On the evening of Monday, June 6, 2022, the government coalition in Israel failed to extend the application of Israeli civil law to settlers in the occupied West Bank.

Since 1967, Israel has applied military law to Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, but civil law to settlers in the same area.

Settlers' Laws in the West Bank

Since that time, the laws regulating the presence of settlers in the West Bank, which are known by the Israeli name (the Judea and Samaria regulations) have been renewed in the Knesset every 5 years, and were last extended in 2017, and it is scheduled to expire at the end of this June, "after its extension was postponed for several years. times due to the lack of availability of the majority.

In 1967, these regulations were approved after the occupation of the West Bank and required the replacement of Israeli criminal law on settlers in the occupied West Bank, instead of the total annexation process, which would have created a critical international reaction against Israel.

On July 30, 1980, Israel only annexed Jerusalem to its full sovereignty through a law enacted by the Israeli Knesset with a majority of 69 Knesset members and 15 opposition.

The government's failure to pass the regulations does not mean its downfall, and it can try to present the extension to a vote several times until its effect expires at the end of this June.

Political analysts in Israel believe that the government's failure to pass the regulations will be a new nail in the coffin of the fragile government coalition and will hasten the government's fall and either early elections or the formation of a new government within the current Knesset composition.

Legal specialists believe that failure to pass the regulations will create chaos in the occupied West Bank settlements, which will turn into a safe haven for criminals and outlaws.

repercussions of failure

In the event that Naftali Bennett's government's continued attempts to pass the "regimes of Judea and Samaria" fail until the end of June 2022, the consequences of this are expected to be as follows:

  • Settlements in the occupied West Bank will be completely separated from Israeli law, and in practice the settlers will be removed from the population registry in Israel.

  • The Israeli civilian police in the West Bank will be separate from the police in Israel.

  • Ministers and Knesset members who reside in West Bank settlements will lose the right to hold office because ministers and Knesset members must be citizens and residents at the same time (subject to legal evaluation).

  • The settlers will lose the right to vote in the Knesset, because they will be within an entity separate from Israel (as if they were outside the country) (subject to legal evaluation).

  • Israel will lose the legal right to detain about 3,500 Palestinian prisoners in Israel and will be forced to transfer them to detention centers in the occupied West Bank, which is not available because there is only one prison, "Ofer Detention Center", which creates an unprecedented legal problem for Israel.

  • Settlers will lose the ability to renew ID cards and driver's licenses.

  • Settlers will lose the right to receive medical treatment in Israeli hospitals.

  • Settlers will lose the right to receive Israeli national insurance.

  • Settlers will lose the right to the public health insurance afforded to every Israeli.

  • The Procedure Department and the Israeli Tax Department will lose the right to enforce the law on settlers in the West Bank.

  • Settlers will lose the right to appear before the civilian judiciary in Israel and will be subject to military law or the Jordanian and Ottoman laws and regulations in force in the West Bank.

  • The Israeli police will lose the ability to arrest any Israeli and settler who has committed a crime inside Israel, which would make these settlements a safe haven for criminals and outlaws.

  • The lawyers from among the settlers will lose their membership in the Bar, as they will be outside the entity of the State of Israel.

  • The settlers will lose their licenses to work as psychologists.

  • Settlers will lose the ability to sue Palestinians in the occupied West Bank in purely civil cases, including compensation for traffic accidents.

  • Israel will lose the ability to implement and implement mutual agreements with the Palestinians in the field of trade.

  • The settlers will lose the ability to adopt because they are effectively outside Israel.