The US has warned Tel Aviv that any move to transfer administrative duties over the occupied West Bank to the control of notorious far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich will be considered a ‘step towards annexation,’ corporate media is reporting.
Smotrich, a controversial Israeli figure who’s publicly described himself as a “fascist,” was promised control over the so-called ‘Civil Administration’ in the occupied West Bank in a power-sharing agreement that brought the new Israeli ruling regime to power.
In late January, the Times of Israel wrote that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had “ruled in favor” of the finance minister’s ongoing feud with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for military control of the occupied West Bank.
Now “Netanyahu has asked both ministers to present him with their proposals in order for him to decide which authorities, if any, will be transferred to Smotrich,” according to Axios.
Last week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken flew to Jerusalem, where he reportedly urged the new Israeli regime to pause construction of new settlements and tone down the violence amid a major spike in tensions which saw at least 35 Palestinians killed by Israeli soldiers in January alone.
While all eyes were on Blinken, the Assistant US Secretary of State for Near East Affairs, Barbara Leaf, also traveled to Jerusalem to meet with high-level Israeli officials. That’s where Axios reports US and Israeli sources said Leaf told them the Biden administration is “concerned about the possible transfer of some of the authorities in the West Bank from Galant to Smotrich.”
In meetings that reportedly included senior Israeli military officials and Netanyahu’s national security adviser, Leaf reportedly “said that such a move would further complicate the situation in the West Bank at a time when de-escalation is needed and will be considered by the Biden administration as a step towards annexation by the Israeli government.”
But it’s unclear what effect, if any, the Americans’ reported exhortations are having on the plans of Israeli settlers — or their figureheads.
If the newly-appointed finance minister is to be taken at his word, it’s not much. Less than a week after Blinken’s visit, Smotrich publicly declared: “There will be no construction freeze in [the occupied West Bank], period.”