Welcome to FMEP’s Weekly Settlement & Annexation Report. To subscribe to this report, please click here.

July 17, 2020

1. Smotrich & Israel Land Caucus Introduce Annexation Bill
2. After Settlers Protest, Netanyahu Delays Vote on Government Bylaws
3. More Rumors on Annexation, But No Announcement
4. Gantz to Issue Tender for Settler Project at Hebron Holy Site
5. IDF Helps Fortify New Outpost on West Bank’s Highest Hilltop
6. Bonus Reads

Comments/questions? Contact Kristin McCarthy (kmccarthy@fmep.org)

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Smotrich & Israel Land Caucus Introduce Annexation Bill

On July 13th, MKs Bezalel Smotrich (Yamina) and Haim Katz (Likud), co-chairs of the Israel Land Caucus — a pro-Greater Israel body within the Knesset — filed a bill in the Knesset to have Israel both annex all of its settlements in the West Bank and preserve its control over Area C (in anticipation of future annexation). The bill is modeled after a January 2018 resolution passed unanimously by the Likud Party (with Prime Minister Netanyahu’s consent), a fact used by the authors of the new bill as incontrovertible proof that the bill should easily receive backing from the government and be quickly passed by the Knesset. The Israel Land Caucus is calling on Netanyahu to bring the bill up for a vote in the Security Cabinet this Sunday (July 19th), and its co-authors have requested that the legislation be fast-tracked in the Knesset.

A spokesman for the Israel Land Caucus told The Jerusalem Post that the bill calls for Israel to unilaterally annex all settlements, outposts, and roads. Though the bill’s authors do not have a map to show the exact areas the bill will annex, they say their plan does not leave any settlements or outposts as isolated enclaves. Additionally, the bill would bring the entirety of Area C more directly under Israel’s control by requiring Palestinians to gain the approval of the Israeli security cabinet (as opposed to the Israeli Civil Administration) for any construction there. It would also ban international organizations and governments from conducting activities and projects in Area C. Taken together, these changes in the status of Area C, with Israel’s civilian government in effect asserting its direct authority over the area, would functionally amount to a form of formal annexation of the area. [It’s worth noting here that the European Union, Denmark, and the Palestinian Authority just announced $6.63 million in funding for 16 projects for Palestinians in Area C, including new schools, electricity networks, and water reservoirs.

Speaking about the bill, MK Smotrich said: 

“A few years ago, our caucus placed sovereignty laws in front of the Knesset and made the issue one of the central issues on the agenda of the Israeli government. Unfortunately, the government’s promises of sovereignty so far have not been fulfilled and the proposal in Netanyahu’s plan creates a de facto Arab state in the heart of the country. This is not what we had in mind. The bill we have presented today is the long-awaited sovereignty and it will remove the folly of two-states from the agenda. We must have cooperation between all right-wing elements in the coalition and opposition to advance this bill and we act together to advance it for the continuation of the Zionist vision.”

After Settlers Protest, Netanyahu Delays Vote on Government Bylaws

Following public protest by Yossi Dagan, head of the Samaria Regional Council (a settlement municipal body), Netanyahu canceled plans for the Security Cabinet to vote on procedural bylaws which theoretically might have empowered Benny Gantz to block Likud’s annexation plans (bearing in mind that it is by no means certain he would choose to do so). As a reminder, under the existing coalition agreement, Gantz does not have the power to block a vote on annexation; the proposed bylaws would have clarified that consensus between Netanyahu and Gantz is required to advance items on the government’s agenda. 

After Dagan raised the alarm about the issue with Israeli media, the bylaws were quietly removed from the Cabinet’s July 12th agenda.

Dagan argued that the proposed bylaws would have torpedoed:

“the possibility of applying sovereignty in the coming months as promised by the prime minister, because Alternate Prime Minister Benny Gantz has already stated he would not agree to apply sovereignty without negotiations with the Arab world, and that is not possible at this time.”

Netanyahu is reportedly facing pressure from the Trump Administration to get Gantz on board with annexation, even as settlers demand that Netanyahu moves forward on annexation without Gantz, per the coalition agreement.

More Rumors on Annexation, But No Announcement

Starting before July 1st, Israeli officials have been saying privately that the U.S. is pumping the brakes on Israel’s annexation plans. This week, Yariv Levin – a Likud party leader, Speaker of the Knesset and a member of the Israeli mapping and negotiation team working with the U.S. – reportedly said in private conversations that, at the moment, the Americans are “not listening” when it comes to Israel’s annexation plans. At the same time, reports continue to suggest that the U.S. is pushing Netanyahu to hold off on annexation until Benny Gantz agrees to the plan and its timing. 

 The American side has been notably silent this week, neither rebutting Israeli suggestions that annexation has been delayed nor fulfilling promises of an anonymous U.S. official that Trump would make a decision on the matter this week. David Schenker – the State Department’s Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs (formerly at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, one of the Trump Admin’s favorite think-tanks) – told the German Marshall Fund that Netanyahu is facing pressure from his supporters who support annexation but are opposed to the Trump Plan’s vision for a Palestinian non-state entity. Schenker said:”We’re [the U.S] calling on the Israelis not to do anything that would preclude the implementation of the vision.” And further cast doubt on whether annexation will happen on Trump’s watch, saying, “It wouldn’t surprise me if we didn’t see anything, but I think that the prime minister would like to do something.”

Gantz to Issue Tender for Settler Project at Hebron Holy Site

On July 13th, Defense Minister and Alternate Prime Minister Benny Gantz announced that he will expedite the planning process for a settler-backed project to install accessible infrastructure (including an elevator) at the Tomb of the Patriarchs/Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron. Gantz will reportedly issue a construction tender for the project soon. Emek Shaveh reports that Gantz’s announcement was pressured by settlers, who claimed the Civil Administration was dragging its heels on advancing the project. 

The period during which the public can file objections to the plan closed on July 13th (the same day as Gantz’s announcement). Two objections were filed: One by Emek Shaveh (read more here) and a second by the Palestinian-run Hebron Municipality. Gantz’s objection suggests that neither is being taken seriously.

IDF Helps Fortify New Outpost on West Bank’s Highest Hilltop

+972 Magazine reports that on June 26th settlers established a new outpost on privately owned Palestinian land just north of Nablus. Since then, they have been assisted by the Israeli army in securing the outpost. On July 7th, the IDF brought in bulldozers to construct a dirt barrier in order to prevent Palestinians from accessing the area, which includes terraced agricultural land that Palestinians have cultivated for decades. Palestinians have also reported seeing IDF soldiers escort settlers to and from the outpost. The outpost consists currently of two mobile homes and an animal shed.

The outpost is built on the top of the highest hilltop in the West Bank, Mount Ebal, on land owned by Palestinians from the nearby town of Asira al-Shamaliya. Since the outpost was established, Palestinians have gathered every Friday to protest against the settlers living there – protests which have been met by the IDF with tear gas and stun grenades.  The mayor of Asira al-Shamaliya was injured by a tear gas canister but vowed to continue demonstrating against the outpost every Friday until it is dismantled.

Dror Etkes, founder of the settlement watchdog group Kerem Navot, told +972 Magazine:

“This cannot happen without some kind of coordination with the army, when the outpost is near one of the most central army bases in the West Bank. There is no chance the army is not involved in one way or another.”

Bonus Reads

1. “Jerusalem highway construction aims to modernize traffic flow around historic city” (JNS)
2. “Palestinian Workers Forced to Sleep in Trash-sorting Plant Because Employers Feared Coronavirus Lockdown”(Haaretz)
3. “How I Ended Up Staying at an Isolation Hotel in a ‘Jerusalem Settlement’” (Haaretz) 
4. “United Israel Appeal says won’t invest in projects beyond Green Line” (Israel Hayom)
5. “Tech leaders say West Bank annexation would be catastrophic for Israel” (CTech)
6. “Dutch threaten fine for stores selling Hebron wine with ‘made in Israel’ tag” (The Times of Israel)
7. “EU, Denmark, PA will build 16 projects including schools in Area C” (MEMO)

Welcome to FMEP’s Weekly Settlement & Annexation Report. To subscribe to this report, please click here.

July 10, 2020

1. Yesh Din Declares: Israel is Committing the Crime of Apartheid in the West Bank
2. (FWIW) Mort Klein Says 50+% Chance Trump Approves Annexation Within Next 45-Days
3. An “Off-the-Rack” Annexation Scenario
4. Another Yitzhar Outpost Demolished, Another Violent Encounter Between IDF & Settlers
5. Settlers & Settlement Minister Escalate Drive to Take Palestinians Land in Area C
6. Greek Patriarchate Mobilizes Allies to Continue Fighting Settlers’ Acquisition of Jerusalem Properties
7. Settlement Real Estate Market Heating Up?
8. Bonus Reads

Comments/questions? Contact Kristin McCarthy (kmccarthy@fmep.org)

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Yesh Din Declares: Israel is Committing the Crime of Apartheid in the West Bank

In a first for Israeli human rights groups, Yesh Din published a legal analysis, written by renowned Israeli human rights lawyer Michael Sfard, that concludes that Israel is committing the crime of apartheid in the West Bank, as defined by the International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid  AND the Rome Statute. The legal judgement closely analyzes the ways in which Israel’s current policies and actions in the West Bank constitute both the systematic oppression of one group and privileging of the other with the intent to maintain a regime of domination, and inhumane acts, including persecution and denial of rights. 

Sfard finds Israel’s settlement project and “creeping legal annexation” of the West Bank to be indisputable evidence that Israel intends to maintain permanent control over the area. Safrd marks the February 2017 passage by Israel’s Knesset of Israel’s “Regulation Law” — a law governing land usage rights in the West Bank designed explicitly to take Palestinian land for the benefit of settlers — a “seminal moment” in the evolution of Israel’s West Bank regime into an apartheid system, noting that this was the first time that the Israeli Knesset passed a law to directly govern matters in the West Bank (read more here about the Regulation Law). FMEP has tracked the Knesset’s creeping legal annexation of the West Bank in its regularly updated Annexation Policy Tables,  available here (Table #2).

Speaking to +972 Magazine, Sfard said that the goal of the legal opinion is to:

“change the internal Israeli discourse, and no longer talk about our presence in the West Bank as an occupation that is temporary, but as an illegitimate crime.”

Lior Amihai, executive director of Yesh Din, said in a statement:

“Apartheid is a crime against humanity, and it is a reality today, but we have the power and the responsibility to end it. We call on all people who wish to leave a better future for the coming generations of Palestinians and Israelis to demand that our decision makers act now to end apartheid and occupation. All Israeli and Palestinian children deserve a future of freedom and equality, free from apartheid.”

Further information: full Yesh Din legal report here; Executive Summary here; very thorough FAQ about apartheid in the West Bank here; Sfard’s interview with +972 Magazine here; Subscribe to receive Yesh Din updates here. Stay tuned for an FMEP webinar with Michael in the near future by signing up to receive FMEP event alerts here.

(FWIW) Mort Klein Says 50+% Chance Trump Approves Annexation Within Next 45-Days

This week, Mort Klein, the head of the far right-wing Zionist Organization of American (ZOA),  told the Jerusalem Post that a U.S. official told him that there is “more than a 50% chance” chance that Trump team deciding on annexation will make their decision within 45 days. Klein — famous these days for Tweets and comments that get him accused regularly (sometimes daily) of being a racist, an Islamophobe, and of cozying up to antisemites — is also one of the rare members of the public known to have access in the Trump Administration, no doubt because the ZOA’s policies align neatly with those Trump officials responsible for Israel policy.

Trump’s Israel team – Jared Kushner, Avi Berkowitz, and Scott Leith – reportedly met (again) on July 8th, reconvening after meetings last week ended in no decision about annexation. A source told the Post that a decision this month (July) is “still possible,” despite repeated delays and a shift in focus in Israel and the U.S. to fighting a resurgence of the coronavirus.

An “Off-the-Rack” Annexation Scenario

In a new paper – entitled, “Is there a ‘Likeliest’ Annexation Scenario?” – Israel NGO Terrestrial Jerusalem, led by Jerusalem expert Daniel Seidemann,  predicts that if Netanyahu follows through on his annexation pledge, there are two very compelling reasons to believe that he will do so by annexing the so-called “settlement blocs” closest to Jerusalem: Ma’ale Adumim, Givat Ze’ev, Beitar Illit, Efrat, and the entire Etzion Bloc.

Laying out its logic, Terrestrial Jerusalem points to Netanyahu’s longstanding goal of uniting “Greater Jerusalem” by expanding the Jerusalem Municipality in order to annex as many nearby settlements as possible. The report details Netanayhu’s efforts to do so in detail, starting in 1997.

In addition, the “settlement blocs” doctrine – which has been prominently normalized by the likes of David Makovsky, Dennis Ross, and Michael Koplow – has provided Nentanyahu with an “off-the-rack” annexation option. This doctrine, on the basis of claimed “pragmatism,” has sought to allow Israel to continue unrestricted settlement expansion within large areas located near the Green Line (aka, the 1948 Armistice Line). After three decades of touting this doctrine, Netanyahu can now use it as the basis of his annexation. 

Warning of the consequences of this “most likely” annexation scenario, Terrestrial Jerusalem writes:

“The annexation of one or more of the settlement blocs will have a devastating impact on the very possibility of any future agreement between Israel and Palestine. It will fragment the built-up Palestinian areas in greater Jerusalem, condemning the Palestinians to permanent occupation in an archipelago of disjointed, disconnected villages. The annexation of East Jerusalem, Ma’aleh Adumim, the Etzion Bloc and Givat Ze’ev alone would cumulatively seize 225 sq. km. of the landmass of the West Bank.”

Another Yitzhar Outpost Demolished, Another Violent Encounter Between IDF & Settlers

On July 10th, the IDF demolished an outpost that was illegally constructed by 30 settlers earlier that day. Settlers attempted to violently prevent the IDF soldiers from reaching the site of their outpost by setting up roadblocks using burning tires, and the attacking the troops with pepper spray and even threw punches during their assault on the troops.

The outpost squatters were from the radical and violent Yitzhar settlement, located in the heart of the West Bank just southeast of Nablus. The outpost – named “Kippah Sruga” by the settlers – was built in an area that the military commander marked as a “closed military zone” where civilians are not permitted to enter much less take up (illegal) residence.

Unsurprising, the leader of the Yitzhar settlement rushed to the defense of the settlers involved in the attack on the IDF. A spokesperson released a statement expressing regret that:

“some of the officers arrived at the scene without wearing masks [and] some did not have tags [identifying them as police]. The Border police officers used harsh violence against residents who did not do a thing. Of course we oppose stone-throwing and these incidents should have no place in Yitzhar.”

Settlers & Settlement Minister Escalate Drive to Take Palestinians Land in Area C

The radical settler group Regavim – which has dedicated itself to “helping” Israel police Palestinian construction in the West Bank – has filed a petition with the Jerusalem District Court asking the court to compel the demolition of Palestinian buildings located near the village of Nahalin, claiming that the newly built structures lack Israeli permits and that the Israeli Civil Administration has failed to act. 

The group says Palestinians built 20 structures outside of the village, on land that is technically in Area C (the village of Nahalin is designated as Area B under the Olso Accords, but some village lands fall into Area C). Regavim asked the Civil Administration to take advantage of new powers it granted itself in June 2017 (via a military order) that allows it to demolish “new construction” a mere 96 hours after warning Palestinians of its intent (in effect depriving Palestinians of any meaningful opportunity to challenge the planned demolition).

Regavim Movement Director Meir Deutsch said: 

“While our heads of state are debating whether and how sovereignty will be applied, the Palestinian Authority is hard at work, establishing facts on the ground. If we don’t wake up, in a few years we will find ourselves faced with an unchangeable reality – and the security and policy ramifications that come with it.”

Boosting Regavim’s mission, on July 7th newly crowned Settlement Affairs Minister Tzipi Hotovely toured the Mount Hebron Regional settlement council jurisdiction. Hotovely emphasized that part of her mission is to “prevent the Palestinian takeover of Area C” – an Orwellian framing suggesting that Israel is the victim of Palestinian aggressors seeking to steal Israeli land, when exactly the opposite is the case.

Hotovely said:

“At this time, it is very important to strengthen the settlement enterprise and prevent a Palestinian takeover of Area C. The Mount Hebron Regional Council has great potential for strengthening the Negev and the settlement. Applying sovereignty in this area will allow us to continue to develop the settlement in the Northern Negev and Mount Hebron.”

Greek Patriarchate Mobilizes Allies to Continue Fighting Settlers’ Acquisition of Jerusalem Properties

Since having its appeal rejected by the Jerusalem District Court on June 24th, the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate is continuing its fight to reclaim three prized properties in Jerusalem that were sold to the radical Ateret Cohanim settler organization under circumstances the Patriarchate claims are fraudulent.

In addition to planning to take its case to the Israeli Supreme Court, a spokesman for the Patriarchate, Father Issa Musleh, said that that Patriarchate will launch an international campaign in hopes of engaging the UN Security Council, Russia, Greece, Cyprus, and others to pressure Israel to return the properties to the church.

In addition, on July 7th, 13 Church leaders in Jerusalem issued a joint statement, saying:

“We, the Heads of the Churches and Christian Communities in Jerusalem, stand united in our commitment to safeguard the historical Status Quo of the Holy Sites and rights of the Churches which are universally recognized. The case of Jaffa Gate threatens this Status Quo. We are concerned by the recent judgment of the District Court of Jerusalem, which dismissed evidence demonstrating the Greek Orthodox Church’s case. We strongly support the efforts of the Greek Orthodox Church in their plea for justice…We don’t see this case as a mere property dispute. We see the undertaking of radical groups to take control of properties at Jaffa Gate as a systematic attempt to undermine the integrity of the Holy City, to obstruct the Christian pilgrim route and to weaken the Christian presence in Jerusalem.”

Settlement Real Estate Market Heating Up?

Israeli realtors hawking homes in the settlements are now talking up the possibility of a real estate boom in settlements because of the possibility of annexation.

Daniel Wach, who runs a real estate business out of the settlement of Eli — located deep inside the northern part of the West Bank — told AFP that he has done “as much business in the past two months as the last few years.” Wach said that Israeli families are buying now in anticipation of home prices rising after annexation. Post-annexation, Wach predicts will quickly rise 10-15%.

Another real estate agent who exclusively deals with settlements said: “Annexation will make a big difference…It’s gonna be a big market, we’ll need to get ready, work hard for this opportunity.”

Bonus Reads

1. “Israel arrests Palestinian expert on settlements in Jerusalem” (MEMO)
2. “Israel Will continue Its Campaign of Dividing and Conquering Palestinians, Annexation of Not” (Tania Hary // Haaretz)
3. “Israel’s Possible Annexation of West Bank Areas: Frequently Asked Questions” (Congressional Research Service)
4. “Ayelet Shaked submits candidacy to serve in Judicial Selection Committee” (Ynet)
5. “Settlers and Palestinians unite in opposition to annexation” (The Times of Israel)
6. “If Israel’s planned annexation goes ahead, can any response make a difference?” (Al-Shabaka)

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

To subscribe to this report, please click here.

July 3, 2020

1. The [Purported] Israeli Counter-Proposal to the Trump Annexation Map
2. De Jure Annexation Remains Imminent: Reports Say Trump to Make Final Decision Next Week
3. U.S. Said to Ask for Israeli “Gesture” to Palestinians in Order to Approve Annexation Plan
4. Settlers Continue Opposition to Trump Plan, While Pushing Bibi to Stop Delaying
5. Settler Group Announces New Outpost Near Hebron
6. Israeli Court Issues Ruling to Throw Sumreen Family Out of Their House
7. Settlers Claim to Have Purchased an Illegally Built Palestinian Home in Wadi Hilweh, Silwan
8. Israel Orders Demolition of Illegal Settler Structures Following Reversal of Regulation Law
9. State Admits to High Court that Jerusalem Cable Car Project Will Require Confiscating Private Palestinian Land
10. New Ir Amim Paper Looks at Jerusalem to Underscore the “Truth About Annexation”
11. Bonus Reads

Comments/questions? Contact Kristin McCarthy (kmccarthy@fmep.org)

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The [Purported] Israeli Counter-Proposal to the Trump Annexation Map 

Israel’s Kan News published what it claims to be the Israeli government’s counter-proposal to the Trump annexation map. The reported counter-proposal adds a significant amount of West Bank land to the area Israel will annex, rendering even more severe the fragmentation of any future Palestinian state the plan is supposedly interested in seeing established. Specifically, the counter-proposal (which is exceptionally well explained by Israeli analyst and mapping expert Dan Rothem) achieves four main goals:

• It expands the channels of land which connect 15 far-flung outposts and settlements to what is today sovereign Israel. The Trump map connects these “enclaves” via narrow land corridors and roads (referred to by settlers as “balloons on a string”). The alleged counter-proposal annexes 2.7% more of the West Bank to enlarge those corridors.
• It provides for Israel’s annexation of about 20 additional settlements/outposts left out of the (initial) annexation provided for under the Trump Plan. These include the radical and violent settlement of Yitzhar and its outposts) located near Nablus, as well as the (relatively) nearby settlements Elon Moreh  (and its outposts), Har Bracha  (and its outposts), and Itamar  (and its outposts). All of these settlements/outposts are, notably, located deep in the West Bank heartland.
• It proposes “compensating” Palestinians by designating an additional 4.6% of the West Bank — areas designated under the Trump Plan for Israeli annexation, comprised of West Bank territory where there are no settlers and some empty areas in the Jordan Valley/Judean desert — to (possibly) be under some degree of Palestinian control (without providing details on what would be the status of the land).  (Reminder: Netanyahu said he will not annex a single Palestinian). 
• The map also appears to propose population transfer, putting parts of the so-called Triangle Area — an area of densely populated towns located within Israel’s sovereign borders, inhabited by Palestinian citizens of Israel — into the area that could theoretically become a Palestinian state (assuming the Palestinians accepted the Trump Plan and satisfied a laundry list of conditions that no Palestinian leadership would ever accept — all to end up with an archipelago of territory that they might be allowed to call a “state” but that would have few if any actual attributes of  sovereignty). Reminder: Forcible population transfer is a flagrant violation of international law (as is annexation of any scope); a government re-drawing its borders to deprive its own citizens of their rights, based on their ethnicity, is antithetical to democracy.

