Israel Passes Law On Acceleration Of Settlement Development In West Bank, No Longer Needs Political Approval

Construction of Israeli settlements in the West Bank. (Wikimedia Commons/Troclaire)

JAKARTA - The Israeli government on Sunday approved a law to accelerate settlement development in the occupied West Bank, handing over more power to Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich over one of the most controversial issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, despite his closest ally, the United States.

The construction of settlements no longer has to be approved at the political level, reports Israel's public broadcaster Kan, changing from the current system that has existed for more than 25 years.

Under the new system, settlement development proposals can now be submitted to Israel's Highest Planning Council without prior political approval, with political interventions cut from four stages to two.

Dror Etkes settlement expert told The National News as quoted June 19, although it was disliked, the news came only as an extension of Israel's long-term policy.

"Israel to this day is an apartheid country, tomorrow and the day after tomorrow it will become an apartheid country, with only a few more settlers," he said.

Smotrich, leader of the far-right Zionism party, coalition partner in PM Benjamin Netanyahu's Administration, will now have a greater influence in the process. The minister, who was criticized for his anti-Palestinian statement, will have the authority over development planning.

Interestingly, this decision came on the same day Barbara Leaf, senior White House official, arrived in Israel.

The United States is known to oppose the construction of more settlements, although it is often criticized for not taking concrete action to prevent Israel, its closest ally in the Middle East, from developing illegal posts.

The cabinet announcement also comes a week before a meeting of Israel's planning committee for the West Bank, in order to consider plans to build thousands of new homes in Israeli settlements.

It is known, Kan reported nearly 5,000 new housing units are expected to be approved this week, claiming Smotrich had approved more construction this year than in previous years.

Earlier, Prime Minister Netanyahu's Likud Party and Religious Zionism proposed the change in December, sparking anger from Palestinians, the US and human rights groups.

Promising Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, which is considered illegal under international law, has become a priority of Prime Minister Netanyahu's Administration, which is widely regarded as the most far-right in the country's history.

The move threatens to exacerbate the already tense situation in the West Bank, inviting criticism from Palestinian officials and human rights organizations.

Earlier this month, Israel told the US it plans to allow thousands of new residential areas, although Washington had previously urged PM Netanyahu to postpone plans to expand its highly controversial E1 settlement project to the east of the disputed Jerusalem City.

"This is another step in building the superiority of Israeli Jews in the apartheid regime in the West Bank. I don't know if this is a big difference from what happened before, but this is a step," said Shai Goren of NGO Ir Amin.

"This shows that the state removed the mask 'we occupied the area for a while while waiting for a solution,'" he added.

Last February, former US Ambassador to Israel Daniel Kurtzer, who served during the George W Bush administration, accused Israel of "creating annexations" in the West Bank, violating previous commitments to dismantle a number of illegal settlements.

"This is now clear. Smotrich was interviewed a few days ago and said there were half a million Israelis in the West Bank, and that he wanted the number to double. As finance minister, he has the means to support such operations," explained Goren.

"This is a good lesson to see what the government really wants with the West Bank. These steps make them very clear," he added.