Settlement & Annexation Report: May 19, 2023

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 19, 2023

Peace Now Reports: 613 New Settlement Units Advanced, Including Tender for A New Settlement – “Ariel West”
March of Flags Expanded Route
Gallant Orders IDF To Allow Israeli Jews to Reestablish Homesh Outpost & Yeshiva
Smotrich is Leading a Push to Double Settler Population
Al Walajah Checkpoint Construction Blocks Palestinians from Land
Settler Visit to Joseph’s Tomb Causes Conflict
MKs Oppose New Section of Security Wall, Say it Will Divide Settlements from Israel
Bonus Reads

Peace Now Reports: 613 New Settlement Units Advanced, Including Tender for A New Settlement – “Ariel West”

Peace Now reports that Israeli planning authorities convened on May 17th to advance plans for a total of 613 new settlement units, including a move by the Israeli Ministry of Housing and Construction to re-publish a tender for the construction of 58 units constituting a new “neighborhood” of the Ariel settlement which is, in effect, a new settlement. The Civil Administration’s High Planning Committee also convened on the 17th and is expected to have issued final approval to a plan for 552 units in the Givat Ze’ev settlement, and also to have deposited for public review a plan for 2 more units in Givat Ze’ev as well as a plan for 1 new unit in the Itamar settlement (final confirmation of the Committee’s decision was not available at the time of publication). Peace Now warns that construction could commence quickly on the plan to build 552 new units in the Givat Ze’ev settlement because a contractor has already been selected. Givat Ze’ev is located south of Ramallah in an area that is on the Israeli side of the barrier.

The Ministry of Housing and Construction’s issuance of a tender to build 58 units in the Ariel settlement is final approval to build a brand new settlement, dubbed “Ariel West.” Plans for the Ariel West settlement were first made public in November 2021, after the tenders were issued under the guise of a plan to “expand” the Ariel settlement [for more on how this plan was kept quiet, see Peace Now’s detailed history]. The units for the new Ariel West settlement will be built on a hilltop located 1.2 miles away from Ariel, in an area that is non-contiguous with the built-up area of the current Ariel settlement. The new settlement will be directly adjacent to the Palestinian village of Salfit, further limiting the future development of Salfit and restricting Palestinian agricultural workers’ access to land, as illustrated in this video by Peace Now. [map]

Peace Now said in a statement:

“It is clear that annexing the West Bank is the main agenda of the Israeli government. Promoting more than 600 housing units in settlements, among them a tender for the construction ‘Ariel West’, an entirely new settlement established under the official guise of a neighborhood an Ariel settlement, joins previous devastating annexationist decisions advancing annexation, made by the government, such the decision to legalise 15 outposts, the advancement of nearly 10,000 housing units in settlements, the cancelation of the disengagement law from the North part of the West Bank, the promotion of the apartheid road east of Jerusalem and the transfer of powers from the military to Minister Smotrich. Each decision alone demonstrates that the government is acting with an intention to annex the occupied territory, prevent the possibility of establishing a viable Palestinian State, and to escalate tensions between Palestinians and Israel.”

March of Flags Expanded Route

Tens of thousands of ultra-nationalist extremist Israeli Jews participated in the annual Jerusalem Day “Flag March” through Jerusalem in celebration of Israel’s (illegal) annexation of East Jerusalem in 1967. The parade drew security support from over 3,200 Israeli security forces and aerial drones, which sealed off the route of the parade and shuttered large parts of Jerusalem for Palestinians. The parade poses an annual threat of erupting into large-scale violence because it is a direct provocation – which Israeli lawmakers egg on and participate in – against Palestinians in Jerusalem. Israeli Jews participating in the parade chant Jewish Supremacist slogans and anti-Palestinian slurs including “Death to Arabs” and “May Your Village Burn,” the latter of which is particularly horrific given the pogrom Israeli settlers committed against the Palestinian village of Huwara earlier this year.

This year the Israeli government extended the route of the Flag March, which Haaretz estimated to impact at least an additional 50,000 Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem. The longer route will include stops at two East Jerusalem settlement compounds, bringing the parade for the first time through the Palestinian neighborhood of A-Tur and near the village of Ras Al-Amud. Haaretz also reports that march organizers will hold tours in Sheikh Jarrah.

Ir Amim’s Yudith Oppenheimer explained the motivation of the marchers:

“At the parade’s core lies an ideology that Palestinians ought to be humiliated and pushed to their limit; they should be reminded at every moment that they live in an occupied city where they have no authority and no place; every reaction by Palestinians must be exploited to justify increased use of force and establish more facts on the ground.This is why the parade organizers and their sponsors insist on the route going through Damascus Gate and the Muslim Quarter. And if necessary, may our city burn just to prove it.”

The Haaretz Editorial Board wrote:

“The essence of the Flag March is to poke a finger in the eye of the city’s Palestinian inhabitants, to humiliate them and to drive home the fact that 40 percent of the residents of Israel’s capital live under occupation. Absurdly, the march actually underscores the fragility of Israeli sovereignty over East Jerusalem. It takes place under heavy security provided by thousands of police officers, after the police impose severe restrictions on the Palestinian public and merchants.”

Gallant Orders IDF To Allow Israeli Jews to Reestablish Homesh Outpost & Yeshiva

On Wednesday May 17th, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant issued an order instructing the head of the IDF Central Command – Yehuda Fuchs – to sign a military order that makes it legal for Israeli Jews to enter and reside in the area of the Homesh settlement in the northern West Bank, including the Homesh settlement which settlers have been pushing to reestablish. The military order is needed even after the Knesset repealed clauses of the 2005 Disengagement Law in March 2023, which it did explicitly in order to facilitate the reestablishment of the Homesh settlement which was dismantled under the law, along with three other settlements in the area.

The Knesset’s repeal of the Disengagement Law faced international criticism, which Prime Minister Netanyahu, at the time, assuaged by issuing a statement that his government has ““no intention of establishing new settlements in the area.”

The U.S. State Department issued a statement to Israel Hayom in reaction to Gallant;s order, reiterating opposition to the reestablishment of Homesh, saying:

“The United States strongly urges Israel to refrain from allowing the return of Israeli settlers to the area covered by the legislation passed in March, consistent with both former PM [Ariel] Sharon’s and the current Israeli government’s commitments to the United States…We have been clear that advancing settlements is an obstacle to peace and the achievement of a two-state solution. This certainly includes creating new settlements, building or legalizing outposts, or allowing building of any kind on private Palestinian land or deep in the West Bank adjacent to Palestinian communities”

Further reports suggest Gallant and Smotrich are working on a plan to build the Homesh settlement on a small plot of “state land” in the settlement’s former location, which was built almost entirely on land that belongs to (and is recognized by Israel as registered as belonging to) Palestinian owners. The Israeli NGO Yesh Din noted that the repeal of clauses related to Homesh in the Disengagement Law did not change the legal status of the land, and did not create a legal option for reestablishing the Homesh settlement there. Smotrich and Gallant are apparently advancing a plan to build Homesh on the small parcel of “state land” in the area, which in effect will allow settlers – and the security apparatus that enables, accompanies, and entrenches their presence – to retain total control over the Homesh area even though the land is privately owned by Paelstinians.

As a reminder, even after the Homesh settlement was dismantled in 2005, control over the land was never returned to its owners. The area was instead declared by the Israeli army to be a closed military zone, with Palestinains, including the owners of the land, barred from access. The Palestinians owners have been fighting for the right to access their own land since 2009, with no success. At the same time, the Israeli army allowed Jewish Israeli settlers to access the area regularly, and even permitted the settlers to illegally (under Israeli law) establish a religious school and settlement outpost at the site. Rather than enforce Israel’s own laws against the settlers, the current Israeli government has agreed to grant retroactive approval to the settlers’ illegal presence, the first step towards doing so being the aforementioned repeal of clauses in the Disengagement Law that make any Israeli presence there illegal. A

Smotrich is Leading a Push to Double Settler Population

Haaretz reports that since Bezalel Smotrich was granted vast authority over civil affairs in the West Bank, he has set out to initiate wide-scale planning to add 500,000 new settlers, essentially doubling the current number of Isarelis living in the West Bank (not including East Jerusalem). This push includes orders to improve the infrastructure for every settlement and outposts (regardless of legal status) within the next two years. Smotrich is also pursuing ways by which to make it easier for settlers to cross into Israel without the hassle imposed on currently by the checkpoint system.

Haaretz further reports that Defense officials are expected to oppose Smotrich’s planning, even though detailed information has not yet been provided. In addition to security challenges to Smotrich’s plan, he also lacks the massive budget that such an effort would require.

Al Walajah Checkpoint Construction Blocks Palestinians from Land

Ir Amim reports that the Jerusalem Municipality has formally announced the start of work on a project to relocate a key IDF checkpoint leading to the Palestinian village of Al-Walajah, a village which is located on (and partially within) the southern perimeter of Jerusalem’s expanded municipal borders. The effort to move the checkpoint closer to the built-up area of Al-Walajah is part of the Israeli government’s long running effort to take control over an increasing amount of land – and importantly, the Ein Haniya spring – that historically belongs to Al-Walajah.

By relocating the checkpoint to a point closer to Al-Walajah, Palestinians from the village will no longer have unfettered access to approximately 1200 dunams of agricultural land, including the site of the Ein Haniya springs. The Ein Al-Hanya spring, which the Jerusalem Municipality declared a national park in 2013 and then spent years and millions of dollars renovating into a tourist destination, is located on land historically part of Al-Walajah and it long served as a main source of water for households, farms, and recreational purposes for the village’s residents.

Since 1967, Al-Walajah has suffered due to its location and its complicated status (much of the village’s lands, including areas with homes, were annexed by Israel in 1967, but Israel never gave the villagers Jerusalem legal residency by Israel – meaning that under Israeli law, their mere presence in their homes is illegal). Today it is acutely suffering from a multi-prong effort by the Israeli government and settlers to grab more land for settlement expansion in pursuit of the “Greater Jerusalem” agenda. This land grab campaign includes home demolitions (four homes in Al-Walajah were demolished by Israel on November 2, 2022, for example), the construction of the separation barrier and bypass roads in a way that seals off the village on three sides, and the systematic denial of planning permits.

You can join a webinar entitled “What’s Next for al-Walaja”on May 24th at 12pm eastern to learn more about al-Walajah (hosted by Ameinu, Peace Now, T’ruah, and Telos on May 24th at 12pm eastern. Register here.

Settler Visit to Joseph’s Tomb Causes Conflict

On the night of May 17th, thousands of Israeli Jews – including at least two elected officials – staged a trip to the Joseph’s Tomb site in Nablus under the heavy protection of the IDF, which attempted to enforce a curfew on nearby Palestinian neighborhoods. Clashes erupted as Palestinian confronted the parade of settlers, resulting in at least two injuries.

In response to the violence, settler leader Yossi Dagan called on Israel to take complete control over the site, to build a yeshiva there, and to “restore the ISraeli flag at this holy site and show everyone, both ourselves and our enemies, that we are not afraid.”

The tomb is located within Area A of the West Bank (where Israel does not, under the Oslo Accords, have direct control). However, Joseph’s Tomb is one of two sites in Area A which the Oslo Accords stipulate are under the control of the Israeli military. As such, it has been a perennial flashpoint, largely due to deliberately provocative actions by settlers. The whole circumstance – of settlers visiting Joseph’s Tomb – was recently called “absurd” by former IDF Major General Gadi Shamni.

MKs Oppose New Section of Security Wall, Say it Will Divide Settlements from Israel

Israel Hayom reports that the Israeli Defense Ministry is moving towards the start of construction on a very controversial section of the West Bank separation barrier near the Etzion settlement bloc. This particular section has not been built since its initial approval in 2006 because of fierce opposition to the proposed route that, even though the barrier’s route cuts deeply into the West Bank in order to keep the majority of settlements in the Etzion Bloc on the “Israeli side” of the barrier, it leaves a few settlements including Nokdim on the “Palestinian side.”

