Israeli state television channel KAN reported on June 28 that, upon the request of Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, the Security Cabinet approved the legalization of five illegal settlements in Area B of the occupied West Bank, where Israelis who have usurped Palestinian lands live.
Mustafa al-Bergoussi, Secretary General of the Palestinian National Initiative Movement, evaluated the Tel Aviv government’s decision as a “declaration of annexation and Judaization.” Describing the decision as “the most dangerous thing Palestinians have faced since the Nakba (Great Catastrophe) of 1948,” Bergoussi emphasized that Israel’s decision aimed to completely seize the Palestinian administration’s civil authority in Area B of the West Bank.
Smotrich’s plan also calls for the removal of executive powers from the Palestinian Authority in the southern West Bank and the application of Israeli law to Area B, which is subject to Palestinian civil and administrative control.
Political analyst Ashraf Badr told Anadolu Agency (AA) that “the political meaning of applying Israeli law in Area B is to take back the authority of the Palestinian Authority and weaken it by effectively canceling the administrative divisions in the Oslo Accords between the Palestine Liberation Organization and Israel.”
| According to Analyst Ashraf Badr | Views of Author Hani Abu Siba |
|---|---|
| The analyst Badr stated that the Palestinian Authority has administrative powers in Area B, but that these powers will gradually be taken away from it with Smotrich’s decisions and that it will no longer be able to control the already narrowed area. “There is a plan that the Religious Zionist Party has adopted since 2017, the aim of which is not to manage the conflict but to solve it. They think that the Palestinian issue is being handled according to the principle of managing the conflict, and this “It’s a mistake from their point of view,” he said. | Hani Abu Siba, an expert on Israeli affairs and an author, said, “The Palestinian administration cannot issue construction permits in Area C, and if it does, they are worthless. Today, the issue has expanded to Area B.” |
| Badr said that the extremist Israeli government was trying to eliminate all Palestinian hopes of establishing a “Palestinian entity”, adding that the “Palestinian existence” could be seen by Israel as a threat to the Zionist project, as it could turn into a demand for independence, a national identity or the realization of a national self or political entity. | Abu Siba said that the aim of implementing the law on archaeological sites is to demolish any Palestinian buildings near these sites, whether they are ancient buildings, tombs or Islamic monuments. |
When Israel declared its annexation of the city of Jerusalem in 1980, it did not grant Israeli citizenship to its Palestinian residents, but instead issued them with Israeli IDs (colored blue) that functioned as permanent residence permits.
Regarding Area A, Badr said Israel was not interested in the area’s land, but rather in ridding the area’s residents of any governance of any entity, such as local, tribal or municipal bodies.
Drawing attention to Israel’s demolition activities in the West Bank, Bedr pointed out that the houses of Palestinians accused of carrying out attacks against Israel continue to be demolished in the region.
Hani Abu Siba, an expert on Israeli affairs and an author, said, “The Palestinian administration cannot issue construction permits in Area C, and if it does, they are worthless. Today, the issue has expanded to Area B.”
Author Abu Siba stated that Israeli archaeological organizations classified these sites and added them as an annex to the Oslo Accords, that they had nothing to do with Jewish history, and that according to Smotrich’s plan, hundreds of houses were expected to be demolished.
Abu Siba warned that the current government would demolish any building affecting archaeological sites, even if licensed by the Palestinian Authority, as part of its plan to displace West Bank residents.
Hasan Bireyciye, the Director of the Office of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)-affiliated Settlements and Resistance to the Separation Wall, pointed out that the buildings constructed in an area estimated to be hundreds of acres, some of which are located in Bethlehem lands and classified as a natural reserve, were targeted.
Birecik told Birecik that due to the scarcity of the land, the area has seen intense construction activities by Palestinians coming from Jerusalem and Bethlehem, and there is fear of demolition in the area where hundreds of people currently live and dozens of houses are located.
According to the monthly reports of the PLO-affiliated Board for Settlements and Resistance to the Separation Wall, the Israeli army carried out 194 demolitions in the West Bank in the first five months of 2024, affecting 254 Palestinian facilities, mostly residential.
According to the annual report of the Committee on Settlements and Resistance to the Separation Wall published in 2023, the Israeli army demolished 659 Palestinian facilities, approximately 300 of which were residential, while 25 Palestinian communities, where 266 families consisting of 1,517 people lived, were forced to migrate from their homes due to attacks by the Israeli army and settlers.
Within the framework of the “Second Oslo Accords” signed between Palestine and Israel in 1995, the occupied West Bank was divided into areas A, B and C. The administrative and security management of “Area A”, covering 18 percent of the West Bank, was transferred to Palestine, while the administrative management of “Area B”, covering 21 percent, was transferred to Palestine and its security to Israel, while the administrative and security of “Area C”, covering 61 percent, was left to Israel.
