According to The Guardian and Financial Times reporting, the proposed restructuring responds to pressure from the right-wing for trying to remove settlers harassing Palestinians, though Al-Monitor reports the measure would be a step towards Israeli annexation of the occupied Palestinian territory.
The Catalyst: The Qusra Siege and Military Frustration
The announcement follows almost a week of escalation centered on the Palestinian village of Qusra near Nablus. According to Al-Monitor, Israeli settlers blockaded Palestinian residents inside three houses, cutting them off from food and other supplies since Sunday. Despite military deployments to protect the residents and maintain security in the area, the armed forces faced criticism from the right-wing for trying to remove settlers harassing Palestinians.
Defence Minister Katz defended the structural overhaul by drawing a sharp operational line between national defense and civilian policing. “The IDF’s role is to fight Palestinian terrorism, focus on defending borders and communities against threats… and not chase boys on the hilltops,” Katz stated, referencing the Hilltop Youth — a settler group regularly accused of violence towards Palestinians.
Divided Jurisdiction and the Annexation Debate
Under the proposed directive reported by The Jerusalem Post and The Times of Israel, the military would continue to exercise power over Palestinian residents of the West Bank, while the Israel Police would be granted powers and budgets to handle civil matters among Israeli communities and population in Judea and Samaria, where more than 500,000 Israelis live. The Palestinian Authority VP denounced the plan, viewing it as an administrative consolidation of Israeli sovereignty over land occupied since 1967.
Anton Goodman, acting director of the NGO Rabbis for Human Rights, noted that the military had “let settler terrorists go wild in this area, take over houses, injure people, stop their livelihoods, enforce no freedom of movement”. Meanwhile, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee criticized the siege, stating there was “no excuse for s”, echoing expressions of concern from the United States.
Political Timelines and the Road Ahead
Israeli media reports indicate that a transfer of enforcement powers is highly unlikely to go through before the national elections scheduled for October 27, in which polls show the race is looking tight. With settlement expansion and construction soaring under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, alongside violence against Palestinians by Israeli settlers since the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas from the Gaza Strip, the future of West Bank jurisdiction remains one of the most volatile files in Israeli domestic politics.
As these administrative changes loom over an already fractured landscape, how do you see this division of policing powers altering daily realities for both communities in the West Bank? Share your thoughts below.
