Alon Liel er tidligere leder i Israels UD. Han er fra et intervju med ham:
"Former foreign ministry chief ALON LIEL tells BEN LYNFIELD the
Palestinian NGO raids reflect the government’s desire for right-wing
votes and disregard for how the EU responds."
"Because he served in South Africa during the 1980s on behalf of the
foreign ministry, forging Israel’s first links with anti-apartheid
organisations and eventually becoming ambassador, his views are not
theoretical."
"During the interview with Plus61J, Liel argued that the closure
of the offices stemmed from a combination of a desire by Gantz and
Prime Minister Yair Lapid to gain right-wing votes for the November 1
election and a perception by the government that there would be no
serious reaction from the international community, particularly the
European Union."
Fyldig dokumentasjon i artikkel i Haaretz 26. juni: (Se HELE artikkelen nederst under Kilde)
"How the Bennett-Lapid Government Ruled Over the West Bank
The
presence of left-wing parties in the coalition did little to hinder the
'change government' from continuing construction in the West Bank and
destroying Palestinian residences"
Ingen tvil om at nybyggingen øker. Og spesielt på ny områder på Vestbredden UTENOM dert som kalles "Settlement blocs".
I artikkelen pekes det på den som godkjenner disse nye byggeriene er forsvarsminister Benny Gantz.
How the Bennett-Lapid Government Ruled Over the West Bank
The
presence of left-wing parties in the coalition did little to hinder the
'change government' from continuing construction in the West Bank and
destroying Palestinian residences
Palestinians built new houses in the West Bank Jewish settlement of Bruchin near the Palestinian town of Nablus, in 2021.Credit: Ariel Schalit /AP
In an alternate reality, Har Bracha would
be considered a suburb of Nablus, probably going by a different name.
The settlement, with its 3,000 residents, abuts the West Bank’s second
largest city, but is relatively isolated. When people in Israel talk
about “settlement blocs,” they don’t mean this one. And yet, over the
last year, under the Bennett-Lapid government, it has taken a few steps
to drive further stakes into the ground.
Under
the noses of Meretz, Labor and the United Arab List, the government
oversaw the construction of a new neighborhood there, with 300 housing
units. That is but one example. In fact, in its first and last year in
office, the government promoted the construction of thousands of housing
units beyond the 1967 borders, mainly outside settlement blocs, deep
within the West Bank.
The entrance to the Evyatar settlement, in February.Credit:
The controversial plan to build in the E1
area near Ma’aleh Adumim was also put into motion recently. Moreover,
for the first time, funds were transferred to settlers’ regional
councils for the purpose of taking action against Palestinian
construction.
If
left-wing parties in the unraveling coalition attempt to hide these
facts in the coming months, it’s possible that their partners on the
right will not rush to reveal other trends from the passing year. These
include the augmented law enforcement against the so-called “hilltop youth” settlers, and the fact that a plethora of promises, such as an agreement on the status of the outpost of Evyatar and the hookup of outposts to the national grid are far from being realized. Construction plans in the settlements
If
the story consisted of absolute numbers, the 7,292 new housing units up
for approval in the territories would tell the whole story, especially
considering that the average under former Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu was less than 6,000 a year.
But the figures, compiled by Peace Now,
show that things are somewhat more complex. First, because Netanyahu’s
last years involved an increase in construction, compared to his earlier
years. Second, because most of the plans that received approval still
face a long journey before officially being allowed to commence. In
fact, only 3,000 units have passed through all the required hoops.
The
complexity of these figures is further reflected in the identities of
those who made them possible. In contrast to the policies they promote,
Meretz and the Labor Party were party to a government that approved
construction in isolated settlements, including Har Bracha and Elon
Moreh, near Nablus, Kiryat Arba near Hebron, and in Dolev, near
Ramallah. Especially prominent was the approval for a five-fold increase
of the settlement of Shvut Rachel, located in the heart of the West
Bank and not included in the so-called “settlement blocs.” The main
person behind all these approvals was Defense Minister Benny Gantz
(Kahol Lavan).