The IDF said in a statement that the project does not include the construction of concrete walls, but will feature different types of construction that cater to wildlife and the area’s topography – to include “special monitoring technology and sensors.”

Israeli lawmakers reacted negatively to the news of this project, saying that it has the potential to create a “de facto border” between the settlements and Israel proper and that it would turn settlements in the area into enclaves. This opposition is in line with the right wing demands to annex the West Bank to Israel, in which context building a barrier is viewed as conceding land to Palestinians.

For background on the separation barrier, please see B’Tselem’s explainer.

Bonus Reads

“The Settler Terrorists in Palestinian Vineyards” (Amira Hass, Haaretz)
“A precious resource: how Israel uses water to control the West Bank” (The Guardian)
“When Israel’s Highest Court Assaults Human Rights” (Jessica Montell, 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.

May 12, 2023

Israeli Government Funds the De-Facto Annexation of Sebastia Archaeological Site

On May 7, 2023, the Israeli government approved nearly $9 million (NIS 32 million) for a project to develop and “renovate” the archaeological site of Sebastia, located near the Palestinian village of Sebastia, north of Nablus in the heart of the West Bank. The project includes plans to pave a new access road for Israelis to reach the site, which they currently have to access by traveling through the Palestinian village of Sebastia, which will increase and entrench Israeli control not only over the site itself but the surrounding area – effectively weaponizing archaeology as a tool for dispossession.

Emek Shaveh calls this new project “a considerable investment,” saying it “takes Israel’s unilateral actions at heritage sites in the West Bank to a new level.” The investment is in line with the current government’s coalition agreements which include a commitment to invest $40 million into a “National Emergency Plan” under which Israel must take control of heritage sites across the totality of the West Bank, without regard to the Oslo-defined Areas A, B, and C. The Sebastia archaeological site straddles the line designating Areas B and C, with most of the site is in Area C. The Palestinian village of Sebastia – which settlers travel through to reach the site – is in Area B entirely.

Settlers have been openly agitating for Israel to assert control over the archaeological site in Sebastia for years, and the settler Samaria Regional Council organizes regular tours to the site. To secure the settlers’ visits, the IDF shuts down the town of Sebastia, closing Palestinian streets and businesses. As in other cases across the West Bank, settlers allege that Palestinians are damaging the Sebastia site and that the Israeli government needs to intervene. In 2021 amidst intensifying settler efforts related to the site, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry called on UNESCO to “protect all Palestinian archaeological and religious sites from Israeli violations, attacks and falsifications.” The archaeological site of Sebastia is on the tentative list of World Heritage sites in Palestine.

As a reminder: in January 2023 the Israeli government took a decision to transfer the Israeli Antiquities Authority (IAA) from the Ministry of Culture to the Ministry of Heritage, which is now headed by MK Amihai Eliyahu (Jewish Power). The IAA exercises authority over heritage and archaeological sites in Israel, including East Jerusalem, but has increasingly expanded its authorities into Area C of the West Bank, at the expense of the Staff Officer for Archaeology within the Civil Administration, who has historically been in charge. The government also tasked Eliyahu with preparing an emergency plan to “safeguard” antiquity sites in the West Bank specifically. Settlers have spent years alleging that Palestinians and the Palestinian Authority neglect and damage heritage sites, allegations which, turns out, have created a basis for the government to take control over those sites. The government allocated NIS 150 million to the effort.

Emek Shaveh further explains the history and politicization of this archaeological site:

“The battle over Sebastia is also played out in the narratives each side presents to the public. The informational material distributed by the PA does not include an explicit reference to the Kingdom of Israel or to the Hasmonean connection. On the other hand, in recent years the settlers have been rehabilitating the figure of Omri, a King of the Kingdom of Israel, in an effort to imbue Sebastia with greater nationalist significance. Sebastia also holds a special place in recent history for the settlers because it is the place where the leaders of Gush Emunim, the group that first fought for the establishment of settlements in the West Bank in the 1970s, celebrated the government’s agreement to establish the first settlement in the area in 1975.

In tandem with the growing campaign of recent years to apply full Israeli control over Sebastia, larger numbers of Israelis visit the site every week in buses organized by the Samaria Regional Council and accompanied by soldiers.

Sebastia, is a declared national park. National parks and nature reserves in Area C of the West Bank are managed by the Civil Administration and are referred to as “parks”. Their total area spans approximately 500,000 dunams and constitutes roughly 14.5% of Area C. Palestinians’ rights are violated in these territories through various means. In the Ein Prat Nature Reserve, for example, landowners cannot cultivate their land as their access is restricted. In Herodion National Park and Nabi Samuel, residents can neither construct nor renovate their homes.”

Emek Shaveh Warns Israel Is Moving Towards Start of East Jerusalem Cable Car Construction

Emek Shaveh warns that over the past several months a planning committee has approved several contracts that indicate the committee is barrelling towards issuing the long-anticipated (and long-feared) tender for the construction of the East Jerusalem Cable Car project, possibly as soon as next week.

As a reminder, the Jerusalem cable car project is an initiative backed by the powerful, state-backed Elad settler group and advanced by the Israeli Tourism Ministry. While public efforts to “sell” the cable car plan focused on its purported role in helping to grow Jerusalem’s tourism industry or in serving supposedly vital transportation needs, in reality the purpose of the project is to further entrench settler control in Silwan, via archeology and tourism sites, while simultaneously delegitimizing, dispossessing, and erasing the Palestinian presence there. The State of Israel was forced to publicly admit that the implementation of the cable car project will require the confiscation of privately owned Palestinian land in the Silwan neighborhood of East Jerusalem.

Notably, the cable car line is slated to terminate at the settler-run Kedem Center compound (Elad’s large tourism center, currently under construction at the entrance of the Silwan neighborhood, in the shadows of the Old City’s walls and Al-Aqsa Mosque).

The cable car project received final approval in May 2022, but the tender for construction has yet to be issued. Emek Shaveh speculates that the cable car tender might be issued on Jerusalem Day – which will be celebrated with ultranationalist, racist parades through the Old City next week — on May 18th and 19th. Emek Shaveh further warns that several other settler projects in East Jerusalem, including the Ben Hinnom suspension bridge and the zip line over the Peace Forest, are nearing completion and might also be part of Jerusalem Day celebrations.

Emek Shaveh and other non-governmental organizations, including Who Profits and Terrestrial Jerusalem, have repeatedly challenged (and provided evidence discrediting) the government’s contention that the cable car will serve a legitimate transportation need in Jerusalem, and have clearly enumerated the obvious political drivers behind the plan, the archeological heresies it validates, and the severe negative impacts the cable car project will have on Palestinian residents of Silwan. All objections to the plan were dismissed in May 2022.

Supreme Court Dismisses Regavim Effort to Force Immediate Demolition of Khan Al Ahmar

On May 7th, the Israeli High Court dismissed a new petition submitted by the Regavim settler organization (which Bezalel Smotrich, a top official in the current government, co-founded) seeking to force the government to immediately demolish the Khan Al Ahmar bedouin community. The Court granted the government yet another delay in demolitioning the village, saying that the delay was granted due to “diplomatic and security matters of the highest level.” In requesting this most recent delay, the Israeli government reassured the Court that it fully intends to demolish Khan Al Ahmar in the future and is in “negotiations” with its residents regarding their forcible removal.

In response, Regavim called the current government a “disgrace.”

Bezalel Smotrich, who serves as both the Finance Minister and a minister in the Defense Ministry with broad, unchecked authorities over civil affairs in the West Bank, made a remarkable statement, saying the quiet part out loud:

“Khan al-Ahmar will be evicted not because its illegal. (But because)it sits in a strategic area…this is the area that will determine if God forbid there will be an Arab territorial continuum”

While the Israeli government has taken a cautious approach to demolishing Khan Al-Ahmar – largely in consideration of international pressure – the government showed no restraint in demolishing an EU-funded school near Bethlehem. The school served 60 Palestinian children.

Regavim is also behind this demolition, which was carried out by the government in defiance of a request from the EU to not do so. In a statement, the EU said that demolitions like this are:

“illegal under international law, and children’s right to education must be respected. The EU calls on Israel to halt all demolitions and evictions, which will only increase the suffering of the Palestinian population and risk inflaming tensions on the ground.”

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 5, 2023

Planning Initiated for New East Jerusalem Settlement Enclave, Kidmat Zion

Ir Amim reports that on April 27th a new plan was submitted to the Jerusalem District Planning Committee outlining the construction of a new settlement in East Jerusalem, between the Ras al-Amud neighborhood and the Israeli separation barrier, with the Abu Dis neighborhood on the other side of the wall. This new enclave – dubbed Kidmat Zion – is slated to have 384 settlement units built on a strip of land surrounded by Palestinian neighborhoods and only accessible by driving through the densely populated areas of Ras Al-Amud.

The plan is being promoted by an affiliate of the Ateret Cohanim settler group – Bahorim Company – which filed documents with the planning committee that show it (Bahorim) only owns 10% of the land the new plan seeks to build on. The land is unregistered, but Bahorim submitted a table of ownership purporting to show that dozens of plots were owned by Jews prior to 1948, still other plots are owned by settler affiliated groups including one run by U.S. millionaire and settlement financier Irving Moskowitz, and 1 or 2 plots are owned by Palestinians. Part of the land is owned by the Israeli Custodian General, and though it is unknown whether or not the Israeli government is involved in the promotion of this plan Ir Amim speculates:

“Although this does not appear in the documents published thus far, it is possible that the General Custodian is involved in the plan’s preparation, which could explain how Bahorim Ltd. has submitted a plan while only allegedly owning 10% of the area. Last year, the General Custodian covertly transferred into its management 12 dunams of land near the area designated for the new settlement and subsequently completed land registration of the property. The assumption is that the General Custodian likely intends to advance another settlement plan on these respective dunams of land. It should be noted that the General Custodian has become one of the leading state institutions who works in close cooperation with settler groups to expand Jewish settlement in East Jerusalem.”

May 8 Hearing Set to Advance Plan Massively Expanding Nof Zion Settlement Enclave

Ir Amim reports that on May 8th the Jerusalem District Planning Committee is scheduled to take up a plan to massively expand the Nof Zion settlement enclave located in the middle of the Palestinian East Jerusalem neighborhood of Jabal Mukaber. The Committee is set to hold its second discussion to decide whether to submit the plan for public objection; it’s first discussion in March 2023 resulted in the committee sending the plan back to its initiators for a few minor revisions.

The plan – called “Nof Zahav” – would allow for 100 new residential units and 550 hotel rooms in the settlement enclave, which currently consists of 95 units, plus another 200 under construction. In order to provide sufficient land for this expansion, the Jerusalem Planning Committee is simultaneously advancing another plan to relocate an Israeli police station [the Oz station], currently located on the border of Jabal Mukaber, to a new site across the street. This will leave its original location free for the planned expansion of Nof Zion, while the new site will become a massive new Israeli security headquarters. Ir Amim filed a petition against the police station plan, arguing that it is an affront to the planning needs of the local community and that it represents a continuation of Israel’s systematic, city-wide discrimination against the housing, educational, and service-based needs of Palestinian neighborhoods.

Israel Announces Start of Construction of the “Sovereignty Road,” Which Enables E-1 Construction & Annexation of Area C

Peace Now reports that the Israeli Civil Administration has announced that it will begin preparatory work for the so-called “Sovereignty Road” in early May. Terrestrial Jerusalem further reports that In recent days, Israeli authorities have: issued notices to Palestinian landowners whose land will be seized for construction of the road, began testing borings where the road will be paved, and allocated millions of shekels to fund components of the road. If built, the “Sovereignty Road” will seal and divert Palestinian traffic around the area where Israel intends to build the E-1 settlement just east of Jerusalem. [map]

The road was dubbed as the “sovereignty road” by Naftali Bennett, in light of Bennett’s argument that the Palestinian-only, Israeli-controlled road answers key international criticism over the ramifications of the construction of the E-1 settlement. For decades, construction of the E-1 settlement – which is scheduled for its final discussion on June 12th – has been adamantly opposed by the international community because, in part, it would effectively cut the West Bank in half – preventing any two-state solution. The new road has long been Israel’s answer to that criticism, with Israel arguing that it will replace territorial contiguity with limited “transportational continuity” – via a sealed road that is under Israel’s total control.