Additionally, while Israeli officials originally indicated that annexation would begin with the Jordan Valley, rampant reports indicate that the focus has now shifted to annexing elsewhere (settlement blocs) as the first stage of annexation. Perhaps responding to criticism over delaying the annexation of the Jordan Valley,  Israeli Regional Cooperation Minister Ofir Akunis (Likud) told The Jerusalem Post that “of course” the Jordan Valley is included in Israel’s annexation plans [which should surprise nobody, given that politicians across most of the political spectrum in Israel came out in support of annexation of the Jordan Valley (including Benny Gantz), even before the Trump Plan].

So what is Netanyahu really thinking? According to Haaretz, he has not held discussions with his own Security Cabinet on the annexation plan, and the key Israeli bodies which will be involved in implementing annexation – the Justice Ministry, the Attorney General (whom Bibi is in open war with), the IDF chiefs, and Foreign Ministry – have not begun preparing for implementation.

De Jure Annexation Remains Imminent: Reports Say Trump to Make Final Decision Next Week

July 1st – the first day Netanyahu was permitted to bring annexation up for a vote in the Cabinet or in the Knesset, but by no means a deadline for such an action – came and went without an announcement. Reports almost immediately suggested that the annexation decision – reportedly delayed by U.S. demands and Israeli disunity.

After a week of meetings with Israeli leaders, National Security Council advisor Scott Leith and Middle East envoy Avi Berkowitz (who in the meetings were of course joined by US ambassador to Israel David Friedman) headed back to Washington. On Thursday, Berkowitz met with Jared Kushner in preparation for presenting their plan to the President. Despite the palace intrigue surrounding Kushner this week, Kushner plays a critical role in leading Trump a final decision on annexation, expected to come next week..

Though Trump has not been involved in any details of the annexation deliberations, Israeli Regional Cooperation Minister Ofer Akunis asserted that Israel will not act without a statement from Trump himself, telling the Jerusalem Post:

 “[annexation] will only happen after a declaration by Trump.”

Following the departure of Leith and Berkowitz (Friedman remained in Israel), an anonymous U.S. official told the Jerusalem Post that the fact that July 1st came and went without an announcement does not mean that annexation is any less likely to happen. That official said:

“The administration is appreciative of the ongoing conversations and serious considerations that have gone into our recent discussions with the Israeli government.July 1 is not and has never been a US deadline, nor do we believe it is an Israeli deadline. We look forward to continuing the dialogue with our Israeli partners and working productively and in earnest towards implementing the president’s Vision for Peace in the Middle East.”

U.S. Said to Ask for Israeli “Gesture” to Palestinians in Order to Approve Annexation Plan

U.S. Amb. David Friedman, National Security Council advisor Scott Leith, and Middle East envoy Avi Berkowitz spent the past week in Israel, negotiating with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Alternate Prime Minister Gantz over the extent and timing of Israeli annexation of West Bank territory. Israeli press – particularly right-wing outlets – asserted that the Americans were pushing Israel to make a more significant “gesture” to the Palestinians in order to win American support (reminder: the Palestinian leadership has not been involved in negotiations at all). 

Reportedly, the US suggested that such a gesture could consist of granting the Palestinian Authority greater control over the remnants of Area C left to the Palestinians after Israeli annexation — with Israel retaining the ability to “secure” those areas as-needed (essentially transforming a small part of Area C land into Area B). 

The Jerusalem Post goes so far as to suggest that “many” of the conversations this past week focused on what the Palestinians will be given/offered/forced to accept, rather than the details of what/how/when Israel will annex. More than anything else, this suggests that the U.S. is not imposing limits on what Israel can annex.

Settlers Continue Opposition to Trump Plan, While Pushing Bibi to Stop Delaying

Worried both about the details of the Trump Plan and that Bibi will not pull the trigger on annexation at all, settler leaders and their allies continue their criticism of Netanyahu for every move (and non-move) he makes.

Two prominent settler leaders who oppose the Trump Plan – Yesha Council chairman David Elhayani and Samaria Regional Council chairman Yossi Dagan – continued lashing out at Netanyahu for his posture on issues of key concern to settlers (the creation of settlement enclaves, a settlement construction freeze, and the possibility of future Palestinian statehood) and for failing to act on July 1st. Dagan called the July 1st date “one big farce.”

Elhayani – who estimated that there is an 80% chance that there will be no annexation – told Walla News:

“Tying the lack of sovereignty [announcement] to Benny Gantz is a pathetic excuse..In reality, it is in the hands of the prime minister, who must accept responsibility for the decision, demonstrate leadership and say: ‘I have made this commitment to the electorate in two election campaigns, and I will stand by it’.”

Another group of settlers who are adamantly against the Trump Plan launched a new campaign targeting Netanyahu. The campaign, which was covered in the front page of the Israel Hayom paper, features photos of PA President Mahmoud Abbas, Joint List Parliamentary head MK Ahmed Tibi, and Netanyahu, and alongside the photos uses the slogan:

“They [Abbas and Tibi] will not decide. You’ve [Netanayhu] decided – Keep your promise.”

Another settler group – the Sovereignty Movement – put up billboards all over the country calling on Netanyahu to annex and to say “no” to a Palestinian state.

Former Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman (Yisrael Beytenu) put on a public display of his pointed displeasure with Netanyahu’s failure to advance annexation on July 1st. Visiting a vista overlooking the Palestinian Bedouin village of Khan al-Ahmar in the West Bank – which Netanyahu has long promised to demolish – Lieberman told the press:

“We’re meeting here at Khan al-Akhmar because this is part of the same pattern of behavior. For fourteen months, Netanyahu has been yelling about ‘sovereignty’, and the whole time he’s cheated his voters…Netanyahu has tricked everyone. He has no intention of applying sovereignty: not over Maale Adumim and not even in the Jordan Valley. He always manages to trick everyone, but it was clear to me that he is lying, just as he lied about Khan al-Akhmar.”

Former Justice Minister and Yamina party leader MK Ayelet Shaked told the Jerusalem Post that she believes Bibi has “given up on the Jordan Valley.”

Haaretz reports that settlers – both those who support the Trump Plan and those who want more than what the plan is offering – have been successfully working with U.S. evangelicals to pressure Trump to OK annexation. Netanyahu himself spoke at a high profile online event for Christians United for Israel, and Yossi Dagan was interviewed by the Christian Broadcasting Network. Efrat settlement Mayor Oded Revivi has been in private conversation with U.S. evangelical leaders.

A recent poll by the radical settler group Regavim found that only 30% of settlers supported the Trump Plan after they were told that it will require Israel to agree to the establishment of a Palestinian state. Additionally, 53% of settlers said they believe that Netanyahu will give in to pressure from Trump rather than stand his ground on issues under negotiation.

Settler Group Announces New Outpost Near Hebron

On July 1st, a group of about 500 settlers held a protest against the Trump Plan and announced their plans to establish a new outpost. The protest was held on a hilltop belonging to the Palestinian village of Halhul, near Hebron in the southern West Bank. One of the protests leaders, veteran settler activist Daniella Weiss, told Ynet:

“The Trump plan needs to be thrown in the trash. We came here to establish a settlement. Today everyone understands that the purpose of the plan is to establish a Palestinian state in the heart of Israel.”

Israeli Court Issues Ruling to Throw Sumreen Family Out of Their House

On June 30th, the Jerusalem District Court rejected an appeal by the Palestinian Sumreen family to stop the Jewish National Fund (JNF) from evicting them from the home of 60 years in the Silwan neighborhood of East Jerusalem. The Court gave the 18-member family until August 16th to vacate the property and ordered them to pay 20,000 shekels (about $5,800) to the JNF for legal costs. The Sumreen family is considering taking their case to the Israeli Supreme Court.

The Coalition for the Sumarin Family said in a statement: 

“In the ruling, the court did not address the most important, fundamental point, which is that the house was taken in plunder. The JNF’s legal woes did not change the fundamental fact that the use of the Absentees’ Property Law to take over the house was done without good faith, as two government legal advisers and a government inquiry commission, determined”.

The Sumreen family home is located in the middle of what today has been designed by Israel “the City of David National Park.” The area is managed by 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 Sumreen’s home to be “absentee” property. After that designation – which was not communicated to the Sumreen family – 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. Israeli courts ruled in favor of the Sumreen family’s ownership claims to the home for years, until a September 2019 ruling by the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court granted ownership of the family’s home to the JNF, a decision the family immediately appealed to the Jerusalem District Court. 

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.

In a recent letter organized by Israeli academics, thirty-four Israel Prize laureates pleaded to the head of the JNF to stop eviction proceedings against the Sumreen family. The letter reads: 

“The expulsion of the family, as part of a campaign to Judaize Silwan which has been going on for many years, will stain the reputation of the KKL … we beg of you to desist from taking actions that would be clearly immoral.”

This week, +972 Magazine published an illuminating article by a former staff member of the JNF, looking at the role the organization has played in advancing annexation policies on the ground for decades with evictions like the Sumreen case. IMEU also just published an excellent fact sheet about the Jewish National Fund.

Settlers Claim to Have Purchased an Illegally Built Palestinian Home in Wadi Hilweh, Silwan 

On June 30th, a group of settlers invaded a vacant building in the Wadi Hilweh section of the Silwan neighborhood in East Jerusalem, saying that they had purchased the house from its Palestinian owners. Peace Now reports that the home was built by Palestinians years ago without an Israeli-issued permit (Palestinians in East Jerusalem are systematically denied permits to build on their own land). The family that had been living in the house left about four months ago after a demolition order was issued by the Jerusalem Municipality.

The house is located in the Ben Himmon Valley and very close to a Jewish cemetery that is currently being rehabilitated by the radical Elad settler organization. Elad has been involved in the systematic displacement of Palestinians from the Silwan neighborhood and has been weaponizing tourism and archaeology as a means by which to do so.

Peace Now explains: 

“In recent years, the Elad Association, together with the Jerusalem Development Authority and the Nature and Parks Authority, has been intensively developing the Ben Hinnom Valley area leading to the Sambusky Cemetery in an attempt to produce Israeli territorial contiguity from the Sultan’s Pool area and Ben Hinnom Valley area through the cemetery toward Wadi Hilweh and the ‘City of David’ visitors’ center…The takeover of this house extends the settlers’ control in the southwest corner of Wadi Hilweh: In September 2014, the settlers entered a nearby house, and in January 2016 another house adjacent to it…All of these projects, along with the settlers entering the house yesterday, are intended to strengthen Israeli presence in this contested and occupied area, and thus make it more difficult for the territorial compromise in Jerusalem needed for a Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem and therefore the two-state solution itself. Tourism development projects in Jerusalem are one of the most significant ways of settlement, leading to both a change on the ground and in the public domain, as well as a change in Israeli attitudes by hardening them to the idea of this necessary territorial compromise.”

Israel Orders Demolition of Illegal Settler Structures Following Reversal of Regulation Law

In response to a petition filed by Yesh Din and Emek Shaveh, Israel has said it will demolish illegally built settlement structures on privately owned Palestinian land belonging to the villages of Dir Amar and Ras Karakar. Years ago settlers illegally installed tourist accommodations – benches, terraces, paths, picnic benches and a pergola – at the site of an ancient spring in this area, in an attempt to take control of the site known as Nabi Aner. Nabi Aner is part of an historic Muslim pilgrimage route between Hebron and Bethlehem. The entire area is located in Area C of the West Bank.

Israel’s announcement that it will demolish the structures (and, ostensibly, agree to return the site to Palestinian control), comes two weeks after the Israeli High Court of Justice overturned the Regulation Law, which sought to provide a basis for legalizing settlement structures built on land that even Israeli acknowledges is owned by Palestinians (as is the case with the site in question). The petition to demolish the settlers’ construction was filed in 2017, but was not considered by the Court until now, based on the argument that the Regulation Law – if it withstood Court scrutiny — might have provided the State a basis for retroactively legalizing the structures.

Emek Shaveh said in a statement:

“Over the years, the authorities in the area have refrained from enforcing the law with respect to illegal construction that was carried out on private land and around the archaeological site.  In recent years, the State used the pretext of the Regularization Law as an excuse for continuing the policy of non-enforcement. This is an example of the importance of the nullification of the Regularization Law, which enabled settlers to take over private lands. But regardless of the Regularization Law and its nullification, we find it regrettable that we were forced to petition the court to instruct the State’s enforcement authorities to simply carry out their duties and prevent the settlers from illegally building on private Palestinian land. We regret that the State does not of its own accord enforce the law and stop the damage to archaeological sites and the process of severing Palestinians from access to their cultural and religious roots.”

State Admits to High Court that Jerusalem Cable Car Project Will Require Confiscating Private Palestinian Land

On June 29th, the Israeli High Court of Justice heard arguments concerning the Jerusalem cable car project, an initiative backed by the Elad settler group and advanced by the Israeli Tourism Ministry. During the hearing, the State admitted the implementation of the cable car project will require the confiscation of privately owned Palestinian land in the Silwan neighborhood of East Jerusalem. 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 plan, touted by Elad and other supporters as a vital transportation project, is in reality intended to further entrench settler control in Silwan, via archeology and tourism sites, while simultaneously delegitimizing, dispossessing, and erasing the Palestinian presence there. Emek Shaveh and other non-governmental organizations, including  Who Profits and Terrestrial Jerusalem, have repeatedly challenged (and provided evidence to discredit) 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.

New Ir Amim Paper Looks at Jerusalem to Underscore the “Truth About Annexation”

In a new policy paper, Ir Amim looks at how Israel’s annexation of East Jerusalem has played out since 1967. Ir Amim’s main points – and warnings regarding Israel’s imminent annexation of more West Bank land – are:

1. Israel annexing Palestinian land, but not Palestinian people, who since 1967 have been classified as “permanent residents,” rather than being made citizens, like the Palestinians who remained inside the Green Line after 1948.;
2. Since the moment of annexation of East Jerusalem, Israel has pursued policies meant limit the number of Palestinains in the area, including by driving Palestinians from East Jerusalem;
3. Since the moment of annexation, Israel has attempted to take control of more and more land in East Jerusalem;
4. The Absentees’ Property Law (1950) and The Law and Administration Ordinance (1970) have been Israel’s tools of choice to evict Palestinians from their homes and take their property in East Jerusalem, under the guise of legality;
5. Israel has repeatedly attempted to expand the borders of the area it annexed to include nearby settlements.

Ir Amim writes:

“In order to understand the consequences of annexation it is pertinent to learn from the case of East Jerusalem which Israel unilaterally – and in contravention of international law – annexed. Since 1967 East Jerusalem has been subject to the Jerusalem municipality and to Israeli law. In the decades since 1967, Israeli policy in the city has been driven by massive settlement construction and consistent steps to reduce the city’s Palestinian population. The combination of these two methods is considered by Israel the key to solidifying its control over the annexed territory and to asserting its sovereignty. Examining Israeli policies in East Jerusalem can therefore teach us the dangers of what can take place if the current annexation plan of the Israeli government actually takes place.”

Bonus Reads

1. “Annexation is Already Here” (Jessica Montell // The Times of Israel)
2. “Fight Annexation on Moral Grounds” (Yehuda Shaul // Haaretz)
3. “Quick Facts: Israel’s West Bank Settlement Enterprise” (IMEU)
4. “Despite Talk of Annexation, Fewer Immigrants to Israel Moving to West Bank Settlements” (Haaretz)
5. “Quick Facts: What is the Jewish National Fund”  (IMEU) 

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

To subscribe to this report, please click here.

June 26, 2020

1. Netanyahu Talks to Jordan, Gantz (Finally) Lays Out a Position
2. Trump Advisors Meeting in Washington on Annexation Ends Without Decision
3. Bibi Provides Likud With Talking Points on Annexation, Says Settlements Cannot Ever Be Evacuated
4. Court Approves Sale of Church Properties in Old City of Jerusalem to Radical Settler Org
5. Israel Delivers Eviction Orders to Palestinian Businessowners Despite Claims Palestinians Have Consented to the “Silicon Wadi” Project
6. Israel is Expanding Settler-Only Bypass Road Near Bethlehem, Cutting Palestinians Off from Land
7. Plans for Controversial New Settlement Industrial Zone Near Beitar Illit Are Poised for Final Approval
8. High Court Set to Hear Petition Against Cable Car
9. Emek Shaveh Submits Petition Against Settler-Backed “Accessibility” Project for the Ibrahimi Mosque/Tomb of the Patriarchs
10. Weaponizing Archaeology as a Means of Dispossessing Palestinians
11. Democrats Oppose Annexation But Don’t Threaten Consequences; Republicans Lawmakers Offer Support for Annexation
12. Bonus Reads

Comments/questions? Contact Kristin McCarthy (kmccarthy@fmep.org)

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Netanyahu Talks to Jordan, Gantz (Finally) Lays Out a Position

According to an anonymous Palestinian official, Israel delivered a message to Jordan’s King Abdullah (who then passed it on to Abbas) that Netanyahu is planning to announce annexation of two or three “settlement blocs” as Israel’s initial annexation move, and this announcement will not include annexation of the Jordan Valley. The report provided no details about which “blocs” will be annexed, or how they will be defined. As a reminder, “blocs” is an informal and elastic term that Israel has used to define ever- expanding areas of the West Bank as territory that it will keep.

The reports come after days of suggestions that the U.S. and Netanyahu are favoring a phased annexation plan, meaning that whatever “limited” annexation Israel announces on July 1st (or, more likely, after July 1st), it will be just the first in a wave of annexation announcements, and the fact that it may be “limited” (compared to other options) in no way will signal that Netanyahu has changed his grander ambition to annex every inch of land allowed under Trump Plan. The Trump Plan green lights annexation of around 30% of the West Bank as a starting point, with an implicit green light for further annexation if the Palestinians refuse to negotiate with Israel over the fate of the remaining West Bank territory.

Gantz posted a message on his Facebook page on Friday, June 26th in what some are viewing as an effort to clarify his own position on annexation, which so far has been inconsistent, ambiguous, and confusing. Gantz’s five key positions on annexation according to the new Facebook post are:

1. No annexation of areas where there is a “significant” Palestinian population; 
2. No annexation of land that will impair Palestinians’ freedom of movement;
3. Palestinian living in areas annexed by Israel will be given equal rights;
4. Israel’s security as well as its existing peace agreements will be safeguarded;
5. Israel will initiate “bilateral moves with the Palestinians.”

It was reported earlier this week that Prime Minister Netanyahu presented an ultimatum to Gantz in private deliberations, seeking to force Gantz to choose between supporting annexation or a new round of elections (recent polls suggest new elections would deliver a landslide victory for Netanyahu — no surprise given the fact that in joining the Netanyahu government, Gantz eviscerated Netanyahu’s main opposition party). 

Up to this point, Blue & White party leaders Gantz and Ashkenazi have opposed wide-scale, unilateral annexation on July 1st – instead offering a vision for a phased annexation plan, starting with large settlement blocs, that is coordinated with key international players. Perhaps fulfilling Gantz’s demands, the reports regarding Israel’s message to Jordan propose a more limited initial annexation plan, suggesting perhaps that Netanyahu has adopted two of Gantz’s main positions. It’s also worth recalling that last week Gantz and his party mate Ashkenazi were pushing a phased annexation plan and specified that the Ma’ale Adumim and the Etzion settlement blocs (east and south of Jerusalem) are the place to start.

Even before word of the Jordan communique and Gantz’s Facebook message hit the press on June 26th, it was a near consensus position amongst Israeli news outlets and analysts that Gantz was not going to stand in the way of annexation. On June 22nd, Gantz reportedly told a group of defense officials that Israel “won’t keep waiting for the Palestinians” to engage in negotiations on the basis of the Trump Plan. Those remarks were interpreted as a signal of Gantz’s acquiescence to Netanyahu’s annexation plan (or at least of his growing disinterest in even appearing to oppose it). In the same set of remarks, Gantz went on to blame the Palestinians in even more harsh language, saying they are attempting to drag Israel into “deep shit.” Haaretz suggests, “…Gantz’s tone and his actual comments confirm the assumption that there will be no life-and-death battle here. Gantz knows that the final decision is not up to him, but rather up to Netanyahu.” In a separate article, Haaretz columnist Noa Landau put it this way: “[Gantz’s] remarks [on June 22nd] sounded more like a threat against the Palestinians for refusing to extricate him from this mess.”

Trump Advisors Meeting in Washington on Annexation Ends Without Decision 

Internal Israeli negotiations set a dramatic stage for 3 days of discussions this week in Washington between the Trump Administration officials who are the architects and managers of the Trump Plan, as the reportedly sought to come to agreement over what form of annexation the Trump Administration will green light for July 1. Multiple reports in the days leading up to the U.S. deliberations suggested that the group was considering options ranging from  a “gradual” annexation plan starting with large settlements around Jerusalem, to a more large-scale and immediate plan. At the end of the week, the Americans reportedly failed to reach a decision on how they would want to see Israel’s annexation of West Bank land to proceed. Three members of the team, Avi Berkowitz and NSA Advisor Scott Leith, and Amb. Friedman – are reportedly en route back to Israel and will continue discussions with Netanyahu. Notably, in parallel to the Washington meetings, reports emerged suggesting that Netanyahu’s annexation announcement may be delayed and that July 1st might mark the start of Israeli security cabinet deliberations over annexation (to this point deliberations have been between Netanyahu and Gantz without wider input from cabinet members). 

Amb. David Friedman (who flew to back to DC for the meeting) was joined by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, senior advisor Jared Kushner, Middle East envoy Avi Berkowitz, and national security advisor Robert O’Brien for deliberations starting on June 23rd. 

Bibi Provides Likud With Talking Points on Annexation, Says Settlements Cannot Ever Be Evacuated

Netanyahu sent a memo to Likud lawmakers this week laying out key talking points in the ongoing effort to defend annexation, in which he argues that evacuating settlement poses an “immediate existential threat” to Israel. The memo says:

“Relinquishing these territories would not only constitute a historic injustice; such a move would create an immediate existential threat to the Jewish state since Judea and Samaria border central Israeli cities.”

The memo also adopts a U.S. talking point that annexation in fact advances the cause of peace, but instead of giving any nod to a future Palestinian state or two state solution, Bibi’s memo claims that annexing West Bank settlements can provide for “to a realistic regional peace based upon facts on the ground.” This double speak (annexation is peace) was prominently articulated by Ron Dermer in a recent Washington Post op-ed.

