The Government Promotes Development and Construction in 70 Illegal Outposts

About a month ago, it was reported in the media that Minister Smotrich instructed government ministries to begin funding construction and development in approximately 70 illegal outposts, but the list of outposts was not published. It now turns out that it is a list of 63 sites that include 70 illegal outposts, some of which were built on private Palestinian land, some are outposts and farms that were source of settler violence against Palestinians, and even those that have led to the expulsion of Palestinian communities in their vicinity.

Peace Now: “The Netanyahu government is essentially calling on settlers to break the law, seize lands, and establish facts on the ground without permits and without any legal process. It supports and assists the most violent and extreme settlers. The lawlessness and violence in the settlements is not a bug, it’s a feature, it’s the main way for the Israeli government to deepen the occupation and Israeli hold on the territories to prevent Israel from having a future of peace and security.”

Over a year ago, on February 12, 2023, the Security Cabinet decided to legalize 10 outposts by establishing 9 new settlements. The Cabinet’s decision also included a clause addressing the legalization of additional outposts by defining them as “Sites Under Legalization,” where the government would invest in construction and development without the required legal process of authorization and planning. The Cabinet authorized the Prime Minister or a minister designated by him to prepare the list of outposts to be defined as “Sites Under Legalization.”
See more details here.

From a letter sent by Minister Smotrich to the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories and the Head of the Civil Administration on February 23, 2024, which reached Peace Now, it emerges that the task was assigned to Minister Smotrich, and that the Settlement Administration established within the Civil Administration, compiled a list of 63 sites that include 70 illegal outposts considered “Sites Under Legalization.” The letter states:

“… According to the Cabinet’s decision, the Settlement Administration, in cooperation with the Civil Administration, conducted a comprehensive staff work to formulate the list of sites to be included in the list at this time. … Regarding the sites on the list, all necessary actions must be taken, as stated in Section 2 of the Cabinet’s decision, including dealing with essential and humanitarian infrastructure, security components, and the like. As stated in Section 3 of the Cabinet’s decision, the enforcement priorities regarding the sites on the list should be updated. It should be clarified and emphasized that this does not detract from dealing with sites not on the list. Additionally, this list is not closed, and if necessary, more sites will be added to the list in the future.”

In other words, besides the directive to promote the construction of infrastructure, security components, public buildings, and educational buildings and to provide municipal services to the outposts (as stated in the Cabinet’s decision), the Civil Administration is also instructed to “update the enforcement priorities,” meaning to avoid demolishing the illegal structures in these outposts. It is also noted that additional outposts may be added to this status.

The Illegality of the Decision

The allocation of government resources for illegal construction in outposts in the Territories is prohibited and illegal for several reasons:

1. The establishment of any locality has far-reaching implications for many areas: real estate, transportation, society, environment, development and more. This is why in Israel (as well as in the West Bank) the establishment of any locality must be approved by the government and the highest planning institutions.

2. Establishing settlements in the Occupied Territories has much greater implications due to the political and security ramifications. Such a decision cannot be made without a formal process that includes an explicit government decision and an understanding of the political and security needs associated with such a decision. The Cabinet’s decision to allow development in illegal outposts essentially gave the decision to establish settlements in practice into the hands of the bureaucrats of the “Settlement Administration” without public debate, without a security opinion, and without examining all the implications.

3. It is a reward for criminals and encourages lawbreaking, especially when there is no enforcement or administrative or criminal sanctions on those who are in charge of the illegal construction in settlements. It is a call for settlers to break the law.

4. Perhaps the most serious issue is that the decision concerns only Israelis. The government did not include any Palestinian community from among the hundreds of communities living in Area C in the list of “Sites Under Legalization.” It should be noted that in the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down the “Regulation Law,” the reason, besides the violation of property rights, was the violation of the right to equality because it applied only to Israelis.

The list of outposts to be funded and developed (download as excel):