts in the West Bank, particularly help illegal settlement construction circumvent punishment – saying that enforced against illegal settlement construction has dwindled “to the point where it has disappeared.” This current situation – whereby an Israeli extremist who has previously organized to subvert Israeli law is now in charge of enforcing that law – is traced back to the founding of Israel.

In response to the article, Smotrcih posted on X that the New York Times engages in blood libel against Israel.

Further Reporting on Settler Activities This Week

OCHA reports:

• “On 9 May, a number of families from Mantiqat Shib al Butum in the firing zone of Masafer Yatta were granted access by Israeli forces to their agricultural land located near the settlement of Mitzpe Yair for the first time since February 2024 but found that 600 olive trees planted on 60 dunums of land had been vandalized due to sheep grazing by Israeli settlers. A fence was also destroyed and a shed erected, also presumably by Israeli settlers. On 7 May, Israeli settlers cut a wire feeding electricity to 50 houses in ِAl Mazra’a al Qibliya village, in Ramallah governorate, causing a blackout for ten hours.” 
• “On 13 May, the last two remaining families Ein Samiya herding community (Ramallah), comprising 19 people including 11 children, were forced to leave their community amid attacks by Israeli settlers and moved to Kafr Malik village. Settlers stole the empty tents, a vehicle and fodder and have remained in the area, prohibiting the families from returning. As of today, all 29 households in the community (156 people) have become displaced. Across the West Bank, since 7 October, some 233 Palestinian households comprising 1,385 people, mostly herding families, including 654 children, have been displaced amid settler violence and access restrictions.”

The PLO National Bureau for Defending the Land and Resisting Settlements reports the following illegal settler activities over the past week:

• Settlers welded the doors of the old Hebron Municipality’s building located in the Ain Al-Askar area as a prelude to seizing it. The case is reportedly being considered by the Courts. 
• Setters erected a new settlement outpost and placed sheep and fodder in it, 700 meters from the Ras Ain Al-Auja Bedouin community in the Jordan Valley.
• Settlers illegally built a new road on lands in the village of Husan in the “Wadi Qadis” area, extending from the Ain Qadis spring all the way to the Ain al-Taqa spring near Bethlehem.

Bonus Reads

1. “The Dubious Land Deal Threatening East Jerusalem’s Armenian Quarter’ (The Nation)

 

Welcome to FMEP’s Weekly Settlement Report, covering everything you need to know about Israeli settlement activity this week.

To subscribe to this report, please click here.

May 10, 2024

1. Israeli High Court Order Investigation into Unauthorized Construction Financed by Settler Regional Counciln
2. Israeli Supreme Court Suspends Four Evictions in Sheikh Jarrah
3. Smotrich Threatens to Defy Netanyahu and Start Settlement Construction
4. Gallant Calls for Establishment of a New Settlement East of Ariel
5. Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Returning Palestinians to Khirbet Zanouta
6. IDF Demolishes “Threatening” Palestinian Building Following Regavim Petition
7. Yesh Din Wins Case After Citing International Sanctions on Settler
8. Israel Tracks 1.9% Rise in Settler Population Over Last Year
9. Bonus Reads

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Israeli High Court Order Investigation into Unauthorized Construction Financed by Settler Regional Council

On May 9th the Israeli High Court ordered a criminal investigation into the illegal construction in the Hayovel outpost, located near the Eli settlement in the northern West Bank. This is the first time the High Court has ordered a criminal investigation into illegal settlement construction. The order was the result of the Court’s six year consideration of a petition filed by Peace Now, which included evidence that a new residential neighborhood was built in the Hayovel outpost without any approved plan and without building permits. The petition also documented the involvement of the Binyamin Regional Council and its funding of the illegal activity. 

Following the 2017 publication of its investigative report “Unraveling the Mechanism Behind Illegal Outposts” – which included a comprehensive investigation of how the various authorities are involved, assist, and finance the construction of illegal outposts in the West Bank – Peace Now filed many petitions with the High Court demanding an investigation into illegal outpost construction and the state’s complicity. The State stalled the Court’s consideration of these cases by promising to create and direct a unit tasked with investigating these complaints. It’s unclear if the unit was ever established, and if it was what progress it made, but the unit was formally dissolved by Bezalel Smotrich when he assumed authority over West Bank construction. The Court’s decision this week comes in light of Smotrich’s dissolution of the investigative unit.

The investigation ordered into Hayovel this week is the first petition that has been ruled upon, potentially setting precedent for the rest, which include four similar petitions filed by Peace Now regarding illegal construction in the Haroeh outpost, the Karnei Shomron settlement, the Shvut Rachel settlement, and the Sde Boaz outpost.

Adv. Michael Sfard, one of the lawyers who represented Peace Now in this petition, said: 

“The illegal construction in outposts and settlements is an organized crime on a huge scale. It’s time for the law enforcement authorities to do their job. It’s a shame that judicial intervention was needed to make it clear to the police and the prosecutor’s office that no one is above the law, even if they are settlers.”

Peace Now said in a statement: 

“The illegal construction in the settlements is not a marginal phenomenon. There is a fraudulent mechanism involving official bodies and public funds, through which a small and organized group of settlers builds settlements, sets facts on the ground and imposes its vision on an entire country. Law enforcement authorities have been defending settler criminality for years, and today the court ordered them to stop this lawlessness.”

