Settlement & Annexation Report: November 22, 2024

Resource

November 22, 2024

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.

November 22, 2024

Israel Opens Bidding to Build New East Jerusalem Settlement Enclave

Peace Now reports the Israeli Land Authority published a tender for the construction of a new settlement enclave inside of the Palestinian East Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit Safafa.

The tender (No. 367/2024) seeks bids from developers to purchase 11 dunams of land in order to plan and build a residential neighborhood with around 200 settlement units, though that number is not a cap. The tender suggests that the land might be partially under private ownership, and partially under the ownership of the Israeli Development Authority.

Beit Safafa is already in the process of being completely surrounded by Israeli development (for Jewish Israelis) — most notably the newly built Givat Hamatos settlement, the “Lower Aqueduct Plan” and the Givat HaShaked settlement. These settlement plans ultimately create a string of settlements — spanning from Gilo to Givat Hamatos to Har Homa — that, together completely encircle Beit Safafa with Israeli settlement construction.

Peace Now explains:

“The tender designates the Development Authority as the owner of the land or part of it. The Development Authority is an entity established under the Absentees’ Property Law, which transfers all absentees’ properties to the Authority, which then sells the properties to potential buyers. The Absentees’ Property Law was enacted in 1950 in Israel under the special circumstances that arose at that time, when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were forced to leave their homes and properties in Israel, becoming refugees, and the Israeli government prevented them from returning. The law defined them as “absentees” and allowed the Israeli government to take properties that belonged to Palestinians before 1948 and use them for the development of the country.

In 1967, when the Israeli government annexed East Jerusalem and applied Israeli law to it, the Absentees’ Property Law was also applied to the Jerusalem area, despite there being no connection between the circumstances of 1948 and the situation in Jerusalem after 1967. Thus, if the owner of a plot of land in Beit Safafa, for example, resides in Jordan, the Custodian of Absentee Property declares them an absentee and transfers the plot to the Development Authority.”

Gaza Settlement Planning Continues

The drum beat continues to grow louder for Israel to build (or allow settlers to build) civilian settlements in Gaza. Netanyahu has reportedly added the extreme far-right Israeli ministers Orit Struck and Yitzhak Wasserlauf to the war cabinet as observers. Struck – from Smotrich’s party – and Wasserlauf – from Ben Gvir’s party – have led the call for Israel to establish settlements in Gaza and in south Lebanon.

Meanwhile, Daniella Weiss boasted on Israeli Channel 13 news that she has entered Gaza recently to see the area in which she aims to establish a new Israeli settlement – near the Netzarim Corridor. It’s further reported that Israeli soldiers assisted Weiss on her secret trip, providing her and several colleagues with a ride in a military vehicle from the Gaza border to the area she wanted to see. The IDF has since said Weiss’ field tour was not officially authorized and that it is illegal. Weiss is the leader of the Nachala Movement, which has been leading the call and doing the actual logistical planning to build settlements in Gaza. Weiss has said that the next time she enters Gaza she does not plan to leave, hinting that hundreds of others will join her next time. Weiss says she has secured commitments from 740 Israeli families to join her in building settlements in Gaza.

Weiss has previously said:

“We have political support, we have public support, and we have the experience that we have accumulated in 55 years of settling Judea [and] Samaria [the occupied West Bank], the Golan Heights. We plan to take what we have acquired in the years of settling Judea and Samaria and to do the same thing here in Gaza.”

Elsewhere, the issue of building settlements in Gaza is also growing support – including from the Vice President of Government Relations for the Jewish Federations of North America.

Government to Consider Bill Facilitating Annexation via Settler Land Acquisitions Across West Bank

Peace Now reports that the Ministerial Committee for Legislation (a convening of Ministers which decides whether to throw the governments support and weight behind legislation initiatives in the Knesset) plans to convene in order to decide if it will support a bill that would allow Israelis to buy land in the West Bank without any restrictions.

