The Israeli Cabinet voted Dec. 13 to pour millions of dollars of new funding into Jewish settlements in the West Bank, including several hardline communities that have put up fierce resistance to government-imposed construction restrictions.
The vote caused a rift in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Cabinet, with centrist members accusing the Israeli leader of caving in to pressure from Israeli extremists.
Some 91 out of 121 settlements are on the list, including several settlements in isolated West Bank areas beyond the security barrier, representing about 120,000 people. In addition, the inclusion of Arab Israelis represented by the new map has risen from 8 percent to 40 percent.
Netanyahu announced his spending plan last week, saying it would grant funds for transportation, education and health care to distressed areas throughout the country. No exact figure has been given for how much will be spent, but government spokesman Mark Regev said it is likely to be in the millions of dollars.
The inclusion of some Jewish settlements, particularly isolated communities like Kiryat Arba and Kedumim that are known for their hardline populations, drew accusations that Netanyahu is trying to buy off settlers who are furious over new limits on construction.
That fury was evident Dec. 15, when angry settlers beat and seriously injured a female Israeli police officer as she tried to enforce the ban on new housing construction, police said.
It was the most serious clash between settlers and authorities since the restrictions were imposed last month. Police spokesman Gil Elhadad said about 100 settlers, most of them teenagers, burned tires and blocked the entrance to the settlement of Tsofit, in the northern part of the West Bank. He said some of them jumped the police officer and beat her, breaking several ribs.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak, leader of the centrist Labor Party, pointed to settlers who have harassed and blocked inspectors when saying the spending plan gives disproportionate weight to isolated settlements.
“There are a number of small settlements that are routinely a source of extreme behavior,” Barak said, insisting that they should not be rewarded with funds.
In the Dec. 13 vote, the Cabinet approved the new spending plan by a 21-5 vote, with all five Labor ministers voting against it. Netanyahu has defended the plan, known as the “map of national priorities,” by stressing it would help some 2 million Israelis, including
large numbers of Arab citizens.
“We will determine the future of settlements only within the framework of a permanent agreement with the Palestinians,” Netanyahu told his Cabinet. “This map is intended to close rifts at this time and also to bring in our security concerns.”
Netanyahu last month announced a 10-month moratorium on the construction of new homes in the West Bank. He said the move was aimed at jump-starting peace talks with the Palestinians, who refuse to return to negotiations until Israel halts all settlement activity.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told the PLO central council in the West Bank town of Bethlehem that Palestinians would not participate in peace negotiations until Israel fully freezes Israeli settlement building and agrees to recognize all areas captured in the Six-Day War in 1967 as the basis for a Palestinian state, referring to the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem.
“If there is a total freeze of settlement activity and recognition of 1967 borders, yes, we will go to negotiations,” Abbas said.
Israel’s position is that issues like settlements and borders should be discussed in negotiations, not as preconditions.
The Associated Press and JTA contributed to this report.