Live Update
From the Liveblog of
Monday, February 15, 2021
Masorti Movement warns JNF move to buy West Bank land may endanger fund’s existence
The political arm of the Masorti Movement warns against a proposal under review by the Jewish National Fund on the possibility of moving to purchase Palestinian lands in the West Bank for settlement expansion purposes.
It says “the proposed framework will damage [JNF] legitimacy in Israel and among Jews around the world and may even endanger its very existence.”
It warns such a decision would “impose a structure that reflects and favors the settlement policy of Israel’s extreme right, an act which is inconsistent with what has been a basic tenet of [JNF] throughout its history.”
And it says it would also “severely damage Israel’s foreign relations.”

New apartments buildings under construction in the Beit El settlement in the West Bank with the Palestinian city of Ramallah in the background, October 13, 2020. (Menahem Kahana/AFP)