Court Approves Sale of Church Properties in Old City of Jerusalem to Radical Settler Org

On June 24th, the Jerusalem District Court rejected a final request filed by the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate to block the sale of its historic church properties to the radical settler group Ateret Cohanim. The Court’s ruling brings an end to 16 years of litigation and paves the way for Ateret Cohanim to evict Palestinian tenants and businessowners from three coveted church properties in the Old City including the Petra Hotel and the Imperial Hotel (together, the buildings flank the Jaffa Gate entrance into the Old City – meaning that Ateret Cohanim now controls a substantial amount of land at a key entrance to the Old City). The third building – known to Palestinians as Beit Amziya – is located in the Muslim Quarter.

The ruling comes just four months after the Jerusalem District Court appointed a lawyer associated with Ateret Cohanim as the legal custodian of the Petra Hotel for the duration of a bankruptcy case against the Palestinians currently operating the hotel.

The legal battle over the properties dates back to 2004, when the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate agreed to sell the three properties to a foreign real estate company under three separate contracts. It did so not knowing that the radical settler group Ateret Cohanim was behind the transaction. News of the sales made headlines in early 2005.

Upon the revelation that Ateret Cohanim was the real buyer, the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate was deeply embarrassed and immediately sought to retain control of the properties. The Patriarchate alleged that the transactions involved corruption and bribery, arguing that the legal documents had been signed without permission by a finance employee. Dismissing the church’s arguments, this week the Supreme Court upheld prior rulings that the signatures on the legal documents were valid, with the finance employee acting as a legal proxy of the Patriarchate.

The Greek Orthodox Church has received significant blowback from the sale of these properties. In January 2018, Palestinians protested in Bethlehem in an attempt to block the arrival of Patriarch Theophilos III for Christmas celebrations.

Israel Delivers Eviction Orders to Palestinian Businessowners Despite Claims Palestinians Have Consented to the “Silicon Wadi” Project

Middle East Eye reports that the “Silicon Wadi” project (as reported on by FMEP on June 5th) is being discussed by the Jerusalem District Committee but has not yet reached the stage of being deposited for public review. According to one Palestinian business owner who faces eviction under the plan, the District Committee required the Jerusalem Municipality to notify the owners and renters of the buildings that will be demolished to make way for the new construction. Last week, the Municipality delivered that notification to renters in the form of eviction orders, saying that the businesses were operating in violation of Israeli regulations (i.e., illegally, even though the businesses have been there – and paying taxes to Israel – for decades). The orders give businesses 6 months to vacate.

One Palestinian businessowner, Mahmoud al-Kurd, told Middle East Eye:

“I will stay here to the last moment. This profession is my passion. In this old space I managed to achieve my successes. It is enough that the soul of my deceased father roams around me here – he is the one who rented this store decades ago and passed on his means of sustenance to us. I refuse to be an employee of a Jewish broker if we were transferred to work in the Israeli industrial areas.”

The Jerusalem Municipality – which claims that this project has the support and consent of Palestinians  – also claims that it is looking into options for compensating business owners (mostly auto mechanics) who will lose their garages.

Israel is Expanding Settler-Only Bypass Road Near Bethlehem, Cutting Palestinians Off from Land

The Palestinian news outlet Wafa reports that Israel has begun work on expanding a settler-only bypass road just west of Bethlehem.The road is reportedly being expanded and widened on Palestinian land belonging to the Nahalin village; construction of the new road segment and widening the existing road will cut off Palestinians from 741 acres (3,000 dunams) of their land.

The road serves to directly connect the Beitar Illit settlement to the Modiin Illit settlement,  both of which are a part of the so-called “Etzion Bloc.” The construction goes to show that the settlement “Blocs” – around which some suggest there is a “consensus” that Israel will retain them in any future deal with the Palestinians, and others suggest Israel can annex without controvery – are a pretext for a continuing campaign of dispossession, discrimination, and human rights abuses against neighboring Palestinians. For a deep dive into the highly consequential acceptance/normalization of the “settlement bloc” framing, see here.

Plans for Controversial New Settlement Industrial Zone Near Beitar Illit Are Poised for Final Approval

Al Monitor reports that plans for the construction of a new settlement industrial zone near the Beitar Illit settlement in the southern West Bank are ready to be submitted for final approval from the Civil Administration. Environmental activists say the new zone will pollute and possibly destroy the underground water sources feeding the terraced hills of Battir, a UNESCO World Heritage site. 

The plan for the new zone – which will include offices, shops, sports facilities, public buildings, and a cemetery – was initiated in 2018 at the insistence of Israel’s former Interior Minister Aryeh Deri. Palestinians claim that plans for the zone include construction on privately owned Palestinian land.

Gidon Bromberg, Executive Director of EcoPeace, told Al-Monitor:

“Planning maps clearly show that the industrial estate would indeed cover much of the buffer zone of the World Heritage site as well as touch the core area itself.”

High Court Set to Hear Petition Against Cable Car

The Israeli NGO Emek Shaveh reports that the Israeli High Court of Justice will take up the case of the Jerusalem cable car project on June 29th. The court will consider three arguments made in a petition filed against the plan submitted by Emek Shaveh and leading experts. Those arguments are:

1. “A transitional government is not authorized to make an irreversible decision such as approval of the cable car project:  The cable car project will cost the public hundreds of millions of shekels.  During a period when the government is carrying out a broad cut in the budget of billions of shekels and is reducing the budgets for health and welfare, it is inappropriate that a transitional government leaves a bequest of this magnitude for the next government to inherit.  In the response of the Deputy Attorney General, Att. Othman Roslan, to the petition, while arguing that the process was not in conflict with the law, he did not conceal the fact that the it was problematic. [See FMEP’s coverage of the Israeli government’s approval of the plan in November 2019]
2. “There was a serious flaw in the planning process in that the Ministry of Transportation was not included in the project that purports to be a transportation project:  While the project is represented  as a transport project, the Ministry of Transportation was not included in the process and the project was not required to meet the standards set forth for transportation projects in the State of Israel. Instead it was approved on the basis of reports and data less comprehensive than those required for every other transportation project.
3. “The decision was made on the basis of misleading simulations:  The backers of the plan did not present complete simulations that accurately illustrate the cable cars in motion and the resulting damage to the historic landscape.  The National Infrastructure Committee should have demanded that the backers present simulations that illustrate the actual cars in motion.”

The Jerusalem cable car project is an initiative of the Elad settler organization (which is building a massive tourism center – the Kedem Center – in the Silwan neighborhood of East Jerusalem, slated to be a stop along the cable car’s route). The scheme is intended to further entrench settler control in Silwan, via archeology and tourism sites, while simultaneously delegitimizing, dispossessing, and erasing the Palestinian presence there. Non-governmental organizations including Emek Shaveh,  Who Profits, and Terrestrial Jerusalem have repeatedly challenged (and provided evidence to discredit) 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 impacts the cable car project will have on Palestinian residents of Silwan.

Emek Shaveh Submits Petition Against Settler-Backed “Accessibility” Project for the Ibrahimi Mosque/Tomb of the Patriarchs

On June 18th, Emek Shaveh and Palestinian residents of Hebron jointly submitted a petition challenging Israel’s issuance of a permit to build an elevator to the Ibrahimi Mosque/Tomb of the Patriarchs, arguing that:

1. “The plan was illegally approved  by a transitional government; 
2. “The plan is in contravention of international agreements to which Israel is a signatory; 
3. “[The plan] is an unprecedented injury to the character of the ancient structure;  No documentation and preservation file has been submitted.”

One signatory on the petition is a disabled Palestinian, Kamal Abadin, who makes the salient point that Israel’s policies in Hebron do not indicate it has concern for accessibility, saying:

“I almost do not come to pray at the mosque because as a Palestinian, I am not permitted to drive in my car from my house to the site, because the road is closed to Palestinian vehicles.  If Israel asserts that it wants to make the site accessible to the disabled, let it start with allowing disabled Palestinians to access it by car.”

Emek Shaveh explained  in a statement:

“Unfortunately, even at the price of damage to a structure more than 2,000 years old that is holy to Judaism and Islam, Israel is prepared to be led by the settlers and their plans, and on the way, to violate international agreements to which it is a signatory.  The settlers have succeeded in turning the needs of persons with disabilities into a political issue and a means for deepening the dispute with the Palestinians.  We all know that what begins in Hebron does not stay only in Hebron and the unilateral steps at the Tomb of the Patriarchs could serve as a precedent for unilateral actions at another site which is holy to both Judaism and Islam.”

Weaponizing Archaeology as a Means of Dispossessing Palestinians

A settler group which sprung from the radical Regavim organization has sharpened a new bureaucratic weapon by which to advance the dispossession of Palestinians. The settler group – called Shomrim Al Hanetzach (“Guarding Eternity”) – has been surveying areas in the West Bank that Israel has designated as archeaological sites in order to call in Israeli authorities to demolish Palestinian construction in these areas. In 2017, it should be noted, Israel declared 1,000 new archaeological sites in Area C of the West Bank. The group communicates its findings to the Archaeology Unit in the Israeli Civil Administration (the military body by which the government of Israel regulates all planning and building in the West Bank). The Archaeology Unit, playing its part, then delivers eviction and demolition orders against Palestinians, claiming that the structures damage antiquities in the area. 

In addition, in 2019  the Israeli government increased the size of the Archaeology Unit’s staff and granted the unit new authority to carry out investigations into cases of construction on archaeological sites. Moreover, using new powers the Civil Administration gave itself (via a military order) in June 2017, the Israeli goverment has accelerated the demolition of Palestinian buildings by drastically  limiting the time period during which Palestinians are permitted to challenge demolition orders. Palestinians have a mere 96 hours after receiving the notice to file a legal challenge.

As a result, there has been a sharp rise in the number of archaeology-related demolition orders over the past year: Israel issued 118 demolition order and warnings against Palestinian structures built on West Bank archaeological sites in 2019, compared to 61 orders in 2018 and 45 orders in 2017. 

The Director of Shomrim Al Hanetzach told Haaretz: 

“We took it upon ourselves to make the supervision process more efficient – hiking guides and archaeologists turn to us and tell us about the destruction of antiquities, and we report them further to the necessary people.”

In the case of one Palestinian, Mahmoud Bisharat, he says that Israel conducted an archaeological survey of the area in 1972 but never complained about Palestinian construction in the area until now. The Civil Administration ordered Bisharat to demolish his home, olive trees, well, and concrete structures around a well.

In addition to hiking and surveying Palestinian land, Palestinians have reported that Regavim activists also use drones to photograph their land and buildings, and have made the connection between those activities to demolition orders from the Civil Administration.

Democrats Oppose Annexation But Don’t Threaten Consequences; Republicans Lawmakers Offer Support for Annexation

In warring moves this week, Republicans and Democrats staked out positions on Israel’s forthcoming annexation of land in the West Bank.

189 of 233 Democrats in the House signed a letter sent to Netanyahu and Gantz expressing deep concern about annexation, saying it does not serve Israeli security interests nor the peace process. The letter, notably, does not contain any threat of consequences should Israel implement annexation.  J Street is reportedly behind drafting and circulating the letters for signatures.

116 out of 198 Republicans in the House signed a letter sent  to Prime Minister Nentanyahu expressing support for Israel’s “right to sovereignty and defensible borders.” The letter also praises the Trump Plan. The Republic Jewish Committee is reportedly behind drafting and circulating the letter for signatures.

7 out of 53 Republicans in the Senate signed a letter to President Trump led by Senators Cotton (R-AR) and Cruz (R-TX) that is not only supportive of annexation, but actually encourage Israel to implement annexation.

Back in May, 18 out of 47 Democrats/Independents in the Senate sent a letter to Netanyahu and Gantz cautioning them against annexation.

Bonus Reads

1. “How settler groups could use annexation to deepen Palestinian dispossession” (+972 Magazine)
2. “Israel’s High Court Is Willfully Blind to Theft of Palestinian Land” (Haaretz)
3. “Israel’s ‘strangling’ of Bethlehem tightens as world debates annexation” (+972 Magazine)
4. “Settlers Assault Palestinians on Their Own Land, as Israeli Soldiers Watch” (Haaretz)
5. “For Netanyahu, Annexation May Spell Little Gain, and Lots of Pain“ (Haaretz)

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

To subscribe to this report, please click here.

June 19, 2020

1. High Court Overturns Settlement Regulation Law
   
   • Does It Matter?
2. Israel Starts Construction on Major New Settler Bypass Road  in East Jerusalem
3. Israel Announces New Opening Date for Givat Hamatos Settlement Tender
4. Top Court Orders Israel to Explain Failure to Enforce Building Laws in West Bank
5. Israel Government Pauses Settler-Backed Excavation in Silwan, Tacitly Acknowledging Impacts on Palestinian Residents
6. Israel Demolishes Structures in Two Outposts, Arrests 13 Settlers
7. Israel Continues Prepping for Annexation
8. With New Phased Plan, Netanyahu Said to Be Ready to Implement Annexation With or Without Gantz’s Support
9. Gantz Suggests Annexing Two Large “Consensus” Settlement Areas First
10. Amb. David Friedman Tries, Fails to Broker Annexation Agreement Between Israeli Leaders
11. Settlers Continue Opposing Key Parts of Trump Plan, But Offer Support for Phased Approach
12. “Hilltop Youth” Launch Campaign to Stop Trump Plan, Claim Land in Area A of West Bank
13. Settler Group Raises Concern for the Fate of  West Bank Religious Sites Under the Trump Plan
14. Bonus Reads

Comments/questions? Contact Kristin McCarthy (kmccarthy@fmep.org)

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High Court Overturns Settlement Regulation Law

In a ruling issued on June 9th, the Israeli High Court of Justice overturned the Regulation Law, which was passed by the Israeli Knesset in February 2017 in order to create a legal basis to allow Israel to retroactively legalize outposts and settlement structures which had been built on land that Israel acknowledges is privately owned by Palestinians. In overturning the law, the Court found:

1. The Knesset cannot legislate directly over the West Bank. The Court’s ruling acknowledged that the West Bank is a region under “belligerent occupation,” where the norm for 53 years has been that the Israeli military commander is the temporary, de facto sovereign authority, not the Knesset. The Regulation Law violates this norm.
2. Palestinians living in the West Bank have the special status as “protected persons” living under “belligerent occupation,” and Israeli settlers do not enjoy the same status (i.e., settlers are not part of the “local population” of the West Bank). This particular statement overturns a previous opinion issued by former High Court judge Salim Joubran in 2017, which said settlers can be considered part of the local population — an opinion which had far-reaching implications for Israel’s rule over the West Bank.
3. The law violates the right to property and the right to equality, because it only provided a basis for the confiscation of Palestinian land for Israeli use, but not vice versa.
4. The law does not serve a legitimate purpose. On this point, Peace Now writes: “Most purposes presented by the state for why expropriating Palestinian private land was allowed were deemed illegitimate [by the Court]. Only one was not categorically rejected: preventing harm to the settlers, who would have to leave their houses. In this case, the Court pointed out that there are other ways to mitigate this unfairness (compensation with money and housing), and that it is not proportional to just continue using someone else’s land. “

In a joint statement following the ruling, Peace Now, Yesh Din and ACRI say:

“The Regulation Law was a black mark on the Israeli Knesset and on Israeli democracy, and the High Court of Justice has ruled the obvious: thou shalt not steal. We are proud that we served as the responsible adult that fought tirelessly to stop it. It was our duty to prevent the harm it threatened to Palestinians living under occupation, as well as to the prospects of peace. The law was of a criminal nature, designed to retroactively legalize thievery and allow systematic plundering of land. We have curbed this unsuccessful attempt to expropriate private land of a people, living under occupation by a government they did not choose, for the benefit of new settlements aimed at fragmenting the West Bank. Although the Court avoided ruling on whether the Knesset has jurisdiction to legislate over the Occupied Territories, it deemed that such legislation is problematic (to say the least). This raises a red flag to the peddlers of annexation. Let it be clear: If the Government of Israel goes ahead with its plan to annex, it will authorize the harsh damages the High Court sought to prevent by revoking this law.”

B’Tselem said:

“All lands in the West Bank are Palestinian, and even after today’s HCJ (High Court of Justice) ruling Israel will continue to take over more and more Palestinian land. This reality of ongoing land theft by the State of Israel does not fundamentally change today, nor does it diminish the Israeli HCJ’s role in legitimizing it over the years.”

Does It Matter?

Though the High Court’s ruling this week is a positive development, the state’s need for the Regulation Law has entirely been overtaken by events – possible annexation being one, and the “market regulation” principle being another. 

Annexation (i.e., under Israeli law, transforming land held under “belligerent occupation” into part of the sovereign state of Israel) would likely render moot two of the key arguments cited by the Court in overturning the Regulation Law. Specifically, after annexation, the Court would likely accede both to the Knesset’s right to legislate directly over West Bank land that is annexed, and to the argument that Palestinians living in these areas enjoy no special protected status. Israel would still need to find or create a legal basis to justify confiscating privately owned Palestinian land annexed by Israel (whether to legalize Israeli construction or to justify taking land from Palestinian landowers who reside beyond the line of annexation). 

Whether or not annexation proceeds, Israel has already found and begun implementing an alternative legal tactic to grant retroactively legalization to outposts and settlement structures bult on privately owned Palestinian land. Attorney General Avichai Mandleblit – who opposed the Regulation Law’s legal reasoning, but not its objective – has succeeded in charting out that alternative course via what has been called the “Market Regulation principle.” Mandleblit argues that this principle is “a more proportionate and balanced measure than the arrangement prescribed in the Regulation Law,” providing a narrower legal basis by which Israel can strip Palestinian landowners of their rights (Peace Now estimates that 2,000 structures can be legalized under the “market regulation principle,” compared to 4,000 under the Regulation Law). Of course, this argument overlooks the severe violation of Palestinian rights, the rule of law, and international law inherent in Israel’s decision to in effect erase Palestinian private property rights in the occupied territory to benefit the settlers. 

Lastly, it is important to remember that there is a concerted effort being waged against the High Court by Netanyahu and a constellation of his friends and enemies on the political right. For years, right-wing lawmakers have accused the Court of being a leftist bastion, and those lawmakers have been pushing legislation that would allow the Knesset to overrule the High Court of Justice, specifically connecting that campaign to the fate of the Regulation Law. 

Following the pattern, after the Court’s ruling against the Regulation Law, the Likud Party called the Court’s decision “unfortunate,” saying that the law was “important to the settlement enterprise and its future” and vowing to immediately act to advance a new law with the same goal. Speaker of the Knesset Yariv Levin (Likud) said:

“the Knesset will no longer be silent in light of the ongoing violation of its powers and status. Today, the High Court once again trampled on Israeli democracy and the basic human rights of many of Israel’s citizens, as has become its wrongful practice. The ruling given seemingly without authority is making another rip in Israeli society and will further damage public confidence in the Supreme Court and its judges.”

The Yamina Party also announced that it would once again be advancing legislation to allow the Knesset to override High Court decisions, saying that anyone who opposes the bill “is a leftist.”

Israel Starts Construction on Major New Settler Bypass Road  in East Jerusalem

Israel has started construction on a major new bypass road for settlers – dubbed the “American road” – meant to seamlessly connect settlements located in the north and south of Jerusalem to one another. The road will be accessible to Palestinians, a fact touted as proof of Israeli benevolence, but its clear primary purpose is to entrench Israel settlements, expand Israeli control over all of East Jerusalem, and close off Palestinian East Jerusalem neighborhoods from the rest of the West Bank, thereby (further) torpedoing Palestinian hopes of one day establishing a capital in East Jerusalem.

The new road will be five miles long, stretching from the Har Homa settlement in the southern part of East Jerusalem towards the site of the E-1 settlement site located in the West Bank, on Jerusalem’s eastern periphery near the Maale Adumim settlement. It is being built in three sections. The two southern sections are currently under construction, including a towering bridge over Palestinian neighborhoods. Construction tenders for the northern section of the highway, which will include a 1-mile long tunnel just east of the Mount of Olives, are expected to be issued by the end of the year according to an official at the Jerusalem Municipality. It is forecast to cost approximately $250 million USD.

Fadi Al-Hidmi, the Palestinian Minister of Jerusalem Affairs, told Reuters:

“This project cuts off Palestinian neighborhoods within the city from one another…[it] surrounds occupied East Jerusalem to further connect Israeli settlements and sever the occupied Palestinian capital from the rest of the West Bank.”

Terrestrial Jerusalem founder Daniel Seidemann explains:

“What we are seeing here is, again, the seamless integration of the northern West Bank, East Jerusalem under sole Israeli control, and the southern West Bank for the purposes of the settlers. That is the motivation”

Israel Announces New Opening Date for Givat Hamatos Settlement Tender

On June 15th, the Israel Land Authority announced that the tender for construction of 1,077 units in the Givat Hamatos settlement is set to open for bids on August 2nd. The opening of the bidding period was originally set for May 3rd, but was delayed without explanation. If the new date sticks, the bidding period will be open until September 7th.

Peace Now said in a statement:

“Promoting construction in Givat HaMatos is a dangerous step that could ultimately cripple the prospect of peace and a two-state solution. Netanyahu published the tender while in a probational government, without a mandate. The new government must abolish this disaster and stop the tender. It is sad to see that parties in the government which received the votes of the peace camp are giving a hand to move this plan along instead of annulling it for the sake of Israel’s future.”

Terrestrial Jerusalem speculates as to why, after deferring the opening of the tender, Netanyahu might be moving forward now, saying:

“…Givat Hamatos could well become a compensation to the settlers should the government refrain from pursuing annexation or should it decide to limit the scope of annexation. It is difficult to predict how this will play in the government’s calculus but it is difficult to separate the two issues. The possibly looming annexation, the publication of Givat Hamatos tenders and the hearings slated for July for the final approval of E1 are intimately related to the fact that Netanyahu has chosen this timing to move on plans which he had frozen for decades is an indication that these actions may be viewed as anticipatory annexation.”

As a reminder, the Givat Hamatos settlement has been fully approved but not constructed. Located in the southern part of East Jerusalem, Givat Hamatos settlement has long been called a doomsday settlement by parties interested in preserving the possibility of a two-state solution. If the Givat Hamatos settlement is built, the Palestinian neighborhood of Beit Safafa in East Jerusalem will be completely surrounded by Israeli construction, severing its connection to the West Bank. 

Top Court Orders Israel to Explain Failure to Enforce Building Laws in West Bank

On June 15th, the Israeli High Court of Justice gave the Israeli government two months to offer an explanation for why it has not opened a criminal investigation into unauthorized construction in the Hayovel outpost, located in the central West Bank.

