by Haggai Huberman, Israeli journalist and author (written for the religious zionist periodical - Matzav Haruach), translated by Hillel Fendel.
It has not received much press, but
the government made history this month when it made a series of decisions with
historic significance for Judea and Samaria. Leading the way was Minister of
Finance Betzalel Smotrich (Religious Zionism party), who also serves as Minster
in the Ministry of Defense. Israel's mini-security Cabinet voted to
fundamentally change how lands in Yesha are bought and administered, greatly fortifying
the settlement enterprise.
The new changes include:
·
The removal of
confidentiality requirements regarding land registry records in Yesha, thus increasing
transparency and facilitating Jewish redemption of land
·
The repeal of the Jordanian
law prohibiting the sale of real estate to Jews. [Nearly six decades after
liberating Yesha, Israel has still never annexed the area, thus leaving some
Jordanian laws in effect by default.] This allows Jews to purchase land in
Judea and Samaria just as they do in Tel Aviv or Jerusalem.
·
An upgrade to the holy Tomb
of Rachel site in a Bethlehem enclave, which will now have its own municipal
administration, providing basic services.
·
Hebron: Building permits in
the Jewish community and the Cave of the Patriarchs are now under the auspices
of Israel's Civil Administration, instead of the Arab Hebron Municipality. Full
municipal powers have now been granted to the Jewish Hebron Administration,
which is now able to address residents' needs without having to depend on
not-necessarily cooperative PA mechanisms.
At the same time, Israel has
up-shifted gears in its war for the overall preservation of the Land of Israel
throughout Judea and Samaria. Supervisory and enforcement activity will be
applied in Areas A and B (under full and partial PA control, respectively)
regarding pollution, water, and archaeological-sites infractions.
The reason
these decisions are so dramatic is because they erase, once and for all, the
"vision" that reigned here precisely 20 years ago, when it appeared
that the Jewish presence in Yesha was to be curtailed, condensed, and cut
down to unsustainable proportions.
Gloom in
2006
What
happened 20 years ago was that Ehud Olmert was elected Prime Minister, shortly
after – and on the coattails of – Ariel Sharon's ill-fated Disengagement plan.
Just as Sharon withdrew unilaterally from all of Gaza, ultimately leading to
several short wars and the Oct. 7th massacre, Olmert was ready to do
nearly the same in Judea and Samaria.
He called
his plan the "Convergence," according to which Israel was to
dismantle and withdraw from at least 60 Jewish communities, and retain no more than some 7% of
Yesha. Like the Disengagement, this plan was also to be implemented
unilaterally if agreement with the PA was not reached.
Following the elections of March
2006, the left-wing camp became (seemingly) firmly ensconced in power. The
government was led by Olmert's Kadima party (originally founded by Sharon after
the Likud largely withdrew its support for the Disengagement), and included Labor,
Shas, and the seven seats - a fluke achievement - of the Pensioners' party Gil.
The Gaza border was quiet, and the Disengagement was perceived at the time as a
wise and safe move.
On May 4th of that year,
Olmert presented to the Knesset his new government, with guidelines stating clearly
that "the area of Israel with new borders to be determined by the
government, will require the reduction of Israeli settlement areas in Judea and
Samaria." That is, the democratically elected prime minister of Israel
promised to destroy dozens of Jewish communities, with or without an Arab
partner for the move.
On June 14th, Olmert – a
former and long-time Likudnik – announced in Paris after meeting with President
Chirac: "The Convergence plan is inevitable. I am determined to continue
my path of separating permanently from the Palestinians, to attain safe borders
that will be recognized by the international community."
The atmosphere in Yesha at the time
was dismal, and many residents feared the worst. Some even began making secret
inquiries and preparations regarding the compensation that they assumed would
soon be offered them in exchange for their homes.
This was indeed Olmert's plan – but
apparently, the Creator of the world had other idea. Just 11 days after his
Paris declaration, events took their first sharp turn in a very different
direction: Gilad Shalit was abducted from his tank on the Gaza border – and all
of a sudden, the Disengagement didn't look like such a bright idea anymore.
Still, Olmert didn't back down, and vowed
yet again to continue along his Convergence path. However, just two days later,
on July 12, two reserves soldiers – Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev – were
kidnapped and ultimately found to have been murdered by Hizbullah terrorists while
patrolling Israel's border with Lebanon. At least five other soldiers were
killed in that operation. With this, the logic of the unilateral withdrawal
from Lebanon of six years earlier – the brainchild of then-PM Ehud Barak – was
also called into question.
Quite abruptly, Israel now found
itself fighting two wars: the Second Lebanon War, and Operation Summer Rains
following the kidnapping of Shalit. Withdrawals from Israeli-held territory,
especially without an agreement with the enemy, no longer appeared very wise.
On September 4, Olmert was forced to concede, telling the Knesset Foreign
Affairs and Defense Committee:
"Convergence No Longer on the
Table"
"What I thought a few months ago
regarding the Palestinians, is not correct at present. Our order of priorities,
including what to do about the Palestinian problem, is different than it was in
the past. At this point, the Convergence is not one of our priorities, as it
was two months ago."
A year later, Olmert and the PA's
Mahmoud Abbas, hosted by then-President George W. Bush, began trying to negotiate
some kind of withdrawal from Yesha in Annapolis, Maryland. Olmert actually
offered the PA some 94% of Judea and Samaria – but thankfully, Abbas rejected
even this, and the conference ended with no agreement. The diplomats and
negotiators packed up and went home, the plans for the abandonment of the
Jewish homeland became a form of science fiction, and the Jews of Yesha – and
many other Israelis whose lives would have been endangered had the PA been
handed control – breathed a loud sigh of relief.
Back
in Time
I
ask the reader to go back in time to the month of Adar 5766/February 2006, when
families in Yesha were quietly consulting with lawyers about receiving
compensation. Now, imagine that someone told you then that 20 years hence, the
government would not only obviate the need for compensation for the demolition
of communities and homes, but would also enable the private purchase of land
for the purpose of building communities. How would we have regarded such a
“prophet”?
Thankfully, in this month of Adar, once again, things have happily turned upside down. Happy Purim!