*** Update from 2/3/25: The Ministerial Committee for Legislation decided to postpone the discussion of the bill by three months ***
The Ministerial Committee for Legislation will discuss today, 2/3/25, a bill by MK Dan Iloz of the Likud, according to which Israel will annex 29 settlements with 180,000 settlers, and at least 119,000 dunams. The bill states that the “law, jurisdiction and administration” of the State of Israel will apply to the territories. The annexation is proposed to be done in a similar way to the annexation that the Israeli government made in June 1967 to 70,000 dunams in East Jerusalem. In the annexation of East Jerusalem in 1967, which was done by a government decision and not by a Knesset law, about 70,000 Palestinians were included in the annexed territories and received the status of permanent residents of Israel (not citizens). The proposed law does not specify whether Palestinians will also be annexed or not.
Peace Now: This is another step in Netanyahu and Smotritz’s destructive annexation plan. If the law passes in the Knesset, it will be a severe blow to the future of Israel and to the possibility of security and peace in the region. This is not only a blatant violation of international law but also a serious setback to the chance of resolving the conflict on the basis of two states for two peoples. Today, it is clear to everyone that military force alone will not bring security to Israel and that a political settlement is also necessary. The Netanyahu and Smotritz government, instead of taking responsibility for its guilt in October 7, is condemning us to many more years of bloody and violent conflict.
The bill does not include a precise map of the territories that will be annexed to Israel. Instead, it lists settlements that will be annexed, whose total municipal area is approximately 119,000 dunams, and states that “the areas between them and Jerusalem” will also be annexed. This vague wording leaves room for the annexation of additional large areas, up to twice the area of the settlements themselves. The explanatory notes to the bill refer to maintaining a “demographic balance” in the Jerusalem metropolitan area, so it is unlikely that the intention is to also annex Palestinian communities with hundreds of thousands of Palestinians located between the settlements and Jerusalem, such as Bethlehem, Abu Dis, Anata, and others. At the same time, the jurisdiction of the Ma’ale Adumim and Kfar Adumim settlements, which are proposed to be annexed to Israel, also includes several dozen small Palestinian communities, such as Khan al-Ahmar, Abu Nawar, and others, which contain several thousand Palestinians. These villages are not recognized by the Israeli authorities and all of their structures received demolition orders. The bill does not refer to those communities and does not specify whether the intention is to annex them or expel them.
The political and economic implications of annexation
The area proposed for annexation is strategically vital to both the Palestinian economy and the viability of a future Palestinian state. The areas East of Jerusalem of Ma’ale Adumim, Kfar Adumim and Mitzpe Jericho creates a territorial contiguity from Jerusalem to Jericho in the Jordan Valley. This area cuts through the West Bank, and its annexation would sever any Palestinian territorial continuity between the northern and southern parts of the West Bank, effectively closing off the possibility of a future Palestinian state. Furthermore, even if not within an independent state, the Palestinian economy’s ability to function and develop would be severely compromised. For more details on the implications of annexing this area, refer to Peace Now’s report on the E1 plan.
A significant portion of the areas designated for annexation in the areas of the Gush Etzion and Efrat Councils, are strategic areas for the future of the Palestinian economy and the prospect of a future Palestinian state. The area includes the areas of the E2 plan that will permanently block Bethlehem from the south, and the isolated settlements of Ma’ale Amos, Asfar, Tekoa and Nokdim southeast of Bethlehem.
The annexation proposal also includes the isolated settlement of Ma’ale Mikhmash east of Ramallah. It is not clear how the settlement is planned to be connected to Israel, but the intention is to send an Israeli finger deep into the West Bank and the Palestinian contiguous zone.
The declared goals of the bill
The main meaning of the bill is the annexation of large areas of the West Bank and the prevention of a Palestinian state. Despite this, it is clear that the drafters of the bill tried to hide its true meaning and focused on its municipal implications. The bill stipulates that a “Jerusalem Metropolitan Authority” will be established, as a kind of umbrella municipality headed by the mayor of Jerusalem, under which the local authorities that will be added to it will operate. The bill stipulates in general terms that the government will allocate budgets for the development of the metropolis but does not specify the budgetary and legal mechanisms through which it will operate.