Israeli committee supports bill for Jewish purchase of land

The Israeli Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee has backed a bill that would make it easier for Jewish people to buy land in the Occupied West Bank, according to the Middle East Eye via Haaretz on November 25th.

The committee has approved the bill, moving it to its first reading in Israel’s parliament. Over 700,000 Israeli settlers live in roughly 160 settlements across the West Bank and Occupied East Jerusalem.

During 2022, Israeli authorities confiscated over 113,000 dunams (113 square kilometres) of land in the occupied territories, where 950 Palestinian homes were also destroyed that year.

The West Bank has been under Israeli occupation following its capture during the 1967 Six-Day War, which also led to Israel’s occupation of East Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip, the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights.

Israeli settlement expansion beyond the borders established in 1967 is viewed as a violation of international humanitarian law. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu greenlit a plan to build over 3,400 homes for settlers as part of the E1 settlement initiative.

Under the plan, settlements in the occupied West Bank’s Maale Adumim intend to be linked with Occupied East Jerusalem. Under the “Law of Return“, Jews from anywhere in the world are able to emigrate to Israel (known in Hebrew as aliyah), where they are entitled to citizenship and benefits.

In 2015, it was reported that Israel’s government recognised some settlements as “national priority areas”, where settlers could receive discounts on land and grants for mortgages; apartment infrastructure also received state investment.

The aim of increasing Jewish presence in the West Bank through the purchase of land by Jewish people appears to be part of a broader campaign to maintain a Jewish demographic majority.

Middle East Eye via Haaretz and agencies, Maghrebi.org