The Court’s order comes in response to a petition filed by Peace Now in January 2019 asking the Court to stop the illegal construction at the Hayovel site and investigate the criminal involvement of the Binyamin Regional Council in promoting illegal construction. At that time (18 long months ago), the State announced that the police anti-fraud unit and the State Prosecutor’s Office would “examine” the case. The state has failed to launch that “examination,” and is now being ordered to explain why.

Israel Government Pauses Settler-Backed Excavation in Silwan, Tacitly Acknowledging Impacts on Palestinian Residents

In a report released last month, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) said that several months ago it had briefly halted digging on the excavation of the “Pilgrim’s Road” – an excavation backed by the radical Elad settler group and promoted by U.S. Ambassador David Friedman underneath the Silwan neighborhood of East Jerusalem – because the ground around the site began to sink. In order to shore up the collapsing area, the IAA had to build huge underground steel framed structure to hold up the street and buildings above.

Despite years of Palestinians reporting that settler digging was literally undermining and causing damage to their homes and property in Silwan, Elad and the IAA have always denied any connection between the damage and their archeological projects. In a recent report, the Israeli NGO Emek Shaveh – which has routinely reported on the problematic excavation practices utilized in Silwan and their impacts on Palestinians homeowners and residents – found cracks in 38 houses (home to 200 residents) near the dig site.

The IAA attempted to downplay the pause in excavations, telling Haaretz:

“The excavation is being conducted with ongoing engineering oversight combined with technology that continuously monitors the ground. As part of this monitoring, a few months ago a minor shift was detected on the level of the ancient Herodian street (and not on the modern street, which is eight meters above). An examination found that the area does not run under residential homes or structures. As a result of the monitoring, a new engineering solution was immediately applied and has proven effective.”

Israel Demolishes Structures in Two Outposts, Arrests 13 Settlers

On June 15th the Israeli Civil Administration forcibly evacuated and demolished buildings in two unauthorized outposts – Baladim and Maoz Esther – located in the northern West Bank. Haaretz reports that settlers rioted and threw rocks as the Israeli Border Police carried out the demolition orders, leading to the arrest of 13 settlers.

The unauthorized outpost of Moaz Esther has been repeatedly demolished by the Civil Administration, and settlers have repeatedly re-established the outpost without authorization to do so. This cat-and-mouse game was once dubbed “the never-ending evacuation.”

The Baladim outpost – an outpost associated with the radical, violent “Hilltop Youth” – is located on a hilltop in the northern Jordan Valley and has likewise been evacuated by the IDF and re-occupied by the youth numerous times. It is alleged that settlers from Baladim may have been responsible for the horrific arson attack in the Palestinian village of Duma which killed an infant and both of his parents, and critically wounded his 4-year old brother in July 2015. Background on Jordan Valley settlements and outposts is here.

Israel Continues Prepping for Annexation

While Israeli leaders debate and negotiate what will/won’t happen come July 1st with respect to annexation, the government continues to take preparatory steps suggesting that it intends to implement some degree of annexation on that date.

This week, Alternate Prime Minister Benny Gantz attempted to form a committee to oversee and coordinate annexation across the government. Israel’s Channel 12 news reports that three former senior IDF officials rejected Gantz’s offer to head that committee, and that Gantz has not been able to stand up such a committee as of yet.

In the Jordan Valley, Palestinians continue reporting new indications that Israel is already implementing annexation. This week Palestinians report a sharp increase in home demolitions, police raids in Palestinian villages, and confiscations. Palestinians also say that Israeli police have hand delivered notices informing them that they will soon be brought under Israeli domestic law. On June 2nd, Palestinian Prime Minister Shtayyeh also noted that for the first time ever, the Isreali Civil Administration directly delivered electricity bills to Palesitnian villages in the Jordan Valley, a move which brings Palestinians more directly under Israeli municipal governance and control.

With New Phased Plan, Netanyahu Said to Be Ready to Implement Annexation With or Without Gantz’s Support 

Israel Hayom reports that Netanyahu intends to enact annexation on July 1st with or without support from Alternative Prime Minister Benny Gantz and (what is left of) his Blue & White party. The newspaper – which is owned by Netanyahu (and Trump) backer Sheldon Adelson and is so closely aligned with Netanyahu that it has long been nicknamed “Bibiton” – reports that Netanyahu will do so via government approval, bypassing entirely a vote in the Knesset. This comes after the announcement by Communications Minister Yoaz Hendel (of Derekh Eretz, a party in the Blue & White bloc) that he would vote in favor of annexation if presented by Netanyahu, giving Netanyahu a majority in the cabinet. The Israel Hayom report further suggests that in the event that Gantz somehow succeeds in stymying the passage of his annexation plan by the Cabinet, Netanyahu will call for new elections. This follows the results of a recent poll showing that Netanyahu’s Likud Party would win a new election by a landslide.

During negotiations this week Netanyahu also reportedly presented Gantz and U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman with maps of four alternate options for annexation. According to an Israeli official briefed on the meeting, Netanyahu’s proposed scenarios range from annexing 30% of the West Bank (as provided for under the Trump Plan), to annexing a “symbolic” amount of land (reminder: any annexation, no matter how “small” or “symbolic” is a flagrant violation of international law and can only be considered land theft), to options somewhere in between the two. Israel Hayom reports that none of Netanyahu’s four scenarios completely align with the Trump Plan, suggesting perhaps that Netanyahu has adopted some of the demands made by settlers (e.g., no settlement enclaves, no Palestinian state, no construction freeze).

A June 17th report by Israel Hayom offers a theory that Netanyahu is hopeful that the U.S. will support a phased annexation plan. According to this theory, Netanyahu plans for the first phase – to start on July 1st –  to involve annexing far-flung settlements located deep inside the West Bank. After that, Bibi will reach out to the Palestinian Authority for talks. If the PA refuses to negotiate, he will proceed with the second phase of annexing all remaining settlements and more land across the entire West Bank. Explaining Netanyahu’s rationale behind this plan, Israel Hayom writes:

“There were reportedly several considerations that prompted the prime minister to consider a two-stage plan to implement sovereignty. First, he expects that the revised plan will send a signal to the international community and the region that Israel listens to their criticism and acts cautiously. Second, a two-stage implementation is also expected to suit the White House, which sees the Trump plan as a peace plan rather than a plan for annexation. The Trump administration wants the Palestinians to realize that time is not on their side, so calling on Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to come to the table between the first and second stages of the plan’s implementation serves that purpose…There are other reasons why Netanyahu wants to begin the application of sovereignty ‘deep’ inside Judea and Samaria: refraining from applying sovereignty to the Jordan Valley in the first stage could blunt Jordan’s response, which is a concern. Moreover, a broad agreement that the Jordan Valley will remain in Israel hands under any future peace deal already exists, making the valley less urgent than the Judea and Samaria settlements. The same reasoning applies to the large settlement blocs in areas such as Ariel, Maaleh Adumim, and Gush Etzion. All previous peace plans have stated that these blocs would remain part of Israel, whereas the application of Israeli sovereignty to the far-flung settlements would be a weighty diplomatic statement and eradicate the possibility of them being uprooted and evacuated in the future.”

An anonymous cabinet minister made yet another argument in favor of a more aggressive first phase of annexation, telling Army Radio:

“the diplomatic price Israel will pay if it goes to partial annexation is the same as full annexation, so it is not clear what the thinking is behind a partial move.”

Gantz Suggests Annexing Two Large “Consensus” Settlement Areas First

In a separate report by Kan Radio on June 17th suggests Gantz and his Blue & White Party have their own plan which would have Israel annex the Etzion and Ma’aleh Adumim settlement “blocs” on July 1st, in a direct contradiction to the logic underpinning Netanyahu’s plan to annex the more controversial settlements in the first phase of the plan, as described above. Though the report mentions that Gantz’s plan also involves phases, no further details were revealed.  

Earlier in the week, during the three-way negotiations with Netanyahu and U.S. Ambassador David Friedman, Gantz reportedly staked out four key positions for any annexation plan:

• He is opposed to annexing areas that have a large number of Palestinian residents “in order to prevent friction”;
• He insists that all Palestinians living in annexed land must be granted citizenship;
• He wants regional cooperation on annexation (i.e., he wants a plan that would not harm relations with Jordan and that is palatable to the rest of the Arab world, with which Israel has worked for years to court better economic/diplomatic relationships);
• He wants to be able to say Palestinians get some benefits in return for annexation.

In a surprising announcement, Meretz MK Yair Golan came out in support of the Blue & White plan to annex the Maale Adumim and Etzion settlement blocs, stating:

“If the Israeli government says its supreme goal is to separate from the Palestinians and reach a solution where the Palestinians no longer live under our control, then I will support it.”

Amb. David Friedman Tries, Fails to Broker Annexation Agreement Between Israeli Leaders

The new phased approaches to annexation offered by Netanyahu and Gantz come on the heels of a week of negotiations between the two Israeli leaders, kicked off on June 15th at an unprecedented summit convened by U.S. Ambassador David Friedman. Friedman was apparently unsuccessful in brokering an agreement, and at the end of the week reportedly walked away from the negotiations, telling Gantz and Netanyahu something along the lines of, “This is my number, call me if you manage to agree.” It is unclear what role Jared Kushner, the ostensible leader of the U.S. team, might have played in this week’s events; Kushner is reportedly in favor of delaying annexation, while Friedman is pushing for annexation to move ahead as soon as possible. Discussions between Netanyahu and Gantz are scheduled to resume next week.

Netanyahu’s threat (discussed above) to go ahead with annexation without the support of Gantz contravenes the U.S. call for Israeli unity behind any annexation. It was only one week ago that a senior U.S. official said that it is “highly unlikely” that the U.S. will give a greenlight to annexation that is not supported by Gantz. The Israel Hayom report suggests that Netanyahu hopes the U.S. can get behind one of his proposals, allowing him to proceed with or without Gantz.

Settlers Continue Opposing Key Parts of Trump Plan, But Offer Support for Phased Approach

A recent poll found that 56% of settlers support the Trump Plan, as the settler leadership continues lobbying for more land as negotiations over the annexation map continue. The poll found the 28% of settlers believe the plan is “terrible and must be opposed.”

On June 7th  Netanayahu, Settlements Minister Tzipi Hotovely, and Speaker of the Knesset Yariv Levin met with a group of eleven settler leaders who support the Trump Plan. Participants in the meeting said that Netanyahu promised that he would not agree to the future establishment of Palestinian state, and that he would not agree to any construction freeze for any settlements – addressing two of the three main demands from settlers, even settlers who support the Trump Plan. 

The third key concern/demand from settlers is that the map does not leave Israeli settlements in enclaves surrounded by Palestinian-controlled territory. To that end, settlers from the Yesha Council – which has mostly opposed the Trump Plan – have drawn up their own map, reportedly showing how the construction of a new road system can eliminate the concern about settlement enclaves. 

Notably, settlers who participated in the June 7th meeting confirmed early reports about Netanyahu’s design for a phased annexation plan (different from the phased plan reported by Israel Hayom). According to these reports, Phase 1 will start on July 1st with annexing all the settlements, but leaving the rest of the land allocated to Israel under the Trump Plan, including the Jordan Valley, to be annexed later.

Notably, the CEO of the settler Yesha Council, Yigal Dilmoni, came out in support of a phased annexation plan, while doubling down on the settlers’ conditions for accepting such a plan, saying:

“There must be sovereignty, even if it is in stages, but in no way can there be a Palestinian state, nor a [settlement building] freeze, and no enclave settlements.”

Meanwhile, Yesha Council Chairman David Elhayani continues his no-holds-barred attack on the Trump Plan and its architects, telling Haaretz that he prefers the status quo in the West Bank, and going on to say:

“From the beginning, I marked the Americans as a target. I said that [Trump’s special adviser and son-in-law Jared] Kushner had stabbed Netanyahu in the back after the event in Washington, and I later said that Friedman was being deceptive in selling only the sovereignty part without revealing to Israelis that ultimately there’s also a Palestinian state. This was a scam, and it was time to go to Trump – who isn’t familiar with the plan – and tell him: ‘Sir, you’re endangering the security of the State of Israel.’ The Palestinian public is of no interest to them. I’ll tell you what interests them: they want to chalk up some achievement. Kushner wants to bring his father-in-law Trump the achievement of being the greatest leader in the world. No leader since 1948 has managed to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and here, the great Trump arrived and did it! He’ll say, ‘I told you. I’m a businessman and I know how to close deals. This is the deal I closed: Have sovereignty and give a Palestinian state.’ If you met President Trump tomorrow morning and asked him about the details of this plan, do you think he’d know?”

“Hilltop Youth” Launch Campaign to Stop Trump Plan, Claim Land in Area A of West Bank

The Times of Israel reports that dozens of settlers associated with the radical and violent “Hilltop Youth” movement have launched a campaign called “It’s All Ours” that aims to undermine the Trump Plan by staking a claim to areas which the Trump Plan does not give Israel an explicit green light to annex (at least not yet).  This means they are targeting areas where there is a large Palestinian population, mainly areas desingated as “Area A” under the Oslo Accords.

Organizers of the campaign said there will be three phases leading up to July 1st (the first day that the Israeli government can enact annexation, as agreed to in the unity government deal). Phase one saw over 100 settlers posted 5,500 fliers along West Bank road. The flyers warned against “the danger of the division of the land that is on the horizon.” Phase two will launch rallies and marches in the West Bank. For phase three, the settlers plan to establish new outposts in “strategic areas.” 

Settler Group Raises Concern for the Fate of  West Bank Religious Sites Under the Trump Plan

A settler group calling itself “Preserving the Eternal” – which describes itself as a network of entities working to “protect antiquities in Israel and Judea and Samaria,” –  has begun raising alarm, alleging that hundreds of biblical sites in the West Bank are slated to remain in Palestinian territory under the Trump Plan. The group’s leaders accuse the Palestinian Authority of mismanaging the sites and they accuse Palestinians of looting them. The group is in favor of Israel annexing all the sites.

Bonus Reads

1. “As mammoth high-tech hub is eyed for East Jerusalem, will it benefit locals?” (The Times of Israel) 
2. “As East Jerusalem Suffers Powers Cuts, Settlers Were Put on Israeli Grid – but Palestinians Not” (Haaretz)
3. “‘We’re Totally in the Dark’: Palestinians in Jordan Valley Feel Nobody Wants Them, Just Their Land” (Haaretz) 
4. “Trump’s “Deal” for Palestinians: Repercussions and Responses”” (Al-Shabaka)
5. “Diplomatic Pressure Mounts on Israel to Delay Annexation as Long as Possible” (Haaretz)
6.  “Mapping West Bank Annexation: Territorial and Political Uncertainties” (WINEP) 
7. “More Israelis oppose West Bank annexation than support it — survey” (The Times of Israel) 
8. “Mapping Netanyahu’s annexation plan: Experts explain a charged, complex process” (The Times of Israel) 
9. “The Annexation’s Ambassador to Israel” (Haaretz)
10. “Settler Leader: Trump’s Plan Is a Scam, Netanyahu Will Establish a Palestinian State” (Haaretz)
11. “A radical settler wages war against annexation — but he is far from alone” (The Times of Israel)
12. “’Annexation could cost Israel NIS 67 billion per year’“ (Jerusalem Post)

 

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

To subscribe to this report, please click here.

June 5, 2020

1. U.S. Pumps Brakes on July 1st Date for Annexation; Israel Keeps Foot on the Gas
2. Netanyahu Tries & Fails to Woo Settler Support for His (Not Trump’s) Annexation Plan
3. Trump Admin Supports Netanyahu’s Plan to Annexing Jordan Valley Without Annexing Palestinians
4. Silwan Residents Petition High Court Against Ateret Cohanim
5. HaMoked Files First-Ever Petition Seeking Removal of Section of the Separation Barrier
6. E-1 Settlement Plans Are Moving Again, Following West Bank “Planning Freeze” During COVID Emergency
7. Jerusalem Municipality to Destroy  200 Palestinians Businesses in East Jerusalem to Build “Silicon Wadi” Industrial Zone
8. American Duty Free Millionaire Involved in Fraudulent Acquisition of Palestinian Land Case
9. Tightening Control Over Area C, 91% of IDF Eviction Orders for Construction on “State Land” Are Against Palestinians
10. >Al-Haq Report on the Atarot Industrial Settlement Zone
11. Emek Shaveh Releases New Interactive Map of Settler Projects in Jerusalem’s Historic Basin
12. Bonus Reads

Comments/questions? Contact Kristin McCarthy (kmccarthy@fmep.org)

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U.S. Pumps Brakes on July 1st Date for Annexation; Israel Keeps Foot on the Gas

Reports this week suggest that top U.S. officials – including the influential voices of Trump-whisperers Jared Kushner, Avi Berkowitz, and Amb. David Friedman – have told Netanyhu and Gantz (in separate meetings and phone calls) that the Trump Administration wants to delay annexation and is “highly unlikely” to approve annexation on July 1st. One report suggests that the work of the joint U.S.-Israeli mapping committee will likely take several more weeks if not months because key American members of the committee have not been able to travel to Israel during the coronavirus pandemic. Another report suggests that the Trump administration has lost enthusiasm for annexation in the short term because it is “preoccupied” with nationwide protests over the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers.

Likud MK Ze’ev Elkin, who is also a member of the joint mapping committee, seemed to publicly confirm the slow-down, saying that the July 1st date for annexation possibly won’t happen, suggesting instead that “sometime [later] in July” is more likely.

Nonetheless, Israeli officials are proceeding with its plans to implement annexation – which makes sense, even assuming annexation may be delayed, reports are talking about days/weeks, not years or indefinitely. Over the past week, Israel has taken the following preparatory steps:

• On June 1st, Defense Minister (and Prime Minister designate) Benny Gantz ordered the IDF to “step up” its preparations for annexation, and gave a select few IDF generals their first glimpse of the annexation map Israel has been working with the U.S. administration to finalize. 
• Gantz also announced that he plans to form a “joint team” to “bring together  recommendations — on an operational level — for the efforts that are on the agenda for the West Bank and Gaza Strip.” He also said he would appoint “a point-person” to coordinate between the different government bodies involved in the annexation process.
• Following Gantz’s order to accelerate the IDF’s preparations, Israel’s top security chiefs met on June 3rd to discuss a variety of scenarios that might play out in Jordan, the West Bank, and Gaza after annexation is announced. The IDF was reportedly scheduled to hold a massive war game on June 3rd 
• Israeli Mossad chief Yossi Cohen reportedly met with Egyptian officials to discuss the annexation plan.
• According to Israel Hayom (the paper owned by Sheldon Adelson), Israeli officials reportedly participated in secret talks with Saudi Arabia and the U.S., with Jordan’s approval, about increasing Saudi Arabia’s role vis-a-vis the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif as a means of curbing the growing Turkish presence there. The paper reported that these talks included the possibility of allowing Saudi Arabia to appoint representatives to the Islamic Waqf, the religious body which plays an important role in managing the Islamic Holy sites. While Israeli media pitched this effort as having the support of Jordan (which controls the Waqf), ICG analyst Ofer Zalzberg reported that this is not the case, and suggested “Team Netanyahu seems to be using Israel Hayom to give Israelis the sense that the Trump administration isn’t alone in supporting Israeli annexation, by giving the impression KSA has something to gain from such a move — namely influence over al-Aqsa.”
• Azzam al-Ahmed, a senior PLO and Fatah official, told the Jerusalem Post that Israel has already begun removing signs that warn Israeli citizens from entering certain areas in the Jordan Valley (i.e., areas that are outside of Area C) which are slated to be annexed under the Trump Plan.

Netanyahu Tries & Fails to Woo Settler Support for His (Not Trump’s) Annexation Plan

Settlers and Netanyahu sparred over the Trump Plan in private and public over the past week. On June 2nd Netanyahu met with leading settler opponents of the Trump Plan in a bid to win their silence, if not their outright support. Details of the meeting were quickly leaked and sparked a war of words in the press.

From the leaked details, it appears Netanyahu had three goals in this meeting. First, Netanyahu had to tell the settlers that annexation is likely to be delayed until sometime after July 1st. 

Second, Netanyahu tried to persuade the settlers to stop public criticism of the Trump Administration and its plan, saying: “Your campaigns and statements against the Trump plan are only hindering the goal of annexation in as wide a scope as possible. You’re tickling the tail of the bear, and the bear isn’t even here yet.”

Third, Netanayahu sought to assure the settlers that he is, in fact, in total control of the annexation process, and has not – and will not – accept the elements of the Trump Plan to which the settlers most strongly object (namely, the acceptance, in principle, of a future Palestinian state and the creation of non-contiguous settlement enclaves). The Hebrew-language Maariv outlet reports that Netanyahu said to the leaders something along the lines of “You can relax. We haven’t agreed to what you’re afraid we’ll agree to.”  Haaretz reports that Netanyahu told the settlers that he will not acquiesce to all of the Trump Plan’s conditions, and that he does not plan to bring the entire Trump Plan up for a vote, but will instead bring up only the pieces of the plan he likes. He further promised that acceptance of (the legitimacy of theoretical, future) Palestinian statehood would not be included in the annexation proposal for which he will seek approval, a key concern of the settlers [in the recent words of Bezalel Smotrich, “Either the settlements have a future, or the Palestinian state does — but not both.”]. Netanyahu said that his commitment to the future possibility of a Palestinian state would be declarative and not a firm commitment.

Netanyahu was apparently not able to placate the settlers – who left the meeting focused on and furious over the fact that Netanyahu refuses to show them the proposed annexation map – which one settler said was an even bigger concern for the leadership than the future possibility of a Palestinian state (bearing in mind that, at least in theory, that map is still being delineated/negotiated by the US-Israel mapping team). 

One day after the meeting in which Netanyahu beseeched settlers to withhold their criticism of the Trump Plan, David Elhayani, chairman of the umbrella Yesha Council representing the settlers, said that Trump is “not a friend of Israel.” The harsh comments prompted a swift response from Netanyahu, who released a statement saying: “President Trump is a great friend of Israel’s. He has led historic moves for Israel’s benefit…It is regrettable that instead of showing gratitude, there are those who are denying his friendship.”

The spat continued to escalate, with an anonymous settlement mayor telling The Times of Israel that a group of settlers were prepared to “blow up” the Trump deal if Netanyahu continues his refusal to share the annexation map with the settlers, and that the Trump Plan is like being forced to eat cake at gunpoint. These comments might have been a bridge too far, even for Elhayani who has been a bombastic and outspoken leader since his election to Yesha Council chairman in November 2019. According to The Times of Israel, Elhayani’s fellow settler leaders have called for his resignation, saying that he is “humiliating” the settlers. 

