Israel's finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, announced on Tuesday the allocation of $37 million to develop more than 70 alleged Jewish heritage sites in the occupied West Bank. This significant funding move comes amidst a documented increase in illegal settlement expansion across the territory, further entrenching Israel's military occupation.
Smotrich declared the initiative a "Zionist act of the highest order," asserting that "A people without a past has no future." His statement underscores the ideological drive behind Israel's ongoing efforts to assert control over Palestinian land. The government steering committee approved the funding, channeling resources into a project that Palestinian officials contend is designed to facilitate further settlement growth and solidify Israeli authority.
Expanding Colonial Control
This $37 million allocation is not an isolated incident. It follows an earlier $83 million program approved in May, about 3 months ago, which forms part of a broader strategy to expand Israeli authority over sites designated as Jewish heritage locations throughout the West Bank and Jordan Valley. These actions systematically erode any remaining semblance of Palestinian self-determination and territorial integrity. The finance minister did not specify the sites included in the latest plan, maintaining a lack of transparency regarding the exact targets of this colonial project.
However, Smotrich has previously targeted specific areas. He has sought to control sites such as Solomon’s Pools near Bethlehem. In May, he made an explicit threat to "erase" agreements that confirmed Palestinian ownership of the site more than 30 years ago. Since his tour of Solomon's Pools, Israeli incursions into the area have demonstrably increased, illustrating the direct link between political rhetoric and military enforcement on the ground.
Legitimizing Occupation
The funding initiative coincides with legislative efforts to institutionalize Israeli control. The Knesset approved the first reading of a bill in May, about 3 months ago, to establish a "Judea and Samaria Heritage Authority." This proposed legislation seeks to guarantee, by law, funding for the authority’s activities within the budget of the Ministry of Heritage. Such a move aims to normalize and embed the occupation through administrative and financial mechanisms, further integrating the occupied West Bank into Israel's domestic framework.
Palestinian officials have sharply criticized these plans. They argue that the initiatives are explicitly designed to increase Israeli control over occupied territory. Furthermore, they contend that these actions will directly facilitate additional illegal settlement expansion, a process that systematically dispossesses Palestinians of their land and resources. The international community, through various resolutions and conventions, has consistently affirmed the illegality of Israeli settlements.
International Law Ignored
Under international law, Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem are considered illegal. This consensus is widely held by international bodies and legal experts. Despite this, the Israeli government continues to allocate significant funds and legislative power to expand these outposts and assert sovereignty over Palestinian land. The consistent disregard for international law highlights the impunity with which Israel operates, often shielded from accountability by its allies. This ongoing process of land confiscation and demographic engineering fundamentally undermines any prospect of a just resolution, cementing a system of apartheid where separate laws and realities govern Jewish settlers and indigenous Palestinians in the same territory.