However, in order to plan for the road, Israel has had to make more than a few exceptions to its own planning laws (suggesting again that for Israel, “rule by law” rather than “rule of law” is the prevailing paradigm). Peace Now explains:

“Officially, the planned road is defined as a ‘security road’. The excuse for its construction is the intention to build the separation barrier around the Ma’ale Adumim settlement bloc, which is defined as a security need. As a derivative of this, there is a need to build a road that will allow the continuation of the ‘abric of life’ of the Palestinians travelling from north to south of the West Bank. Furthermore, by being defined as a security road, it is not brought for planning approval in the Higher Planning Council of the Civil Administration. Subsequently, the public is not given the opportunity to object to it, as in a formal planning process. Seemingly, this is because the State of Israel has no official authority to plan this road as significant parts of it pass through Area B (see map). According to the 1995 Interim Agreement with the Palestinians, planning authority in it is given only to the Palestinian Authority. To bypass this, the Ministry of Defense chose to define the road as a security road. The lands taken for its construction do not go through a process of seizure for public purposes, but rather a process of military seizure, and therefore the planning process is done behind closed doors.”

Terrestrial Jerusalem explains the significance of this road:

“this [road] is the last link in the creation of an ‘Israel-only’ national road grid in Area C, located to the East of East Jerusalem. The completion of this road will be a quantum leap towards de facto annexation of a large portion of Area C. Dovetailed with E-1, and the demolition of Khan al Ahmar, which are intimately-linked to the road project, would further solidify the irrefutable reality of de facto annexation.”

IDF Created Unit Specifically for Radical, Violent “Hilltop Youth” Settlers to Terrorize

An investigation by +972 Magazine and Local Call has revealed that two years ago the IDF created a special unit – “Desert Frontier” – composed mostly of settlers from the Hilltop Youth movement who are known to the army to be violent. The unit is based in the West Bank, operating now almost entirely in the Jordan Valley, and its soldiers police the area to assert Israeli control and presence, protecting settlers and outposts while harassing Palestinians and clearing them out of Israeli declared firing zones. +972 obtained testimony of at least 12 incidents in which the “Desert Frontier” perpetrated terrible interrogations and beatings of Palestinians – often driving their victims to remote areas in the desert and leaving them there without a phone or keys, sometimes blindfolded and handcuffed.

According to a security official who spoke to +972 on the basis of anonymity said that the idea behind the unit was/is to rehabilitate hilltop youth members, who are not only notoriously and violently anti-Palestinian, but who also regularly challenge the Israeli government’s authority. The source said the unit “consists mainly of hilltop youth … the extreme of the extreme, who otherwise would not have enlisted.”

Two Major New Reports: Amnesty on Surveillance and B’Tselem on Water

In case you missed it, two new reports have been released this week that are worth reading for those tracking settlements and annexation.

Amnesty International released “Automated Apartheid: How facial recognition fragments, segregates and controls Palestinians in the OPT”, revealing new information about Israel’s use of technology to enforce apartheid rule in the OPT. The publication of the report was covered by The New York Times.

B’Tselem released “Parched: Israel’s Policy of Water Deprivation in the West Bank.” The report details how Israel uses water rights and planning to strengthen its control over the West Bank and advance the apartheid regime’s principles: reinforcing and entrenching Jewish supremacy in the entire area between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.

Bonus Reads

“Recent Developments in the Situation of Palestinian and Israeli Human Rights Defenders – April 2023” (Human Rights Defenders Fund)
“Israelis Settlers Suspected of Assaulting Two Palestinian Men in West Bank” (Haaretz)
“Legalizing the Younger Settlement Enterprise (Hanan Greenwood / Israel Hayom)
“Israel Razed the Last Orchard in Silwan in Search of Siloam Pool. It Still Can’t Be Found”
“Netanyahu Meets with Settler Leaders” (Arutz Sheva)

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 28, 2023

Israel Introduces Second Plan to Expand Givat Hamatos Settlement in East Jerusalem
State Tells Supreme Court: Timeline for Khan Al-Ahmar Demolition Should be Decided by Government
Israeli Ministers & Settlers Celebrate Israel’s 75th by Storming Homesh Outpost
Israeli Transportation Ministry Requests $960 Million for West Bank Projects
Bonus Reads

Israel Established a New Settlement – Secretly – North of Ramallah

Map by Peace Now

Peace Now reports that the Civil Administration’s High Planning Committee secretly approved a plan to, in effect, establish a brand new settlement. The plan, which is framed as a new “neighborhood” of the settlement of Talmon, located northwest of Ramallah, allows for 189 settlement units to be built in an illegal outpost called “Zayit Raanan.” In reality, the site of the new “neighborhood” – on land designated by Israel as “state land” – is closer to the Palestinian villages of Beitillu and Deir Ammar than to the Talmon settlement, and the area between the outpost (now a de facto new settlement) and Talmon is crowded with three other settler outposts that were built illegally but later granted retroactive legalization by the Israeli government, also under the guise of “neighborhoods” of Talmon.

This new settlement is just one piece of a much larger story – – the story of how the Israeli government has established settlements and outposts as a means of expanding its control of land in a critical area of the West Bank, where there are many Palestinian population centers. Peace Now explains:

“From a political perspective, the establishment of the settlement of Zayit Raanan is part of a plan to create a ‘settlement bloc’, in an area adjacent to Ramallah from the west, with the aim of impeding the expansion of the Palestinian city and other Palestinian villages and towns around the area. Virtually, the bloc creates Palestinian enclaves surrounded by settlements from almost every direction, which negatively impacts Palestinian development and access to their lands. Another goal is to create a ‘finger’ of settlements from Modi’in Illit settlement, through the Nili settlements, all the way to the depth of the West Bank. The settlement bloc is composed of the settlements of Talmon, Dolev, and Nahliel, as well as numerous outposts, many of which have been legalized or are in the process of legalization (Harasha, Horesh Yaron, Kerem Re’im, Neriya), and through the seizure of additional lands along various roads, including agricultural farms (Eretz Zvi, Sde Ephraim), and tourist sites (Nabi Aner). The establishment of Zayit Raanan as an independent settlement adds to these efforts.”

State Tells Supreme Court: Timeline for Khan Al-Ahmar Demolition Should be Decided by Government

On April 24th, the Israeli government submitted its latest filing with the Supreme Court, seeking to again delay the court-ordered demolition of the Khan Al-Ahmar bedouin village on the outskirts of Jerusalem. In its filing, which was filed a day late because of internal dissent within the Israeli Security Cabinet, for the first time the State asked the Court not only to delay the forcible removal of Khan al-Ahmar but for the Court to withdraw its underlying order, arguing that the State should be able to decide when to carry out the demolition in light of “diplomatic and security” concerns (all the while affirming its commitment to the forcible dispossession of the bedouins who live there currently, which will be a war crime).

The filing submitted on April 24th also informed the Court that the State is conducting “negotiations” with the residents of Khan Al-Ahmar in an attempt to convince them to leave the area without force. The filing mentions that one possible plan was agreed to in 2022 (under the Bennett government), but shelved by the government when it was leaked to the public. Reports from 2022 suggested that the government’s plan was to relocate the Khan Al-Ahmar community to lands some 300 meters from where it currently stands.

The filing to the court was due on April 23rd, but Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich caused a crisis, accusing Prime Minister Netanyahu of violating his coalition agreements by delaying the demolition of Khan Al-Ahmar, and saying that the government’s brief did not reflect his (Smotrich’s) policy and should not be submitted. Smotrich was reportedly not involved in drafting the brief, even though he has broad authority over construction matters in Area C of the West Bank, where Khan al Ahmar is located. It’s worth recalling that Smotrich is the former head of the right-wing organization Regavim. Regavim, it should be recalled, is the right-wing organization behind the underlying 2009 petition to force the government to destroy the village, based on the argument that the community lacks the required Israeli building permits (permits that are nearly impossible to receive from Israel).

Haaretz (very) recently published an article exploring the reach of Regavim and its principles, calling it “an organization waging total war on Palestinian construction.” The article lays out the breadth of Regavim’s political agenda – from demolitioning Khan Al-Ahmar to obstructing the recognition of Bedouin villages in the Negev, and issuing a blanket denial to any new Palestinian construction in Area C – and highlights how today key former Regavim officials have obtained top government positions overseeing official Israeli policy on the very issues on which Regavim works.

Israeli Ministers & Settlers Celebrate Israel’s 75th by Storming Homesh Outpost

On Israeli Independence Day (April 26th), hundreds of Israelis illegally entered the area where the Homesh settlement once stood, continuing their demand for the government to reestablish the settlement. Finance Minister and head of the Defense Ministry’s new Settlements Administration Bezalel Smotrich (effectively the sovereign authority in the West Bank), was in attendance.

At the event, Smotrich said:

“Just recently we passed the cancellation of the Disengagement Law…and now we are promoting the recognition of young settlements…We will continue to promote settlement in the coming years more vigorously.”

Israeli Transportation Ministry Requests $960 Million for West Bank Projects

JNS reports that the Israeli Ministry of Transport and Road Safety recently submitted a budget request in which $960 million is earmarked over 5 years for transportation projects in the West Bank – nearly 25% of the total Ministry’s total budget request. Over half of the total funds ($547 million) are for its project to widen Route 60, the main north-south highway in the West Bank.

Other projects specified in the budget include $55 million for a new bypass road for settlers that will circumvent the Palestinian village of Al Funduq; a $100 million to widen the access road leading to the Beit El settlement; and, $137 million to widen and expand the highway connecting the Ariel settlement to the Tapuah Junction. For a more detailed analysis of the roads budget, see this detailed analysis from Yehuda Shaul.

In a deeply researched report on how Israelis uses infrastructure projects (like roads) as a means for settlement expansion and annexation, Breaking the Silence explains:

“While Israeli authorities justify many of the projects…by claiming that they serve both the settler and the Palestinian populations in the West Bank, it is important to note that these roads are designed with Israeli, not Palestinian, interests in mind. Many of the roads that are technically open to Palestinian traffic are not intended to lead to locations that are useful to Palestinians. Instead, these roads are primarily designed to connect settlements to Israel proper (and thus employment and other services) via lateral roads, rather than to connect Palestinian communities to one another. Further, roads intended to connect Israeli settlements to Jerusalem (many of which are currently under construction) do not serve West Bank Palestinians outside of Jerusalem, as they are not allowed to enter Jerusalem without a permit. In addition, an extensive system of checkpoints and roadblocks allows Israel to control access to bypass roads and the main West Bank highways, and it can restrict Palestinian access when it so chooses.

This prejudice against Palestinian development is even starker when one considers that, according to an official Israeli projection, the expected Palestinian population in the West Bank (excluding East Jerusalem) in 2040 is 4,600,000 individuals. Even if the vision of settler leaders to arrive at 1,000,000 settlers is realized by 2040, the Palestinian population would still be four times the size of the settler one. Despite this discrepancy, priority is still given to settler infrastructure development.

West Bank road and transportation development creates facts on the ground that constitute a significant entrenchment of the de facto annexation already taking place in the West Bank and will enable massive settlement growth in the years to come. By strengthening Israel’s hold on West Bank territory, aiding settlement growth, and fragmenting Palestinian land, this infrastructure growth poses a significant barrier to ending the occupation and achieving an equitable and peaceful solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”

Bonus Reads

“Israelis Use Palestinian Land Near the Separation Barrier as a Cattle Pasture” (Haaretz)
“After Settler Attacks, a Palestinian Town Fears for Its Survival” (New York Times)
“Religious, settler groups lead charge on Thursday’s pro-overhaul ‘Million March’” (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.

