‘Natural Right to the Land of Israel’: Netanyahu Lays Out Far-reaching West Bank Settlement Plans

Benjamin Netanyahu’s incoming government’s coalition agreement begins with a declaration that the Jewish people have a “natural right” to the Land of Israel. Regarding annexation of the West Bank, the agreement remains vague but says the prime minister will advance policies within whose framework the West Bank will be annexed, taking into consideration timing and both international and national interests.

Referring to the court appeal now underway concerning the evacuation of the Homesh outpost, the agreement says that in light of the appeal, the Disengagement Law will be amended to regularize the activities being conducted at the site (in practice, a yeshiva) and that the government will notify the High Court of Justice to that effect.

The agreement says that within 60 days a decision will be made pertaining to outposts established before February 2011 – including ensuring they have proper infrastructure, water, electricity, and public facilities. In addition, within six months, the cabinet will make a decision on illegal neighborhoods inside existing settlements.

The agreement also calls for changing the way in which building permits for settlements are approved. Today, each stage of the planning process requires prior approval by the defense minister – a step that can cause delays in construction due to domestic or international political considerations. The accord calls for a cabinet decision on changing the planning and approval process according to a proposal to be agreed upon between Netanyahu and Bezalel Smotrich. However, it doesn’t provide further details.

The goal behind this clause is to reduce interference by politicians in the process, including the defense minister and prime minister. According to a source involved in the wording of the agreement, the goal is to require approvals only at the start and end of the planning process, rather than at each stage in order to accelerate construction plans in the territories.

Another clause concerns the transfer of control of services provided to settlers from the Civil Administration to government ministries. Though vaguely worded, it says that the government will act to “optimize services” in the West Bank in coordination and with the consent of the prime minister, but the source involved in the talks said that it means transfer of control.

The cabinet is also obligated under the agreement to take measures against Palestinian construction in the West Bank’s Area C, which is referred to as “thwarting the effort at taking illegal control” of land that is being carried out with the help of international entities.

The agreement also states that the relevant ministries will act to ensure implementation of the Evyatar framework, under which the previous government committed itself to allowing an outpost to be established there if planning rules permit.

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The Transportation Ministry’s five-year program will include a dedicated budget of 1.6 billion shekels ($450 million) annually for planning and construction of roads in the West Bank.

The accord also relates to the settlements’ division, a critical entity from the settlers’ point of view as it allocates land and gives grants in the West Bank. In recent years, however, many settlers have complained that it is ineffective. Under the agreement, the division will be allocated 750 million shekels annually, an amount that will be anchored in the state budget. In addition, legislation will be introduced to regularize its status.

The administration that will be under Smotrich will make recommendations concerning land arrangements in the West Bank, survey procedures that determine whether morel areas can be declared state lands and a population census. For this purpose, 300 million shekels will be allocated in the years 2023-2024.

The agreement also states that changes will be made to military law in the West Bank to make registering property transactions more efficient. The accord doesn’t specify how this will be done, but it can be assumed that it will involve procedural changes, such as the current need to get approval from the Civil Administration before purchasing private land in the West Bank.

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