One settler who has been critical of Elhayani’s defiant approach is Efrat Mayor Oded Revivi, who supports the Trump Plan. Revivi penned an op-ed in Haaretz (not a media outlet known to be a settler favorite), pleading with his fellow settler leaders to join him in welcoming the Trump Plan’s offering of sovereignty. Revivi pleads:

“For the first time ever, we are not talking about our border being the ceasefire lines of 1948 or 1967. We are talking about ensuring and securing what is already ours. What can the settlements guarantee our children? Have we forgotten the recent national campaigns by settlement leaders to apply sovereignty over just Ma’ale Adumim? And later, the calls to apply sovereignty calls over Gush Etzion, and only much later to other regions? Those were attempts to secure only ‘settlement blocs,’ one at a time, with no likelihood of international recognition. But Trump’s plan allows us to achieve sovereignty for every town in Judea and Samaria – and right away. We can debate the merits of the Trump plan’s parameters for negotiating towards a Palestinian state, but like it or not, the Palestinians are not going anywhere. We must now take a look inside, at ourselves. We, as settlers, have achieved great things. We, settlers, are part of Israeli society. We, settlers, understand the importance of international recognition. This self-introspection reveals how far we have come, and why it is now our responsibility to embrace the Trump program – and apply Israeli law according to its framework throughout Judea and Samaria.”

Trump Admin Supports Netanayhu’s Plan to Annexing Jordan Valley Without Annexing Palestinians

A Trump administration official supported comments by Prime Minister Netanayahu last week suggesting that Israel will annex the Jordan Valley without annexing Palestinians living in it (and therefore not granting the rights as citizens or residents of Israel). The U.S. official said, “I don’t anticipate Palestinians becoming Israeli, based on the principles laid out in the plan.”

If annexation plays out along those lines, Palestinians living in areas of the Jordan Valley that will be annexed to Israel (with the approval of the Trump Administration) will apparently live in enclaves of territory under the “control” of the Palestinian Authority, though completely surrounded by the state of Israel and whatever military/security presence it inflicts upon the encircled and dispossed Palestinian population.  That is, of course, if they are not forcibly displaced by Israel to other areas.

Silwan Residents Petition High Court Against Ateret Cohanim

Ir Amim and 22 Palestinian families filed a petition with the High Court of Justice to stop a settler-run land trust from forcefully seizing land and homes in the Batan al-Hawa section Silwan, a Palestinian East Jerusalem neighborhood where 700 people are facing eviction from their longtime homes as a result of the settlers’ effort. The petition argues that the radical settler group Ateret Cohanim is using the Benvenisti Trust as a front for displacing Palestinians, pointing out that the trust does not have a separate organizational structure, bank account,  lawyer, or accountant – and that Ateret Cohanim has folded the operations of the trust into its own operations and there is no distinction between the management or assets of the two entities. [map]

Ir Amim’s attorney Ishay Shneydor told Haaretz: 

“[The materials show] that this is a planned process of Ateret Cohanim in order to use the trust as a platform to forcefully seize the property.”

The trust itself was founded in 1899 and built houses in what is now the Batan al-Hawa section in order to resettle Jewish Yemenite immigrants. The houses were later abandoned under British pressure in 1938, during the Arab Revolt against British rule. The buildings the trust had built were later demolished.

In 2001, the Israeli Charitable Trust Registrar granted Ateret Cohanim permission to revive the trust and become its trustees, (following 63 years of dormancy). In 2002, the Israeli Custodian General transferred ownership of the land in Batan al-Hawa to the Trust/Ateret Cohanim. Since then, Ateret Cohanim has accelerated its multifaceted campaign to remove Palestinians from their homes, claiming that the Palestinians are illegally squatting on land owned by the trust. Palestinians have fought back against Ateret Cohanim-initiated evictions, unsuccessfully arguing against the validity of the Trust/Ateret Cohanim’s ownership of the land. Most recently in January 2020, the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court rejected the Palestinians’ arguments and upheld the Trust/Ateret Cohanim’s ownership of the land. That ruling set a key precedent paving the way for the mass eviction of as many as 700 Palestinians from their homes in Silwan.

The new petition filed this week does not take up the same arguments, and instead challenges the legality of the functional operations of the Trust/Ateret Cohanim.

In reaction to the January 2020 rulings, Peace Now added important context in a statement: 

“This is an attempt to displace a Palestinian community and to replace it with an Israeli one, in the heart of a Palestinian neighborhood in East Jerusalem. The settlers could not have succeeded without the Israeli authorities’ close support and assistance. In addition to the hard blow to the prospects for a two-state solution by preventing a Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem, this is an injustice and an act of cruelty to throw out families who have lived lawfully in their homes for decades.”

Also in reaction to the January 2020 rulings, Ir Amim said:  

“The Ateret Cohanim settler organization is waging one of the most comprehensive settler takeover campaigns in East Jerusalem through initiating mass eviction proceedings against Palestinian families in Batan al-Hawa.  Seventeen families have already been evicted with over 80 other households facing eviction demands, placing some 600-700 individuals of one community at risk of displacement. See Ir Amim’s and Peace Now’s joint report, “Broken Trust” for further details and analysis.”

HaMoked Files First-Ever Petition Seeking Removal of Section of the Separation Barrier

HaMoked filed a petition with the High Court of Justice seeking the removal of a section of the separation barrier which is preventing Palestinian farmers (7 of whom joined HaMoked in filing the petition) from accessing their lands in the northwest of the West Bank. The petition argues that the barrier in this area does not serve a security need and has caused severe harm to Palestinian landowners. This is the first-ever petition seeking the removal of part of the barrier.

The petition focuses on a roughly 6-kilometer (3.7 mile) section of the barrier just east of the 1967 Green Line. Since the construction of the separation barrier in this area in 2005, the Israeli military has granted permits for Palestinian landowners to walk through a gate in the fence to access their land beyond to fence (this area is known as the seam zone). The 7 Palestinian farmers who submitted the petition argue that the Israeli military has gradually reduced the number of permits issued to landowners and implemented a series of policies that have further limited their ability to cultivate the land and make a living.

Jessica Montell, HaMoked Executive Director said in a statement

“This petition is the inevitable result of 15 years of experience with the military’s seam zone permit regime. Rather than facilitating access, as the military promised, this cumbersome bureaucracy serves to dispossess entire Palestinian communities of their land, stripping people of their livelihoods and their sources of income, without even the pretense of a security justification. In fact, there’s no security reason for the fence to be built inside the West Bank in this area. So we expect the High Court to make sure that where the fence is designed to dispossess Palestinians rather than protect security – it will be dismantled.”

Shaul Arieli, an Israeli expert on the separation barrier, submitted an opinion in support of the petition, noting that dismantling this section of the fence and relocating it to the west, along the Green Line, would not only end the disruption of life for the Palestinian famers, but would also better serve Israel’s security needs. A barrier along the Green Line in this area would be preferable according to the security parameters the military itself defined: topographical superiority, observation, advance warning, pursuit and other operational considerations.

E-1 Settlement Plans Are Moving Again, Following West Bank “Planning Freeze” During COVID Emergency 

On June 3rd, the Israeli military order that froze planning processes in the West Bank during the COVID19 emergency period expired. 

Now, the clock is once again ticking on two separate plans for the construction of the E1 settlement just east of Jerusalem. A few days prior to the planning freeze, the E-1 plans had been deposited for public review and submission of objections. Now, Ir Amim reports the public commenting period is set to close on July 23rd.

Jerusalem Municipality to Destroy  200 Palestinians Businesses in East Jerusalem to Build “Silicon Wadi” Industrial Zone

According to the Jerusalem Post, the Jerusalem Municipality is poised to demolish buildings rented by some 200 Palestinian-owned businesses in the Wadi al-Joz neighborhood of East Jerusalem – located just north of the Old City – as part of plans to develop “Silicon Wadi,” a project the Municipality claims will build a large industrial zone for hi-tech, commercial, and hospitality businesses.

According to the Jerusalem Post, the government’s investment in the “Silicon Wadi” project is part of the Israeli government’s five-year plan for economic development in East Jerusalem. A Municipality official claimed that the Palestinian businessowners have agreed to this plan, and have been compensated for their eviction.

The chairman of East Jerusalem’s Arab Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Kamal Obeidat, called the planned demolitions a “racist order” to to change the character of the Palestinian city and use the land to build Israeli structures.

Grassroots Jerusalem explains the history and current reality facing the Wadi al-Joz neighborhood:

“Overlooking the Mount of Olives and the Kidron Valley, Wadi al-Joz was once the city’s industrial zone until the First and then the Second Intifada. The area is under the jurisdiction of Israeli civil law under the Jerusalem Municipality. As with many neighbourhoods in the area surrounding the Old City, Wadi al-Joz is experiencing severe challenges with the 2009 approved ‘Master Zone Plan’ and the subsequent aggressive expansion of Jewish presence in the area.”

American Duty Free Millionaire Involved in Fraudulent Acquisition of Palestinian Land Case

A Palestinian family is fighting to reclaim rights to their land near the Beit El settlement from Simon Falic – a prominent Netanyahu and Trump donor whose family owns the “Duty Free Americas” retail chain. Falic was transferred rights to the land via a highly unusual, and allegedly fraudulent, process.

According to Haaretz, the complicated transfer of ownership started when the original landowner – Palestinian Sadki Hamdan – allegedly signed over his power of attorney to  Doron Nir-Tvi, a lawyer who lives in the West Bank outpost of Havat Yair. The power of attorney document authorized Nir-Zvi to transfer ownership of the land to another Palestinian, the late Ramadan Abu Halal. Abu Halal then allegedly transferred the land ownership to Simon Falic, whose signature is on a deed of sale even though the land was later registered to a settler-run organization, named Hakeren Liyad Midreshet Yisrael.

The family of Sadki Hamdan has pointed out numerous issues with the documents associated with the deal, including: Hamdan’s signature on the power of attorney document is not one they recognize from other papers he signed; the notary who certified the power of attorney document testified that no such document was ever signed in his presence; and the chronological order of documents is incongruent (Abu Halal appears to have transferred the land rights to Falic one month before he legally owned the land). Further, the heirs of Abu Halal (to whom the power of attorney transferred the land) believe the deal was fraudulent, saying they did not know about the land at all.

In July 2019, a report by the Associated Press revealed that the Falic family is a major source of financial support for some of the most radical settler groups in Israel. According to documents uncovered by The Democratic Bloc, the Florida-based Falic family is the single largest donor to Israel Prime Minister Netanyahu and has given over $5.6 million to settler groups over the past decade. For more on that story, see FMEP’s coverage here.

Tightening Control Over Area C, 91% of IDF Eviction Orders for Construction on “State Land” Are Against Palestinians

A new report by Kerem Navot and Haqel revealed that the Civil Administration systematically targets Palestinians with evacuation orders for entering/using land Israel has declared “state land.” Data from 2005-2018 shows that 91% of all evacuation orders (and 96% of the total acreage of land involved) related to incursions into “state land” were against Palestinians, while just 8.5% were against Israeli settlers. The data demonstrates, in part, that since 2005 Israel has acted in a manner contrary to its commitments in the Oslo Accords, seeking to remove Palestinians from land in Area C of the West Bank, while simultaneously and systematically allocating “state land” to the settlers.

The authors argue that the nature of eviction orders – which require more management, enforcement, and draw more appeals compared to seizure orders – makes the data revealed by their issues particularly indicative of Israel’s political vision for the West Bank, which, as noted above, does not accord with the notion of a temporary occupation. 

The authors further observe:

“A closer examination reveals that solely one quarter (24.7%) of the territory included in the eviction orders is located within settlements’ areas of jurisdiction, while the rest is located on land that does not belong to any specific settlement. This fact indicates that the Civil Administration is attempting to curb Palestinian development in much more expansive areas than those alloted to settlements to date.”

The report also notes how settler organizations – most prominently Regavim – have aided the state (with the encouragement of the state) in monitoring Palestinian “trespassing” (the vast majority of eviction orders were against agricultural activity) onto “state land,” and have assisted in enforcing eviction orders against them.
Dror Etkes of Kerem Navot said:

“When you examine the locations of the eviction notices, you see a strong correlation between territory Israel has for many years devoted great efforts to annex and the numbers of orders, as well as their sizes.”

The full report and analysis of the eviction orders can be read online here.

Al-Haq Report on the Atarot Industrial Settlement Zone

In a new report entitled “Atarot Settlement:The Industrial Key in Israel’s Plan to Permanently Erase Palestine,” Al-Haq takes a deep dive into the details of Israel’s plan to build the Atarot settlement industrial zone (in the northern part of East Jerusalem) and its consequences for Palestinians, individually and collectively.

The report  provides essential data and background information on the role of industrial settlements in Israel’s occupation and seizure of Palestinian land and resources and then closely documents Israel’s development of plans for the Atarot industrial zone.

Al-Haq concludes:

“The Atarot industrial settlement is constructed on layers of human rights abuses. This is evidenced in Israel’s deliberated disregard of the presence of Palestinian residents and appropriation of their land where the Atarot industrial settlement has been established. Moreover, it is continued through the imposition of unacceptable living conditions for Palestinian residents therein. In addition, the case of the Atarot industrial settlement reflects Israel’s wider discriminatory planning and zoning regime. The regime entails the confiscation and appropriation of Palestinian land, the systematic denial of building permits, and creates an uninhabitable environment for Palestinians. Currently, the Atarot industrial settlement highlights the immediate and longterm environmental impacts of the existence of similar industrial settlements in the OPT, directly affecting the health of the Palestinian communities. While the deepest impacts of the Atarot industrial settlement are contained in Israel’s long term plan to accelerate economic development there, as a key to economically supporting a radical and all-consuming colonisation of Palestine and erasure of Palestinian presence.”

Emek Shaveh Releases New Interactive Map of Settler Projects in Jerusalem’s Historic Basin

Emek Shaveh released a new multifaceted interactive map showing settler initiatives that impact Jerusalem’s archeological sites. Along with their analysis of the settler projects, the map provides a clear picture of the totality of initiatives that settlers and the Israeli government are advancing to increase their claim to, control over, and presentation of sacred sites around Jerusalem – and the manipulation of archeology to serve their agenda.

Emek Shaveh said in an email:

“In the 53 years [since 1967] that have ensued, the historic center of Jerusalem has undergone enormous change. Although in the 1970s and 1980s large areas of the Jewish Quarter and Silwan were under excavation, most of the significant changes to the character of the city have occured over the past 25 years with the rise of the settlers as key players in defining the agenda for archaeological excavations and tourism development in the Historic Basin. The goal of advancing historic sites as a means to promote exclusive Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem’s historic core has now been coopted as government policy. Today, the settlers and government agencies work together practically seamlessly to create a narrow historic and symbolic landscape. 

The reality around Jerusalem’s historic sites is complicated by the multiplicity of private and government players with varying responsibilities. It makes any objection to projects an extremely complex bureaucratic process. We, in Emek Shaveh, often find ourselves trying to explain the intricate map of interests and players at key historic sites. To make this information more accessible we are pleased to offer you this interactive political and historical map of Jerusalem. The map features two separate, but related, layers. The historical layers present the wealth of historical periods and the history of Jerusalem’s monuments and sites over the centuries. The other layer maps the central private and governmental bodies currently managing and operating major archaeological sites in the Historic Basin.”

Bonus Reads

1. “A Would-Be Netanyahu Nemesis Snipes From the Sidelines“ (New York Times)
2. “Letter to HeidelbergCement Regarding Nahal Raba Quarry Expansion” (Human Rights Watch)
3. “For the Settlers in the West Bank, It Will Never Be Enough” (Haaretz) 
4. “Peace Now activists warn: Annexation will lead to war” (Jerusalem Post)

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 29, 2020

1. In a Legal First, Peace Now Submits Petition Against Allocation of Land for Purpose of Building the Givat Eitam/E-2 Settlement
2. Master Plan for Har Homa-E Settlement Gets Final Approved
3. Israel Advancing Plans for a New Settlement Industrial Zone
4. Some Settlers Lobby To Change  Trump Plan as Annexation Map Becomes Clearer
5. Netanyahu Says He Will Not Delay Annexation & Fights Off Criticism of Settlers
6. Settler Leader Blames Yesha Council Head for Delaying Annexation
7. USMEP Briefing Paper on Annexation
8. Bonus Reads

Comments/Questions? Email Kristin McCarthy(kmccarthy@fmep.org).

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In a Legal First, Peace Now Submits Petition Against Allocation of Land for Purpose of Building the Givat Eitam/E-2 Settlement

On May 21st, Peace Now formally submitted a petition to challenge Israel’s plan to build the Givat Eitam/E-2 settlement on a hilltop known to Palestinians as A-Nahle, located just south of Bethlehem. Peace Now has mounted several legal challenges to Israel’s drive to build Givat Eitam/E-2, but this petition is groundbreaking in that it seeks to challenge Israel’s allocation of land for settlement purposes, arguing that Israel is obligated to allocate the land to the Palestinians instead. This is the first time the issue of land allocation is being brought to trial.

There are three main arguments in the petition, Peace Now summarizes:

1. The allocation of land to build a settlement contravenes Israel’s duties to protect the land for the local Palestinian population according to international law;
2. Allocating land to Israelis over Palestinians is tainted by discrimination since 99.8% of West Bank land allocated since 1967 has been gone primarily to Israeli purposes, and
3. The Palestinians’ need for the land in question is far greater than that of the Efrat settlement, as a Peace Now spatial planning analysis confirms. For more on the legal arguments of the appeal, read here.

This petition comes after Peace Now lost a previous effort to overturn Israel’s declaration of the land as “state land” (a move which then made it possible for Israeli to allocate the land for settlement). Attempts to legally stop Israel from building new settlements have typically not continued past this point. One reason for this is that in order to challenge how “state land” is allocated, the petitioner must, in effect, concede that the land in question is legitimately “state land” in the first place — something Palestinians do not concede with respect to land seized by Israel. That makes this petition, which is led by Peace Now along with over a dozen Palestinian landowners, novel.

Commenting on the decision to file the new petition, Peace Now said in a statement: 

“The decision to allocate a-Nahla land for a new settlement is illegal, immoral and un-Jewish. Implementing this plan will severely damage not only the Palestinian landowners and the development capacity of the Bethlehem area, but also the ability to reach a future peace agreement and territorial compromise for a future Palestinian state alongside a secure Israel. The land should be allocated for Palestinian development in the region.”

Master Plan for Har Homa-E Settlement Gets Final Approved

Ir Amim reports that on May 25th the Jerusalem District Committee granted final approval of a master plan that provides for the construction of 2,000 units in the “Har Homa E” settlement (aka Har Homa West). Planners must now submit a detailed outline plan(s) for approval before building can commence;  one such plan, for 500 units, is already being advanced through the planning process.

Ir Amim writes:

“Construction in Har Homa E will serve as another step in connecting the existing Gilo and Har Homa neighborhoods/settlements and create a contiguous Israeli built-up area along the southern perimeter of East Jerusalem. This will likewise detach Bethlehem and the southern West Bank from East Jerusalem while isolating the Palestinian neighborhood of Beit Safafa. In line with the new reality created by the Trump Plan and its unilateral recognition of Israeli sovereignty of East Jerusalem, these developments will constitute a major obstacle towards the future establishment of a Palestinian capital in the city and the prospect of a viable two-state framework.”

For further details on the two Har Homa E plans – one of which is a master plan – see Ir Amim’s excellent analysis. 

Israel Advancing Plans for a New Settlement Industrial Zone

Haaretz reports that the Israeli Civil Administration is advancing plans to build a new settlement industrial zone – called “Samaritans Gate” by settlers – on land that straddles the Green Line in the northern West Bank. The zone is slated to take over 3,000 dunams (740 acres) of West Bank land to the east of the Israeli city of Kafr Qasem.

In addition to the Palestinians who the new industrial zone will impact, the plan is drawing significant opposition from Israeli environmental groups who are concerned about the impact of the project on the terrain. The zone is slated to be built on a riverbed in what is considered a rare ecological corridor in Israel.

Mor Gilboa, an activist with “Climate for Peace,” said:

“the military government in the territories has for decades created a list of climate blights on the environment. The plan ignores nature the same as it ignores Palestinian rights to these territories which don’t belong to Israel under international law.”

For more information on why settlement industrial zones exploit and harm Palestinians, their land, and their resources, see this brief by Who Profits.

Some Settlers Lobby Against (or for changes to)  Trump Plan as Annexation Map Becomes Clearer

Settler leaders as well as their political allies are increasingly vocal  in their opposition to the Trump Plan, as details regarding the closely guarded joint mapping process have surfaced in the press. In addition to their resolute opposition to Israel’s acceptance of the even a notion that a Palestinian state can be established under certain conditions in the future, the settlers have focused in on the amount of land that the Trump Plan permits (and doesn’t permit) Israel to annex.

In an interview from early May 2020, U.S. Ambassador David Friedman said that the Plan calls for Israel to annex no more than 30% of the West Bank (50% of Area C), which would leave 15 settlements/outpost as enclaves (i.e., Israeli sovereign territory that is outside the Israeli state’s borders, connected only by roads). Settlers have strongly rejected this concept, but have reportedly been frozen out of the joint mapping committee and are failing to find outside avenues of influence.

David Elhayani – the head of the settler Yesha Council and also head of the Jordan Valley Regional Council – told The Times of Israel that the  members of the joint U.S.-Israeli mapping committee have refused to meet with the settlers or received their proposed maps, and said that the committee “refuses to be flexible with regard to the map.” Ayelet Shaked (Yamina Party) also expressed frustration with being locked out of the mapping process, telling Army Radio that the mapping team is not letting anyone make any changes to the map originally proposed by the Trump Administration. 

Undaunted, the settlers reportedly have drawn up maps outlining three different versions of annexation they say they could accept, since these maps do not leave any Israeli enclaves (as of publication, the settlers’ maps have not been revealed publicly). According to media reports, one version of the map would add 2.5% more land to Israel (amounting to Israeli annexation of a total of 32.5% of the West Bank), a second would add 5% more land to Israel (total of 35%), and a third would add 8.5% more land to Israel (total 38.5%).  David Elhayani – the head of the settler Yesha Council and also head of the Jordan Valley Regional Council – said

“In our optimal map, 38.5 percent of the West Bank would be annexed to Israel. This is most of Area C. In our map there is Israeli territorial contiguity and it’s the Palestinians who remain in enclaves.”