April 20, 2023

Israel Introduces Second Plan to Expand Givat Hamatos Settlement in East Jerusalem
After 15 Yrs of Work, Jerusalem Govt Withdraws Support for Private Plan to Build First new Palestinian Neighborhood in East Jerusalem since 1967
Following Repeal of Disengagement Law, Israel Dismisses Cases Against Settlers Who Violated It
On the Potential for Mass Expulsion of Palestinians via West Bank Land Registration
Bonus Reads

Israel Introduces Second Plan to Expand Givat Hamatos Settlement in East Jerusalem

Ir Amim reports the Jerusalem Municipality recently initiated a new plan – called “Tzmerot” – to massively expand the current construction outline for the Givat Hamatos settlement in East Jerusalem. The new plan would add an additional 1,200 units to the existing plan, bringing the total number of settlement units to be built in Givat Hamatos to 3,810 (assuming, conservatively, an average family size of 5, this means housing for an additional nearly 20,000 Israelis). Israel issued tenders for more than 2,000 units in Givat Hamatos in January 2021, just before Trump left the U.S. presidency, and preparations for construction have started (actual construction has not).

This is the second plan the Israeli government has initiated so far this year to significantly expand the plan for Givat Hamatos. The first – known as the “East Talpiyot Hill” plan – was introduced in January 2023 and provides for the construction of 3500 units and 1300 hotel rooms on a strip of land adjacent to the land alloted to Givat Hamatos.

Collectively, the East Talpiyot Hill plan would increase the size of Givat Hamatos by 40%, expanding it eastward and connecting it with another new settlement plan – the “Lower Aqueduct Plan.”

Taken together — this latest Givat Hamatos expansion plan (Tzmerot), combined with the the East Talpiyot Hill plan, the Lower Aqueduct Plan, and the plan for a new settlement known as “Givat HaShaked” to the north of Givat Hamatos — these plans ultimately would create an unbroken string of settlements spanning from Gilo to Har Homa, in the process completely encircling the East Jerusalem Palestinian neighborhood of Beit Safafa with Israeli settlement construction. For this reason, Givat Hamatos has long been regarded as a doomsday settlement for parties interested in a negotiated two-state solution.

Ir Amim explains:

“The Tzmerot plan calls for four high-rise apartment buildings – two of which will include 12 floors, while the other two will include 42 and 35 floors. This stands in stark contrast to the surrounding Palestinian neighborhoods which face strict building restrictions, including those that preclude the construction of residential buildings beyond four-six levels. The municipality’s willingness to expand building rights for residential development when it is Israeli construction further exemplifies the extent of planning and housing discrimination in Jerusalem.

The initiative for the new plan came as part of an agreement between the Jerusalem municipality and Shikun & Binui against the backdrop of a conflict concerning the company’s construction rights in a West Jerusalem neighborhood known as Kiryat HaYovel. Residents of the neighborhood strongly opposed the planned construction, compelling the municipality to intervene. According to the agreement, Shikun & Binui will give up construction in Kiryat HaYovel in exchange for receiving increased construction rights for residential development beyond the Green Line in Givat Hamatos.”

After 15 Yrs of Work, Jerusalem Govt Withdraws Support for Private Plan to Build First New Palestinian Neighborhood in East Jerusalem since 1967

Haaretz reports that the Jerusalem Municipality has retracted its support for a private, Palestinian-led project to build a new neighborhood in East Jerusalem, after signaling its support for the plan for the past 15 years. The project would have been the first new neighborhood developed specifically for Palestinians since Israel annexed East Jerusalem in 1967 (reminder: during the nearly 56 years since it gained control over East Jerusalem, Israel has undertaken massive, government-backed construction of new neighborhoods, aka settlements, throughout East Jerusalem). Sources told Haaretz that Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Leon withdrew his support out of concern that approval of the project could become a political liability for him in local elections to be held later this year.

Ir Amim comments:

“While the Israeli authorities continue to deplete all vacant land in East Jerusalem to promote new Israeli settlements, they refrain from initiating residential projects for Palestinian areas and effectively obstruct the advancement of Palestinian-initiated plans. One recent example is the municipality’s withdrawal of support for the first planned new Palestinian neighborhood since 1967 in an area known as Tel Adsa, adjacent to Beit Hanina along the northern perimeter of East Jerusalem. Initiated by private Palestinian landowners from Beit Hanina, the plan had originally received support from the municipality. After enormous funds had been invested in the plan’s preparation, when the time came for discussion of the plan’s approval, the municipality withdrew their backing, citing claims that the plan did not comply with new planning policy for open spaces.

Yet, such claims contradict the fact that a myriad of similar plans are being promoted for Israeli settlements in such spaces. Not only does this reveal the baseless nature of the claims, but also underscores the rampant planning and housing discrimination leveled against Palestinians in Jerusalem.

Despite Palestinians constituting nearly 40% of the city’s population, not one new neighborhood has been approved or constructed for Palestinians since 1967, while existing Palestinian neighborhoods face major building restrictions. Such a reality serves as a major impediment for Palestinians to remain in the city, which ultimately becomes a mechanism of forced displacement. These policies and practices enable Israel to seize more land in East Jerusalem while also acting as form of population control in service to Israel’s longstanding territorial and demographic goals. Such measures deprive Palestinians of basic rights to housing and shelter and constitute a severe violation of International Law while undermining any potential for an agreed political future.

The Israeli government must be held accountable to afford equal rights to all populations in Jerusalem.”

Following Repeal of Disengagement Law, Israel Dismisses Cases Against Settlers Who Violated It

The Petah Tikva Magistrates Court has tossed out several indictments of settlers who illegally entered the site of the former Homesh settlement and illegally established a yeshiva there. The settlers were banned from entering the area as part of the 2005 Disengagement Law, which among other things legislated the evacuation of four settlements in the northern West Bank and banned Israelis from entering the area. The Israeli Knesset recently repealed the clauses in the Disengagement Law relating to those four settlements, effectively ending the ban on Israeli entry to the area, and providing a pretext for the Court to drop the cases (notwithstanding the fact that the settlers’ actions brazenly violated the law at the time).

Yesh Din – an Israeli organizations which has fought for years to have the illegal outpost known to settlers as the Homesh yeshiva removed and for the land to be returned to its Palestinian owners – responded that the dismissal of these criminal cases:

“[sends] a clear message that the State of Israel encourages stealing from and banishing Palestinians.”

As a reminder, the Homesh settlement was built almost entirely on land that belongs to (and is recognized by Israel as registered as belonging to) Palestinian owners. Yet, after the Homesh settlement was dismantled in 2005, control over the land was never returned to its owners. The area was instead declared by the Israeli army to be a closed military zone, with Palestinains, including the owners of the land, barred from access. The Palestinians owners have been fighting for the right to access their own land since 2009, with no success. At the same time, the Israeli army allowed Jewish Israeli settlers to access the area regularly, and even permitted the settlers to illegally (under Israeli law) establish a religious school and settlement outpost at the site. Rather than enforce Israel’s own laws against the settlers, the current Israeli government has agreed to grant retroactive approval to the settlers’ illegal presence, the first step towards doing so being the aforementioned repeal of clauses in the Disengagement Law that make any Israeli presence there illegal. As Yesh Din has noted, repealing the West Bank-related clauses in the Disengagement Law does not change the legal status of the land, which Israel has recognized as privately owned by Palestinians. This means, according to Yesh Din, that Israel still has “no legal option for legalizing the [Homesh] outpost.” Based on the commitments made by this new government, it seems probable that this legal “problem” will be just one more challenge to be overcome.

Shmuel Wendy, a settler who participated in establishing the illegal yeshiva at Homesh, told the Times of Israel:

“Along with our happiness over the cancellation of the Disengagement Law, we still expect the yeshiva to soon be approved.”

On the Potential for Mass Expulsion of Palestinians via West Bank Land Registration

Writing in Jewish Currents, FMEP non-resident fellow Peter Beinart argues (agreeing with decades of Palestinian warnings) that the mass expulsion of Palestinians by Israel – a second Nakba – is not a far-fetched worry but an idea with deep roots and currency amongst Israeli lawmakers. Beinart posits that, “It’s impossible to know how mass expulsion might occur. But one clue lies in the coalition agreements that lay out the current government’s agenda. The agreements call on the government to launch a process of land registration in the West Bank.”

In the West Bank, successive Israeli governments have already laid the groundwork for re-starting the process of land registration with the urging and fervent backing of settlers who see the process as a massive opportunity for the state to declare more land to be “state land” and take control over it. Only one-third of West Bank land was registered and titled (under the British Mandatory government and then continued by Jordan) when Israel seized control of the West Bank and froze land registration proceedings.

Some key pieces of that groundwork that have already been laid – not only to restart the land registration process but to utilize it as a means for the seizure of massive amounts of West Bank land – include:

In September 2021, the Jewish National Fund (JNF) announced that it had approved funds for an effort to systematically register West Bank lands that it claims to have purchased from the Israeli Custodian General. Ir Amim warned that the JNF’s land registration effort could result in land takeover of an “alarming magnitude.” As a reminder, the JNF, established in 1901, devoted itself to buying land for Jews. Today, the JNF owns about 15% of all the land inside the Green Line (a figure which stands to increase if the review process leads to more properties being registered to the JNF). In addition, the JNF has used two subsidiary companies – both called Himanuta – to purchase land in the West Bank, even though the stated JNF policy did not support such purchases. Peace Now reports that the JNF, via Himanuta, has already purchased over 16,000 acres (65,000 dunams) across the West Bank.
In December 2020, the Israeli High Court of Justice issued a ruling in favor of the Kochav Yaakov settlement, signaling the Court’s willingness to sidestep Ottoman and Jordanian land registration practices when deciding land ownership claims (which since 1967 Israel has recognized as applicable in the West Bank and East Jerusalem). The Court appeared to accept the settlers’ argument that the Court should care about what has happened on the land since the Jordanian land registration process was frozen, not about what existed at the moment the law was frozen. This argument, by design, favors the settlements and the settlers, who since 1967 have been able – with the backing of the state and the permission of the Courts – to illegally establish settlements and outposts while also preventing Palestinians from accessing their land.
In November 2020, the Israeli Attorney General offered support to a recommendation by COGAT to re-start land registration across the West Bank, a recommendation which was the result of a campaign by the far right-wing Israeli NGO known as Regavim (which today has deep ties in the current government) to push the government to seize more land in the West Bank via declarations of state land.
In August 2020 the Israeli State Comptroller issued a report that criticized the Defense Ministry for having an incomplete land registry of the West Bank.

By contrast, in East Jerusalem (which Israel annexed in 1967) the Israeli government announced its intention to start land registration in 2018 and to complete the process by 2025 (which the government framed as an effort to “Reduce Socio-Economic Gaps and Advance Economic Development in East Jerusalem”). Since then, the government has carried out land registration mostly in secret and for the exclusive benefit of settlers, including in Abu Dis, Sheikh Jarrah, near Al-Aqsa, and possibly with regard to the Sharafat neighborhood and the Givat HaShaked settlement.

The 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 since East Jerusalem was annexed by Israel in 1967. Palestinians who wanted/needed to prove their land ownership were forced to rely on the “mukhtar protocol” — a procedure in which Palestinians in East Jerusalem document/prove ownership by collecting signatures from local Palestinian leaders acknowledging that the land in question does, indeed, belong to them. This policy was developed by the Israeli government as an alternative to the formal land-registration process.

In 2019, a mini-saga over the “mukhtar protocol” revealed the uphill battle facing Palestinians if formal registration proceeds. In March 2019, the Jerusalem Planning & Building Committee, at the urging of the Regavim settler group (acting with the clear goal of preventing Palestinian development and undermining Palestinian land ownership claims to land in the city), annulled the mukhtar protocol as a legally acceptable basis for establishing land ownership in the eyes of the Israeli government, putting Palestinian land ownership in East Jerusalem in limbo. The result: having no recognized means to prove their land ownership, Palestinians were prevented from building in East Jerusalem. One month later, the Israeli authorities reversed the decision and again recognized the mukhtar protocol, reportedly following appeals to Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Leon by a city council member. The incident highlights how precarious Palestinian land ownership in East Jerusalem is.