Under the current law, private, non-Arab individuals cannot purchase land in the West Bank. In 1971, the law was amended to add a loophole allowing companies registered to operate in the West Bank (like the World Zionist Organization and the Jewish National Fund) to purchase property, and often do so only to give it to Israeli settlers. This additional change would open the door for private purchases across the West Bank by settlers and their backers, including in the heart of Palestinian cities. Notably, Israeli security officials have in the past objected to changing this law, based on their recognition of the fact that settlers implanting themselves wherever they want in the West Bank – including in acts intended to be deliberately provocative – will be a security nightmare for the IDF and will enable settlers and their financial patrons to further hijack the national security agenda of the state of Israel.

Peace Now said in a statement:

“This is yet another annexation move initiated by the messianic right. The proposal seeks to allow settlers to purchase land without any oversight throughout the West Bank, effectively making them “landlords” in the West Bank in both symbolic and practical terms. The bill would give a small number of extremist settlers the ability to acquire land and later establish settlements, whether in the heart of Hebron or anywhere else and drag the IDF to risk soldiers’ lives and protect them. Furthermore, the Knesset has no authority to legislate laws for areas that are not under Israeli sovereignty, and the attempt to apply Knesset laws to the occupied territory constitutes annexation and a blatant violation of international law.”

Oz Zion Outpost Demolished, Again

On November 10th, Israeli security forces once again demolished the illegal “Oz Zion” outpost, located on privately owned Palestinian land north of Ramallah. In advance of the demolition, settlers attempted to prevent authorities from reaching the outpost by blocking roads and burning tires. When Border Police officers arrived, settlers attacked them violently trying (unsuccessfully) to stop the demolition. This is the first outpost demolition since Israel Katz took over as Israel’s Defense Minister.

The IDF has demolished Oz Zion several times, including in July and August 2024. Both of those demolitions were approved in advance by Prime Minister Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich (who oversees building enforcement in the West Bank) at the request of the IDF Commander. During the July 2024 demolition, the IDF clashed with settlers at the Oz Zion outpost.

Israel Steps Up Systematically Unjust Demolitions in East Jerusalem

Ir Amim reports on Israel’s accelerating demolitions in the Al-Bustan section of Silwan, an East Jerusalem neighborhood. The demolitions are not just targeting Palestinian homes (including the home of a prominent activist in the neighborhood), but also the Al-Bustan Association building, a community and resource center that served over 1,000 Palestinians residents of Al Bustan who have been abandoned – and now targeted with demolitions – by the Israeli government. In the past few weeks Israel has demolished at least 8 structures, displacing no fewer than 30 people. Over 100 more homes in Al Bustan remain under threat of demolition.

Peace Now explains the urgency of what Al-Bustan is facing:

“In the past year, at least nine buildings have been demolished in the neighborhood, eight of them in the past two weeks alone. These demolitions have left dozens of Palestinian residents homeless. The scale of the demolitions raises concerns that the Israeli government and Jerusalem Municipality intend to fully implement the “King’s Garden” plan without considering reasonable and fair solutions for the neighborhood’s residents. The timing of these demolitions strengthens the perception that Donald Trump’s election as U.S. President and the new administration are seen in Israel as an opportunity to establish facts on the ground. These actions aim to create a buffer zone around the Old City Basin, controlled by settlers, while displacing Palestinian residents.

It appears that with Trump’s election, the struggle over East Jerusalem has intensified. The primary victims are the Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem, as well as all those who aspire to peace through the vision of two states for two peoples.”

The Israeli government says that it is carrying out these demolitions in accordance with Israeli law, under which Palestinians have built these structures illegally. Indeed – much Palestinian construction in Al-Bustan (as in all of East Jerusalem) does not have Israeli-issued permits, permits which are systematically denied to Palestinians should they choose to conform with Israeli law. In 2009, residents of Al-Bustan submitted a master plan for their neighborhood in order to bring existing and future construction into conformity with Israeli law. Their plan was rejected. Instead, the Israeli mayor of Jerusalem proposed the “Kings Garden” plan, proposing to evacuate all living residents from the area and building an orchard.