Settler leaders and Yamina Party members are making the rounds in the Knesset, using a map to try to convince MKs to oppose the Trump Plan for the reasons discussed above.

Unsurprisingly, the Trump Administration officials are reportedly irritated by the oppositional role that the settler leadership are playing. U.S. officials have reportedly sent messages relaying their frustration over the settlers’ rejection of and ingratitude for the Trump Plan. Those messages also note, reportedly,  that the map settlers are using to lobby MKs against the plan is not the final map. Suggesting that the settlers should take what their being offered and after that can ask for more, a U.S. official told Israel Hayom:

“If the settlers don’t want what the administration currently has to offer, they shouldn’t come to us in the future. The expectation was that they see the bigger picture, remember where they were standing in December 2016 (when the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 2334 that harmed Israel and was spearheaded by the Obama administration), and that they consider where they could be standing four years from now if the Palestinians continue to reject negotiations with Israel.”

The relationship between settlers and the Trump Administration was further inflamed when settler leader Yossi Dagan told the press that U.S. officials were requiring  Israel to abandon its claim to the remaining 70% of the West Bank as part of the Trump Plan. Quashing that report (and thereby making clear that the U.S. is not requiring Israel to give up its quest for even more territory in the future), a U.S. official said:

“This is a complete lie and whoever is spreading it is doing great damage to Israel, the US and the Jewish people.”

All that being said, settlers (and their leaders and allies) remain split on the Trump Plan. While the majority (24) of settlement council leaders voted for a Yesha Council resolution critical of the Trump Plan, Efrat settlement head Oded Revivi continues to support the Trump Plan, though he has made it clear that he is advocating for settlers to pocket the gifts Trump is offering, without forfeiting the rest. Revivi is aligned with Ariel settlement leader Eli Shavrio. Dismissing the position of Revivi and Shavrio, one suggested that they have the luxury of living near the Green Line, meaning:

“They don’t have a problem with Palestinians gaining control of transportation routes or enclaves.”

Netanyahu Says He Will Not Delay Annexation & Fights Off Criticism of Settlers

Following the first day of his trial, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu told leaders in his Likud faction that he will definitely promote annexation on July 1st, saying “It is a big opportunity and we will not let it pass by…[July is] a goal date in July, and we won’t change it.” 

Two days after Bibi’s comments made headlines, Prime Minister-in-waiting Benny Gantz gave an address to his own faction (Blue & White) in which he offered veiled criticism of some of Netanyahu’s other policies, but offered only support for the pursuit of annexation. Gantz said:

“We are currently presented with meaningful windows of opportunity that could improve and even transform the reality in the region across all fronts, including, of course, the American government’s peace plan… [I will work] to ensure the best outcome that will fortify Israel’s security and protect our state and international interests.”

In an interview on May 28th, Netanyahu continued to fight off criticism from settlers and Yamina Party leaders, explaining his position on key points and taking on criticism at length:

“For the first time since the establishment of the state, I’ve managed to secure American recognition [of our sovereignty rights], first on the Golan Heights and in Jerusalem, and then through an agreement that will facilitate American recognition in the areas of our homeland inside Judea and Samaria. These are [US President Donald] Trump’s decisions, and the person who broached these matters with him was me. No one else…Within this package [the Trump Plan] is a historic opportunity for changing the tide of history, which was pointing one way. The whole time. All the diplomatic plans proposed to us in the past asked us to concede swathes of the Land of Israel, return to the 1967 borders and divide Jerusalem. To take in [Palestinian] refugees. This is a reversal. We aren’t the ones being forced to make concessions, rather the Palestinians are.” 

Notably, with respect to the criticisms that the Trump Plan permits the possibility of a future Palestinian state, Netanyahu clarified that this should not be mis-understood to mean the Palestinians would ever have an actual state, according to any standard meaning of the term, starting with the fact that such a state would be predicated on Palestinians accepting Israeli security control over the entire West Bank:

“Regardless of negotiations. If they [the Palestinians] see fit to meet and accept about 10 stringent conditions – including Israeli sovereignty west of the Jordan River, preserving a united Jerusalem, refusing to accept refugees, not uprooting Jewish communities, and Israeli sovereignty in large swathes of Judea and Samaria, etc. – the [diplomatic] process will move ahead. They need to acknowledge that we control security in all areas. If they consent to all this, then they will have an entity of their own that President Trump defines as a state. There are those who claim and – an American statesman told me: ‘But Bibi, it won’t be a state.’ I told him, call it what you want. At the heart of the Trump plan are foundations we have only dreamed about. All the things we are being criticized about from the right – and what am I? These are things for which we fought for many long years and we’ve finally achieved them. Then they come with the criticism.”

When asked to address concerns that if/when Israel annexes the Jordan Valley, thousands of Palestinians living there will be granted Israeli citizenship, Netanyahu dispelled the notion altogether, saying:

“They will remain a Palestinian enclave. You’re not annexing Jericho. There’s a cluster or two. You don’t need to apply sovereignty over them, they will remain Palestinian subjects if you will. But security control also applies to these places.”

Israeli human rights lawyer Michael Sfard corrected Netanyahu’s comments, Tweeting: 

“The gap between the number of Palestinian communities in the Jordan Valley that the Prime Minister has named (2) and the number of communities that actually exist (47) – represents the number of villages and villagers that with annexation would be displaced from this area forcibly. This is a very small purge.”]

On May 29th, Netanyahu gave yet another interview, in which he was asked if the annexation plan he intends to bring up for a vote as early as July 1  will include the topic of Palestinian statehood, as provided for under the Trump Plan (though, as we’ve repeatedly documented, the Trump Plan does not provite for a real Palestinian state under any standard definition of the term, but rather for semi-autonomous Palestinian islands within an Israel sovereign sea ). Netanyahu responded: 

 “That subject is separate. A government decision on the matter is not expected.”

Settler Leader Blames Yesha Council Head for Delaying Annexation

In Efrat Mayor Oded Revivi’s telling of what went down in the days leading up to the moment when Netanyahu and Trump stood side by side to unveil the Trump Plan, a late night statement issued by David Elhayani (Yesha Council head) changed history. According to Revivi, the White House had planned to announce that annexation could take place immediately. Instead, as a result of Elhayani’s opposition to the Trump Plan and the controversy his statement triggered, the timeline for annexation was delayed, and the “joint mapping committee” was invented.

The other settler leaders who travelled to Washington with Elhayani and Revivi disagree with the latter’s telling of what happened. Nonetheless, Revivi offers one dramatic, insider’s perspective about the involvement of settler leaders leading up to the unveiling of the Trump Plan.

USMEP Briefing Paper on Annexation

Daniel Levy of the U.S.-Middle East Project has produced a detailed analysis of all the goings-on surrounding annexation, including his own predictions on how a number of key questions will be answered. After assessing the internal politics and options confronting  Israeli, American, Palestinian, European, and Arab decision makers, Levy concludes with an important point:

“Israeli impunity is the key driver of the current journey away from peace and equality. Israel’s cost/benefit calculation will need to change to prevent that journey continuing down the same path and to usher us onto the path less travelled. A better way forward would have to challenge that impunity. It would necessitate desisting from the delegitimization and criminalization of sanctioning Israel for its policies or of conditioning various preferential arrangements that Israel enjoys, while guaranteeing the space for legitimate Palestinian political expression and alternative visions for the future (especially as two states becomes ever-less attainable). Open debate and policy options certainly cannot be foreclosed in the service of cheapened and scurrilous accusations of antisemitism.”

Bonus Reads

1. “Annexation Is the Israeli Settlers’ Real Estate Dream Come True” (Haaretz)
2. “This Will Be the Heavy Price of Annexation for the Israelis” (Haaretz) 
3. Ex-chief West Bank land inspector planted groves on Palestinian ground” (The Times of Israel)
4. “Mixed messages on West Bank sovereignty leaves diplomats flailing” (Jerusalem Post)
5. “Can Annexation be Reversed?” (Jerusalem Post)
6. “IDF not yet tasked with annexation” (Jerusalem Post)
7. “PLO fears Israel could use violence to annex parts of West Bank” (MEMO)
8. “Israel Must be Smart about Annexation” (Ynet)

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 22, 2020

1. New Israeli Government Sworn In: Gantz & Netanyahu Continue to Back Annexation & the Trump Plan
2. New Israeli Government Sworn In: The Cast of Ministers Relevant to Settlements/Annexation
3. Settler Groups in Public Disagreement Over Trump Plan
4. ICYMI: Sec. State Pompeo Went to Israel Last Week
5. Israel Expropriates Land, Green Lights Building Permits for “Humanitarian Access” to Hebron’s Tomb of the Patriarchs/Ibrahimi Mosque
6. Israeli Demolitions in al-Walajah, Displacing Palestinians to Make Way for New Israeli Park
7. High Court Rejects Regulation Incentivizing Artists Performing in Settlements
8. Violence on the Rise
9. Breaking the Silence Breaks Down What Annexation Will Mean on the Ground
10. Al-Haq Report: Israeli Annexation of Jerusalem Since 1948
11. B’Tselem Report: Jewish Supremacy on Display in Issawiya
12. Human Rights Watch Report: Israeli Land Policies Strangle Palestinian Communities in Israel
13. Bonus Reads

Questions/comments? Email Kristin McCarthy (kmccarthy@fmep.org)

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New Israeli Government Sworn In: Gantz & Netanyahu Continue to Back Annexation & the Trump Plan

The new Israeli government was sworn in on Sunday, May 17th. The message from the government’s leaders – Netanyahu and Gantz – remains that they are firmly and unequivocally behind the plan to advance annexation, in accordance with the Trump Plan.

In his inaugural address, Prime Minister Netanyahu said:

“The time has come to apply sovereignty to Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria. This won’t distance peace, it will bring it closer. The truth is — and everybody knows it — that the hundreds of thousands of settlers living in Judea and Samaria will remain there, no matter what arrangement is reached. The only reason the whole issue of sovereignty is on the agenda is because I promoted it personally for the last three years, both overtly and covertly.”

In his inaugural address, Alternate (and, theoretically, future) Prime Minister Benny Gantz said:

“Alongside this and for its sake, we will maintain our strength, to seize regional opportunities in general, and to advance the US government and US President Trump’s peace plan and everything it contains.”

New Israeli Government Sworn In: The Cast of Ministers Relevant to Settlements/Annexation

In addition to Netanyahu and Gantz, key figures in the new government’s drive for annexation will likely be:

• Tzipi Hotovely (Likud), who is Israel’s “Settlements Minister.” This is a new cabinet position invented by Netanyahu and Gantz. Hotovely will serve in this role for the first nine months of the government and then be replaced by Tzachi Hanegbi (Likud) for the second nine months (of course, if Israel annexes all the settlements, this role either won’t need to exist anymore or its mandate will have to change). It is unclear if this ministry will take power away from the Defense Ministry (and its Civil Administration), which has typically been the central address for managing most issues related to the settlements.
• Gilad Erdan (Likud), who is Israel’s new Ambassador to both the United Nations and the United States. Erdan will hold both offices simultaneously for the first nine months of the government. Shortly following his swearing in, Erdan reiterated his well-established support for annexation, saying he believes Israel has a “biblical right” to the land. 
• Avi Nissenkorn (Blue & White) who is Israel’s new Justice Minister. Israel’s Justice Minister has historically played an important role in issuing legal opinions which provide Israel a domestic legal rationale for land seizures and settlement activities. The Justice Ministry is also a key because it has been (at least in recent years) increasingly oppositional to the role of the Israeli Supreme Court. Netanyahu has directly confronted the Supreme Court, and former Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked accused the Court of (among other things) being “overly concerned” with Palestinian rights.
• Gabi Ashkenazi (Blue & White), who is Israel’s new Foreign Minister, and who will theoretically take over the job of Defense Minister during the second nine months of the government (assuming Gantz rotates over to become Prime Minister). Ashkenazi has made clear his support for annexation, even while giving lip service to concerns about relations with allies and in the region. On May 18th he, said: “We’re facing significant regional opportunities, primarily President [Donald] Trump’s peace initiative. I consider this plan a significant milestone. President Trump presented us with a historic opportunity to shape the future of the State of Israel and its boundaries for decades to come…The plan will be advanced responsibly, with full coordination with the United States and maintaining all of the State of Israel’s peace agreements and strategic interests.” 

Key Government Figures Outside of the Coalition

• Naftali Bennett, Ayelet Shaked, Bezalel Smotrich (Yamina Party). Relegated to the opposition, Bennett and company have come out swinging – taking shots at Netanyahu for allegedly betraying right wing values and vowing to fight tooth and nail against the Trump Plan. Bennett has charged that Netanyahu is making a fatal mistake by supporting the Trump Plan because it would mean that Israel has acknowledged and accepted the concept of a Palestinian state (notwithstanding that, under the Trump Plan, what is available to the Palestinians does not meet even the most modest definition of a state). Bennett said that recognition “is a point of no return. One can’t recognize and then un-recognize Palestinian statehood. It’s like un-cooking scrambled eggs…I will oppose anything that allows for acceptance or recognition of a Palestinian state.”

Settler Groups in Public Disagreement Over Trump Plan

Settler leaders form a key interest group outside of the central government (though many settler leaders serve on municipal councils) — a group that will play a key role in the deliberations around annexation. And with the swearing in of the new government that embraces the Trump Plan, disagreements among settler leaders are beginning to become more clear.

Like the Yamina Party, the official settler leadership body – known as the Yesha Council – passed a resolution on May 21st criticizing several aspects of the Trump Plan, without stating its outright opposition to it. While acknowledging it as a “positive change in U.S. policy towards settlements,” the resolution goes on to:

• Assert that annexation does not require American approval;
• Reject recognition of – or agreement to recognize in the future – a Palestinian state;
• Reject any construction freeze in any of the settlements and outposts;
• Reject the creation of enclaves.

Following the passage of the resolution, Yesha Council chairman David Elhayani said:

“For years, the Yesha Council has been working to apply sovereignty [in the West Bank], and we’ve gone from a situation in which almost no one talked about the subject or was aware of it to the unprecedented situation where the prime minister and the US president discuss an agreement that includes sovereignty. However, we will not agree to the establishment of a Palestinian state in the heart of the Land of Israel. If the result of the [Trump] agreement is to establish a terror state in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank), include the creation of isolated enclaves and a freeze on construction, we are ready to give up sovereignty, despite all the hard work and resources we have invested in the issue in recent years.”

In opposition to the Yesha council’s statement, a group of settler mayors – representing major settlements like Efrat and Ariel, as well as settlements that, due to their population, have extra weight politically (like Alfei Menashe, which is home to many retired senior IDF officers) — organized their own statement calling for support of the Trump Plan. The statement – led by Efrat Mayor Oded Revivi – was signed by the mayor/chairmen of Ariel, Megilot, Oranit, Alfei Menashe, Elkana, and Har Adar.

ICYMI: Sec. State Pompeo Went to Israel Last Week 

On Wednesday, May 13th, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo travelled to Israel for an 8-hour visit to meet with leaders of the new Israeli government (which was set to be sworn in the next day, though that was delayed until Sunday the 17th). In response to an unconvincing statement by the State Department concerning the trip’s purpose – which was officially about coordination on fighting COVID-19 and Iran –  an avalanche of speculative media coverage preceded and trailed Pompeo’s trip, trying to suss out what the trip was truly about, with many focusing on annexation or confronting Israel’s growing ties to China. In response, a State Department official who travelled with Pompeo told the press after Pompeo departed: “[we can] dispel the notion that we flew halfway around the world to talk about annexation…that was not the purpose of the trip…This wasn’t the top line.”

Media speculation that annexation was on Pompeo’s agenda was fueled by an interview Pompeo gave to Israel Hayom one day prior to his trip. When asked directly by a reporter if he planned to ask Israel to delay annexation, Pompeo declined to answer but reiterated his prior comments stressing that annexation is an Israeli decision. And then, on the day that Pompeo arrived in Israel, an anonymous “senior U.S. official” told Israel’s Channel 13 news that the U.S. had passed a message to Israeli leaders that annexation does not have to happen on July 1st.

In a press conference following their meeting, Pompeo appeared to again suggesting that Israel could (or should) delay annexation. Appearing alongside Netanyahu, Pompeo said (to Bibi):

“We’re now some months on from the day that you came to Washington when President Trump announced that Vision for Peace when you were there. There remains work yet to do, and we need to make progress on that. I’m looking forward to it.”

Not long after, Pompeo told the press:

“We spoke of ways to advance the peace plan, Trump’s peace plan.”

Reading into these comments, the New York Times ran pieces suggesting that Pompeo told Netanyahu that the U.S. wants him to delay annexation. In the article, Crisis Group analyst Ofer Zalzberg suggested that Pompeo sought to re-establish a role for Benny Gantz in the government’s consideration of annexation (after Gantz forfeit such a role as part of the coalition deal). Adding to the chatter around delay, Channel 13 News in Israel even reported that Gantz and Ashkenazi voiced concerns about annexation during their meeting with Pompeo, though both Gantz and Ashkenzi have continued to publicly promote the plan (see section above).

Israel Expropriates Land, Green Lights Building Permits for “Humanitarian Access” to Hebron’s Tomb of the Patriarchs/Ibrahimi Mosque

On May 13th, the IDF Commander issued an expropriation order to take control of an area outside of Hebron’s Tomb of the Patriarchs/Ibrahimi Mosque in order to build an elevator and wheelchair ramp leading to the site. The land is owned by the Islamic Waqf and is under the municipal jurisdiction of the Palestinian-run Hebron Municipality, according to multiple agreements signed by Israel and the Palestinians concerning the governance of the site. Israel’s expropriation order violates the terms of the Hebron Protocols.

Four days later, on May 17th, the Israeli Civil Administration deposited for public review plans for the project, starting the clock on a 60-day period during which the public can submit objections to the plan.

Emek Shaveh writes:

“The project is presented as a response to a humanitarian need but the settlers and the government are in fact creating a precedent of expropriation from the Waqf and construction at a shared holy site. Moreover, according to the Oslo Accords, the tomb comes under the auspices of the Hebron Municipality who have not consented to the plan.”

Palestinian Authority Minister for the Civilian Affairs Hussein al-Shiekh tweeted in response:

“today the so-called Israeli Minister of Defense signed a decision to confiscate [and] annex parts of the Ibrahimi campus in Hebron, which is a violation of the Hebron protocol, an end of the agreement signed between the PLO and Israel [and] a continuation of the #annexation project in the [West Bank and] #Jerusalem”

Israeli Demolitions in al-Walajah, Displacing Palestinians to Make Way for New Israeli Park

On May 18, Israeli forces demolished six structures (three homes and three agricultural buildings) in the Palestinian village of al-Walajah, in an area of the village that is within the expanded Israeli municipal borders of Jerusalem and also inside ofthe Nahal Rephaim National Park. Israel established the park in 2013 on al-Walajah’s land. Ir Amim reports that the demolitions are part of the Israeli government’s plans to open a new visitors center in the park for Israelis in the near future.

The demolitions were carried out by Israeli authorities, despite circumstances that should have required them to be delayed — including the fact that the Palestinian homeowners were unaware that demolition orders had been issued against their property. Moreover, on March 18th the Israeli Justice Ministry declared that residential demolitions would be suspended during the coronavirus crisis (and such has been the case for the past 2 months in East Jerusalem). Further, Israel customarily pauses demolition orders during the month of Ramadan (which is about to end). 

For decades, the Israeli government has carried out a multi-prong effort to push Palestinians off of their land in al-Walajah. This has included demolition campaigns, construction of the separation barrier along a route that encircles the village and cuts residents off from their land, refusal to grant building permits, and the declaration of state parks over lands on which Palestinians have lived for generations. 

High Court Rejects Regulation Incentivizing Artists Performing in Settlements

On May 13th, the Israeli High Court of Justice overturned a controversial government regulation which conditioned the amount of federal funding for arts and cultural institutions (orchestras, theaters, choirs, etc) on their willingness to perform in West Bank settlements. The program was put in place by former Culture Minister Miri Regev. It incentivized arts institutions to perform in the settlements (an act of normalization and de facto annexation) by offering a 10% bonus to cultural groups which perform in the settlements, while reducing grants by 33% for groups unwilling to perform in the settlements.

The Court’s ruling came in response to a 2016 petition filed by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI); the petition claimed the regulation violated the right to freedom of expression and conscience.

Justice Hanan Melcer said:

“Refraining from appearing in a controversial region constitutes an expression of opinion and such an expression merits protection. The right to freedom of expression obligates the authorities not to discriminate between people or institutions on the basis of their views and requires them to remain neutral.”

For a fantastic re-telling of Miri Regev’s controversial and dramatic tenure as Culture Minister, see this article by Al-Monitor. In the new unity government, Regev was sworn in to serve as Israel’s Minister of Transportation for the first nine months, and will then serve as Israel Foreign Minister. Regev will be a member of the Israeli security cabinet for the entire duration of the government (18 months).

Violence on the Rise

On the evening of May 21st, settlers from the radical Yitzhar settlement – homebase of the violent “Hilltop Youth” – instigated clashes with Palestinians from the nearby village of Hawwara. The settlers were throwing rocks at Palestinian vehicles along the main road to the village, and Palestinians then gathered and responded by throwing rocks at the settlers. Israeli police arrived to disperse the crowd, directing stun gun fire at the Palestinians.

The head of the Hawwara village council told Haaretz that Palestinian property, including cars and store fronts, were damaged by the settlers.

The incident follows an apparent Palestinian-perpetrated attack (or attempted attack) on Israeli forces near Hawwara earlier this week. Many analysts are now noting the persistent occurrence of violent clashes throughout the WEst Bank, including the death of an Israeli soldier during an IDF night raid in Jenin, the death of a Palestinian youth in Hebron also during a nighttime raid by the IDF, an apparent car-ramming attack, and now the events this week.

Breaking the Silence Breaks Down What Annexation Will Mean on the Ground

In a policy paper, Breaking the Silence co-founder Yehuda Shaul answers several key questions about what annexation might look like, and how the legal structure of Israel’s control over Palestinian life in the West Bank will be transformed. Read the full paper here.