Israeli Supreme Court Suspends Four Evictions in Sheikh Jarrah

On May 9th, the Israeli Supreme Court annulled the evictions of three Palestinian families – Hammad, Daoudi and Dajani – from their longtime homes in Sheikh Jarrah. 

According to lawyer and Jerusalem expert Daniel Seidemann, the Court relied upon precedent set in its 2022 decision to overturn the eviction of four other families in Sheikh Jarrah, the al-Kurd, al-Qassem, Iskafi and al-Ja‘ouni families. In that case, the High Court ruled that final ownership of the land has not been determined and must be revisited, and that until that determination is made (via the settlement of title and registration processes), the families are permitted to remain in their homes as legally “protected tenants,” paying rent into an escrow account managed by lawyers involved in the case – funds that won’t go to the settlers who claim ownership unless and until the title and registration processes conclude that the land does, in fact, belong to the settlers.

As a reminder: With its annexation of  East Jerusalem following the 1967 war, Israel suspended the process of land registration and settlement of title in East Jerusalem. Israeli lawmakers have pointedly stated over the past two years their intentions to reinitiate these processes, and reports have suggested that Israel has begun to do so – secretively – in Sheikh Jarrah. The launching of an Israel-run process of registering ownership of land in East Jerusalem land will have far-reaching consequences for Palestinians, who have not had a formal, legal avenue for registering land ownership with the Israeli government since East Jerusalem was annexed by Israel in 1967 – meaning, for example, that if a property owner has died, his/her heirs have had no legal way to register as the current owners. As a consequence, such a process is liable to be used against Palestinians by settlers.

Smotrich Threatens to Defy Netanyahu and Start Settlement Construction

Smotrich has continued his criticism of Netanyahu over what he sees as a de-facto freeze on settlement construction, as detailed in last week’s settlement report. In a new letter to the Prime Minister this week, Smotrich gave a four day window to receive a response to his criticism threatening that, “Since the authority is mine, please notify me within four days that you are not allowing construction…If you do not send notification, I consider myself entitled to begin construction.”

Gallant made the speech while attending the opening of an expanded IDF checkpoint that leads from Israel into the West Bank along Route 5.

Gallant Calls for Establishment of a New Settlement East of Ariel

In a speech on May 9th, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant called for the establishment of a new settlement east of the Ariel settlement and support for building more roads for settlers in the norther West Bank. Gallant said, “logically, a significantly larger city should be developed [east of Ariel]….[the area is] the most central junction that allows us to divert the population of Israel to the east,” 

Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Returning Palestinians to Khirbet Zanouta 

OCHA OPT reports that on May 2nd the Israeli Supreme Court has ruled in favor of returning 360 Palestinians to their homes in Khirbet Zanouta, a herding community which was forcibly expelled from their lands in the South Hebron Hills by incessant settler violence. The ruling ordered the Israeli authorities to ensure the ability of the community to safely return to their land and homes.

One of the settlers who has led violent attacks on Khirbet Zanouta is Yinon Levi, who founded the illegal outpost Meitarim Farm near the herding community. Levi was recently sanctioned by the United States and others.

IDF Demolishes “Threatening” Palestinian Building Following Regavim Petition 

The Israeli Civil Administration demolished a two-story building built along Route 398 – a settler bypass road – in the southern West Bank, a road which connects the nearby settlements of Tekoa, Kfar Eldad, and Nokdim to Jerusalem. The petition submitted by Regavim argued that the building was illegal and that it posed “a clear and imminent threat to thousands of motorists.”

Roi Drucker, a Field Coordinator for Regavim told the Jerusalem Post: 

“We are encouraged when our efforts achieve results, and hope that small but significant victories like these will empower the Israeli government to change its approach and take a proactive stance toward protecting our Israel’s national interests and the security of its citizens…This road cannot be allowed to turn into a replica of Huwara. Israeli motorists must not be sitting ducks on the roads of Judea and Samaria.”

Yesh Din Wins Case After Citing International Sanctions on Settler

Yesh Din provided an update on a case it filed in December 2023 seeking the removal of a barrier that settlers had installed on an access road that Palestinian landowners relied upon to reach their land. The case had not progressed until Yesh Din supplemental response to the Court submitting that the United Kingdom recently sanctioned a settler, Zvi Bar Yosef, whos illegal outpost is located near the illegal barrier. In a small success (as there are hundreds of similar barriers installed by the military and settlers after October 7th that significantly harm Palestinians right to movement and property), the barrier was removed from the access road in March 2024.

Yesh Din said in a statement:

“Road barriers have become a widespread tool used by the Israeli military all over the West Bank since October 2023. Under the pretense of security needs – the military is violating Palestinians’ freedom of movement and severely harming everyday life of millions in the West Bank for over six months. The fact that once challenged, some obstructions (whether placed by the military or civilians) can be removed, proves that at least in some cases, they are arbitrary and unnecessary. More importantly, this case is an example of the impact that sanctioning violent settlers and outposts in the West Bank can have on the protection of human rights on the ground. The international community can and should take consequences such as these into account when making decisions regarding this issue.”

