Commentary: Coalition Agreements Give Netanyahu Veto Power in Judea and Samaria

By Dr. Aaron Lerner, IMRA      29 December 2022

Copies of the coalition agreements are available on the Knesset website:
https://main.knesset.gov.il/mk/government/pages/coalitionagreements.aspx

The phrase which probably appears in the agreements with the greatest frequency in sections dealing with Judea and Samaria is “in coordination and subject to the consent of the prime minister”.

Paragraph 21 of the appendix to the coalition agreement between the Likud and Religious Zionists dated December 1st essentially strips Smotrich of any power:  “The minister in the Ministry of Defense as per subparagraph 6.4 (hereinafter the minister) (AL: Smotrich) will receive receive full responsibility for areas of activity of Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories and the Civil Authority.  The activity of the minister will be in coordination with and subject to the consent of the prime minister.

So when Binyamin Netanyahu reassured America in various interviews in English that he was in charge in Judea and Samaria he knew he already had this appendix signed.

As for applying sovereignty to Judea and Samaria, Paragraph 118 of the coalition agreement between the Likud and Religious Zionists dated December 28th states “…the prime minister will lead the development and advancement of policies within whose framework sovereignty will apply to Judea and Samaria, while choosing the timing and weighing all of the national and international interests of the State of Israel.”

In other words:  Binyamin Netanyahu can opt to freeze Jewish construction in Judea and Samaria while ignoring illegal Arab construction and indefinitely postpone any application of sovereignty to any areas of Judea and Samaria.

The “explanation of the month” for such a policy is the opportunity to establish diplomatic relations with the Saudis.

The idea is that the Saudis would excuse the move as a measure to prevent Israel from annexing Judea and Samaria.  But right now the “annexation threat” is a gun with dud bullets.

I daresay that if the Netanyahu coalition were to do a snap annexation of the Jordan Valley and perhaps other strategic areas that this would give the Saudis a substantially stronger justification to establish diplomatic relations with the Jewish State to prevent additional annexations.