Key resources on land registration (aka “Settlement of Title”) are:

“Settlement of Land Title in East Jerusalem: A Means of Dispossessing Palestinians from their Lands and Homes” (Ir Amim, March 2022)
“Ill Gotten Gains: Theft of Palestinian land – declaring “state land” where settlement of title was halted when Israel occupied the West Bank” (Yesh Din, March 2021)
“A Settler Tool & A Catch-22 for Palestinians: Land Registration in East JerusalemA Settler Tool & A Catch-22 for Palestinians: Land Registration in East Jerusalem” (Podcast w/ Amy Cohen/Ir Amim and Kristin McCarthy/FMEP, September 2022)
“The registration of Palestinian properties is aimed at transferring them to Israeli authorities” (Miftah, October 2021)

Bonus Reads

“How the ‘Poor People of Galicia’ Defeated an Elderly Palestinian Couple” (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 14, 2023

Thousands of Israelis – Including Ministers Smotrich & Ben Gvir – March to West Bank Outpost Site
Somtrich Meets with Settler Leaders to Discuss Security Needs; Settler Calls for Collective Punishment of Palestinians
Bonus Reads

Thousands of Israelis – Including Ministers Smotrich & Ben Gvir – March to West Bank Outpost Site

On April 10th, an estimated 50,000 Israelis were permitted to stage a massive march through a part of the West Bank that is the area of operations of some of the West Bank’s most extreme and violent settlers. At least 20 Israeli lawmakers and seven ministers participated in the march and subsequent rally, including longtime Greater Israeli acolytes Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, who is the de facto sovereign authority in the West Bank.

The march started from the Tapuah Junction (itself located deep inside the West Bank) and ended at the site of the illegal Evyatar outpost in the central West Bank. Organizers said the march was staged in response to the deaths of two British-Israeli sisters killed by a Palestinian gunman on April 9th (the girls’ mother was also wounded in the attack and later died).

As a reminder, Evyatar is an illegal outpost (established by settlers in violation of Israeli law, in addition to international law). 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. Since then, re-establishment/legalization of Evyatar has been a regular demand of settlers and their political backers, and was agreed to in writing as part of the coalition agreements that formed the current Israeli government. This week’s march continued that campaign, with march organizers hosting a carnival-like rally at the Evyatar site and demanding that the government grant the outpost retroactive legalization. Importantly and perhaps tellingly, Haaretz reports that this is the first time settlers have received approval to enter the Evyatar outpost since the aforementioned 2021 agreement. For full background on the Evyatar outpost saga, see previous FMEP reporting here.

While marching, Minister Smotrich told Haaretz:

“We’re building here and financing roads and Infrastructure… God willing, we’ll bring here another half a million Jews on top the half a million that are all ready here.”

Revealingly, when asked why the government had not yet given the Evyatar outpost full authorization, Religious Zionism lawmaker Zvi Sukkot said that is will happen soon, explaining:

“There’s a certain order to these things..We got the responsibility for the Civil Administration only recently…legalizing such an outpost takes time. We’re not afraid of America.”

Ben Gvir said in a speech to the crowd:

“We’re returning home to the Land of Israel and to the Temple Mount and Jerusalem… We legalized nine outposts and god willing we’ll legalize and build more… The answer to terror is to keep on building more.”

The march ended on Mt. Sabih, where the outpost of Evyatar (currently uninhabited by settlers) still stands. Mt. Sabih is land that has historically belonged to the nearby Palestinian villages of Beita, Yatma, and Qablan. Palestinians from the area attempted to protest the march, and in response the IDF used tear gas and rubber coated bullets in order to keep Palestinians away from the thousands of marchers. 216 Palestinians were reportedly wounded as a result of IDF actions, 22 with wounds from rubber-tipped bullets and 2 by tear gas canisters to the head. Clearly identified members of the press were also targeted and injured, with camera capturing an Israeli soldier deliberately throwing a tear gas canister at a journalist. As a reminder: Evyatar became a recurring headline news story mostly as a result of the determined effort by Palestinians from Beita to protest the outpost and to resist the Israeli government’s efforts to retroactively legalize it. Along the way, Beita has seen incredible violence and tragedy in the past two years, as weekly protests near the site of Evyatar outpost have been met with harsh and violent actions by the IDF to quash the protests, resulting in the deaths of at least seven Palestinian protesters.

An entire Israeli army battalion was reassigned from other duties to protect the marchers, despite the fact that many senior security officials were reportedly opposed to the march, in large part because it forced the IDF to divert so many resources at a time when Israeli security forces are dealing with challenges in the West Bank, in East Jerusalem, from Gaza, and from Lebanon (not to mention recent actions against Syria). These concerns notwithstanding, the head of IDF Central Command, Maj. Gen. Yehuda Fuchs, ultimately gave approval for the march to take place.

Steps taken by the IDF to secure the event included closing a number of area roads, including Route 505, which connects the Nablus area to the Jordan Valley. Palestinian schools in the area were also closed and classes were held online (Palestinian schools are often targeted and damaged by settlers). And notably, the route of the march passed alongside the village of Huwara, which was the site of a recent pogrom carried out by settlers.

Somtrich Meets with Settler Leaders to Discuss Security Needs; Settler Calls for Collective Punishment of Palestinians

On April 8th, Bezalel Smotrich – acting in his capacity as a minister within the Defense Ministry with virtually unchecked power over civil affairs in the West Bank – held a meeting with fourteen settler leaders to discuss the security situation in the West Bank. During the meeting, the settler leaders asked Smotrich for the following, to which Smotrich reportedly agreed:

Additional IDF checkpoints throughout the West Bank;
An Israeli-led operation to collect weapons from Palestinians suspected of terrorist affiliations;
Reinforcement of West Bank infrastructure, including investments in building new settlements.

Shlomo Ne’eman, Chairman of the Gush Etzion Regional Council and Head of the Yesha Council, called forthrightly for the “collective punishment” against all Palestinians in the West Bank, saying in a statement following the meeting:

“Our statement is sharp and clear: We will not allow the security of half a million residents of Judea and Samaria to be abandoned to the Oslo Accords, which for a long time have been immaterial. The Arab towns and villages of Judea and Samaria have become the headquarters for the enemy’s offensive operations against the citizens of Israel everywhere in the country, while the residents of Judea and Samaria are situated on the battlefront. We demand that the government provide a plan of action that takes on two angles, being sur mera ve’ase tov – turning away from evil and doing good.

Unwavering actions against the enemy also includes collective punishment and impairment to the Palestinian Authority, which produces terrorism, finances terror, and educates towards terror against development in Judea and Samaria without hesitation.

It is time to pass a government decision in support of building up Judea and Samaria, which means taking substantial steps immediately. The history of our country has proven that the most appropriate Zionist answer is to act harshly against the enemy and continue construction and development in the Jewish communities.

We thank our friend, Minister Smotrich, for convening this discussion and listening to us. The minister has accepted and agreed to our demands and pledges to act with the prime minister and the state security cabinet to realize these demands.

We have told him unequivocally: You are the state leadership; we trust you and will fully support you in every firm action taken. Our heroic residents are prepared to suffer for Israel’s victory against her enemies, but they will not agree to be used as moving targets in the land struggles of the Palestinian Authority.“

Bonus Reads

“Israel’s Ben-Gvir push for a National Guard could give him own militia” (Al-Monitor)

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 7, 2023

In Rare Ruling, Israeli High Court Rejects JNF/Settler Effort to Evict Palestinian Family from their Home in Silwan
Israel Advances Plans for 6,500 New Settlement Units in East Jerusalem
Israel Doubles Funding of Settler Surveillance of Palestinians
Bonus Reads

In Rare Ruling, Israeli High Court Rejects JNF/Settler Effort to Evict Palestinian Family from their Home in Silwan

On April 3rd, a three-judge panel of the Israeli Supreme Court ruled against the Jewish National Fund, which has pursued a 32-year legal battle to evict the Palestinian Sumreen family from their longtime home in the Silwan neighborhood of East Jerusalem. In its ruling the Court criticized the government for declaring the Sumreen home to be absentee property “without any basis in law.” The Court further ruled that the JNF’s subsidiary Himnuta (which was created to take the lead for JNF in litigating aggressive settlement takeover cases like this) must compensate the family with 20,000 shekels ($5,560).

The case to evict the Sumreen family has been viewed as a key test of the State’s use of the Absentee Property Law to seize Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem, with the fate of the Sumreen case likely to set a precedent that could impact the many other ongoing eviction cases brought by settlers against Palestinians in Silwan.

Reacting to the ruling, the Sumreen family lawyer told Haaretz:

“This decision is precedential and just. The Supreme Court brought justice after two proceedings in which [the court] ordered the eviction of several families from their homes. The decision includes criticism of how the authorities behaved on this matter and the declaration of absentee property despite the fact that the owner is a living resident of Jerusalem.”

The Free Jerusalem activist movement said in a statement:

“There are few moments in which we feel like a bit of justice has been done in the reality of the occupation. This is one of those movements. Amal Sumreen and her children have lived in their home in Silwan for decades. For the first time in those decades, Amal will be able to sleep soundly tonight” and vowed to continue working “until this racist law, which allows the seizure of homes, is struck down, until the occupation ends, until there is full equality for all.”

The Sumreen family home is located in the middle of what today has been designated by Israel “the City of David National Park” (the home existed long before that designation). The Israeli government has handed over management of the area to the radical Elad settler organization, which for years has also been pursuing the eviction of Palestinians from the homes in Silwan. For nearly three decades, the Sumreen family has been forced to battle for legal ownership of their home, after the state of Israel, prompted repeatedly by the JNF, declared the home to be “absentee” property”. As a reminder, that law (as summarized by the Israeli legal NGO Adalah),

“Defines persons who were expelled, fled, or who left the country after 29 November 1947, mainly due to the war, as well as their movable and immovable property (mainly land, houses and bank accounts etc.), as ‘absentee’. Property belonging to absentees was placed under the control of the State of Israel with the Custodian for Absentees’ Property. The Absentees’ Property Law was the main legal instrument used by Israel to take possession of the land belonging to the internal and external Palestinian refugees, and Muslim Waqf properties across the state.”

Based on that designation – which was not communicated to the Sumreen family, which of course was not “absentee” but was living in the home – Israeli law permitted the state to take over the rights to the building. The state then sold the rights to the home to the JNF in 1991. The JNF has pursued the eviction of the Sumreen family ever since, with the secret funding/backing of the Elad settler group.

Israeli courts ruled in favor of the Sumreen family’s ownership claims to the home for years. This changed, arguably as a direct result of a deliberate policy (led by then-Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked) to pack the courts with right-wing judges) in September 2019, when the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court tossed out the previous rulings to grant ownership of the family’s home to the JNF — a decision the family immediately appealed to the Jerusalem District Court. Notably: in 2020, the JNF came under considerable international scrutiny for its handling of the Sumreen case, and was pressured to call off its eviction campaign (it did not).

In 2022, the Israeli Attorney General issued a legal opinion supporting the JNF’s legal claim to the home and the eviction of the Sumreens. In his opinion, the Attorney General did not address the broader political context of widespread dispossession of Palestinians in Silwan, or the legally dubious actions on the part of the Elad settler group and the Jewish National Fund in having the property declared to be absentee in order to take control over it. Instead, the Attorney General decided simply that there is no new basis on which to overturn the JNF’s ownership of the home, and therefore the Sumreen family does not have a legal right to reside there.

A full history of the saga involving the Sumreen family – which is similar to dozens of other Palestinian homes in Silwan that were declared Absentee Property in the 1990s – can be found on the Peace Now website here. For more on the collusion of the JNF and the Elad settler group, see reporting by +972 Magazine.

Israel Advances Plans for 6,500 New Settlement Units in East Jerusalem

Ir Amim reports that over the past week various Israeli agencies have advanced plans for a total of 6,500 new settlement units slated for incredibly sensitive areas of East Jerusalem.