Israel Tracks 1.9% Rise in Settler Population Over Last Year

The Israel Central Bureau of Statistics published new demographic information showing a 1.9% growth in the West Bank settler population over the past year (figures do not include East Jerusalem settlements, which Israel illegally annexed).

Bonus Reads

1. “West Bank: Israeli Forces’ Unlawful Killings of Palestinians” (Human Rights Watch)
2. “A West Bank village feels helpless after Israeli settlers attack with fire and bullets” (ABC News)
3. “Israel razes entire Bedouin village to expand a highway” (+972 Magazine)
4. Thread on X regarding Noam Federman, a settler sanctioned by the Uk (Kerem Navot on X)

Welcome to FMEP’s Weekly Settlement Report, covering everything you need to know about Israeli settlement activity this week.

To subscribe to this report, please click here.

April 26, 2024

1. Smotrich Directs Government to Prepare to Fund & Service 68 Illegal Outposts
2. U.S. Balks on Designating Israeli Military Unit Named in Annual Human Rights Report
3. U.S. Publishes 2023 Human Rights Report
4. Bonus Reads

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Smotrich Directs Government to Prepare to Fund & Service 68 Illegal Outposts

On April 20th Israel’s Channel 12 News reported that Bezalel Smotrich – in his capacity as a minister in the Defence Ministry – has ordered several ministries to begin the practical preparations to service 68 outposts, even though the legal process to grant the outposts retroactive legalization has not concluded (or even begun). The move essentially directs the government to treat the outposts as if they are settlements even though they are still illegal under Israeli law – which should be understand as an act of de facto annexation. Smotrich’s orders include a call for the preparation of budgets and service plans to extend utilities – including water, roads, state-funded medical clinics, schools, and more – to the outposts.

Peace Now explains further:

“For Peace Now’s understanding, this is in fact a ‘legalization bypass’ route, according to which the various authorities will treat these illegal outposts as if they were legal for the purposes of budgets and services and refrain from enforcing the demolition orders in them, even if the legalization procedures for those outposts have not yet begun or been completed…So far, the list of the 68 outposts destined to move to the status of “Sites under Legalization” has not been published and it is difficult to know which outposts are involved. A cautious assessment of Peace Now is that these are mostly relatively old outposts (as appears in the coalition agreement between Likud and Smotritch’s party (section 119), which referred to the legalization of outposts established before February 2011). At the same time, it’s plausible that the list also comprises outposts established later, like the Malachei Hashalom outpost, which was established in 2015 but the government has already decided on the intention to legalize it.”

The coalition agreements which brought the current Israeli government into power included a commitment to the full recognition and integration of outposts. The government has done a lot to fulfill this pledge, as seen in the actions taken to legalize the Homesh outpost, the Evyatar outpost, and the Israeli Cabinet’s February 2023 decision to legalize ten of the most isolated, legally complicated outposts. That decision also included approval of a clause that makes the remaining outposts eligible – right away, even as they remain illegal – to receive Israeli municipal services like water and electricity.

The United States criticized the Israeli government over these reports, with U.S. State Department Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel saying at a press briefing on April 24th:

“…these reports about directives to support illegal outposts in the West Bank, we believe that to be dangerous and reckless. Our policy, U.S. policy, remains that settlements are counterproductive to the cause of peace and the Government of Israel’s program is inconsistent with international law. And we’ll continue to urge Israeli officials to refrain from taking actions to fund outposts that have long been illegal under Israeli law. Actions or announcements seeking to expand outposts will only move the goal of peace and stability in the region further away.”

U.S. Balks on Designating Israeli Military Unit Named in Annual Human Rights Report

Despite reports earlier in the week, the U.S. has decided to not enforce the Leahy Law against the Netzah Yehuda battalion, which is a special IDF unit for ultra-orthodox soldiers stationed in the West Bank. The unit, which attracts members of the radical and violent Hilltop Youth settler movement, is alleged to have participated in gross human rights violations, including the causing the death of U.S. citizen Omar Assaf. and  Secretary Blinken himself even hinted that actions against the battalion were imminently forthcoming. 

By the end of the week, ABC News reported that the U.S. had reversed its plans to sanction IDF units, and that the U.S. will not announce sanctions while it reviews new information Israel has provided regarding its steps to remediate U.S. concerns. The Associated Press reports that Secretary Blinkin sent a letter to the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives explaining that while the government has determined the battalion engaged in gross misconduct, the U.S. will withhold sanctions. Blinken also assured the stridently pro-Israel Speaker of the House that, should any sanctions be announced in the future, it would not impede or delay the transfer of the $17 billion in military aid to Israel that the U.S. Congress just passed. 

The U.S. Department of State has reportedly been investigating the Netzah Yehuda battalion as well as other units for over a year. The unit was named in the just released “2023 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices” in association with the death of Omar Assad in January 2022. The report also notes that Israel investigated Assad’s death and did not bring a single charge against the unit or its members.

This would be the first time the U.S. has ever (anywhere) enforced the Leahy Law against a foreign military. The designation would disqualify the sanctioned units from receiving U.S. military assistance or training, but it would not stop the units from using weapons purchased by Israel from the U.S. (a symbolic if not actually meaningful designation).

