Connection to infrastructure and establishment of public buildings in outposts included in legalization processes
In February 2023, Israel’s far-right government acted to regulate the outposts in Area C of the West Bank. Further to this decision, in February 2024, the Minister in the Ministry of Defense, Bezalel Smotrich, ordered the Civil Administration to regularize 70 outposts (35% of existing outposts), which are grouped under 63 “sites for regularization.” Without having to wait until a plan is approved for them, the outposts will be immediately connected to water and electricity infrastructures, public buildings will be built and enforcement against them frozen. The law applicable in Area C allows only buildings that have a building permit to be connected to infrastructure. While provisions of the law are stringently applied in relation to Palestinians, Minister Smotrich seeks to exclude illegal construction by Jews through an illegal instruction to the Civil Administration. This position paper attacks the illegality of the move and reviews its legal, planning, and economic consequences. It shows that the planning procedure is nothing more than a cover for de facto regularization of the outposts, since in the vast majority of cases the most basic conditions for advancing regularization are not met.
To read the full document, click here.
In February 2023, Israel’s far-right government acted to regulate the outposts in Area C of the West Bank. Further to this decision, in February 2024, the Minister in the Ministry of Defense, Bezalel Smotrich, ordered the Civil Administration to regularize 70 outposts (35% of existing outposts), which are grouped under 63 “sites for regularization.” Without having to wait until a plan is approved for them, the outposts will be immediately connected to water and electricity infrastructures, public buildings will be built and enforcement against them frozen. The law applicable in Area C allows only buildings that have a building permit to be connected to infrastructure. While provisions of the law are stringently applied in relation to Palestinians, Minister Smotrich seeks to exclude illegal construction by Jews through an illegal instruction to the Civil Administration. This position paper attacks the illegality of the move and reviews its legal, planning, and economic consequences. It shows that the planning procedure is nothing more than a cover for de facto regularization of the outposts, since in the vast majority of cases the most basic conditions for advancing regularization are not met.
To read the full document, click here.
