On Sunday, I reported that the Supreme Planning Council meeting was going to approve a construction boom in the settlement of Judea and Samaria on a scale of 4,560 units in many different settlements, in addition to almost 10,000 units that were announced earlier, making the new Netanyahu government the greatest promoter of construction in the settlement of the past decade (Supreme Planning Council to Launch 4,560 Construction Plans in Judea and Samaria).
Needless to say, the Americans were not amused. The State dept. issued a statement titled, “The United States is Deeply Troubled with Israeli Settlement Announcement.”
It went: “The United States is deeply troubled by the Israeli government’s reported decision to advance the planning for over 4,000 settlement units in the West Bank. We are similarly concerned about reports of changes to Israel’s system of settlement administration that expedite the planning and approvals of settlements. As has been longstanding policy, the United States opposes such unilateral actions that make a two-state solution more difficult to achieve and are an obstacle to peace. We call on the Government of Israel to fulfill the commitments it made in Aqaba, Jordan, and Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, and return to a dialogue aimed at de-escalation.”
Yes, there was the other part that upset the US: the Netanyahu government also approved a decision to shorten the process of obtaining construction permits in the settlements and transferred the approval authority to the adjunct minister in the defense ministry, Bezalel Smotrich. It marked a change in the mechanism that has been in place for the past 27 years, which made it possible for prime ministers and defense ministers to intervene in the workings of the supreme planning council to slow down or freeze construction in the liberated territories for political reasons, including in response to pressure from abroad.
Also: new roads in Judea and Samaria will no longer require separate approvals in the cabinet. Smotrich will take care of everything, thank you very much.
Regavim, which was the brainchild of Bezalel Smotrich and Meir Deutsch, back in 2006, was elated, stating: “This is a historic correction for the settlements in Judea and Samaria, that have suffered for years from discriminatory planning. We congratulate the civil administration headed by Minister Bezalel Smotrich who led this important correction, which is an important step on the road to normalization in Judea and Samaria.”
“At the same time,” the Regavim statement continued, “we expect the government to produce a significant move to stop the Palestinian takeover of the open areas, first and foremost by establishing a clear political directive that recognizes the campaign taking place in the open area and defining it as a strategic national mission while synchronizing and including the actions of the various government ministries.”
In simple English: while Israel is planning all these nice new homes in the legitimate settlements in Area C, the Palestinian Authority with the help of the EU and countless anti-Zionist NGOs, is carrying out an illegal land grab in Area C, ignoring the Oslo agreements and defying the Netanyahu government to uproot them when the world media are watching.
