After Netanyahu's victory in the Israeli elections
High hopes for settlers to control more Palestinian land
The expected Netanyahu government increases the sense of pessimism that already exists on the Palestinian side.
Reuters
Daniela Weiss: "Our expectations are huge...this government is better for the Jews."
Reuters
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On a rocky hilltop in the occupied West Bank, Israeli settlers, thrilled by the right's resounding electoral victory, explore a land dotted with Palestinian villages, searching for new settlement sites.
The polling on November 1 witnessed the rise of the extremist settler "Religious Zionism" party, to occupy the third place in Parliament, which made it a potential strong partner in the upcoming coalition of Benjamin Netanyahu.
Negotiations began the day before yesterday, and could take weeks.
But for the settlers who see themselves as “pioneers in reclaiming the land God promised them,” there are already high hopes for budgets, building and infrastructure to keep their settlements prospering.
"Our expectations are huge," said Daniela Weiss, a veteran settler who led the small expedition.
This government is better for the Jews than for the Arabs.
This is the most important thing.”
Weiss described the election results as a revolution. "As the leader of a settlement movement, this is a victory," Weiss said.
I have no doubts that there will be an acceleration in the development of the settlements.”
Most world powers consider settlements in the territories occupied by Israel in the 1967 war to be illegal under international law, and their expansion is an obstacle to peace, given that it is taking place at the expense of the lands on which the Palestinians hope to establish their future state.
With peace talks aimed at establishing this state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem stalled since 2014, and with no sign of reviving them, the prospective Netanyahu government is adding to the pessimism that already exists on the Palestinian side.
A member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, Wasel Abu Youssef, told Reuters: "There will certainly be an escalation in settlement activities and the closure of any horizon for any political process."
Israel denies the illegality of the settlements and cites biblical and historical ties to the West Bank, which it calls by its biblical name “Judea and Samaria.”
"I am very excited to be back in the same places where my grandparents lived," said Baruch Gordon of the Beit El settlement, where religious Zionism electoral banners are scattered in the streets.
More than 450,000 people, representing less than 5% of Israel's population, are Jewish settlers in the West Bank, home to some three million Palestinians who exercise limited self-rule.
Ideologically driven settlers into smaller enclaves deeper in the area are a minority among the settler population, but they are nonetheless a powerful political force in Netanyahu's Likud party.
At Bethel yeshiva, where Gordon is director of development, students sang and danced on election night, when the results came out.
About 80% of Beit El's votes went to "religious Zionism," according to the data of the Knesset Elections Committee, and about 10% to the Likud party.
Netanyahu, who is on his way to a record sixth term as prime minister, has allied with "religious Zionism", calling for the annexation of settlements, a promise Netanyahu made in 2020 before abandoning.
And under the administration of US President Joe Biden, who is more hard-line against settlements, Netanyahu will have to carefully balance matters between his fledgling coalition and the White House.
But settlers aren't alarmed, and Yigal Dilmoni, chief executive of the main settler umbrella organization, said he expects Netanyahu to ramp up development work in settlements while cracking down on Palestinian construction without Israeli permits.
Dilmouni described Netanyahu as a smart statesman capable of resolving any diplomatic dispute on this issue, adding that annexation is only a matter of time.
"If it doesn't happen soon, it will happen in 10 or 15 years," he said.
We are not in a hurry.”
Most world powers consider settlements in the territories occupied by Israel in the 1967 war to be illegal under international law, and their expansion is an obstacle to peace.
More than 450,000 people, representing less than 5% of Israel's population, are Jewish settlers in the West Bank, which is home to some three million Palestinians.
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