Dov Lieber and Aaron Boxerman
WSJ, Jan. 4, 2023
“Israeli settlers say that even though they pay taxes like other Israeli citizens, they receive spotty cellular access, drive on poorer roads and face additional bureaucracy because of the geopolitical sensitivities of the West Bank.“
Israel’s new finance minister, the leader of the country’s far-right Religious Zionism party and an advocate of outright annexation of at least parts of the West Bank, said he plans to spend billions of dollars building infrastructure and investing in Jewish settlements in the territory.
“We will lead the development, formalization and strengthening of our grip in these areas of our homeland, Judea and Samaria,” said Bezalel Smotrich as the new government was sworn in last week, using the biblical name for the West Bank.
Members of the Religious Zionism party—many hailing from Israel’s West Bank settlements—form a critical bloc in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s new government and now control posts that oversee key elements of Israel’s presence there.
Their aim is to pave the way for a million more Jewish settlers and to gradually eliminate any differences between life in the settlements and within Israel’s internationally recognized borders. Their ultimate goal, they say, is to foreclose the possibility of a future Palestinian state.
“The difference now is the absolute clarity of this Israeli government’s public policy,” said Husam Zomlot, the Palestinian Authority’s ambassador to the U.K. “This is a stab in the heart of the whole idea of a two-state negotiated solution sponsored by the United States.”
Mr. Smotrich’s vision for the West Bank underscores the challenges Mr. Netanyahu will face as he tries to hold together a solidly right-wing government and maintain good relations with the U.S., Europe and Arab allies, all of whom oppose annexation. The Biden administration has said it would fight any attempt at annexation under the new government. …Source
