Knesset to hold initial vote on legalization of 65 West Bank outposts
The legislation provides a two-year time frame for the legalization of the fledgling communities.
By TOVAH LAZAROFFUpdated: DECEMBER 14, 2020 21:08A view of the West Bank(photo credit: YANIV NADAV/FLASH90)
The Knesset is scheduled to hold an initial vote Wednesday on the legalization of 65 West Bank outposts.The private members of a bill, dubbed “Quality of Life” legislation, would grant de facto legalization to outposts on state land as either new neighborhoods of existing settlements or as entirely new settlements.The legislation provides a two-year time frame for the legalization of the fledgling communities.It mandates that they be treated as legal communities until such time as the authorization process is complete. This would include the provision of utilities as well as the granting of mortgages.Should the bill be approved, it would expand Israel’s footprint within Area C of the West Bank. That expansion would quickly be solidified by a companion bill the Knesset initially approved last week that would require a referendum for the withdrawal of any West Bank settlement.The referendum would also apply to the outposts once approved.It is unclear if the Knesset would have time to approve both bills, before the legislative body is dispersed so the country can head to its fourth election in two years.The bills are part of a number of steps the Right has taken to shore up the standing of Area C of the West Bank, prior to US President Donald Trump’s departure from the White House on January 20.It’s presumed that such legislation would be more difficult to pursue once US President-elect Joe Biden is in office next month.Community Affairs Minister Tzachi Hanegbi had prepared the text of a government decision on the matter, which he had intended to put on the agenda, but was prevented from doing so by Alternate Prime Minister Benny Gantz, who is opposed to the measure.
Frustrated right-wing politicians, led by the Knesset Land of Israel Caucus, have now turned to the plenum to resolve the matter.Hanegbi said that legalization of the outposts had the support of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.Caucus co-chair MK Bezalel Smotrich (Yamina) called on Netanyahu to vote for the bill on Wednesday.“If Netanyahu does not vote in favor of this humanitarian law that provides equal rights and a normal life to the young settlements [outposts] – it will be conclusively proven that he is not a member of the Right,” said Smotrich. His National Union Party, which is a faction within the larger Yamina Party, has launched a campaign to pressure Netanyahu to publicly support the bill.It has included a poster with Netanyahu’s picture that states, “Netanyahu, if you are Right, prove it.”
