Ombudsman: Settlement council using state funds to establish illegal outposts

In a new report, the state comptroller blasts a West Bank regional council for using state funds to establish illegal outposts in cooperation with various government ministries as well as the Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF).

“The activities of the Binyamin Regional Council should be viewed with great severity,” writes Yosef Shapira, lambasting the West Bank’s largest municipal body, which serves over 40 settlements.

“A public body that is charged with upholding the law is acting to allow the construction of illegal outposts,” he adds. “The council… permits illegal construction in Judea and Samaria (West Bank) and even promotes it.”

The report offers several examples of outposts where the Binyamin Regional Council promoted construction, including with the assistance of government ministries.

— Jacob Magid