Haaretz: Israeli Regulations to Legalize Settlement 'Farms' in the West Bank

SadaNews - The Israeli Ministry of Security and the army are working on regulations to legalize settlement outposts in the occupied West Bank, which are referred to as "farms," where extremist settlers reside who carry out terrorist attacks against Palestinian Bedouin communities with the aim of displacing them from these communities and their lands where they graze their livestock.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed during discussions on Jewish terrorism in the West Bank at a political-security cabinet meeting last March to establish regulations to legalize the "settlement farms." This was implemented by the legal advisory bodies in the Ministry of Security and the Central Command of the Israeli army, and it is currently under review by the government's legal advisor, as reported by the "Haaretz" newspaper today, Friday. The report was also shared by the "Arab 48" site.

The newspaper cited two security sources saying that efforts are underway to align the legislation in the West Bank with Israeli laws, based on the Individual Farms Law for the Negev and Galilee, initiated by the Religious Zionism party and passed in the Knesset last year.

The Israeli Ministry of Security and the army are now working to apply this law in the West Bank, after the occupation regulations in the West Bank allowed for the legalization of housing structures in the settlement "farms" that are established outside settlements.

The two sources stated that legalizing the "farms" will allow for the issuance of permits for seven years, requiring the "farm owners" to obtain a security permit from the Israeli army before obtaining building permits, and they claimed that the commander of the Central Command of the army can revoke the permit for establishing the "farm" based on security considerations.

The regulations include data about the size of the "farm," ensuring it does not exceed an area of 150 square meters and the number of individuals allowed to reside in it. The applicant must attach documents including the signature of the "land rights holders," noting that these are lands stolen from Palestinians and confiscated by the occupation authorities, and permits issued by the regional councils for the settlements and the "civil administration" among others.

According to Netanyahu's instructions, such "farms" will not be established in area B and will be evacuated if such settlement outposts are set up, with "economic sanctions" imposed on those who violate these instructions. However, a security source confirmed that such instructions are not being implemented on the ground, according to the newspaper.

Since the year 2023, 103 such settlement "farms" have been established in the West Bank. The Minister of Finance and the minister responsible for settlements in the Ministry of Security, Bezalel Smotrich, stated at the end of last year that "these farms are not legal, but we are working to make them so." However, these "farms" are established in coordination with the Central Command of the Israeli army, and according to an Israeli officer, their establishment is done under a "regulatory system not yet established by law, hence the need for these regulations."

Nonetheless, the cabinet has approved the legalization of a number of "farms" and their conversion into settlements. Legalizing them will allow them to obtain direct government budgets, and should they be evacuated in the future, the settlers in them will receive compensation.

Since 2022, particularly after Israel launched its genocidal war on Gaza, more than 60 Palestinian Bedouin communities across the West Bank have been displaced following terrorist attacks carried out by settlers with the support of the Israeli army, preventing them from returning to their homes and lands.

On Wednesday, Amnesty International accused Israel of carrying out a campaign of "ethnic cleansing" against the Bedouin communities in the occupied West Bank, considering it aimed at expediting the annexation of Palestinian lands.

The organization's report stated, "Israeli authorities are accelerating the annexation process through a state-led ethnic cleansing campaign targeting Palestinian Bedouin and pastoral communities."