From the Liveblog of
Saturday, April 20, 2024
TV report claims Smotrich pushing to start process for legalizing dozens of West Bank outposts
Jeremy Sharon is The Times of Israel’s legal affairs and settlements reporter
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who also serves as a minister in the Defense Ministry, is pushing to begin the process for legalizing 68 illegal outposts in the West Bank in what would be one of the most dramatic expansions for the settlement movement in decades, Channel 12 News reports.
In February 2023, the government approved the legalization of nine illegal outposts, which eventually became 10, and also made arrangements that Smotrich, head of the staunchly pro-settlement Religious Zionism party, said at the time would “set in motion a broad process which will prepare the continuation of the legalization procedures in relation to the rest of the young settlements.”
“Young settlements” is a euphemism for some 70 illegal outposts in the West Bank which were established in the 1990s and early 2000s with the assistance of different ministries but without formal approval from the government, meaning they are illegal under Israeli law.
The TV report says that Smotrich, who as an additional minister in the Defense Ministry has broad authority over civilian issues in the West Bank, has sent letters to several ministries in recent weeks instructing them to initiate preparations for the legalization of these outposts, including the establishment of educational institutions. paving roads, opening state-funded medical clinics and other relevant measures.
Neither Smotrich’s office nor the Prime Minister’s Office immediately responds to requests for comment.
