Israel Orders West Bank Police Power Shift, Advancing 59-Year Occupation Toward Annexation
Updated
Updated · Financial Times · Aug 14
Israel Orders West Bank Police Power Shift, Advancing 59-Year Occupation Toward Annexation
3 articles · Updated · Financial Times · Aug 14
Summary
Israel Defense Minister Israel Katz ordered the army to prepare to hand West Bank law-enforcement powers to police, including arrests, in a move analysts say would formalize Israeli civilian control.
Katz said the military should focus on fighting Palestinian militants, not settler violence, and tied the shift to an expected rise in the number of settlers.
The order follows sharp criticism of the army after a nearly week-long settler siege of Palestinian homes near Qusra and comes amid record attacks by Jewish settlers on Palestinians.
Implementation remains uncertain before Israel's October election, and Netanyahu's office did not immediately say whether the plan is official government policy.
The transfer would deepen a broader push already underway: the government has approved 104 new settlements in nearly four years and expanded civilian authority over West Bank land purchases and registration.