These facts may not jibe well with the declarations of the left-wing
parties as they head into their election campaigns, and they bother
others as well. The international community, which is monitoring
construction in the occupied West Bank, is worried. Sources told Haaretz
that there is disappointment over the fact that the Bennett-Lapid
government in fact continued the policies of the Netanyahu's government,
in a manner that is blatantly inconsistent with the natural growth of
these settlements.
The Shvut Rachel settlement, 2016.Credit: BAZ RATNER
The settlers didn't welcome the government’s actions either. The Yesha
(Judea and Samaria) council believes that the government actually made
the situation of construction in the territories worse, citing the fact
that the supreme planning committee convened less than in the past (even
though in the twilight of Netanyahu’s government it was in no hurry to
convene either). Furthermore, they say, not all the planned housing
units were brought up for discussion. Settlers say that 2,000 promised
housing units have remained on paper.
Construction tenders
Both
the settlers and Palestinians know that construction plans could very
well be just the first stage. The urban settlements, under the
responsibility of the Construction and Housing Ministry, need to issue a
competitive bidding tender for contractors for construction – with the
approval of the Defense Minister. This rule was definitely applied under
the Bennett-Lapid government. According to a report issued by Peace
Now, “The government of unequivocal annexation: One year of the
Bennett-Lapid Government", which surveys the present government’s
policies concerning the settlements, it seems that a not so short list
of tenders exists.
A partial list includes the settlements of
Adam, Emanuel, Karnei Shomron and Elkana. One bid that was especially
important for the settlers incuded 364 housing units in Beit El – on
land where the Binyamin regional brigade is located. The plan has been
stalled for a long time because of the high cost of evacuating the army
base.
Yet another project is to build a
new neighborhood in the city of Ariel with 730 residential units. It
would seem as if the project is meant to expand the city, which is a
settlement bloc in its own right – but that is not quite true – the new
neighborhood does not have territorial continuity with the already
constructed area of the city.
Strategic plans
E1, a term which seems to have been
resigned to the history books, made a surprising return, and became
relevant once again. At the end of May, the state informed the High
Court of Justice that the large construction plan near Jerusalem, a part
of Ma’aleh Adumim, is back on the agenda, despite having drawn quite a
bit of international criticism. This might be the most controversial
plan in the West Bank. It is particularly worrisome for the
international community, which belives that, should the plan come
together, it could put an end to the two-state solution.
Next
month, a hearing will be held on the objections to the plan, and it is
possible that with the dissolution of the Knesset, there will be renewed
political opposition.
Over the past
month, construction has begun on an elevator at the Tomb of the
Patriarchs in Hebron, a project intended to make the holy site
accessible to disabled persons on the Jewish side of the complex.
For years, the project was delayed because
of a long list of court petitions by left wing groups and Palestinians.
Ultimatly, all of the petitions were denied and the project is now
underway. This is not the only plan concerning Hebron: This year,
construction began on a new Jewish neighborhood with 31 housing units in
the old city.
Outposts
Though
one cannot credit the government – or alternatively to condemn it – for
the outposts that went up over the past year, according to Peace Now,
six new outposts have been constructed under the Bennett-Lapid
gvernment: Givat Hadegel in the southern Hebron Hills, Karnei Re’em in
the Salfit area, Havay Mevo’ot Yeriho north of Jericho, the Yulious farm
in the northern Jordan Valley, the eastern farm of Neria in the Jordan
Valley, and Givat Ohavei-Yah west of Bethlehem.
Most of them are farm outposts, meaning
they do not make use of the land for construction but take control of it
for pastureland. That is why, in principle, they are more easily
removed than the outposts that have larger numbers of residents. For
example Givat Ohavei-Yah was demolished this week – though not for the
first time – and a closed military zone order was issued for the site
for one year.
