MK Dan Illouz (Likud) will present a bill to the Ministerial Committee for Legislation this Sunday, seeking approval for the establishment of “Metropolitan Jerusalem.” The proposal effectively extends Israeli sovereignty over extensive areas beyond the Green Line, incorporating numerous Jewish settlements in Judea.
If the Ministerial Committee for Legislation, led by Justice Minister Yariv Levin, endorses MK Illouz’s bill, it would secure the full backing of the coalition, significantly increasing its chances of passing compared to remaining a private bill.
MK Illouz’s bill calls for the creation of a Metropolitan Jerusalem Municipality, to be led by the mayor of Jerusalem. Its members would include the mayors of municipalities currently neighboring Jerusalem, such as Ma’ale Adumim and Beitar Illit, as well as the local councils of Efrat, Givat Ze’ev, and Mevaseret Zion, the Gush Etzion Regional Council, and several settlements in Mishor Adumim.
The explanatory statement accompanying the bill argues that the proposal would help maintain a demographic balance in Jerusalem by adding approximately 150,000 Jewish residents. This would serve to offset the Arab population in eastern Jerusalem, which currently makes up 40% of the capital’s residents.
It should be noted that the establishment of Metropolitan Jerusalem would incorporate Area E1 (home to the notorious Khan Al Ahmar illegal Arab shantytown), at the narrow neck between the two parts of the peanut-shaped “West Bank,” thus eliminating forever the prospects of a contiguous Palestinian State.
MK Dan Illouz, 39, was born in Montreal, Canada, where his parents immigrated from Morocco. He served on Jerusalem’s legislative council and earlier was the parliamentary aid of Yariv Levin, who today chairs the ministerial legislative committee. He made Aliyah in 2009 and immediately joined the Likud party.
Illouz advocates for a free market economy, emphasizing the removal of import barriers, reducing the influence of workers’ committees in the labor market, increasing transparency in taxation, and cutting bureaucracy.
He also supports the decentralization of state powers, transferring authority from government ministries to local governments. This would include boosting the budgetary independence of local municipalities, improving oversight by elected officials over the executive system, and enhancing administrative transparency by rewarding city council members for their work and improving their access to data, legal advice, and more.
Politically and security-wise, Illouz supports the application of Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria, encouraging settlement in these areas with a focus on reducing construction barriers and improving infrastructure. He also backs easing the issuance of personal weapon licenses, increasing citizen involvement in local security, and prioritizing the treatment of nationalist crime.
In the legal field, Illouz advocates for appointing judges by members of the Knesset, passing legislation to eliminate the court’s power to invalidate laws, restricting appeals to victims only, and preventing the court from discussing policy matters. He also supports regulating the status of legal advisors and establishing a system to monitor and oversee the State Attorney’s Office.
In education, Illouz proposes reducing the Ministry of Education’s role to budgeting and supervision while transferring educational, budgetary, and employment powers to local authorities and schools. He suggests giving parents the freedom to choose the institutions in which their children will be educated and reducing restrictions in this area.