Peace Now writes:

“The King’s Garden plan is part of a broader government plan to develop tourism and reshape public spaces in and around the Old City. It aims to create a continuous chain of tourist sites extending from the Old City to the archaeological site of the City of David, through the “King’s Garden” in Al-Bustan, and on to the Hinnom Valley. In this entire area, construction or development for Palestinian needs is prohibited, and the tourist sites are operated by the settler organization Elad. Al-Bustan neighborhood effectively “blocks” the completion of the tourism corridor that the government and settlers aim to establish around the Old City.”

Ir Amim explains:

“Al Bustan is a prime example of Israel’s longstanding discriminatory planning and housing policy in East Jerusalem. Despite Palestinians constituting nearly 40% of the city’s population, the Israeli government continues to abdicate responsibility for providing them with housing opportunities while selectively imposing demolitions of their homes. In the absence of equitable urban planning and housing solutions, Palestinians are either forced out of Jerusalem or compelled to construct homes without building permits, which subjects them to the threat of demolition. This has thus led to acute housing deprivation among Palestinians and serves as a mechanism of dispossession and displacement.”

New Israeli Defense Minister Announces End of Authority to Hold Violent Settlers in Administrative Detention

The newly installed Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced that he has directed the Shin Bet to stop the use of administration detention against Israeli settlers, an authority which allows Israel to hold individuals in custody with no charges for up to six months, and can be renewed indefinitely. Katz ordered Shin Bet Chief Ronen Bar to “put alternative tools in place.”

Explaining this move, Katz said in a statement:

“in a reality where the Jewish settlement in Judea and Samaria is subject to serious Palestinian terror threats and unjustified international sanctions are taken against the settlers, it is not appropriate for the State of Israel to take such a severe measure against the people of the settlements.”

According to Amnesty International, “Israeli authorities have a history of incarcerating Palestinians without charge or trial through their systematic use of administrative detention, a key feature of Israel’s system of apartheid. According to Israeli human rights organization Hamoked, as of 1 July Israeli authorities were holding 3,379 people under administrative detention, the vast majority of whom are Palestinians from the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem.”

Biden Admin Sanctions Amana, Others

On November 18th, the United States announced it has imposed sanctions on three Israeli settlers and 3 settlement related entities – including the Amana organization and one of its subsidiaries. Amana is a central player in Israel’s settlement enterprise, it buys and develops land and funds both settlement and illegal outpost construction. Peace Now reports Amana holds assets valued at over $160.4million (NIS 600 million) and is considered the “mother and father” of the outposts.

The U.S. Department of State announced:

“the Department of the Treasury is sanctioning Amana, the largest organization involved in settlement and illegal outpost development in the West Bank, and its subsidiary Binyanei Bar Amana Ltd. Amana has established dozens of illegal settler outposts and directly engaged in dispossession of private land owned by Palestinians in its support of settlers.”

The U.S. is the third country to sanction Amana, first was Canada then the United Kingdom. It’s understood that Amana is the most impactful target of international sanctions that have been announced thus far, with the greatest potential to impact events on the ground because of how integrated Amana is in the settlement enterprise including its relationship with the Israeli government.

Amana responded in a statement:

“The sanctions announced today are the result of baseless slander directed at Amana by hostile and extremist sources. Had the U.S. administration bothered to investigate them, rather than relying on malicious publications, it would have been discovered that they indeed have no factual basis, and would have refrained from acting against us.

Let us remind you: the settlement enterprise has already faced tough decrees in the past, including development freezes, but it has always emerged stronger. This will happen again. We are confident that with the change of government in Washington, and with the proper and necessary action by the Israeli government, all sanctions will be lifted, and settlement will continue to embody the Zionist vision. As it is written: “But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew [Exodus 1:12].”

In addition, Ynet suggests that the Biden Administration is aiming for even more sanctions prior to vacating power – including sanctions against Israeli National Security Minister Ben Gvir.

