Reviving Memory of the Plans to Annex the West Bank

Since the current Israeli government took office in late 2022, and based on the coalition agreements that form the background and guidance for its public policy, reference has been made to the two separate coalition agreements with the "Religious Zionism" and "Otzma Yehudit" parties, in which the Likud party committed, in principle, to impose Israeli sovereignty over "Judea and Samaria" (the West Bank), taking into account Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's considerations regarding "timing" and "assessment of Israel's national and international interests." Netanyahu also pledged to legalize settlement outposts that the Israeli government considers illegal.

One of the clauses of the individual agreement with "Religious Zionism" stated that "the people of Israel have a natural right to the land of Israel. In light of this statement and thanks to it, the Prime Minister will formulate and develop certain policies, under which sovereignty will be imposed on Judea and Samaria." This clause was reiterated in the individual agreement with the "Otzma Yehudit" party, which stated: "The Jewish people have an undisputed exclusive right throughout the land of Israel. The government will develop settlement throughout the land of Israel; in the Galilee, Negev, Golan, and Judea and Samaria."

Returning finally to these two agreements, it brings to mind that all developments related to annexation are proceeding according to an action plan, which began with administrative annexation; through the transfer of powers of the "civil administration" in the West Bank (military apparatus) from the army to a civilian minister within the Ministry of Defense, Bezalel Smotrich. In practice, planning decisions, approvals for construction, road construction, and demolition of buildings are no longer subject to temporary security considerations, but to an ideological political program. This ends the notion that the West Bank is occupied land managed militarily, but is managed as a region within Israel even if it is located outside its borders.

This action plan reached another peak through Israeli "cabinet" decisions on Sunday, which cancelled the Jordanian law prohibiting land sales to Jews, transferred building powers in the Jewish quarter, the Ibrahim Mosque, and other holy sites in Hebron from the municipality of the Palestinian city to planning institutions of the civil administration, published land records to increase transparency and facilitate their purchase, and eliminated the need for complicated permits that had been imposed on Jews for purchasing land, and expanded state oversight over environmental violations, water, and archaeological sites in areas A and B, in addition to reactivating the land purchase committee after a hiatus of about 20 years, which enables the state to strategically purchase land to support settlements in the long run.

Smotrich had previously announced last September, in a press conference with senior officials of the settlement institution, that he is moving towards the official annexation of 82% of the area of the West Bank. According to him, he and the settlement administration in the Ministry of Defense, along with the new government body created specifically for the purpose of annexation, have been working in recent months on mapping sovereignty, and the annexation will be of the land, not the people, and six yellow-colored pockets have been allocated for Palestinians according to those maps, some of which are separated from one another, (including cities: Hebron, Ramallah, Jericho, Nablus, Tulkarm, and Jenin), and these are the areas in which Palestinians will be allowed to manage their affairs. Smotrich explained: "We have no desire to impose our sovereignty over residents who want to annihilate us, and we must fight enemies, not empower them to live a comfortable life. Therefore, the highest principle of imposing sovereignty is to obtain the maximum amount of land with the least number of inhabitants." He did not reveal what fate is planned for the Palestinians living in 82% of the land, i.e., outside the yellow spots on the map that will not be annexed.

In fact, and this is what should be concluded, the annexation in the West Bank is not measured by statements or official maps, but by criteria of actual control and the law applied on the ground. From this perspective, many human rights organizations see that the question is no longer whether annexation will occur? But when will the pretense of it not taking place stop? Since the criterion for annexation is "de facto sovereignty", not the official announcement.