Noting the symbolic importance of the use of the Leahy Law to sanction Israeli military units, Haaretz columnist Alon Pinkas notes:

“While the impact of the sanctions the law stipulates may be very limited, the United States is essentially acknowledging a very inconvenient truth: A combat unit in the Israeli army is acting like a militia….Second, the United States is drawing a clear contrast between Israel and the West Bank. This shouldn’t be taken lightly or dismissed as an ad hoc technicality.”

U.S. Publishes 2023 Human Rights Report

On April 22nd, Secretary Blinken released the 2023 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. As a reminder, the report is designed to provide an ostensibly objective synopsis of how governments across the world perpetrate and handle human rights abuses. However, the report’s treatment of Israel and its role in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem is consistently a matter of controversy. During Blinkin’s press briefing to mark the release of the new report, he had to defend the State Department against accusations of holding Israel to a lower standard than any other country.

The 101-page section on “Israel, West Bank, and Gaza” opens with a lengthy preface on the events of October 7, 2023 and following events, noting the record high level of settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank that has followed. Beyond a few mentions of settler violence, the report does not discuss the Israeli settlement enterprise, which is the underlying context perpetuating the systematic violation of Palestinian human rights.

The report once again maintains the format imposed on the report by the Trump Administration, with a section entitled “Israel, West Bank, and Gaza.” Under this format, which the Biden Administration also used in its 2020 and 2021 reports, there is a section on Israel (looking at the practices of the Israeli government in sovereign Israeli territory, including East Jerusalem) and a separate section on the West Bank & Gaza (looking primarily at the practices of the Palestinian Authority, Hamas, and the “Israeli authorities in the West Bank”). Prior to the Trump era, the report and its sections were entitled  “Israel and the Occupied Territories.” The Trump administration adopted the new section titles in its 2017 report and completed its elimination of the word “occupation” in its 2018 report. The Biden Administration’s decision to continue this new format was widely reported when the administration’s first report was released in early 2021. The Biden Administration re-introduced the word “occupation” in its first report. 

Notably, the report does not cite any of the seven Palestinian NGOs that the Israeli government declared to be terrorist organizations in October 2021, including Al-Haq which is largely held to be the preeminent Palestinian human rights group. 

Amnesty International published its own report recapping 2023 human rights concerns across the globe, in it taking shots at the U.S. and other countries’ failures to uphold and enforce international human rights law. The report’s overview explains that the report exposes the 

“betrayal of human rights principles by today’s leaders and institutions. In the face of multiplying conflicts, the actions of many powerful states have further damaged the credibility of multilateralism and undermined the global rules-based order first established in 1945.

In a conflict that defined 2023 and shows no sign of abating, evidence of war crimes continues to mount as the Israeli government makes a mockery of international law in Gaza. Following the horrific attacks by Hamas and other armed groups on 7 October, Israeli authorities responded with unrelenting air strikes on populated civilian areas often wiping out entire families, forcibly displacing nearly 1.9 million Palestinians and restricting the access of desperately needed humanitarian aid despite growing famine in Gaza.

The report points to the USA’s brazen use of its veto to paralyse the UN Security Council for months on a much-needed resolution for a ceasefire, as it continues to arm Israel with munitions that have been used to commit what likely amounts to war crimes. It also highlights the grotesque double standards of European countries such as the UK and Germany, given their well-founded protestations about war crimes by Russia and Hamas, while they simultaneously bolster the actions of Israeli and US authorities in this conflict.

‘The confounding failure of the international community to protect thousands of civilians – a horrifically high percentage of them children – from being killed in the occupied Gaza Strip makes patently clear that the very institutions set up to protect civilians and uphold human rights are no longer fit for purpose. What we saw in 2023 confirms that many powerful states are abandoning the founding values of humanity and universality enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,’ said Agnès Callamard.”

Bonus Reads

1. “Less Than Quarter of Israeli Jews in Favor of Renewed Settlement in Gaza, Poll Finds” (Haaretz)
2. “Israeli, U.S. Officials Say New Sanctions Due to Conduct of Ben-Gvir, Smotrich” (Haaretz)
3. “Far-right Advisor to Ben-Gvir Sanctioned by U.S. Tries to Get Gas, Finds Credit Card Blocked” (Haaretz)

Welcome to FMEP’s Weekly Settlement Report, covering everything you need to know about Israeli settlement activity this week.

To subscribe to this report, please click here.

April 19, 2024

1. Israeli Courts Order Two Significant Evictions in East Jerusalem, Presaging Mass Forced Displacement in Sheikh Jarrah, Silwan
2. Supreme Court Green Lights Eviction of Shehadeh Family from Batan Al-Hawa Home
3. Israeli Court Orders Eviction of the Diab Family from Sheikh Jarrah Home
4. Lower Aqueduct Settlement Plan Published Tender
5. Ir Amim & Bimkom: Israel Has Accelerated East Jerusalem Settlement Building Since Oct 7th
6. Ben Gvir Seizes Authority Over East Jerusalem Housing Demolitions
7. New Plan to Massively/Strategically Expand the Ariel Settlement Industrial Zone
8. Smotrich Designates Symbols for Four Outposts Previously Approved for Retroactive Legalization
9. The U.S. & E.U Unveil New Sanctions Targeting Settlers & Settler Entities
10. Bonus Reads

