Israeli plan for demographic change, sovereignty over West Bank underway: Report
Settler councils aim to expand their control over territory in the occupied West Bank ahead of Donald Trump’s return to the White House
Settler councils in the occupied West Bank have been drafting a plan to tighten Israel’s grip over the territory and accelerate the path towards annexation as Donald Trump prepares to return to the White House, Hebrew newspaper Israel Hayomreported on 1 December.
Right-wing Israeli activists and officials have joined forces under an initiative led by Likud MK Avihai Boaron and a number of settler councils to establish “a realistic yet ambitious plan for the West Bank in the coming years.”
The goal is to create “an operational strategy ready for implementation during a potential Trump administration.”
A high-level meeting on the matter was recently attended by the chairman of the Yesha council, Israel Gantz, its CEO, Omer Rachamim, the head of the Shaar Shomron council, Avi Roeh, and the leaders of several other settler councils.
"We are at a critical juncture – a window of opportunity that we can utilize either wisely or squander. Taking the foolish path would merely result in 700,000 residents and additional housing units four years from now. The wise approach would establish conditions to make Judea, Samaria, and the Jordan Valley inseparable from Israel – not just by creating demographic facts on the ground, but by fundamentally transforming the region's administrative framework," Boaron said at the meeting.
According to the report, one of the plan’s most important aspects relates to future territorial control.
Practical ways to impose this reality include “returning to the pre-Oslo [Accords] decision point,” essentially referring to the dissolution of the Palestinian Authority (PA).
The plan also includes widening the authority of settler councils to extend across regional council areas, effectively giving local authorities control over interconnecting areas, not just their settlement areas, in order to strengthen administration.
Dissolving the PA is essential to this plan, which would see Arab villages fall under complete Israeli jurisdiction. “Urban development” plans and employment opportunities for Arab residents are part of the initiative, which Boaron says would place Palestinians “under self-governing municipal authorities.”
"The two-state solution must be permanently removed from consideration through clear political directives," Boaron adds. The Likud MK also aims to ensure that “American policy doesn't simply resume from where the Deal of the Century left off, which effectively sought to constrain settlement growth."
The plan also includes the erection of new cities, including “dedicated communities” for the Druze and ultra-Orthodox Jews.
"This demographic shift would fundamentally alter the region's character, ultimately leading to sovereignty," an involved official told Israel Hayom.
Trump’s victory in the US election has given Israel’s far-right religious settler movements, who dominate the government, hope for their plans to annex the West Bank.
Hebrew newspaper Haaretz reported in June that Trump received a pledge from Miriam Adelson, the widow of late US businessman Sheldon Adelson, to support his presidential campaign with at least $100 million. In exchange, she seeks US support for Israeli annexation of the West Bank and recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the occupied territory, according to Haaretz.
US investigative journalist Seymour Hersh reported last month, citing an official in Washington, that Israel will soon officially annex the West Bank, which was illegally occupied in 1967.
Israel has recently taken several actions to prepare for the move.
Israel's Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich ordered the Defense Ministry’s Settlement Directorate and Civil Administration in November to prepare the groundwork for annexing the West Bank. This includes continued settlement expansion.
“I have directed the start of professional work to prepare the necessary infrastructure to apply Israeli sovereignty over Judea and Samaria,” he said.
Last year, significant administrative powers in the West Bank were transferred over from the military into Smotrich’s hands.