Shaul explains that following annexation:

• Planning and construction for the settlements will no longer be regulated by the Defense Ministry, where political considerations at times intervened to stop controversial settlement plans. When settlement construction comes under Israel’s domestic bureaucratic procedures, plans for expansion of settlements are expected to move more quickly.
• The state of Israel will no longer have an existing legal basis for removing settlers from the West Bank (in the hypothetical scenario in which the state should choose to do so). Since 1948, the state has said (at least formally) that the settlements are “temporary” and that they fulfill a “military need.” When Israel evacuated its Gaza settlements, it did so pursuant to a military order saying that the settlements no longer serve a military need, and can be removed. The Court was then able to violate the civil rights Israel affords to its settlers in order to carry out the evacuation. Following annexation, the settlements will no longer be connected to any “military need” and will certainly no longer be held as a “temporary” endeavor, removing power from the government to carry out evacuations should it so choose.
• Settler municipal bodies will enjoy increased autonomy and power over Palestinians living in annexed land. This means that Palestinians could be paying taxes to the settler bodies, and relying on their benevolence for construction planning, building permits, and other services, etc. Palestinians would likely enjoy no representation in those municipal bodies, which would also have the authority to enforce demolition orders against Palestinians.
• The bureaucratic process of combining two regimes (the Israeli government and the Israeli military command) to govern the newly annexed territory will take a lot of legislation and it will require Israel to form a complex and massive structure to police the borders of Israeli territory. 
• The Absentee Property’s Law and declarations of newly annexed land for “public use” will be the key legal tools Israel uses to take privately owned Palestinian land on a massive scale.

The paper also establishes that annexation of West Bank land will mean apartheid. Annexation under the Trump Plan would leave Palestinians living in fragmented enclaves within the Israeli state, without any rights in Israel (i.e. Apartheid). Even if Israel grants some rights to the subset of Palestinians living in the territory annexed to Israel (the report details 5 scenarios Israel might consider), that does not change the overall legal status of the new regime as an apartheid system, where people are granted or not granted rights primarily based on ethnicity.  

Al-Haq Report: Israeli Annexation of Jerusalem Since 1948

In a new report, entitled “Annexing A City: Israel’s Illegal Measures to Annex Jerusalem Since 1948,” Al-Haq examines Israel’s annexation of West Jerusalem in 1948 and East Jerusalem in 1967, and the many Israeli policies which have sought to shore up those annexations in the intervening years.

Al-Haq writes:

“Indeed, Israel’s actions towards the city, from beginning to move its Government ministries to West Jerusalem in 1949, to redrawing the municipal boundaries of the city in 1967, have all been aimed at establishing irreversible facts on the ground before concrete action is taken by the international community. Accordingly, Israel’s policies and practices imposed today in occupied East Jerusalem, ranging from residency revocations to house demolitions, form part of a continuing effort to displace and dispossess Palestinians in Jerusalem, thereby feeding into Israel’s calculated efforts to alter the legal status, character, and demographic composition of the city, in violation of its protected status under international law.”

B’Tselem Report: Jewish Supremacy on Display in Issawiya

In a new report, entitled “This is Jerusalem: Violence and Dispossession in al- ‘Esawiyah,” B’Tselem describes life in the Palestinian East Jerusalem neighborhood of Issawiya (aka al-‘Esawiyah). In it, B’Tselem analyzes how Israeli policies have aimed and succeeded at dispossessing Palestinians in Issawiya through deliberate neglect, lack of planning, and an ongoing police campaign in the neighborhood aimed at harassing residents. 

B’Tselem writes:

“Since annexing East Jerusalem, Israel has viewed the Palestinians who live there as an unwanted addition. The policy it implements in these neighborhoods – which is particularly blatant in al-‘Esawiyah – is aimed at incessantly pressuring the residents. In the short term, this is meant to oppress Palestinians in the city, control them and keep them poor, underprivileged and in a state of constant anxiety. Given Israel’s declared intention to ensure a Jewish demographic supremacy in Jerusalem, the long-term goal of this cruel policy appears to be to drive Palestinians to breaking point, so that they “choose” to desert their homes and leave the city. This conduct clearly demonstrates the demographic considerations that guide Israel’s actions: preferring Jewish citizens over unwanted Palestinian residents. Accordingly, the Israeli authorities incessantly harass the entire Palestinian population of Jerusalem, including the blatant example reviewed in this report: the 22,000 people who live in al-‘Esawiyah. This abuse, which is the result of an ongoing policy led by all Israeli governments since 1967, lays bare Israel’s priorities in the only part of the West Bank it has – as yet – taken the trouble to formally annex: no equality, no rights, and not even reasonable municipal services. Instead, state authorities use their power in the annexed territory to cement the superiority of one group over another.”

Human Rights Watch Report: Israeli Land Policies Strangle Palestinian Communities in Israel

In a new report – entitled “Israel: Discriminatory Land Policies Hem in Palestinians” Human Rights Watch documents how policies which have Israel’s occupation policy extened beyond the occupied territories – and also serve to tighly constrict the growth and development of Palestinian cities inside of Israeli borders. 

Eric Goldstein, acting Middle East executive director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement:

“Israeli policy on both sides of the Green Line restricts Palestinians to dense population centers while maximizing the land available for Jewish communities. These practices are well-known when it comes to the occupied West Bank, but Israeli authorities are also enforcing discriminatory land practices inside Israel.”

Bonus Reads

1. “Annexation is not just about stealing land — it’s about expelling Palestinians“ (+972 Magazine)
2. “Land grab and deportation: A leading Israeli lawyer’s annexation prediction” (Middle East Eye)
3. “Jerusalem Day Obscures The Reality of Modern Jerusalem” (Daniel Seidemann for T’ruah)
4. “What’s the Real Purpose of Israel’s Annexation Plan?” (Hagai El-Ad in Haaretz)
5. “For Medicinal Purposes The Israeli Military Sector and the Coronavirus Crisis” (Who Profits)
6. “EU Countries Mull Slapping Sanctions on Israel to Deter West Bank Annexation” (Haaretz)
7. “Israel expands settlement projects around Hebron’s mosque” (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.

May 1, 2020

1. International Criminal Court Chief Prosecutor Concludes: YES, Palestine is a State & Court has  Jurisdiction to Investigate Alleged Israeli (and Hamas) War Crimes
2. Netanyahu: Annexation Will Happen in “A Couple Months”; US again Signals UNCONDITIONAL Support
3. Leading East Jerusalem Settler Poised to Become  Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem
4. Updates on Three Settler-Backed Projects in Silwan
5. Joe Biden Says He Will Keep Embassy in Jerusalem, [kind of] Re-Open the Consulate, & Recommit to the Two-State Solution
6. Bonus Reads

Comments/questions? Contact Kristin McCarthy (kmccarthy@fmep.org).

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International Criminal Court Chief Prosecutor Concludes: YES, Palestine is a State & Court has  Jurisdiction to Investigate Alleged Israeli (and Hamas) War Crimes

On April 30th, the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Fatou Bensouda, filed her opinion with an Pre-Trial Chamber arguing that Palestine can be considered a state and therefore the Court does have jurisdiction over alleged crimes committed by parties in Palestine. Previously, in January 2020, Bensouda determined that there was reasonable basis upon which to open an investigation, but convened a Pre-Trial Chamber to rule on the issue of the Court’s jurisdiction. If the pre-trial Chamber determines that the Court has jurisdiction, a case can be opened into the matter of alleged Israeli war crimes in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza Strip, as well as alleged crimes committed by Hamas in Gaza. The Pre-Trial Chamber does not have a deadline for making their ruling, but is expected to do so in the next 120 days.

Bensouda’s detailed (60-page) decision concludes that the Oslo Accords – signed by the Palestinian Authority and Israel – are a credible legal basis for establishing Palestine as an internationally recognized state. Her influential legal opinion also directly and systematically refutes the amicus curiae briefs filed by several countries, including Germany  (the second largest funder of the ICC), arguing that Palestine is not a state and that the Court does not have jurisdiction. Czech Republic, Austria, Australia, Hungary, Brazil and Uganda also filed briefs along those lines. The brief also systematically rebuts the raft of arguments made by various international lawfare organizations asserting that the Court has no right to investigate (the decision is well worth reading in full).  

Netanyahu: Annexation Will Happen in “A Couple Months”; US again Signals UNCONDITIONAL Support

On April 26th, Prime Minister Netanyahu announced his belief that annexation will be realized in “a couple months” and that he is “confident” that President Trump will recognize that annexation. Under the recent coalition agreement signed by Netanyahu and Benny Gantz, annexation will have to wait until at least July 1st.

Netanyahu’s confidence in the Trump Administration’s support for Israeli annexation plans rests on solid footing. As a reminder, on April 22nd Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called annexation an “Israeli decision.” The remarks drew attention because of the existence of a joint U.S.-Israeli mapping committee, which suggests an active U.S. role in deciding the extent of Israel’s annexation, and which gives the appearance, at least, that the Trump Plan is something less than a carte blanche for Israel to annex whatever it chooses. 

On April 27th, a spokesperson for the Department of State elaborated on Secretary Pompeo’s remarks in a statement to The Times of Israel:

“As we have made consistently clear, we are prepared to recognize Israeli actions to extend Israeli sovereignty and the application of Israeli law to areas of the West Bank that the vision foresees as being part of the State of Israel…in the context of the Government of Israel agreeing to negotiate with the Palestinians along the lines set forth in President Trump’s Vision…The annexation would be in the context of an offer to the Palestinians to achieve statehood based upon specific terms, conditions, territorial dimensions and generous economic support. This is an unprecedented and highly beneficial opportunity for the Palestinians.”

These remarks drew dramatic headlines suggesting that now, after more than three years of statements and policies aligned with Israel’s pro-annexation right, Trump is pumping the brakes by making U.S. support conditional on Israel agreeing in principle to the establishment of a Palestinian state (which, under the Trump Plan is, would be a non-autonoumous/non-sovereign entity). Unsurprisingly, within 24 hours of the first headline offering this  analysis, an official at the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem clarified the policy, making it emphatically clear that U.S. support for Israel’s annexation of West Bank territory is in no way connected to, or conditioned on, the issue of a future Palestinian state. The official said:

“Our position has not changed. As we have made consistently clear, we are prepared to recognize Israeli actions to extend Israeli sovereignty and the application of Israeli law to areas of the West Bank that the [Trump peace plan] foresees as being part of the State of Israel. This will give the Palestinians an opportunity to come to the table and negotiate a peace agreement that will result in the establishment of a state of their own. The United States stands ready and willing to offer wide-ranging assistance to facilitate a final peace agreement.”

While it was clearly a stretch to read the State Department remarks as the unveiling of a new U.S. policy conditioning approval of annexation on some kind of concession to the Palestinians or on the two-state solution, the difference in tone/content of the two statements highlights the longstanding disconnect between the U.S. State Department and the Embassy in the Trump era.  This disconnect is largely attributable to the close relationship and direct line that U.S. Ambassador David Friedman enjoys to the White House, to the exclusion of the State Department. Friedman — who is a key member of the joint mapping committee, a key architect of the Trump Plan, and whose views and statements have consistently been more indicative of the direction of U.S. policy than those of the State Department’s spokespersons — has publicly disregarded the necessity of Palestinian involvement in implementing the Trump Plan, in contrast with the State Department’s statement this week. For a refresher on Friedman’s anti-two-state, anti-Palestinian views, recall this excellent list of quotes compiled by APN.

In the context of Amb. Friedman’s centrality in setting U.S. policy on annexation, a recent tweet from Friedman in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the San Remo Resolution is notable. The resolution gave Great Britain a mandate to rule the historic region of Palestine and formally conferred recognition to the Jewish people’s right to establish a national homeland there. Haaretz explains that the San Remo Resolution is increasingly cited by “Greater Israel” advocates as a legal basis for Israeli claims to the entire area at the expense of Palesttinian national aspirations, based on the fact that the British mandate was over all the land, including the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Friedman tweeted:

“Recalling today the 100th anniversary of the San Remo Resolution, whereby the world powers recognized the ancient connection of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel and the right of the Jewish people to a national home on that land was given the force of International Law.”

Leading East Jerusalem Settler Poised to Become  Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem

Jerusalem’s Mayor Moshe Leon is seeking approval to appoint notorious settlement empresario Arieh King to be his Deputy Mayor, a move which will further empower King – who has served as a city councilman since 2013 – to promote ideologically-motivated settlement projects throughout East Jerusalem. 

King openly calls for the “Judaization of Jerusalem,” and is behind many unprecedented, ideological settlement plans, including currently advancing plans to build the first-ever settlement enclave inside of the Beit Hanina neighborhood of East Jerusalem. Most infamously, King has led and financed a longtime effort to evict Palestinians from their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in East Jerusalem. In this effort he sometimes uses Arab middle-men and at other times he has found and convinced Jewish heirs to Sheikh Jarrah properties to “reclaim” the property under Israel’s Absentee Property Law and then to transfer the properties for use by settlers. 

King is also behind the ongoing drive to build new, official settlements in Sheikh Jarrah, for which he has received expedited approvals from the city planning committees. King is also involved with plans to expand the settlement enclave of Nof Zion in the Jabal al-Mukhaber neighborhood of East Jerusalem.

A member of the City Council from the Meretz Party, Laura Wharton, threatened to quit the city’s governing coalition over King’s appointment. King responded by making clear that as Deputy Mayor he would, indeed, continue to focus on settlement in East Jerusalem – and snarkily suggested that for this very reason, the Meretz member should support him. King told Haaretz:

“I’m very surprised that Laura Wharton is threatening to leave. After all, she knows full well that she will have no better partner than I in improving the infrastructure in East Jerusalem, and in listening to the needs of its residents. I hope the Meretz branch [whose members] I consider staunch political opponents will step up and see the advantages in my becoming deputy mayor, by which East Jerusalem will undoubtedly receive more attention from the municipality…”

Updates on Three Settler-Backed Projects in Silwan

Emek Shaveh this week provided updates on three settler-backed projects in Silwan, two of which have continued progressing despite the nation-wide lockdown to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

First, Emek Shaveh reports that construction on the “stepped street” section of the archeological site called the “Pilgrim’s Road” continued throughout the months of March and April. The project is driven by the radical Elad settler group, and is located beneath the Wadi Hilweh section of Silwan, a Palestinian neighborhood in East Jerusalem adjacent to the Temple Mount/Haram Al-Sharif. Infamously, U.S. Ambassador David Friedman and then-White House advisor Jason Greenblatt took part in the opening of the site in June 2019, including a gratuitous photo-op  – a sign that made clear the Trump Administration’s support not only for settlement schemes, but for their larger agenda of consolidating Israeli sovereignty over even the most contentious areas of East Jerusalem. 

Elad launched its excavation of the “Pilgrim’s Road” in 2007, with the full support of the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA). For more background on the tunnels and how radical Israeli settlers have exploited excavation, tourism, and the ancient character of Jerusalem in order to serve their ideological agenda – see the comprehensive reporting by Emek Shaveh.

Second, Emek Shaveh reports that Elad has continued construction on transforming a house located in Jerusalem’s “Peace Forest” into a tourism center that will be used as the base for a settler-run tourism project — a zipline slated to traverse the Forest’s canopy.  The zipline will connect the “Peace Forest” in the Abu Tor neighborhood to another popular tourism site, the Armon Hanatziv promenade. Coming in at 2,570 feet, this will be Israel’s longest zipline and will travel over the Palestinian neighborhood Jabal al-Mukaber. Renovations of the house are paid for by the Israeli Ministry of Housing, which allocated 43 million NIS ($12.38 million USD) for the project. The House – which the settlers have named “Beit Shatz” – was purchased by Elad as part of Elad’s broader efforts to use tourist projects as a means for taking control over the area, which is situated in a national park.

The behavior of Elad and the Israeli government  in the Peace Forest underscores the the systematic discrimination in planning policies and enforcement facing Palestinians in Jerusalem. The several Palestinian families living in the “Peace Forest” and are prohibited from building or expanding/renovating their homes because of the strict building prohibitions for national parks.  Elad managed to circumvent those same restrictions by pushing the Jerusalem Municipality to request that the area they are targeting be designated as an “open public space,” which would allow the project to advance. In December 2019, Jerusalem planning authorities granted the settler-backed request. That same month, Israel pursued demolition orders against Palestinian homes in the Peace Forest that lacked building permits, despite the fact that in some cases Palestinians have repeatedly applied for and been denied permits. 

Third, Emek Shaveh also reports that progress on the controversial East Jerusalem cable car project has been stalled due to the coronavirus shutdown. Emek Shaveh reports:

“Following its approval by the National Infrastructure Committee in June 2019, and the 200 million NIS government allocation, the project was to enter the tender phase. However the bidding process for an international company specializing in the construction of cable cars has been hampered by the pandemic. Our [Emek Shaveh’s] appeal to the High Court against the project is scheduled for June.”

Joe Biden Says He Will Keep Embassy in Jerusalem, [kind of] Re-Open the Consulate, & Recommit to the Two-State Solution

Speaking at a virtual fundraising event on April 29th, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden told supporters that he would keep the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem despite the fact he disagrees with the Trump Administration’s decision to move the embassy there from Tel Aviv. As a reminder, in February 2020 the New York Times published the results of its survey of Democratic candidates policies vis-a-vis Israel. In response to the question, “Should the United States Embassy in Israel be moved from Jerusalem back to Tel Aviv?” Biden – like every candidate other than Sanders and Warren – responded with a clear answer: “No.”

Biden also told supporters that he would “re-open” the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem in order to facilitate talks with the Palestinians toward a two-state solution. As a reminder: shortly after the Trump Administration moved the Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, it closed the U.S. Consulate and Ambassador Friedman began converting the compound into his personal residence. Simultaneously, Friedman created a “Palestinian Affairs” unit in the new Embassy, signaling that henceforth the U.S. would treat Palestinians and Palestinian-related matters not as merely as a subset of issues between the U.S. and Israel, rather than part of a U.S.-Palestinian bilateral relationship. the U.S. was represented in Jerusalem by a Consulate General from 1844 until the mission was closed by the Trump Administration in March 2019. From the start of the peace process in the 1990s until its closure, the Consulate served as the de facto U.S. diplomatic mission to the Palestinians, and was a central player in advancing U.S. efforts to broker a negotiated end to the conflict. Notably, Biden’s comments this week suggest that he may not be talking about a re-opening of the Consulate to function as it had in the past, so much as a re-purposing of the Consulate to serve a specific, limited function. 

While Biden reportedly did not say anything about annexation during his fundraising call (and has conspicuously refrained from commenting on the issue since the Israeli unity government agreement made annexation an imminent reality), on April 28th his senior foreign policy advisor Tony Blinken told a group of supporters that Biden opposes annexation on the basis that it contradicts the two-state solution and would be bad for Israel. According to Blinken, Biden has said:

 “on the record several times [that] unilateral steps taken by either side that make the prospect of a negotiated two-state outcome less likely is something he opposes, and that includes annexation. In many ways, pulling the plug on a two-state solution is pulling the plug, potentially, on an Israel that is not only secure but is Jewish and democratic — for the future. That’s not something any of us, who are ardent supporters of Israel, would want to see.”

Bonus Reads

1. “Can Anyone Stop Netanyahu’s Annexation Plans?” (Al-Monitor) 
2. “Arab League slams West Bank annexation plans as ‘war crime’” (Al-Monitor)
3. “Lots of bark, some actual bite? How the world will react to West Bank annexation” (The Times of Israel)
4. “Europeans formally protest West Bank sovereignty plans” (Jerusalem Post)
5. “Israel doesn’t need ‘advice’ against annexation — it needs consequences” (+972 Magazine)
6. “WEBINAR: The Legal Impacts of Annexation w/ Michael Sfard” (J Street)
7. “Israeli annexation plans would lead to ‘cascade of bad human rights consequences’, says UN expert” (UN)
8. “How should Palestinians respond to Israeli threats of annexation?” (Al Jazeera)
9. “Lots of bark, some actual bite? How the world will react to West Bank annexation” (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 24, 2020

1. The Facts on the Bibi/Gantz Annexation Agreement
2. The World Responds (or doesn’t) to Formation of Annexation Government
3. Gantz Takes Over Defense Ministry – Including Authority Over Settlement Construction (at least until July 1st)
4. Settlers, Yamina Party Dissatisfied with & Suspicious of Netanyahu’s Annexation Plans
5. Plans Advance for Two New Settlement Enclaves in the Beit Hanina Neighborhood
6. B’Tselem: With IDF Backing, Settlers are Violently Stealing Land During COVID-19 Crisis
7. Coming Soon: Plans for Har Homa Expansion Scheduled for Discussion on April 27th
8. Coming Soon: Israel To Open Bidding on “Doomsday” Givat Hamatos Settlement Tender on May 3rd
9. IDF Demolishes Outpost Structures, Including in Outpost From Which the Criminal “Hilltop Youth” Group Hail
10. Yesh Din Outlines Potential Impact of Annexation on Palestinian Human Rights (Spoiler: It’s Bad)
11. Bonus Reads

Comments or questions – email Kristin McCarthy (kmccarthy@fmep.org).

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The Facts on the Bibi/Gantz Annexation Agreement

Under the new emergency unity government agreement, the issue of annexation is at the total discretion of Prime Minister Netanyahu. Per the coalition agreement signed by Netanyahu and Gantz on April 20th, the stipulations related to annexation are:

1. The U.S. must give its “full agreement” to the annexation plan, including on the maps of West Bank land Israeli legislation will specify for annexation. Reminder: the U.S. and Israel have already formed a joint mapping committee aimed at translating the conceptual map appended to the Trump Plan into a detailed plan. The U.S. has signalled that it will give its approval to the resulting map and to date, the Trump Administration has only offered its total support for Israeli annexation – including Secretary Pompeo in a April 22nd press conference. 
2. Netanyahu and Gantz must “engage in dialogue” with (but are not obligated to secure any form of consent from) the international community, “with the aim of preserving the security and strategic interests of Israel including maintaining regional stability, preserving existing peace agreements and working towards future peace agreements.” During the negotiations that paved the way for the unity agreement, international coordination as a condition for any annexation was reportedly one of Gantz’s key demands, with particular insistence on the king of Jordan being consulted; as is clear from the agreement, Gantz totally folded on this point (among others). 
3. On July 1, 2020, Prime Minister Netanyahu can bring the U.S-approved annexation plan up for discussion in the Cabinet and/or for a vote in the Knesset, – without the support/approval of Gantz. The unity agreement consists of a six-month “emergency period” during which Netanyahu is prohibited from introducing any legislation unrelated to Israel’s fight against the Coronavirus. Annexation legislation is the one and only exception from this prohibition, with the agreement allowing Netanyahu to move annexation legislation as of July 1 (the delay until July representing the empty “concession” extracted by Gantz in negotiations). Indeed, by providing two separate ways to move annexation – via the Cabinet or via the Knesset – the agreement ensures Netanyahu will be able to pass the bill even if he does not have a majority in the Cabinet (seats on which will be split equally between Netanyahu and Gantz appointees in the new government).
4. Only a Likud member of the Knesset is permitted to introduce an annexation plan in the Knesset, provided that the plan is identical to the one promoted by Prime Minister Netanyahu. This stipulation prevents more radical annexation plans from being moved in the Knesset by members of other political parties, and also eliminates any role of Gantz in Knesset proceedings.
5. Once introduced into the Knesset, the annexation legislation cannot be delayed or vetoed. By accepting this clause, Gantz has agreed in advance that he cannot block the bill from passage. At the same time, the agreement magnanimously allows Gantz and his fellow Blue & White Members of the Knesset to “vote their conscience” and oppose the annexation bill (FMEP has previously explained the political strategy behind this). Under the unity agreement, this is the only matter on which Gantz agreed to forfeit his veto power.