Unsurprisingly, Amana’s executives are expecting the incoming Trump Administration to revoke all of the sanctions the Biden Administration has used to target settlers and settler entities involved in violence against and dispossession of Palestinians. On November 19th Trump’s nominee to be the next U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee – a Christian Zionist – told settler run media news that there is no occupation, that he refuses the term West Bank and instead calls the land Judea and Samaria, and, that Israel has had (and continues to have) a right to the land for 3,500 years.

Smotrich Orders Civil Admin to Prepare Infrastructure for Annexation

On November 12th, Israeli Finance Minister and de-facto governor of the West Bank, Bezalel Smotrich, issued an order for the Settlement Division of the Israeli Civil Administration (which he runs) to “prepare the necessary infrastructure for applying sovereignty” across the West Bank, continuing that “now the time has come to do so.” For years, Smotrich and his far-right allies have pushed the Israeli government to build new infrastructure in order to connect illegal outposts to Israeli services (water, roads, electricity, telecoms, waste management, etc), a goal which has been slowed (but not prevented) by Israel’s legal consideration of private Palestinian ownership of land that Israel needs in order to establish those services. Smotrich call is not only for the annexation of the land but also for the systematic violation of private Palestinian ownership of land in the West Bank in order to facilitate Israeli settlement there.

Smotrich also told the Knesset that ending the possibility of a Palestinian state (which he sees as a threat) can only be achieved by “apply[ing] Israeli sovereignty over the entire settlements in Judea and Samaria.” Smotrich said he wants the Israeli government to formalize its authority to work with the incoming Trump Administration to advance, apply, and gain international recognition of Israeli annexation of the West Bank.

Smotrich has said:

“After years in which, unfortunately, the current administration chose to interfere in Israeli democracy and personally refused to cooperate with me as Israel’s finance minister, Trump’s victory also brings an important opportunity…2025 is the year of sovereignty in Judea and Samaria. The new Nazis need to pay a price through land that will be permanently taken from them, both in Gaza and in Judea and Samaria.”

Dr. Hanan Ashrawi said in response to Smotrich’s recent declarations:

“When Israeli officials (Netanyahu & Smotrich) openly declare their intention to impose Israeli sovereignty over all the West Bank, they’re just articulating what they’ve been doing gradually over decades with American officials disingenuously denying that this is Israeli policy. Annexation, land theft, ethnic cleansing, & erasure of Palestine are the genocidal intent of Israel. Observe carefully.”

Israeli Government, Trump Officials Start Planning Annexation Steps

With an unabashedly pro-Israel Cabinet taking shape to lead the incoming Trump Administration, Netanyahu and his governing partners are planning for annexation of the West Bank.

Israeli journalists Yehuda Schlesinger and Hanan Greenwood published an article in Israel Hayom on November 12th reporting that Netanyahu has spoken with President-elect Trump three times since the election, and that Netanyahu’s coalition is preparing to quickly advance annexation when the Trump Administration’s in inaugurated. The plan is largely based on the work carried out by former Minister Yariv Levin during the first Trump term. Levin’s work included drafting maps and government decisions necessary to enact annexation, which remain ready to go.

The plan is reportedly to immediately annex large areas of settlements the government believes are “consensus areas,” including Maale Adumim, the Jordan Valley and the Etzion Bloc. It’s not clear whose “consensus” the Israeli government is counting, but it is worth noting there was considerable international push back against Netanyahu’s 2019 plan to annex the Jordan Valley (some 22% of the West Bank) – a move that would have serious regional implications given the role Jordan plays. From there, the Netanyahu government is planning to convene the Civil Administration’s High Planning Council every three months if not more frequently to advance settlement construction with the goal of reaching 1 million settlers in the West Bank within 10 years.

Talking about his conversations with Trump, Netanyahu said:

“They were good and very important conversations,” said Netanyahu, “conversations that were intended to further strengthen the firm alliance between Israel and the United States. We see eye-to-eye on all components of the Iranian threat and the danger it poses. We also see the great opportunities that are before Israel in the sphere of peace and its expansion, and other spheres.”

In addition, Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer met with incoming President Trump and his son-in-law Jared Kushner on November 10th.