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Israeli Courts Order Two Significant Evictions in East Jerusalem, Presaging Mass Forced Displacement in Sheikh Jarrah, Silwan

Over the past week – on the eve of Passover and in days after the end of Ramadan, while genocide continues in Gaza and violence escalates in the West Bank – two separate Israeli courts have ordered the eviction of Palestinian families from their longtime homes in East Jerusalem in favor of Israeli settlers; both cases set a terrifying precedent for dozens more Palestinian families fighting against settler groups on the same basis of argumentation. The mass dispossession and displacement of Palestinians from East Jerusalem is advancing. These cases put on full display the tight cooperation between settler entities and the Israeli state in advancing the displacement of Palestinians from East Jerusalem, and their replacement with Israeli Jews.

Ir Amim explains:

“Although the Israeli government often characterizes these cases as private real estate disputes, they are rather part and parcel of a systematic campaign to further entrench Israeli control of the most politically sensitive areas in East Jerusalem. The eviction claims are filed on the basis of a discriminatory Israeli law (see more below) by settler groups working in collaboration with the state to expand Jewish settlement in the heart of Palestinian neighborhoods. This thereby serves to foil any possibility of East Jerusalem serving as a future Palestinian capital.

…A common thread between these cases is that the eviction lawsuits were filed by settler groups based on the 1970 Legal and Administrative Matters law. Article 5 of this law exclusively affords Jews with land restitution rights for assets allegedly owned by Jews in East Jerusalem before 1948 despite many of these properties now inhabited by Palestinians. No parallel legal mechanism exists for Palestinians to recover pre-1948 assets on the Israeli side of the Green Line, many of which are now inhabited by Jews. To the contrary, the 1950 Absentee Property Law enshrines that Palestinians who were forced to abandon their homes and lands in what became Israel after the war of 1948 can never retrieve them…Settler organizations aided by state bodies act to secure ownership rights of these assets despite having no relation to the previous Jewish owners or occupants. Acquisition of these rights provides settler groups with the legal platform to “retrieve” the property from the General Custodian and initiate eviction lawsuits against Palestinian families through application of the 1970 law. A department within the Ministry of Justice, the General Custodian is the Israeli body responsible for managing abandoned property, including alleged pre-1948 Jewish assets in East Jerusalem until “reclaimed.” Between 1948-1967, these properties were administered by the Jordanian Custodian of Enemy Property and then transferred into the management of the Israeli General Custodian in 1967 following Israel’s occupation and annexation of East Jerusalem.”

Supreme Court Green Lights Eviction of Shehadeh Family from Batan Al-Hawa Home

On April 11th, the Israeli Supreme Court  Justice Noam Sohleberg dismissed a final petition in the case of the Palestinian Shehadeh family, who has spent years fighting against their eviction from their home of 60 years in the Batan Al-Hawa section of Silwan at the behest of the Ateret Cohanim settler organization. Justice Sohlberg ordered the Shehadeh family to leave by June 1st or face forced eviction by Israeli authorities, and also ordered the family to pay legal fees for the settler group. The case has been ongoing since 2021, and the Supreme Court’s ruling last week marks the end of any potential avenues of further appeal. Ir Amim writes that only state intervention can halt the eviction.

The Shahadeh family is one of 85 families (700 people) in Batan al-Hawa facing displacement at the behest of Ateret Cohanim, a settler organization which has waged a years-long eviction campaign against Palestinians living in Silwan, on property the settler NGO claims to own. The group’s claim is based on having gained control of the historic Benvenisti Trust, which oversaw the assets of Yemenite Jews who lived in Silwan in the 19th century. In 2001 the Israeli Charitable Trust Registrar granted Ateret Cohanim permission to revive the trust and become its trustees, (following 63 years of dormancy). In 2002, the Israeli Custodian General transferred ownership of the land in Batan al-Hawa to the Trust (i.e., to Ateret Cohanim). Since then, Ateret Cohanim has accelerated its multi-pronged campaign to remove Palestinians from their homes, claiming that the Palestinians are illegal squatters.

The Supreme Court ruling ignores ongoing litigation initiated in 2020 by Ir Amim that challenges the legitimacy and legality of Ateret Cohanim’s control of the Benvenisti Trust. In response to the filing, the Israeli Registrar of Trusts (department within the Justice Ministry) announced that it will open an investigation into the allegations. Ir Amim is still awaiting news on the investigation.

Israeli Court Orders Eviction of the Diab Family from Sheikh Jarrah Home

On April 15th, the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court ruled that the Palestinian Diab family (30 people) can be evicted from their home of 70 years in the Kerem al-Jaouni area of Sheikh Jarrah at the behest of the Nahalat Shimon settler group. The Court ruled that Nahalat Shimon owns the land based on the claim that it was owned by Jews before 1948, which Israeli law allows Jews to “reclaim.” The Diab family was ordered to leave by July 15th, or face forcible displacement by Israeli authorities. The family, who was also ordered to pay the legal fees of the settler group, can appeal this ruling to the Jerusalem District Court.

