PM Bennett Proposes New Settlement Expansion
By Benjamin Taied
On October 27th, the Israeli government progressed with its plans to build over 3,000 settlement units for the first time since Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s coalition succeeded Benjamin Netanyahu.
According to the New York Times, “a defense ministry planning committee approved the construction of 3,130 new homes that would be spread across 25 existing settlements, most of them deep inside the West Bank, the territory that Palestinians hope will form part of a future Palestinian state.” Although this decision to build is the most crucial phase in the planning process, several administrative stages, such as dealing with several construction contractors, must still be completed before the construction commences.
The project would clearly strengthen Israel’s position in the West Bank while also erecting impediments to the development of a neighboring Palestinian state. The decision has already heightened tensions between Israel and the United States, which, currently opposes any activity that complicates the establishment of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, eyeing a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The Biden Administration issued its harshest criticism of Israeli policy since PM Bennett assumed office. The day before the announcement, Ned Price, a spokesman for State Department, stated that the department “strongly oppose[s] the expansion of settlements, which is completely inconsistent with efforts to lower tensions and to ensure calm, and it damages the prospects for a two-state solution.”
The U.S. is a longtime supporter of Israel, which in 2020 received $3.8Bn of funding from the American government. Past administrations have avoided public criticism of the Israeli government, mainly to prevent adding to regional instability. The expansion of settlements, however, is an area that has recently sparked conflict between the two historical allies.
Several European countries, including Belgium, France, Germany, and Italy, publicly condemned the actions of the Israeli government through a joint statement from their foreign ministers, reading, “We urge the Government of Israel to reverse its decision to advance plans for the construction of around 3,000 settlement units in the West Bank. We reiterate our strong opposition to its policy of settlement expansion across the Occupied Palestinian Territories, which violates international law and undermines efforts for the two-state solution.”
Additionally, the advancement has exacerbated divisions within Israel’s governing coalition, which is very diverse politically and ethnically, and only unified on their hope to remove Netanyahu from power. Key players have promised to keep their delicate alliance together. Fragments of the coalition including centrists, left-wingers, and Arab Muslims support a two-state solution, yet more religious right-wingers (including PM Bennett) support further settlements despite calls for Palestinian sovereignty.
During the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, Israel annexed the West Bank and East Jerusalem from Jordan. Israel has since allowed the development of 130+ settlements in the areas, a procedure that is generally viewed by the international community as a violation of international law, theoretically prohibiting Israel from relocating its citizens into “occupied territory.”
Critics have accused Israel of effectively stealing land for their settlements away from Palestinian families who lived there, but were unable to provide “proof” to Israel to let them stay. Israel’s government claims much of the land was never in private hands, while many settlers believe it is the birthright of Jewish people’s ancestry.
The issue of settlements has strained the government’s unity ahead of a vital vote in November regarding the national budget, which the government must pass to avoid a snap election. A lawmaker for a left-wing party in the coalition, Mossi Raz, said the settlement announcement was “a slap in the faces of the hundreds of thousands of wonderful people who protested every week to bring down Netanyahu’s government and bring about a change.”
On the other hand, Ze’ev Elkin, Israel’s Minister of Jerusalem Affairs and Minister of Housing and Construction, infuriated his coalition’s members by announcing construction for over 1000 additional settlement units that were previously approved by the defense ministry. Elkin told broadcasters, “I am not deciding whether or not they meet with [Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas], so they shouldn’t decide for me whether there is a settlement freeze.”
The Biden Administration has also clashed with PM Bennett over their plans to reopen the American consulate in Jerusalem for Palestinians, which the Trump Administration had formerly closed. Bennett opposed the move as he believes it will signal support for the Palestinians’ desire to build a capital in the city’s eastern reaches.