On March 29th, the Jerusalem Local Planning Committee took the following actions:

Wadi Joz Business Center (Silicon Wadi) – the Committee discussed and rejected all objections submitted against this plan, recommending the plan for final approval. The “Silicon Wadi” plan seeks to establish a major high-tech hub along the western side of East Jerusalem’s Wadi Joz neighborhood. While touted as a plan that will benefit Palestinians, its implementation will require the eviction of many Palestinian businesses in the area. You can read Ir Amim’s in-depth reporting on the Silicon Wadi project here.
Lower Aqueduct Plan – the Committee discussed and rejected all objections submitted against this plan, recommending the plan for final approval. This plan would see a new settlement of 1,465 units built on a sliver of land located between the controversial settlements of Givat Hamatos and Har Homa – and is intended to connect the two. In so doing, it will establish a huge, uninterrupted continuum of Israeli settlements on the southern rim of Jerusalem, and will destroy Palestinian contiguity between the West Bank and East Jerusalem. For more background on the Lower Aqueduct plan, see resources by: Terrestrial Jerusalem and Ir Amim.
Ramot North A and B – The Committee recommended these two plans, outlining a total of 1,918 units, for deposit for public review. Both plans will expand the existing settlement of Ramot northeastward towards the Palestinian town of Bir Nabala. See more details from Ir Amim here.

On April 3rd, the Jerusalem District Planning Committee was slated to advance the following plans (final confirmation of the committee’s actions has not been reported as of publication on April 6th)

French Hill/Mount Scopus – The committee was slated to possibly review amendments to two plans for a total of 1,539 new settlement units to be built in the area of French Hill and the premises of Hebrew University’s Mount Scopus campus, most of which would be located beyond the Green Line. One of the plans – called the “Bronfman Dormitory Complex” – will encircle a Palestinian residential area on the Mount of Olives.
Givat HaShaked – This plan outlines 700 housing units (in 4 high-rise towers and several six-story buildings), a school, and commercial buildings, all to be built on a highly sensitive and geopolitically critical sliver of land located within the Palestinian neighborhood of Beit Safafa. It was approved for public deposit in September 2022. Ir Amim reports, “although approved for deposit, the plan has not yet been formally deposited for public review. An internal session was scheduled […] to amend the decision on the plan. Although the details regarding this amendment are unknown at present, the assumption is that the modification is a technical issue.” For more information on this new settlement, see previous FMEP reporting.
Pisgat Ze’ev – The committee was slated to possibly review amendments to a plan for 730 new settlement units that would expand the Pisgat Ze’ev settlement eastwards towards the Separation Barrier and the area of the Palestinian town of Hizma, depleting the few remaining open land reserves in the area.
Ramot – A plan for 240 new units in the settlement of Ramot was slated to be reviewed by the committee for the first time.

Israel Doubles Funding of Settler Surveillance of Palestinians

Haaretz reports that the Israeli government budget request includes $11.1 million for a program that organizes and equips settlers to surveil Palestinian construction in the West Bank, doubling the government budget from 2022. Haaretz explains:

“Recent years have seen the formation of ‘land departments’ in West Bank settlements, which track Palestinian construction and cultivation and report such activity to the Civil Administration and the Israeli military. These departments have no enforcement authority, but its inspectors serve as an additional source of pressure on the Civil Administration in Area C…Settlement authorities could use these budgets to hire members of their inspection units, to purchase aerial photos, drones, tablets and vehicles. For larger settlements, the funds could be enough to hire four full-time inspectors and another four part-time ones. In addition, the funds could be used to pay youths doing their national service, and to hold public diplomacy conferences on the matter.”

It’s worth recalling that Bezalel Smotrich – who today is effectively the sovereign power ruling over the West Bank – has previously suggested empowering settlemers, on their own judgment and authority, to demolish Palestinian construction they believe lacks Israeli-required authorizations. As FMEP has repeatedly explained, Israel has long denied Palestinians the ability to build (on land that Israel recognizes they legally own) in Area C, resulting in many Palestinian structures — including homes, schools, and agricultural structures — being built without the required Israeli-issued permits. To fully understand what is happening, see B’Tselem’s excellent explainer.

The program for which the new Israeli government is doubling funding is only one of the ways in which settlers act as a surveillance mechanism of the Israeli state. In November 2020 the Israeli Civil Administration created a hotline for settlers wishing to report their suspicions of “illegal” Palestinian construction in the West Bank (on the Kochav Ya’akov settlement website, the new phone service is called a “snitch line”). In November 2021, Breaking the Silence and the Washington Post revealed that settlers have been helping the IDF build a facial photo database of West Bank Palestinians. The database serves to buttress the facial recognition capabilities of the Israeli army, as part of its pervasive surveillance arsenal, including a growing network of cameras and smartphones.

Bonus Reads

“Mount of Olives becomes latest target in fight for control of Jerusalem” (The Guardian)
“Why the Netanyahu Government’s Disengagement Repeal is so Problematic for the Biden Administration” (Dr. Deborah Shushan, J Street)
“Israeli Settlements in the Ramallah & Al-Bireh Governorate” (PLO NAD)
“Israeli Settlers Descend on West Bank Village of Hawara, Injuring Six Palestinians” (Haaretz)
“As Israel’s Crises Pile Up, a Far-Right Minister Is a Common Thread” (New York Times)
“To Understand the Settler Mindset, Read This Eulogy” (Avi Garfinkel, 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.

March 24, 2023

Israel Reaffirms Commitment to Short Settlement Pause – Then Immediately Violates it, Publishing Tenders for 1,029 New Settlement Units

At a second summit in the last month, Israeli and Palestinian officials signed a second joint communique brokered by Egypt, Jordan, and the United States. In it, the Israeli government once again pledged to pause discussion of new settlement units for four months and postpone the authorization of outposts for six months.

On March 22nd, three days after the second communique was signed, the Israel Land Authority (ILA) published tenders for the construction of 1,029 new settlement units. Those units are as follows:

89 units in the East Jerusalem settlement of Gilo, located in southern Jerusalem between the isolated Palestinian East Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit Safafa and the West Bank city of Bethlehem;
193 units in the Efrat settlement located south of Bethlehem, inside a settlement block that cuts deep into the West Bank. Efrat’s location and the route of the barrier wall around it, have literally severed the route of Highway 60 south of Bethlehem, cutting off Bethlehem and Jerusalem from the southern West Bank. The economic, political, and social impacts of the closure of Highway 60 at the Efrat settlement (there is literally a wall built across the highway) have been severe for the Palestinian population.; and,
747 units in the Beitar Illit settlement, a massive ultra-orthodox settlement located west of Bethlehem.

On the publication of tenders for 1,029 settlement units, Peace Now said:

“This is yet another harmful and unnecessary construction initiative, as part of the messianic coup that is unfolding alongside the regime coup. The most extreme right-wing government in the history of the country is not only trampling on democracy but also on the possibility of a future political agreement, and on our relations with the US and friendly countries. Lies and violations of these commitments are a sure way to turn Israel into an isolated country.”

Further eroding the credibility of Israeli assurances, on the day after the summit concluded – a summit that was called in order to calm tensions that have been mounting across the West Bank and Israel – Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich made an inflammatory speech in France, during which he said:

“There is no such thing as a Palestinian nation. There is no Palestinian history. There is no Palestinian language.”

Smotrich delivered these remarks while standing at a podium bearing the flag of the Jewish Irgun, bearing a map of Israel that includes the West Bank and parts of Jordan. The map – and its meaning – was reaffirmed in Smotrich’s speech in which he reiterated his belief that Israeli Jews have a God-given, exclusive right to the land.

Smotrich has been roundly condemned for his incitement, including by the U.S. State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel, who said:

“The comments, which were delivered at a podium adorned with an inaccurate and provocative map, are offensive, they are deeply concerning, and, candidly, they’re dangerous. The Palestinians have a rich history and culture, and the United States greatly values our partnership with the Palestinian people.”

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said Smotrich’s remarks are: “conclusive evidence of the extremist, racist Zionist ideology that governs the parties of the current Israeli government.”

Knesset Repeals Clauses of 2005 Disengagement Law, Allowing for Reestablishment of Four West Bank Settlements

On March 21st, the Israeli Knesset passed a law repealing parts of the 2005 Disengagement Law (which legislated Israel’s dismantling of all settlements in the Gaza Strip and four settlements in the northern West Bank). The repeal of these clauses enables the reestablishment of all four of the settlements in the northern West Bank that were dismantled by the Israeli government as part of the 2005 Disengagement initiative – Homesh, Sa-Nur, Ganim and Kadim. The bill repealing these clauses in the Disengagement law — an act which sets the stage for efforts to more broadly undo Israel’s 2005 Disengagement — was supported even by members of the Israeli opposition.

With the law amended, the government can now advance its plan to reestablish the Homesh settlement (see FMEP’s previous reporting on the efforts to reestablish Homesh). In the longer term, the repeal of these provisions will undoubtedly give rise to pressure to reestablish the other three dismantled settlements; and in the immediate aftermath of the repeal of these clauses, one right-wing minister in the current government is already raising the demand for Israel to reestablish settlements in the Gaza Strip, and MK Limor Son Har-Melec said shortly after the law was passed:

“We must not rest on our laurels and bask in the euphoria, and we must charge at the next two tasks that lie ahead of us tomorrow: the re-establishment of the four settlements that were evacuated [in the northern West Bank], and return home to the [evacuated Gaza settlement Gush Katif] that … became a nest of terror.”

As a reminder, the Homesh settlement was built almost entirely on land that belongs to (and is recognized by Israel as registered as belonging to Palestinian owners. Yet, after the Homesh settlement was dismantled in 2005, control over the land was never returned to its owners. The area was instead declared by the Israeli army to be a closed military zone, with Palestinains, including the owners of the land, barred from access. The Palestinians owners have been fighting for the right to access their own land since 2009, with no success. At the same time, the Israeli army has allowed Jewish Israeli settlers to access the area regularly, and even permitted the settlers to illegally (under Israeli law) establish a religious school and settlement outpost at the site. Rather than enforce Israel’s own laws against the settlers, the current Israeli government has agreed to grant retroactive approval to the settlers’ illegal presence.

The Times of Israel notes that, even with the new law, the head of the IDF will have to sign a new military order that allows Israelis to enter the area. This will likely not be a problem, given that for years – long before this new law – the IDF has allowed Israelis to access and stay at the site. Moreover, Bezalel Smotrich, who is in effect the ruling sovereign over the West Bank after being handed vast powers within the Defense Ministry, tweeted that the repeal of the 2005 Disengagement Law “advances the regularisation of our presence at Homesh.” Note that “regularization” is a euphemism for retroactive legalization, granting post-facto approval to illegal settlement activity, which has the effect of establishing a new settlement.

Settlers [who are the government] have moved quickly to press for next steps on the retroactive legalization of the Homesh yeshiva. On March 22nd, approximately 150 settlers invaded the site of Homesh and set up camp there.

Finally, the Israeli NGO Yesh Din, which closely documents settler- and settlement-related developments, notes that repealing the West Bank-related clauses in the Disengagement Law does not change the legal status of the land, which Israel has recognized as privately owned by Palestinians. This means, according to Yesh Din, that Israel still has “no legal option for legalizing the [Homesh] outpost.” Based on the commitments made by this new government, it seems probable that this legal “problem” will be just one more challenge to be overcome.

Netanyahu Contradicts Coalition Agreements in Attempt to Pacify International Outcry Over Disengagement Law Repeal

After days of international criticism over the repeal of clauses in the 2005 Disengagement Law, Prime Minister Netanyahu issued a statement saying that the Israeli government has “no intention of establishing new settlements in the area.” Axios reports that the U.S. and several other European nations attempted to persuade Netanyahu to block the bill or postpone the Knesset’s vote, but Netanyahu said it was part of his commitments to his ruling partners.