The Diab family is one of 30 Palestinian families in the Kerem al-Jaouni area of Sheikh Jarrah fighting against the settler group Nahalat Shimon, which is seeking their dispossession. Peace Now explains the 

current context of evictions across all of Sheikh Jarrah:

“In 1948, the land, which was then without structures, came under Jordanian rule. The Jordanians designated the land for the rehabilitation of dozens of Palestinian refugee families, who exchanged their refugee status for homes in the newly built neighborhood in Sheikh Jarrah. After 1967, the Jewish associations recovered the ownership rights of the land based on the Legal and Administrative Matters Law (see below), and began to demand that the refugee families vacate their homes. To that extent, the associations were exercising the “right of return” of Jews to properties taken in 1948 (a right not afforded to Palestinians).

The [Israeli] settlement in Karem Ja’uni in Sheikh Jarrah began in 2008 when the al-Kurd family was evicted from their home, and in 2009 the Rawi, Hanoun and part of (another) al-Kurd families were evicted. Since then, settlers have filed at least 14 eviction cases against dozens of families of hundreds of people in Karem Ja’uni in Sheikh Jarrah. On the western side of the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, in Um Haroun, there are another few dozens of families facing eviction lawsuits by settlers, and in Batan Al-Hawa in Silwan there are almost 100 families at risk of eviction.

About two years ago, the Supreme Court ruled with regard to four of the Karem Ja’uni families, that they will be able to stay in their homes at least until the land registration procedure in the area is completed. Following this ruling, the Magistrate’s Court applied the same arrangement to two of the eviction cases. The cases of seven additional families is still pending in the Supreme Court, while the cases of the rest of the families are still ongoing in the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court.”

Peace Now said in a statement:

“This is a heinous injustice based on a discriminatory system of laws. The story here is not legal but political. The court is only the tool by which settlers use with the close assistance of state authorities to commit the crime of displacing an entire community and replacing it with settlement. The Israeli government and settlers have no problem to displace thousands of Palestinians in the name of “the Right of Return” to properties before 1948, while they strongly claim that the millions of Israelis living in Palestinian properties before 1948 cannot be evicted. This injustice can and should be stopped by the government”.

Lower Aqueduct Settlement Plan Published Tender

Peace Now reports that the Israeli Housing Ministry has published a tender for the construction of 1,047 settlement units constituting a new settlement in East Jerusalem called the Lower Aqueduct” plan. The settlement will be located on a sliver of land located between the controversial settlements of Givat Hamatos and Har Homa in East Jerusalem, adjacent to the Palestinian neighborhood of Umm Tuba and fall on both sides of the 1967 Green Line. The settlement is designed to connect the two settlements and seal East Jerusalem off from Bethlehem, and in so doing establish a huge, uninterrupted continuum of Israeli settlements on the southern rim of Jerusalem. According to Ir Amim, this is the first major new East Jerusalem settlement established by Israel since 2012.

Peace Now writes:

“The plan was promoted at an unprecedented speed from its inception to the tender issue: it was placed on the table of the District Planning Committee in July 2021, discussed in January 2022 by the District Committee which ordered revisions to the plan, and was approved for deposit in July 2022. That is, the tender was issued less than three years after the plans were submitted.

Politically, this is a strategic plan that will severely impact the possibility of a continuous urban Palestinian connection in East Jerusalem. In practice, the plan blocks the last corridor remaining for connecting Beit Safafa and Sur Baher with other parts of East Jerusalem. It should be noted that although about half of the plan’s area is beyond the Green Line, and half within it, its strategic location between Givat HaMatos and Har Homa makes it particularly problematic politically.”

Ir Amim has previously written:

“This plan carries serious ramifications on the political future of Jerusalem. If constructed, it will extend the Israeli settlement wedge along East Jerusalem’s southern border, further creating a sealing-off effect of East Jerusalem from the southern West Bank, while fracturing the Palestinian space and depleting more vacant land for Palestinian development….Beyond its geopolitical ramifications, the advancement of this plan underscores the systematic discrimination implicit in Israeli planning and building policy in Jerusalem. Since the beginning of 2023, over 18,500 housing units have been advanced for new or existing Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem, while residential development for Palestinians has been all but neglected. This is despite the fact that Palestinians constitute nearly 40% of Jerusalem’s population. 2023 is slated to join 2022 as being the two years with the highest number of settlement units advanced in the last decade in East Jerusalem. Such inequitable urban planning policy has long served as a driver of Palestinian displacement in service of solidifying a Jewish demographic majority in Jerusalem and further cementing Israeli territorial control to foil prospects for a just political resolution.” 

Ir Amim & Bimkom: Israel Has Accelerated East Jerusalem Settlement Building Since Oct 7th

The Israeli anti-settlement NGOs Bimkom and Ir Amim have released a joint report reviewing the Israeli government’s wartime policies and how they have led to the acceleration of both settlement activity and home demolitions, posing an ever increasing threat to the rights and futures of Palestinian residents.

The report reads:

“Since the outbreak of the war six months ago, there has been a major surge in the promotion and fast-tracking of new settlement plans in East Jerusalem and a dramatic spike in the rate of demolitions of Palestinian homes. The Israeli government is clearly exploiting the war to create more facts on the ground to predetermine the final status of Jerusalem and thwart all prospects for a negotiated political agreement, while forcibly displacing Palestinians from their homes and the city. 

