Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich vowed on Tuesday to foil what they said was the Palestinian Authority’s scheme to seize land across Judea and Samaria.
“The State of Israel will not abandon the security of the residents and will not allow Abu Mazen and the Palestinian Authority to use illegal construction as a tool to create a strategic threat to the communities,” declared Katz, referring to P.A. chief Mahmoud Abbas.
Smotrich, who also serves as a second minister in the Israeli Defense Ministry with responsibility for civilian matters in Judea and Samaria, noted that in the past year, a record number of illegal structures were demolished.
“However, we understand that in order to win this battle, additional strategic measures must be employed to bring about the desired transformation,” added the Religious Zionism Party leader.
Katz and Smotrich spoke following a visit to Judea and Samaria communities that recently received formal government approval.
Last month, the Israeli Cabinet voted to recognize 13 neighborhoods in existing Judea and Samaria towns as new communities, allowing for their further expansion and development as independent localities.
“We continue, with God’s help, to lead a revolution of normalization and regulation in settlement,” said Smotrich on March 23. “This is another important step on the way to actual sovereignty in Judea and Samaria.”
Smotrich during his tenure has sought to foil the realization of the P.A.’s Fayyad Plan—named after former Palestinian Authority prime minister Salam Fayyad—that seeks to establish a de facto Palestinian state.
A report published by the Regavim movement in December, almost two years after the finance minister took control of the Defense Ministry’s Civil Administration, showed an unprecedented decline in illegal construction in Israeli-controlled Area C of Judea and Samaria.
This marked the first time in a decade that illegal construction had dropped, accompanied by increased enforcement by the Civil Administration, according to the Israeli NGO.