The Settlement Administration was created during coalition negotiations between the Religious Zionism party and the Likud in late 2022. The Religious Zionists insisted on taking over the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) and the IDF’s Civil Administration, specifically regarding Judea and Samaria. Smotrich, who had already been given the finance portfolio, pushed to be appointed adjunct minister in the defense ministry, controlling these areas. Needless to say, the IDF strongly opposed the move, as did former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
Smotrich won.
The Settlement Administration was established under the adjunct minister’s authority, with Hillel Roth, the Deputy Head of the Civil Administration, working under the directorate. A comprehensive document outlines the division of powers between Roth and the Chief of the Civil Administration, mirroring the power structure between the defense minister and the adjunct minister in his office.
A major battle was fought over every line in this document, say Smotrich’s people. For example, the plan to expand Highway 60 into a six-lane road required land expropriation by a special order granting the Deputy Chief of Civil Administration the authority to issue expropriation orders. The orders were signed, and Roth’s powers today include Area C’s entire real estate market, planning and construction, nature reserves, transportation, environmental quality, enforcement, and registration.
The head of the Civil Administration maintained civil powers, including direct responsibility for PA Arab affairs in areas such as health, welfare, and population registration.
On Monday night, Minister Smotrich declared: “In the last two years, we have been carrying out a real revolution on the ground” in Judea and Samaria:
No longer will we tolerate policies that suppress reality or wait for change to come; instead, we are taking clear, decisive, and practical steps to secure the Jewish presence in Judea and Samaria. Sovereignty is normalization. Sovereignty means recognizing that this is our land, our home, and that Jewish settlement here is a fact that cannot be disputed.
We are implementing this policy across all areas:
The fight against illegal construction by the Palestinian Authority – for the first time since the establishment of the state, we are taking uncompromising action against the large-scale illegal Palestinian takeover of Area C. This is not merely about demolishing individual structures, but about a systemic shift in policy. Illegal buildings are being cleared, and strategic areas are being returned to the people of Israel.
Building permits on an unprecedented scale – Jewish construction in Judea and Samaria is not a “favor”; it is a fundamental right of the Jewish people in their land. Since taking office, we have moved forward with plans to build tens of thousands of new housing units in settlements and expand existing ones. A meeting of the Planning Bureau director is no longer just a political event.
Establishment of settlements – our new policy has led to the creation of new settlements in the heart of the region, ensuring continuity and preventing the hostile takeover of strategic areas. Despite the hostile stance of the Biden administration towards settlements, we have successfully secured unprecedented building permits, regularized dozens of new settlements, declared tens of thousands of dunams as state land, recognized farms, and paved the way for the regularization and establishment of entirely new settlements in Judea and Samaria.
A fundamental change in the system of governance in Judea and Samaria – no longer will there be complete dependence on the military system. We are separating the management of civilian life from the military system and dismantling the bureaucracy that hinders and complicates progress.
Game-changing cabinet decisions – security and policy decisions we have passed in the past year effectively enshrine de facto sovereignty. The goal is clear – to make sovereignty a reality even before it is formally declared.
Sovereignty is normalization. The State of Israel is in a rare moment of full American backing for moves on the ground. It is time to act, it is time to win.