Measures are being taken to establish eight brand-new settlements in East Jerusalem within or adjacent to Palestinian neighborhoods with a total of over 12,000 housing units. For details and analysis of these plans, click here or above for the full policy brief.

In juxtaposition to this major uptick in the advancement of new settlements, demolitions of Palestinian homes have reached unparalleled levels since the start of the war. This serves as a form of collective punishment and part of a series of repressive measures currently being employed by Israel against Palestinians under its control. Between October 7, 2023—March 10, 2024, 98 homes were demolished, which marks a nearly two-fold monthly increase compared to the period preceding the war. (Demolitions were halted during the month of Ramadan as in the past).”

Ben Gvir Seizes Authority Over East Jerusalem Housing Demolitions

On April 8th, the Israeli Cabinet decided to hand extremist minister Ben Gvir power over demolitions and housing enforcement in East Jerusalem. The CAbinet’s decision moved the Real Estate Enforcement Division from the Finance Ministry to the Ministry of National Security, which is controlled by Ben Gvir. The Real Estate Enforcement Division has the power to enforce against illegal construction in East Jerusalem and conducts demolitions and imposes fines alongside the Jerusalem municipality’s Building Supervision Department. It is important to note that the rate of demolitions in East Jerusalem during the Gaza war and in 2023 overall was higher than in other months or years, and it seems that transferring authority to Ben Gvir will only exacerbate this trend.

Daniel Seidemann, founder of Terrestrial Jerusalem, explained on X:

“In the eyes of the Palestinians in East Jerusalem, home demolitions are the most brutal & egregious manifestations of Israeli occupation. W/the exception of real or perceived threat to Al Aqsa, no issue in Jerusalem is more volatile & more incendiary than home demolitions. As per yesterday’s Cabinet Resolution, very broad powers will now be vested in Ben Gvir and an Authority or which he is responsible. these include administrative demolition orders, cease work orders, execution of judicial demolition orders, and much more. Ben Gvir has repeatedly declared his intent to carry out large scale home demolitions, particularly in E. Jerusalem. He then was opposed by the Police Chief, who now does his bidding.  Ben Gvir has already expedited demolitions. However Ben Gvir had a problem: he had absolutely no statutory power in relation to demolitions. The role of the Police was to secure the demolitions ordered by the Jerusalem Municipality or Government of Israel (incl. judicial bodies). Bravado aside, he was a spectator.All that changed yesterday by means of the Cabinet Resolution. Having declared his intent “to show the Arabs of East Jerusalem who’s boss” by carrying out large scale demolitions.  He will now have all the statutory powers and resources necessary to make good on his promise.”

Peace Now said in a statement:

“It has been unequivocally proven that law enforcement authorities under the responsibility of Itamar Ben Gvir exacerbate tension, violence, and hatred between the state and its citizens. The Real Estate Enforcement Division should operate with integrity and profound sensitivity to our political and social reality. However, it is highly doubtful that this will occur under the authority of Itamar Ben Gvir, the Minister of National Insecurity, who has previously been convicted of inciting racism and supporting a terrorist organization.”

New Plan to Massively/Strategically Expand the Ariel Settlement Industrial Zone

Peace Now reports that the Israeli Civil Administration’s High Planning Council convened on April 10th to consider 26 settlement plans, the most consequential of which is a plan to significantly expand the Ariel settlement industrial zone. This plan proposes to significantly expand the industrial zone eastward toward the new Ariel West settlement, which just began construction, connecting the two for all practical purposes.

Peace Now further explains the consequences of this plan:

“Expanding the industrial area eastward, on the one hand, and the establishment of the planned settlement of Ariel West, which infrastructure works for its establishment have recently begun, on the other hand, are intended to create a territorial continuum of settlements that will effectively block any possibility of development for Palestinian communities in the vicinity, including Salfit, Harres, and Kifl Harres. The plan essentially disconnects Salfit – the district town from the surrounding villages it serves.”

It’s worth revisiting the role settlement industrial zones play in perpetuating ISraeli occupation, annexation, and apartheid. For decades Israel has used industrial zones as another tool to expand and deepen control over West Bank land and natural resources. Industrial zones are part of Israel’s economic exploitation of occupied territory (including the local workforce, land, and other natural resources). Presented as benefiting both Israelis and Palestinians, it is in fact Orwellian to label such initiatives as “coexistence” programs, or to suggest that they offer the Palestinians benefits they should welcome. Importantly, jobs in industrial zones – often the only jobs available for Palestinians living under an Israeli occupation that prevents the development of any normal Palestinian economy – are widely viewed by Palestinians as a double-edged sword. The NGO Who Profits explained:

“Israeli Industrial Zones constitute a foundational pillar of the economy of the occupation. They contribute to the economic development of the settlements, which are in violation of international law and the Fourth Geneva Convention, while relying on the de-development of the Palestinian economy and the exploitation of Palestinian land and labor…The Industrial Zones in the oPt form part of a practice of ‘financial annexation’ which is an essential component of the broader policy of annexation taking place.”