In general, the
Bennett-Lapid government took pride in its relatively low tolerance
concerning the establishment of outposts. Outposts built by the Hilltop
Youth have been removed much more frequnetly than the Civil
Administration has done in the past.
While putting up an outpost can be done
without the government necessarily agreeing, making an existing outpost
legal is a whole different story. There are three in this category:
Mitzpe Dani, Oz and Givat Habustan. At the same time, a few steps were
taken on the way to legalizing older and more established outposts that
been advancing in this direction. The objections to one of them, Adi Ad,
was dismissed in April.
Another example
is Havat Yair, which was connected to the electrical grid – according
to the settlers, as part of a promise given back in the days of the
Netanyahu government. Under the present government, connecting outposts
to the electrical grid was the most im
As a condition for his vote in favor of the
law to connect unrecognized Bedouin communities to the electrical grid,
Orbach asked to allow a large number of outposts that have not yet been
legalized to connect to the Israel Electric Corporation network.
According to a defense official, the order is still being worked over by
legal teams and is not expected to be approved anytime soon. In light
of the political developments, it is doubtful whether it will happen
while the present government is still in office.
One
of the first names that appeared on the Bennett – Lapid government’s
road map was Evyatar. The outpost, which went up on land above the
Palestinian town of Beita during Operation Guardian of the Walls in the
Gaza Strip in May 2021– with houses built and roads paved – seemingly
entered the fast track for legalization in the early days of the
government.
The entrance to the outpost of Evyatar in March.Credit: Moti Milrod
The government signed an agreement with the settlers in which they would
evacuate and the government would start the process of examining
legalizing the status of the land. The government promised that if it
was possible, a yeshiva or community would be built there. None of this
actually happened, and with the government running out of time, it's
doubtful any of it ever will. Regardless, Palestinians are still
forbidden to enter the site and the army is deployed on the hill 24
hours a day.
Demolishing Palestinian structures
This
past year came in third in the dubious competition of most Palestinian
strctures demolished since 2009, with 2016 and 2020 taking first and
second place. The total was 614 buildings, according to the United
Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Not
all of these structures were residences at the time of their demolition;
some were empty, others were used for agriculture or kitchens. At the
top of the list of demolitions was Ras al-Tin, a community of shepherds
who live in the area near Kochav Hashahar, where 84 people lost their
homes.
But it wasn't all about destruction for the
Palestinians. The numbers may be relatively small compared to
construction for settlers, but over the past year, the construction of
1,303 housing units for Palestinians was advanced – the highest number
in years. However, over 1,100 of these units have only made it through
the preliminary approval stage, and it seems it will take a very long
time before the Palestinians see bulldozers coming to do something other
than demolish.
Advancing construction
for Palestinains on paper didn't last long either. After the Yesha
Council of settlements condemned the move, advancing construction in the
West Bank was halted - for anyone who isn't a settler that is.
Enforcement budgets
One
of the innovations in allocating funds in the West Bank over the past
year is a sort of dowry from the previous Netanyahu government: 18.6
million shekels ($5.4 million) were allocated to the settlements for the
purpose of establishing a land survey department.
The goal was clear – to survey and map out
illegal Palestinian construction in Area C and to report on it to the
Civil Administration, the body in charge of law enforcement in the West
Bank. Along with the salaries of inspectors in the field, this budget
funded drones, the purchase of arial photographs, fencing, vehicles and
Arabic lessons for the inspectors – and it is not yet clear if this
budget will be renewed next year.
An
only slightly smaller sum, 18.5 million shekels, was budgeted for “the
battle for Area C," the title given to the Israeli government's attempts
to curb illegal Palestinian construction. The budget is the result of
the coalition agreement between Yamina and Yesh Atid, and is earmarked
to pay for an additional 46 employees of the Civil Administration,15 of
whom will take part in this supervisory unit.
