According to Israel’s Haaretz newspaper, the Israeli government has recently decided to erase $24 million in debt owed by settlements in the West Bank and occupied Golan Heights. These debts have been accumulating since 2011. The government had also decided to erase settlement debts amounting to $146 million, which have accumulated from as far back as the 1970’s.
These debts are owed to the World Zionist Organisation’s settlement division and were granted in the form of loans given to what it called “cooperative societies” in the West Bank and occupied Golan Heights dating as far back as the 1970’s and 1980’s. These then joined the settlements established today.
Writing off these debts means removing the financial burden from the budgets of all of these settlements. This officially liberates the settlements from any obstacles that may have hindered them from carrying out larger settlement projects. Therefore, erasing the debts is considered greater support than granting the settlements and settlement blocs the financial value.