Peace Now said in a statement:

“The government of Israel continues to build at an unprecedented pace in the Occupied Territories. Expanding an industrial area in the heart of the West Bank is not an Israeli interest, and certainly not a Palestinian interest. The industrial area west of Ariel does not promote economic growth, but rather harms both the Israeli and Palestinian economies alike.”

Smotrich Designates Symbols for Four Outposts Previously Approved for Retroactive Legalization

On April 6th, Finance Minister Smotrich (who also heads the Settlement Administration and a minister in the Defense Ministry) issued a statement announcing that he has designated “locality symbols” to four outposts that the government has previously approved to be retroactively legalized as new settlements: Mitzpe Yehuda, Beit Hogla, Shacharit, and Asa’el. 

Peace Now explains:

“A ‘locality symbol’ is a serial number assigned by the Ministry of Interior to each official Israeli locality. For the government to allocate funds and resources for settlement development or to prepare construction plans, a settlement must have a “locality symbol.” Smotrich’s announcement aims to bolster his standing among his supporters as someone who does a lot for the settlements. Therefore, he exploits a bureaucratic maneuver and tries to present it as a new achievement.

The significance of assigning locality symbols to these four new settlements is that the government bureaucracy has already begun working to promote these settlements. It should be noted that since the government’s decision in February to establish nine new settlements, the commander of the military’s Central Command, Maj. Gen. Yehuda Fuchs has issued orders in recent months defining the jurisdictional areas of six of them: Mishmar Yehuda, Givat Haroeh. Apparently, defining the jurisdictional area of the remaining three settlements is delayed due to land ownership issues.”

The U.S. & E.U Unveil New Sanctions Targeting Settlers & Settler Entities

On April 19th the United States Department of State announced a third round of sanctions targeting one Israeli settler and two settler entities. The European Union announced sanctions on the same day, against four settlers and two settler entities. This round of sanctions is particularly notable because it expands the sanctions’ targets to include entities which fund settlers involved in violence, and because it targets a prominent political ally and confidant of Itamar Ben Gvir.

The U.S. sanctions target:

• Ben Zion (Bentzi) Gopstein – founder of the radical, violent Lehava settler organization, and “one of the closest confidants” of Kahanist Minister Itamar Ben Gvir. The U.S. State Department says that Lehava and its members “have been involved in acts or threats of violence against Palestinians, often targeting sensitive or volatile areas.” Gopstein was convicted in early 2024 for incitement to racism
• The Mount Hebron Fund – an organization leading a fundraising campaign for Yinon Levi, an Israeli settler previously sanctioned by the U.S. The U.S. group DAWN writes that the crowdfunding campaign had the declared intention of bypassing US sanctions. The AP reports the fundraising effort raised $140,000.
• Shlom Asiraich – an organization leading a fundraising campaign for David Chai Chasdai,  an Israeli settler previously sanctioned by the U.S.. The AP reports the fundraising effort raised $31,000.

The European Union sanctions target:

• Lehava – the organization run by Ben Zion Gopstein (who the U.S. sanctioned as an individual, but did not sanction Lehava).
• The Hilltop Youth settler organization – a notoriously violent group based out of the Yitzhar settlement and involved in establishing illegal outposts throughout the West Bank. The Hilltop Youth have been called “the Jewish ISIS,” and regularly engage in violence against Palestinians, Israeli authorities, and activists.
• Neriya Ben Pazi – who was previously sanctioned by the U.S..
• Yinon Levi – who was previously sanctioned by the U.S..
• Meir Ettinger – who is the grandson of the late, extremist rabbi Meir Kahane, and a well-known leader of the Hilltop Youth leader. 
• Elisha Yered – who previously served as a spokesperson for MK Limor Son Har-Melech, an ally of Ben Gvir.

Itamar Ben Gvir responded to the new sanction, saying:

“The harassment of the Lehava organization and dearest settlers, who never engaged in terrorism or harmed anyone, are the result of a blood libel by Israel-hating, antisemitic elements who for years have openly supported Hamas, Fatah, and other anarchist organizations that harm IDF soldiers.”

Bonus Reads

1. On Settler Terrorism: 
   1. “West Bank sees biggest settler rampage since war in Gaza began as Israeli teen’s body is found” (AP)
   2. “Al-Haq, Al Mezan and PCHR Urge the International Community to Intervene as Israeli Forces and Settler Violence Intensifies Across the West Bank” (read)
   3. “Homes burned, animals killed: Palestinians describe Israeli settler rampage” (Washington Post)
   4. “Israel Responsible for Rising Settler Violence” (Human Rights Watch)
   5. “Opinion | Dear President Biden, Are You Okay With Israeli Settlers Using American Weapons?” (Amira Hass in Haaretz)
2. “Blinken Is Sitting on Staff Recommendations to Sanction Israeli Military Units Linked to Killings or Rapes” (Pro Publica)
3. “Blinken says he’s made ‘determinations’ linked to human rights accusations against Israel” (The Times of Israel)
4. “Ben Gvir forms police team targeting left-wing activists in the West Bank” (The Times of Israel)
5. “Editorial | Goodbye, Green Line: The Israeli Government Goes All Out to Boost West Bank Settlements” (Haaretz Editorial Board)
6. “Housing, Showers, Electricity: These Are the Outposts the Israeli Army Is Building in the Heart of Gaza” (Haaretz)