Israel: far-right minister allocates $190m to promote illegal settlements in occupied West Bank

Israel’s far-right minister of finance is planning to allocate 700 million shekels (almost $190m) to promote illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank. Bezalel Smotrich is working on the plan in cooperation with the Minister of Settlements and National Missions, Orit Strock, Israel’s Kan 11 public broadcaster reported on Tuesday evening.

The plan will include settlement outposts which are built on private Palestinian land or what the occupation state calls “state land” across the West Bank without government approval and against the recommendations of the Israeli security services. All of Israel’s settlers and settlements are illegal under international law. Indeed, outposts are illegal even under Israeli law. 

Government budgets allocated by Israel essentially support settler “terrorist” crimes in the occupied West Bank. Meanwhile, Smotrich refuses to transfer budget funds allocated to Arab local authorities inside Israel, claiming that he seeks to prevent such funds from “reaching the hands of criminals and terrorists.” This prompted the heads of local authorities to announce that the academic year will not begin on 1 September and call for an open strike in all authorities.

According to the report, Smotrich and Strock are pushing for a government decision to transfer the proposed funds to illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank to boost the flow of settlers in the occupied Palestinian territories. Their proposal authorises the interior ministry to transfer funds to “unregulated areas in Judea and Samaria”, a reference to the outposts.

READ: 2023 record high for illegal settlement construction, approval of outposts by Israel

“These funds will be allocated from the budgets of government ministries,” explained Kan 11. “An estimated 130 million shekels [$35m] will be allocated from the budget of the education ministry, while 200 million shekels [$54m] will be deducted from the interior ministry.”

The channel noted that Smotrich’s plan faces “legal problems” due to the approaching municipal elections. Israeli law prohibits the transfer of funds allocated to specific areas by the government during the election period.

According to the Peace Now movement, more than 666,000 settlers currently live in 145 settlements and 146 outposts built on West Bank land, in violation of international law.