Happening in the West Bank: Antoine Shalhat

In reviewing the initial reactions from a handful of liberal civil organizations in Israel regarding the cessation of war in the Gaza Strip, it can be observed that after appreciating this step, they expressed a deep hope that the world's attention will increasingly turn towards what is happening in the West Bank. This region has witnessed, since the establishment of the current Israeli government in late 2022, a resort to extreme Israeli right-wing elements, as confirmed by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and all leaders of the religious Zionism trend, to exploit the emergence of a historical opportunity that has allowed them to control key aspects of the government to fundamentally change the character of the West Bank through the enhancement of settlements. The main goal of the government should be to reach a "point of no return," such that no future government, even if the extreme right falls, can implement any separation between the two peoples. The stance of the Likud Party is not much different from this approach, which has also been reinforced in the aftermath of the genocide war on Gaza.

 

The proposition of these organizations entails two important signals: the first is that the prevailing hypothesis in Israel is that Washington will always stand by its side, even in the event of annexation steps in the West Bank and Gaza. Therefore, there is no hesitation in Israel damaging its relations with key Western countries, and in not considering the fluctuations of President Donald Trump's era, or the possibility that future American presidents may adopt an entirely different policy. The second is that the practices of successive Israeli governments since the occupation of 1967 form the trunk for the current branches, and thus it is not permissible to separate between the origin and the branches.

In addition, the accumulating realities on the ground serve as tools for these organizations to dissect what is happening in the West Bank and to critique the government's policies. Some even assert that there is a political deal between the components of the current government coalition that enables its survival, and perhaps one of its most dangerous clauses is the extremist settlement right obtaining a decision to annex the West Bank on a silver platter. Amid the war on Gaza, the annexation of lands in the West Bank is advancing at an astonishing speed, almost without any opposition or public struggle.

The facts indicate the following: First, since the beginning of the war, dozens of illegal settlement outposts have been established. Organizations have pointed out that in previous years before the war, settlers would create about six outposts annually, while in the last two years they established a new outpost almost every week. Despite the illegality of these outposts, none have been evacuated. On the contrary, they are protected by soldiers despite the workforce shortage in the army.

Second, the illegal outposts are directly linked to settler violence and the expulsion of Palestinian herders and farmers from their lands, a phenomenon that has even been described by the head of the Israeli Shin Bet as Jewish terrorism. Nevertheless, under the guise of war, the army has mobilized settlers to protect the settlements and outposts, with Minister Itamar Ben Gvir facilitating their arming through the police. The result has been that the B'Tselem human rights organization documented, since the start of the war, the complete expulsion of dozens of population groups from their lands, in addition to dozens of other communities being partially expelled, while additional dozens face regular attacks.

Third, there has been a push for the construction of tens of thousands of housing units in the settlements, including the establishment of five official settlements. More than 24,000 dunams in the West Bank (an area equal to the size of Herzliya) have also been seized through a method known as "state land declarations." This method aims to justify the seizure of land from Palestinians in the West Bank and redirect it for settlement purposes. According to data from the "Peace Now" organization, the area of land seized this year exceeds the total area seized in this way from 2000 to 2024. This is a partial list of facts.