The United States took a lead role in reprimanding the Israeli government for amending the 2005 Disengagement Law. U.S. criticism included a summons for Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Herzog to attend an impromptu, reportedly tense, meeting with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, as well as a lengthy statement by the U.S. Department of State Spokesperson, Vedant Patel, which ended with the announcement that the U.S. is considering several options in response to Israel’s West Bank policy.

Knesset Initiates Bill for West Bank “Admission Committees”

Mondoweiss reports that on March 20th in a preliminary reading, the Knesset Economic Affairs Committee approved a bill that would allow Israel “admission committees” to be established for areas where settlement expansion is proceeding, including the South Hebron Hills, the Jordan Valley, and the Galilee. These “Admission Committees” are already established in Israel proper, so this new bill will allow extend Israeli domestic law into the West Bank.

Explaining the Admissions Committee law, Adalah writes:

“The Admissions Committees Law legalizes “Admission Committees” that operate in hundreds of small community towns built on state land in the Naqab (Negev) and Galilee. The law gives Admission Committees, bodies that select applicants for housing units and plots of land, almost full discretion to accept or reject individuals from living in these towns. The Committees include a representative from the Jewish Agency or the World Zionist Organization, quasi-governmental entities. The Committees, in practice, filter out Arab Palestinian applicants and others from marginalized groups.

While one of the law’s provisions states a duty to respect the right to equality and prevent discrimination, the law allows these Committees to reject applicants deemed “unsuitable to the social life of the community… or the social and cultural fabric of the town,” thereby legitimizing the exclusion of entire groups. The law also authorizes Admissions Committees to adopt criteria determined by individual community towns themselves based on their “special characteristics”, including those community towns that have defined themselves as having a “Zionist vision”.”

U.S. State Department Issues Its 2022 Human Rights Report

The U.S. Department of State published its annual report on human rights conditions in every country in the world. The publication is always notable because of the ever-evolving treatment of the occupied Palestinian territories, and for the closely scrutinized statements regarding Israel’s treatment of Palestinians living under Israel’s military occupation.

Notable inclusions and omissions include:

1 – The Biden State Department opted to maintain the new 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.

2 – The report acknowledged, but did not take a position on, Israel’s declaration of six Palestinian organizations as terrorist entities. The report says, “Israeli authorities cited laws against terrorism or protecting national security to arrest or punish critics of the government or deter criticism of government policies or officials.” This is notable because the Biden Administration has come under intense pressure to mirror Israel’s terrorist designation of these organizations, but thus far has refrained from doing so. The Biden Administration has also not contradicted or criticized Israel’s declarations, and has instead repeatedly stated that it is investigating the matter and reviewing information on the groups’ alleged ties to terrorism that the Israeli government has presented to the U.S., and has explicitly left the door open for Israel to continue to provide more “evidence” (incentivizing Israel to continue to violate the rights of Palestinian human rights defenders, including by arresting people and in effect threatening to hold them indefinitely without due process unless they confess to crimes or incriminate others — all of which is then offered as new “evidence.”).

3 – In reporting on the killing of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, the report deferred to an Israel account which said that it was a “high possibility” that Abu Akleh – who was wearing a flak jackets that clearly marked her as “press” — was hit by Israeli gunfire “accidentally,” but not deliberately. This narrative is contradicted by Palestinian eyewitness accounts, in addition to forensic scientists’ reconstruction of the events leading up to her death which show conclusively that Abu Akleh was killed by IDF gunfire and that it is improbable in the extreme that the shooting was not deliberate. Notably, the report included mention of Abu Akleh’s death under the “freedom of expression” section, not under the section where extrajudicial killings were covered.

4 – The report, like in years past, does not explicitly criticize settlement construction, which has been shown to be the driving force behind the systematic human rights abuses against Palestinians.

Bonus Reads

“Protection of Civilians Report | 28 February – 13 March 2023” (OCHA)
“This Is the Disturbing Reality of Israeli Land Theft and Right-wing Rule” (Amira Hass, Haaretz)
“Editorial | They Frequented West Bank Hilltops and Interrogation Rooms. Now They Set Police Policy” (Haaretz)
“Ben-Gvir’s Chief of Staff Bosses Police Around Despite Not Being Employed as Civil Servant” (Haaretz)
“Armed settlers break into Palestinian family home under cover of darkness” (+972 Magazine)

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.

March 17, 2023

E-1 Final Hearing Postponed Until June 12
Disengagement Repeal Law Passes First Reading
Israel Delivers Demolition Order on Salem Family Home in Sheikh Jarrah, As International Community Calls on Israel to Stop Displacement
Bonus Reads

E-1 Final Hearing Postponed Until June 12

On March 12th Israeli press reported that the High Planning Council has postponed its final consideration of the E-1 settlement plan. As noted previously in FMEP’s settlement report, a subcommittee of the Higher Planning Council was scheduled to convene to discuss objections to the E-1 settlement plan on March 27th. This discussion is a final step in the approval of the plan. That meeting has now reportedly been postponed until June 12th. This is the fourth time that final consideration of the E-1 plan has been delayed.

The press reports have so far not been confirmed by the Civil Administration, which houses the High Planning Council (under the authority of Finance Minister Smotrich). Notably, none of the most rabidly pro-settlement senior figures in the Israeli government (including Ben Gvir and Smotrich) have commented on these reports, nor has the settler Yesha Council. Previous postponements of the plan were the result of international opposition. As a reminder: the E-1 settlement is slated to be built in the West Bank on land abutting the border of Jerusalem to the northeast, and is considered by the international community to be a “doomsday” settlement, in what its construction would mean for the two-state solution.

Disengagement Repeal Law Passes First Reading

On March 13th, the Knesset approved a first reading of a bill that will repeal clauses of the 2005 Disengagement Law. Repeal of these clauses will pave the way for implementation of the government’s plan to reestablish settlements in the northern West Bank that were dismantled as part of then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s disengagement initiative (including, most notably, the Homesh settlement). The bill must now pass two more readings before becoming law.

Underscoring the current government’s legislative style, the Knesset drafted and voted on the bill without receiving formal opinions on its substance and impact from the Israeli National Security Council, the Israel Defense Forces, the Foreign Ministry, or the Shin Bet. The Knesset is under pressure to pass this legislation quickly due to a court-ordered deadline for the government to explain to the Court why the illegal outpost established by settlers at the site of dismantled Homesh settlement has not yet been demolished and the land returned to its Palestinian owners. Once this law is passed, the government can (ostensibly) tell the Court that it intends to grant retroactive legalization to the Homesh outpost. Legalization of this outpost was explicitly agreed to in the coalition deals which formed the current Israeli government.

As a reminder, for nearly three years Israel has put off responding to a 2019 legal petition filed by Yesh Din, seeking the removal of the illegal outpost (including a yeshiva) at the Homesh site, as well as the site’s return to its Palestinian landowners. Despite Homesh being dismantled in 2005, Israel has never permitted Palestinians to regain access to or control of the land, instead declaring the site a closed military zone. That status has enabled the IDF to prevent Palestinians from entering the area, even as IDF soldiers have routinely permitted settlers not only to access the site, but to set up residence there (illegally, under Israeli law), and to illegally establish a yeshiva there. That yeshiva, according to the Israeli NGO Kerem Navot, has become one of the West Bank’s “hardcore centers of settler terror”. Settlers associated with the outpost have also reportedly wreaked terror on nearby Palestinian villages, most notably Burqa and Sebastia. One Israeli politician even went so far as to say that settlers at one point were “carrying out a pogrom” in Burqa.

After the disengagement repeal bill was approved in its first reading, MK Merav Michaeli (Labor) told Army Radio that the bill:

“gives the crazy settlers permission to do whatever they want in Judea and Samaria, and to hell with Israel’s security.”

The bill will repeal clauses from the 2005 Disengagement Law that prohibit Israeli entry into the area of four former settlements (Homesh, Ganim, Kadim, and Sa-Nur) in the northern West Bank, in effect bringing the status of those sites in line with the rest of Area C. Many lawmakers were pushing for the bill to also include articles that would give outright permission for the reestablishment of Israeli settlement in these areas – articles to permit Israelis to buy and own property/real estate there – but the final text did not include those articles. The law also does not apply any changes to the Gaza Strip.

Israel Delivers Demolition Order on Salem Family Home in Sheikh Jarrah, As International Community Calls on Israel to Stop Displacement

On March 13th, Israeli authorities posted a demolition order on the home of Hajja Fatima Salem in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem. One day later, on March 14th, twelve European governments issued a joint statement calling on Israel to reverse its decisions on eviction cases threatening the mass displacement of Palestinians from East Jerusalem, with six families under imminent threat.

A little over a year ago – in February 2022 – the Jerusalem Magistrate Court froze the impending eviction of the Salem family (which had been initiated in 1988) based on the family paying the court a $7,700 “guarantee”. The case has not evolved since; however, around that same time the Israeli government seized a piece of the Salem property, located adjacent to the home that is now under demolition threat. Itamar Ben Gvir (who is now serving as the National Security Minister, with authority over demolitions in East Jerusalem) subsequently set up a tent on that seized property and called it his parliamentary office – a deliberate provocation.

The state violence doesn’t stop there, the men behind the years-long effort to evict the Salem family are Yonaten Yousef, a Jerusalem city councilmember, and former deputy mayor of Jerusalem Aryeh King. Yousef and King claim to have bought the house from the Jewish family that owned it before 1948 — based on an Israeli law known as the Legal and Administrative Matters Law of 1970. This law provides Jewish Israelis the right to “reclaim” properties lost in the 1948 War. In contrast, under Israeli law the Salem family lacks any legal basis to claim both its home in Sheikh Jarrah – where the family has lived since being displaced from their home inside the Green Line during the 1948 War – or to their original home inside Israel, which they lost in the 1948 War (Israel law recognizes no such property claims by Palestinians who fled or were otherwise absent from the areas that became Israel in the course of that war)/.

Bonus Reads

“Bezalel Somtrich’s West Bank Takeover is What Annexation Looks Like” (Dr. Debra Sushan, J Street)
“The Rapid and Predictable Rise of Israeli Settler Violence Against Palestinians” (Yara Asi, Arab Center DC)
“From Huwara to Jerusalem and Washington” (Terrestrial Jerusalem podcast)
“Measures which will Determine Calm or Escalation during Ramadan” (Ir Amim)
“Sameh Aqtash Was an Aid Worker Who Had Settler Friends. It Didn’t Save Him From the Pogrom” (Haaretz)
“Enforcing Apartheid in the West Bank” (Tareq Baconi, NY Book Review)

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.

March 3, 2023

Israel’s Makes Clear No Concessions Were Made in Aqaba Agreement, Settlements & Annexation Will Proceed
Settlers Invade Evyatar Outpost Site as Calls for Legalization Grow
Israel Advances Massive Expansion of Nof Zion Settlement Enclave in East Jerusalem
Settlers Terrorize Huwara with IDF Assistance & Political Support
Israeli Comptroller Wants Israel to Finish the Wall, Fortify Settlement Industrial Zones
Bonus Reads

Israel’s Makes Clear No Concessions Were Made in Aqaba Agreement, Settlements & Annexation Will Proceed

On February 26th, the United States, Jordan, Egypt, the Palestinian Authority and Israel released a joint statement in which Israel agreed it will not “discuss new settlement construction plans for four months and will not authorize any new outposts for six months.”

To be clear, this statement is first and foremost a concession by the US, the PA, Egypt, and Jordan – in that it implicitly agrees that Israel may go ahead, after four months, with discussing new settlement construction plans, and after six months with authorizing any new outposts.

And equally clear: the “limits” in this agreement do not represent concession on the part of Israel. As has been Israel’s regular practice, the Higher Planning Council (the body within the Defense Ministry that oversees construction planning in the West Bank) has convened on a quarterly basis since the Obama Administration days, so agreeing to “stop discussion” for four months doesn’t delay or freeze anything, as much as it gives Israel “credit” for the standard pause between convenings. Likewise, with respect to Israel’s commitment to not authorize any new outposts for six months — as FMEP has already described, this is by no means a limitation on Israel’s ability to authorize outposts through the trick of calling them “new neighborhoods” of existing settlements. It’s also clear that this agreement has no bearing on the massive advancement of settlement construction and approval of new settlements undertaken by the Israeli Security Cabinet and Higher Planning Council over the last two weeks.