The World Responds (or doesn’t) to Formation of Annexation Government

The Palestinians were vocal in their opposition of the new government and its annexation plan, with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas threatening to cancel all agreements with Israel and the United States if annexation plans proceed. 

Unsurprisingly, the U.S. government welcomed the unity government agreement and, with Secretary of State Pompeo stating he was “happy” that the sides had reached an agreement and noting:

“As for the annexation of the West Bank, the Israelis will ultimately make those decisions. That’s an Israeli decision. And we will work closely with them to share with them our views of this in (a) private setting.”

The government of France issued the most notably strong statement (so far) rejecting annexation, saying: 

“Such steps if implemented would not pass unchallenged and shall not be overlooked in our relationship with Israel.”

An European Union’s foreign affairs spokesman stated that “If this proceeds, it will not be left unanswered.” Separately. the EU’s Chief of Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, issued a statement vowing to “closely monitor” annexation efforts, reiterating that the EU holds annexation as a “serious violation of international law.” Remarkably,  8 of 27 EU member states opposed Borrell’s statement, signalling a fractured and therefore weak EU stance against annexation. During discussions with member states, Borrell reportedly argued for including a threat of sanctions against Israel if annexation is advanced, a point which drew opposition. Other states were reportedly hesitant over the timing of the statement, claiming to be concerned about preemptively souring relations with the new government, and particularly Gantz. 

In response, Israeli Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz attacked Burrell and praised EU states that opposed the EU statement, including: 

“It is unfortunate to read that Joseph Burrell, who claims to be trusted with the EU’s foreign relations, chooses to welcome the new government of a central partner of the EU in this way, and prefers to see the relationship between Israel and the EU through the prism of the pandemic and the ‘status of the territories.’ Given the depth of the relationship and in light of the fact that this announcement did not receive the support of the EU member states yesterday, we wonder which policies the honorable gentleman is choosing to represent, and not for the first time.”

Ireland’s Foreign Minister Simon Coveney made a strong statement warning Israel against annexation:

“Annexation of territory by force is prohibited under international law, including the UN Charter, whenever and wherever it occurs, in Europe’s neighbourhood or globally. This is a fundamental principle in the relations of states and the rule of law in the modern world. No one state can set it aside at will.  Ireland remains committed to a negotiated two-state solution that ends the occupation that began in 1967, with Jerusalem as the capital of both States, on the basis of international law, the internationally-agreed parameters and relevant UN Security Council resolutions.”

Germany’s mission to the UN tweeted:

“Germany strongly advises against the annexation of occupied Palestinian territories. This would have serious, negative repercussions on the viability of the two-state solution, the entire peace process, regional stability and ISR standing within the international community.”

The UK Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador James Roscoe, delivered a statement in the UN Security Council noting:

“we are deeply concerned by reports that the new Israeli government coalition has reached an agreement which paves the way for annexation of parts of the West Bank. The UK position is clear: any unilateral moves towards annexation of parts of the West Bank by Israel would be damaging to efforts to restart peace negotiations and would be contrary to international law.”

The UN’s special Middle East envoy, Nickolay Mladenov, said that annexation would,

 “deal a devastating blow to the two-state solution, close the door to a renewal of negotiations, and threaten efforts to advance regional peace.”

Gantz Takes Over Defense Ministry – Including Authority Over Settlement Construction (at least until July 1st)

The newly signed unity government agreement will see Benny Gantz appointed as the Defense Minister of Israel, taking over the post from Yamina MK Naftali Bennet. As Defense Minister, Gantz will take control of the Civil Administration, which is a body within the Defense Ministry which serves as the sovereign authority in the occupied territories. For as long as the Civil Administration exists and Israel has not formally annexed the West Bank, Gantz will hold enormous power over decisions related to land seizures and allocations, settlement construction and enforcement of Israeli building regulations in the West Bank (of course, even without annexation, Netanyahu – as the highest official in the government, will retain important if not decisive authority in all settlement-related decisions). 

The objective of annexation, of course, is to fully normalize and permanently integrate the settlements into the state of Israel, bringing them fully under the laws and governance of Israel’s government.  If and when such annexation is implemented, the current system of governance over the settlements — which since 1967 has run through the Defense Ministry, reflecting the fact that the land is held by Israel under a status even the Israeli High Court has recognized as “belligerent military occupation” — will perforce be dismantled. In the event of partial annexation, areas annexed to Israel would perforce no longer be under Civil Administration authority. 

Nonetheless, we have seen what a determined Defense Minister can accomplish over a short period of time. Over the course of his 6 months as Defense Minister, Naftali Bennet aggressively exercised the significant power of that office to promote numerous settlement plans, including controversial plans that required careful legal maneuvering. Among his accomplishments are:

• The issuance of a new legal opinion to enable settlement construction above the old vegetable market in Hebron;
• The approval of plans to build a controversial new road near Jerusalem, dubbed by the settlers the “sovereignty road” — an important step towards building the E-1 settlement;
• The announcement of seven new “nature reserves” in the West Bank, and the expansion of 12 existing reserves;
• The launching of legal research into how Israeli can bring settlement building in Area C under the direct authority of the Justice Ministry, cutting out the Civil Administration;
• The creation of an inter-ministerial taskforce to develop settlement and annexation plans for the future of Area C in the West Bank. Reports indicate the taskforce agenda includes: 
  • Allowing Jews to privately purchase land in the West Bank. [See here for a detailed explanation of this complicated matter]; 
  • connecting unauthorized outposts to water and electricity; 
  • granting official recognition to unauthorized outposts that are located near established settlements by recognizing them as “neighborhoods” of the settlement; 
  • repealing a military order that empowers the Civil Administration to evict settlers from privately owned Palestinian land with or without a Palestinian-initiated petition to have the settlers removed; 
  • legalizing 30 sheep farms in the West Bank that are under pending demolition orders. 

It is worth noting, however, that other ministries also have authorities with respect to support for an governance over settlements, a messy situation which is the result of Israel’s creeping annexation via the extension of Israeli domestic laws and regulations over the settlements/settlers [FMEP maintains a compendium of these laws and regulations]. The Israeli Education Ministry recently brought settlement colleges and universities under its authority. The Transportation Ministry has funded the construction of hotels and other tourist infrastructure in the settlements. The Agricultural Ministry facilitates the sharing of egg quotas between settlements and Israeli cities. The Interior Ministry facilitates tax sharing and redistribution between the settlements and Israeli communities. And of course the Justice Ministry has a central role in defending settlement activity in the West Bank, and is playing a key role in the bid to find new legal mechanisms for granting retroactive authorization to illegal outposts and expropriating privately owned Palestinian land.

Under the new governing agreement, the ministries are set to be divided between Likud and Blue & White. With respect to ministries that have direct involvement in settlements, Israeli media reports suggest that in addition to the Defense Ministry, Blue & White will get the Justice Ministry (with Avi Nissenkorn reportedly set to be the next ministry), the Ministry of Economy, and the Ministry of Agriculture. For its part, in addition to maintaining the position of Prime Minister for at least 18 months, Likud will get the Housing & Construction Ministry (which has a central role in West Bank settlement construction), the Finance Ministry, the Transportation Ministry, the Ministry of the Interior, the Education Ministry, the Ministry of Public Security, and will appoint the next Speaker of the Knesset (expected to be Yariv Levin) who will serve for the entire 18 months of the unity government’s duration.

The Times of Israel suggests that this division amongst parties might result in incoherent policies on the settlements:

“Take for example the West Bank settlements that will seek to capitalize on any Israeli declaration of sovereignty in the coming months to encourage a growth in population and economic development. The heads of controversial outlying settlements will undoubtedly find a sympathetic ear in the right-wing-led ministries of transportation or housing — both vital to their development — but will face a colder reception in the ministries of agriculture and economy, on which their livelihoods depend and which are slated to be led by the Gantz bloc’s Blue and White and Labor respectively in the new cabinet. Will the new government support those settlements or try to limit their growth? Both.”

Settlers, Yamina Party Dissatisfied with & Suspicious of Netanyahu’s Annexation Plans

Having been left out of any leadership role in the new unity government, the Yamina party – an alliance of far-right parties led by Naftali Bennett, Ayelet Shaked, and Bezalel Smotrich – has not yet decided whether to remain part of Netanyahu’s alliance or become an opposition party to the newly formed unity government. The faction’s central grievance concerns Netanyahu’s concessions on judicial appointees (which leave Yamina completely out of that important government process), and Yamina’s continued suspicion over Netanyahu’s intentions on annexation. 

Throughout the negotiations, Shaked and Bennett continued to express their rejection to the Trump Plan, based on their opposition to that plan holding out even the pretense of allowing for the establishment of a (discontiguous, powerless, politically and economically non-viable) Palestinian state in the future. In an attempt to cast doubt on whether the Prime Minister intends to implement the annexation path laid out in the unity deal, Bennett threw punches at Netanyahu, calling him “all talk” on the matter of annexation. Shortly after the deal was signed Bennett told the press:

“This is a left-wing government led by Netanyahu. All the things we care about are going to the [Blue and White-led] bloc. The agreement doesn’t leave us any way to have influence.”

While many settler leaders welcomed the new government, most withheld a full-throated celebration over the annexation clause – either because some settlers are dissatisfied with the Trump Plan (like Yamina) or because settlers distrust Netanyahu’s promises. Like Yamina, settlers are pushing for an even more expansive annexation than the one laid out in the Trump plan. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s recent comment that annexation is an Israeli decision gave settler leaders even more ammunition with which to threaten Netanyahu. Beit El Council head Shai Alon said:

“There are no more excuses. It’s time for action. The ball is in the new government’s court. If sovereignty doesn’t happen now, who knows when the next opportunity will come around.”

Prior to the agreement being finalized, Yesha Council head David Elhayani told The Jerusalem Post:

“I don’t think that the US will go against us [Israel] when Trump is president…You have to throw this [Trump] plan into the trash and the State of Israel has to decide to make the right decision. That decision is to apply sovereignty to the Jordan Valley, the northern Dead Sea and [all] the settlements…”

Samaria Regional Council chairman Yossi Dagan said in a statement:

“I congratulate the prime minister and MK Benny Gantz on reaching an agreement…We will work with the government, in partnership and, when necessary, in a forceful manner, in order to advance sovereignty in the coming period and to expand construction and development in Judea and Samaria.”

While the unity agreement means that Yamina will not have power in the new government, its impact on the unity agreement and on the course of Israel’s future under this government should not be underestimated. The dogged pressure on Netanyahu exerted by Shaked, Bennett and their settler friends may have helped him secure concessions from Gantz in negotiations, but in so doing it also put Netanyahu in corner, depriving him of any politically easy way to delay annexation, should he want to do so (that said, the idea that he would want to do so is increasingly far-fetched — according to Barak Ravid,  Netanyahu sees annexation as his main legacy as Prime Minister). Indeed, under the coalition agreement Netanyahu’s only excuse for delaying or preventing annexation would be U.S. opposition — and the Trump administration is already on the record (with the Trump Plan and in statements) in support of annexation.

Plans Advance for Two New Settlement Enclaves in the Beit Hanina Neighborhood

Ir Amim reports that on April 22nd, the Jerusalem Local Planning Committee recommended the advancement of plans to build two new settlement enclaves inside the Beit Hanina neighborhood of East Jerusalem. With the committee’s recommendation, the plans advance to the Jerusalem District Planning Committee for discussion. In January 2020, the Jerusalem District Planning Committee granted final approval to plans for another enclave in Beit Hanina, marking the first time the Israeli government granted authorization for settlement construction in Beit Hanina.

The plans for the two new enclaves are closely linked to East Jerusalem settlement empresario and Jerusalem municipal councilman Aryeh King. Ir Amim notes the role King has played behind the scenes and the potential impact of the enclaves:

“Although originally scheduled to be discussed at the Local Planning Committee on March 18, they were subsequently omitted from the agenda.  The plans likewise reappeared on the agenda for discussions on April 1 and again removed. For a third time, the plans re-emerged on the agenda for today’s discussions at the Local Planning Committee and were subsequently taken off and then immediately placed back on. Such moves indicate concerted pressure to advance these plans by prominent settler figures, including Arieh King, longstanding settler activist and Jerusalem Municipal Councilman who is behind the promotion of these projects. The establishment of more settler enclaves in the heart of Beit Hanina will not only impact the fabric of this community and fracture its space, but will further erode opening conditions for a political solution to the conflict based on two capitals in Jerusalem.”

Ir Amim previously provided essential context to Beit Hanina settlement schemes:

“the plan will enable an ideologically driven settler outpost in the heart of Beit Hanina, a neighborhood located on the northern perimeter of East Jerusalem that has remained relatively untouched by Israeli settlement within its limits. Since the land in question is not far from Ramat Shlomo to the south-west and Pisgat Zeev to the north-east of it, its construction may mark the beginning of a far sweeping move to create contiguity between the two settlements, while driving a wedge between Bet Hanina and Shuafat.”

B’Tselem: With IDF Backing, Settlers are Violently Stealing Land During COVID-19 Crisis

B’Tselem documented 23 attacks by settlers on Palestinians and/or Palestinian property in the first three weeks of April 2020, continuing what is now a two-month trend of increased settler violence during the coronavirus shutdown which began in mid-March. 

The violence centered around well-known hotspots:

1. The Shilo Valley, were settlers terrorized the Palestinian villages of al-Mughayir, Turmusaya, Qaryut and Qusrah; 
2. The South Hebron Hills, particularly near the outpost of Havat Ma’on as well as near the settlements of Rimonim and Kochav Hashahar; and
3. The area around the Halamish settlement, where another new outpost was recently erected. 

B’Tselem also notes that settlers In the Jordan Valley harrass Palestinian herders on a daily basis, but these incidents are not counted in the violent attack data.

B’Tselem underscores the state support for such violence and its goal: the dispossession of Palestinians. It writes:

“These actions are part of a joint strategy by the settlers and Israeli authorities to systematically block Palestinian access to land – one acre, field, fertile plot, grove or pasture at a time – for decades on end, and take effective control of it. This way the state transfers the means of livelihood of Palestinians into the hands of Israelis. Settler violence is the state’s unofficial, privatized arm that serves to gradually achieve this goal. The state’s full support for this violence is evident in the actions of Israeli security forces on the ground. Five of eight attacks on Palestinian homes in March occurred in the presence of soldiers, who not only allowed the settlers to do as they pleased but took action against Palestinians trying to protect their families and homes. In some cases, soldiers arrested residents, and in at least three incidents fired tear gas canisters at residents. In three incidents, the soldiers arrived with the marauding settlers or joined them early on in the assault. Similar incidents occurred in April, with soldiers firing rubber-coated metal bullets and tear gas canisters at residents, as has happened in the villages of Qusrah and a-Shuyukh on 6 April. In the Qatash brothers’ case, after the assault, the settlers handed ‘Issa Qatash over to soldiers, who did not give him any medical assistance or help him get back to his family. Instead, they simply abandoned him in the field with a fractured leg. For years, Israel has allowed settlers to attack Palestinians and damage their property virtually unimpeded, as a matter of policy. This includes provision of military protection for the attackers, and in some cases soldiers’ active participation in the assault. The police, meanwhile, hold back from enforcing the law on the offenders. This is part of Israel’s strategy to encourage the dispossession of Palestinians from growing areas throughout the West Bank, which paves the state’s way to take over more land and resources. The fact that this violence has exacerbated during a global pandemic adds another layer of brutality to Israel’s policy.”

Coming Soon: Plans for Har Homa Expansion Scheduled for Discussion on April 27th

According to Ir Amim, the Jerusalem District Committee is scheduled to discuss two plans for a total of 2,500 new settlement units in Har Homa E (also called Har Homa West) settlement on April 27th. The two plans were last discussed in February 2020, following Prime Minister’s Netanayhu’s lifting of a freeze on contentious East Jerusalem settlements (a development which also saw the E-1 settlement plans advance). At the time, the Har Homa plans were delayed for technical reasons.

Ir Amim explains:

“The resubmission of these plans for discussion only two months following the committee’s decision not to advance them and likewise amid the COVID-19 pandemic with its accompanied government restrictions and limitations highlights the pressure being applied to promote these plans. Construction in Har Homa E will serve as another step in connecting the existing Gilo and Har Homa neighborhoods/settlements and create a contiguous Israeli built-up area along the southern perimeter of East Jerusalem. This will likewise detach Bethlehem and the southern West Bank from East Jerusalem while isolating the Palestinian neighborhood of Beit Safafa. In line with the new reality created by the Trump Plan and its unilateral recognition of Israeli sovereignty of East Jerusalem, these developments will constitute a major obstacle towards the future establishment of a Palestinian capital in the city and the prospect of a viable two-state framework.”

For further details on the two Har Homa E plans – one of which is a master plan – see Ir Amim’s excellent analysis. 

Coming Soon: Israel To Open Bidding on “Doomsday” Givat Hamatos Settlement Tender on May 3rd

According to Ir Amim, the Israeli government will open the Givat Hamatos settlement tender for bidding starting May 3rd, despite the fact that the government has delayed opening bidding on several other tenders due to the ongoing COVID-19 state of emergency. 

The tender appeared on the Israel Land Authority’s website on February 24th, but it was unclear whether or not the bidding timeline would be delayed. Ir Amim writes:

“It is reasonable to assert that voices on the political right are racking up pressure to ensure the tender is open for bidding on May 3 despite the current circumstances. Constituting a longstanding international red line, Israeli building in Givat Hamatos will seal off the southern perimeter of East Jerusalem from Bethlehem and the southern West Bank, effectively eroding conditions necessary for the establishment of a Palestinian capital in the city within a viable two-state framework. If the tender is indeed published, it would significantly decrease the potentiality to effectively block Israeli building in the area. Concerted opposition and pressure to freeze the tender is therefore vital in this limited window of time in lead-up to May 3.”

IDF Demolishes Outpost Structures, Including in Outpost From Which the Criminal “Hilltop Youth” Group Hail

On April 22nd, hundreds of Israeli Border Police deployed to outposts associated with the radical and violent Yitzhar settlement in order to demolish six structures in three different outposts in the area. The demolitions included 2 structures in the Kumi Ori outpost, which serves as the home turf of the 20 extremist “Hilltop Youth” settlers who were recently quarantined in a new outpost established by the IDF especially for the group, from which the settlers violently attacked Palestinians nearby and absconded with Israeli army gear. The other demolished structures were located in the nearby Kipa Sruga and Tekuma outposts.

A lawyer representing the settlers filed a petition in an attempt to stop the demolitions, arguing that the Israeli Defense Ministry announced that it would not be implementing home demolition orders while battling the COVID-19 outbreak (though the Kumi Ori settlers clearly have no regard for Israeli policy meant to stop the spread of the virus). 

While the violent and illegal actions of the quarantined settler youth drew major headlines and condemnation even from the likes of devoted settler supporter Defense Minister Nafatli Bennett, this week’s demolition of two structures in the Kumi Ori outpost – one of which was the residence of the notorious and violent settler Neria Zarog – is part of a multi-year battle between the state of Israel and settlers over the outpost. Israel has demolished structures at the Kumi Ori site more than 10 times – most recently in January 2020 – and the IDF declared the area a “closed military zone” just six months ago. Kumi Ori settlers not only refuse to comply with IDF orders but have violently attacked Israeli forces, including an incident in March 2020 when settlers threw molotov cocktails at an IDF vehicle which arrived at the outpost site. During the demolition this week, two settlers were arrested, including Zarog, who refused to leave the building slated for demolition.

Yesh Din Outlines Potential Impact of Annexation on Palestinian Human Rights (Spoiler: It’s Bad)

In a new report, entitled “The Potential Impact of West Bank Annexation by Israel on the Human Rights of Palestinian Residents,” the Israeli NGO Yesh Din lays out four of the most alarming implications of annexation. In its last point, Yesh Din argues that annexation along the lines of the Trump Plan will reveal the operational reality in the West Bank: Apartheid. Yes Din writes:

“Annexation will pull the rug from under the argument, currently prevalent in many circles, that while Apartheid, or at least an Apartheid-like regime, is currently practiced in the West Bank, the sovereign State of Israel is a democracy. Applying Israeli sovereignty to the West Bank would be tantamount to a declaration that there is one regime, rather than separate administrations.”

Other impacts will include the mass expropriation of privately owned Palestinian land (violating property rights), even more limitations on freedom of movement, the expansion of settlements and outposts which systematically violate Palestinians’ human rights, the expulsion of communities living in unrecognized villages in the areas annexed by Israel, and consolidating Isarel’s control over natural resources.

Bonus Reads

1. “Whoever Thinks West Bank Annexation Will Pass Quietly, Better Think Again” (Haaretz)
2. “COVID-19 shows how reckless Jordan Valley annexation would be” (The Times of Israel)
3. “Isareli-Palestinian Virus Cooperations Imperiled Amid Unity Gov’t, Annexation Bid” (Times of Israel)
4. “Coronavirus and Political Inaction on the Conflict” (The Times of Israel)
5. “Israel’s Memorial Day gift to bereaved families: Olive oil from a West Bank settlement” (+972 Magazine)
6. “From Settlements to Annexation” (Canadian Friends of Peace Now – webinar)
7. “COVID-19 Emergency Situation Report 5 (14 – 20 April 2020)” (OCHA)