Bethlehem/PNN/
The Israeli Channel 7 reported on Sunday that the Israeli National Security Minister, Etamr Ben Gevir, approved a plan that will be endorsed by the Israeli government as part of the five-year plan related to Jerusalem.
According to the channel, the plan aims to allocate 120 million shekels for the benefit of the occupied Jerusalem settlements, with the goal of enhancing security there.
The plan includes the construction of police centers, the allocation of new programs for the police, the deployment of more security cameras, strengthening Israeli police forces in Jerusalem, settlements, and settler roads, and increasing the salaries and numbers of police personnel.
Ben Gevir stated that the aim of this plan is to restore personal security for Israelis in Jerusalem.
The Israeli newspaper "Yedioth Ahronoth" reported on Friday that the US State Department opposes the expansion of settlements in the West Bank, in light of the plan led by the Netanyahu government to invest 672 million shekels in settlers living in Area C of the West Bank - until the end of 2024.
According to US officials in Washington, questions were raised by the US State Department last night (Thursday) about the unprecedented plan by the Netanyahu government to inject approximately one billion shekels for investment in settlements in the West Bank, stating that they "oppose settlement expansion."
Deputy spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Wadih Fattal, expressed, "Our position on this issue is clear and consistent, which is to urge Israel to refrain from these actions that will lead to new settlement outposts."
He added that "the issue of settlement expansion poses a threat to the proposed two-state solution, which will increase tensions and erode trust between the Israeli and Palestinian sides."
Informed sources told "Yedioth Ahronoth" that the expansion plan is led by the Minister of Settlement and National Missions in Netanyahu's government, Orit Struck.
According to the data and figures published in the economic newspaper "Calcalist" this week, the financial scope of the program is approximately around 672 million shekels from the budget for 2023-2024, but there are sections whose costs have not been determined yet.
Some of the details of the plan were not specified in the agreements related to the budgets of the coalition ministries, and it may be necessary to allocate funds designated for another purpose to fulfill this plan.
"Yedioth Ahronoth" indicated that a third of the amount will come from the budget of the Ministry of Settlement and National Missions, which Struck oversees, while the rest of the funds and allocations will come from other ministries, especially the Ministries of Finance, Interior, and the Army.
According to Israeli officials, these funds and financial allocations will of course only be invested for the benefit of Israelis in Area C of the West Bank.
Senior officials in the government estimate that, after the approval of the "unreasonability law," which limits the ability of the Supreme Court to review decisions made by the Israeli government, it will be easier for the government to make decisions with such arbitrary standards.
It is worth noting that the logical basis of the plan, as seen by several political analysts, is to enhance civil flexibility in Israeli settlements in the West Bank, as the announced goal is to provide assistance and increase financial allocations to threatened settlements.
However, on the other hand, other political analysts interpret this plan from a different perspective, seeing that a number of clauses in this plan aim to increase settlement in the West Bank area, and impose Israeli sovereignty over all settlements established there.