Prime Minister Netanyahu himself made it abundantly clear that the Aqaba statement will not constrain, restrain, or delay Israel’s advancement of settlement construction and outpost authorization. Netanayhu tweeted: “There isn’t and there will not be any construction freeze…Constructions and authorization in Judea and Samaria will continue according to the original schedule of the Higher Planning Council.”

Bezalel Smotrich, Finance Minister & Minister of the newly created “Settlement Administration” in the Defense Ministry that has power over planning in the West Bank, posted a tweet saying:

“I have no idea what they talked about or didn’t talk about in Jordan…I heard about this superfluous conference from the media just like you. But one thing I do know: there will not be a freeze in the construction and development of settlements, not even for one day (this, on my authority). The IDF will continue to counter terrorism in all areas of Judea and Samaria without any limitation (we will confirm this with the cabinet). It’s very simple.”

Settlers Invade Evyatar Outpost Site as Calls for Legalization Grow

On February 26th, dozens of Israeli settlers illegally invaded and stayed overnight at the site of former Evyatar outpost, in an attempt to reestablish the outpost — an action settlers say was in response to a nearby shooting attack in which a Palestinian gunman killed two settlers near the Palestinian village of Huwara. The IDF – under the command of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant – attempted to quickly remove settlers from the area the night they arrived, but were reportedly unable to do so until the next day (because the settlers refused to leave and the IDF apparently lacked the will to force them).

The Israeli coalition government – as part of the coalition deal – explicitly agreed to retroactively legalize Evyatar as a new settlement, but it was not one of the ten outposts granted legalization by the Israeli Security Cabinet on February 12th. Settlers and their allies have since poured on the pressure seeking to convince the govenment to greenlight the reestablishment of Evyatar.

Itamar Ben Gvir – who demanded the fate of Evyatar be included in the coalition agreement – convened a meeting of his party members at the site of Evyatar after the settlers were evacuated, and noted that he had attempted to appeal to Netanyahu to stop the evacuation. Ben Gvir said he wrote a letter to the Prime Minister that day, pleading to allow the settlers to stay and for the outpost to be legalized as a means of fighting terrorism. Ben Gvir was one of many Israeli lawmakers from within the governing coalition to call for legalization. Settlements and National Missions Minister Orit Strock said on radio, “The return to Evyatar is our mission and we intend to fulfill the agreement to return very soon.” On Feb. 28th, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich publicly promised the legalization of Evyatar.

On March 2nd, newly minted MK Tzvi Sukkot (Otzma Yehudit) – a criminal settler who replaced Smotrich upon his resignation from the Knesset to serve in the Cabinet – set up a tent at the site of Evyatar, calling it an parliamentary bureau. Sukkot’s “office” is ostensibly protected from removal by the IDF because of diplomatic immunity, and has been rewarded with a 500-person battalion of IDF officers deployed to the area in order to protect it. Sukkot also joined the settlers on March 26th who illegally invaded the area and stayed overnight in defiance of IDF attempts to clear the settlers from the outpost. Sukkot said:

“I set up my office here in Evyatar in order to monitor the implementation of the coalition agreement signed with our party, from up-close. This is one ‘stone’ on the way to our complete return to the community, as was agreed and as must be.I am working with all my might to ensure that the government keeps its promises and establishes a permanent community here.”

As a reminder, settlers agreed to temporarily leave the site of the Evyatar outpost in 2021 under terms of a government-brokered deal in which the government promised to undertake an “investigation” into the status of the land. That investigation has reportedly been concluded, and found that part of the land the outpost was illegally built on is “state land,” and part is privately owned by Palestinians. This report agrees with a 2022 opinion issued by then Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit supporting the retroactive authorization of Evyatar. The government deal with settlers also stipulated that the settlers’ illegal construction at the site would be left in place (i.e., did not demolish it) — including buildings and roads — while the government carried out its investigation into the status of the land. In this way, the “compromise” left the outpost intact and allowed Israel to maintain complete control over the site during the “survey” process, clearly signaling that the government’s objective was never to enforce Israeli law, but, rather, was always about finding a legal and political “solution” to enable it to launder the settlers’ illegal actions and accommodate their demands. Indeed, the terms of the Evyatar “compromise” made clear that the government was confident that it would find a pretext on which to assert that the land on which the outpost stands is “state land,” which can be used by the state as it sees fit (which nearly 100% of the time means, will be used to benefit the settlers).

The Evyatar outpost was built illegally by settlers on a hilltop that Palestinians have long known as Mt. Sabih, land which has historically belonged to the nearby Palestinian villages of Beita, Yatma, and Qablan. Evyatar became a recurring headline news story mostly as a result of the determined effort by Palestinians from the nearby village of Beitar to protest the outpost and to resist the Israeli government’s efforts to retroactively legalize it. Palestinians staged regular protests near the site of Evyatar outpost, which resulted in no fewer than seven Palestinian protesters dying as a result of the harsh and violent actions by the IDF to quash the protests.

Israel Advances Massive Expansion of Nof Zion Settlement Enclave in East Jerusalem

Ir Amim reports that the Jerusalem Local Planning Committee convened on March 1st and recommended approving a plan for public deposit (a last step before final approval) that would, if approved, massively expand the Nof Zion settlement enclave, located inside the Palestinian East Jerusalem neighborhood of Jabal Mukaber. The Committee is set to reconvene on March 6th to actually approve the plan for public deposit.

Ir Amim writes:

“After being postponed several times over the past few months, including in January, reportedly due to the US National Security Advisor’s visit to the region last month, the Israeli authorities are clearly hellbent on advancing this plan. The re-scheduling of this plan along with the resumption of promotion of the E1 plans follows swiftly on the heels of continuous empty commitments by the Israeli government to temporarily freeze settlement advancement among other measures to reduce tensions…Beyond its geopolitical implications, this is yet another example of the severe discrimination in urban planning and housing in East Jerusalem. Despite the plan being designated for the entrance of Jabal Mukabber, it is not intended for the community’s development needs, but rather the expansion of a Jewish settlement in the middle of a Palestinian neighborhood. It should be noted that Jabal Mukabber has been among the Palestinian neighborhoods in East Jerusalem with the highest number of demolitions per year. Just today, the Israeli authorities razed a home in Jabal Mukabber, displacing a family, including two children.”

The plan – called “Nof Zahav” – would allow for 100 new residential units and 275 hotel rooms in the settlement enclave, which currently consists of 95 units, plus another 200 under construction. In order to provide sufficient land for this expansion, the Jerusalem Planning Committee is simultaneously advancing another plan to relocate an Israeli police station [the Oz station], currently located on the border of Jabal Mukaber, to a new site across the street. This will leave its original location free for the planned expansion of Nof Zion, while the new site will become a massive new Israeli security headquarters. Ir Amim filed a petition against the police station plan, arguing that it is an affront to the planning needs of the local community and that it represents a continuation of Israel’s systematic, city-wide discrimination against the housing, educational, and service-based needs of Palestinian neighborhoods. A decision on the police station relocation plan is expected soon.

Settlers Terrorize Huwara with IDF Assistance & Political Support

Settlers committed a pogrom against Palestinian village of Huwara on February 26th. For eight hours, hundreds of settlers attacked Palestinians and their property, causing terror, far-reaching destruction, hundreds of injuries, and at least one death.

Al-Haq reports that the IDF not only failed to intervene but actually facilitated the settlers’ rampage in the first place.

Al Haq reports:

“The Israeli Occupying Forces (IOF) facilitated the settler attack, effectively laying siege to Huwwara by closing off all the entrances of the town, in advance of the attack, permitting the entrance of hundreds of settlers by foot, and preventing the entry of medics and journalists. During Israeli colonial settler attacks against Palestinians in Huwwara, and other nearby villages, Sameh Aqtash, 37, was killed, a further two Palestinians were shot and wounded, another stabbed, and a fourth beaten with an iron bar, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society. The IOF openly accompanied the marauding settler mob, attacking Palestinians with military grade tear gas, leaving 95 Palestinians suffocated from tear gas inhalation.”

The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights further reports:

“IOF closed all Nablus’ entrances and tightened the cordon off the village from three directions. Around half an hour later, at least 500 Israeli settlers started to gather at Huwara and Za’tara checkpoints surrounding Huwara village and down to the Yitzhar Bypass Road leading to “Yitzhar” settlement, which cordons off the village from the southwestern side, and amid the attendance of IOF and Israeli officials from the government at the scene. During their demonstration, the settlers intentionally carried out largescale attacks and violence acts against Palestinians and their property, houses, shops, and vehicles, and in Huwara village, and deliberately set them ablaze without any intervention from the IOF to stop them. The settlers’ attacks continued until 23:15, causing bruises to several Palestinians, completely burning 7 houses, 6 cars garages and 34 vehicles and breaking the windows of 25 houses by stone-throwing and the windows of 20 other vehicles were smashed as well.”

Settlers cited the murder of two Israelis – Hillel and Yagel Yaniv earlier in the day as the pretext for the pogrom. The two were killed by a Palestinian gunman on the main road near Huwara. Palestinians noted that this killing was in response to Israel’s military operation the day before in Nablus (near Huwara), in which 11 Palestinians were killed and more than 100 Palestinians were injured.

Bezalel Smotrich – who is effectively the sovereign authority over the West Bank – celebrated the pogrom and incited further genocidal, state-led violence. In a taped interview Smotrich said:

“The Palestinian village of Hawara should be wiped out of the earth. The Israeli government needs to do it and not private citizens”

Following widespread international condemnation, the IDF arrested six (or seven, per other reports) Israeli settlers, all for their conduct against Israeli soldiers (as opposed to for attack on Palestinians). All were swiftly ordered to be released by a Jerusalem court, but the Defense Ministry ordered two of them (one of whom is a minor) to be held in administrative detention (a tool rarely used with respect to Jewish detainees). According to the Times of Israel, “A senior security official speaking to Channel 12 news claimed the pair were ‘planning and had carried out operations against IDF forces. [They] are extremely dangerous.’ According to Haaretz, a senior security source, possibly the same one, said they were involved in initiating the riots.”

Zvika Foghel,a criminal settler now serving in the Knesset – endorsed the pogrom and incited further violence, saying:

“A Huwara that is burning — that’s the only way we’ll achieve deterrence…We need to stop shying away from collective punishment.”

The pogrom in Huwara happened one day before the U.S. State Department released its 2021 Country Report on Terrorism, in which for the first time the U.S. said that “Israeli security personnel often did not prevent settler attacks and rarely detained or charged perpetrators of settler violence.” Such facts have been documented by Palestinian and Israeli human rights groups for decades.

Israeli Comptroller Wants Israel to Finish the Wall, Fortify Settlement Industrial Zones

In its annual report released late February 2023, the State Comptroller’s Office slammed a wide range of government bodies for their failure to finish the West Bank separation barrier and over the state of security at settlement industrial zones.

On the separation barrier, the comptroller criticized the government and IDF for abandoning efforts to finish the project, for failing to fix damaged areas of the wall, and for decreasing the presence of the IDF along the barrier route. The Comptroller report said that there were 1.4 million instances of Palestinians crossing the barrier in 2021, about 6,000 per day. In response to the report, an IDF source said that the barrier is expected to be finished in late 2023 (or late 2024) and argued that the barrier is 82% effective except “in areas where it was decided operationally not to fix breakthroughs.”

The Israeli Comptroller also harshly criticized the lack of fortification of the 35 settlement industrial zones in the West Bank. The report examined seven of the zones, finding deficiencies in the security systems in each. The report recommends the government formulate and fund a plan to improve security.

Bonus Reads

“Israel has quietly annexed the West Bank and Biden stays silent” (Mitchell Plitnick, Mondoweiss – 2/25/23)