Israeli gov’t approves $8B supplementary budget for Gaza war

Shares fund Gvir's plan: 600+ armed security teams, 40,000 long firearms, and protective gear

Israeli settlers
(Photo: Twitter/X)
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM — On Saturday, a report by the National Office for Land Defense and Settlement Resistance member Mediha Al-Araj revealed the location of settlements and settler militias in the amended general budget of the Israeli Occupation for the year 2024, Amad reported.اضافة اعلان

In the report , it was disclosed that the Israeli government approved, last week, a supplementary budget of $8 billion, to meet the needs of the brutal war waged by Israel on the Gaza Strip since October 7. The Israeli Finance Minister Tzachi Hanegbi stated that the current budget, approved by the Knesset in March of the previous year, is no longer suitable for the evolving situation in Israel, indicating the occupation’s entry into a war on the Strip.

Budgets
The budgets allocated for settlements in the West Bank, including Jerusalem, are distributed in billions of shekels among various ministries in the occupation’s government, such as the Ministry of Defense, Civil Affairs, the Coordinator of Regional Affairs Office, as well as the Ministries of Transportation, Housing, Knowledge, Heritage, and others. However, the report attempts to shed light on those ministries led by ministers from the Religious Zionist Party and the Jewish Power Party to strengthen their position among the settlers.

The amended budget for the occupation allocates additional budgets to the Israeli National Security Ministry, led by Itamar Ben Gvir, the head of the extreme right-wing "Jewish Power" party, during the aggressive war on the Strip, with a value of $510 million. This is intended for what is called emergency situations and dealing with combat situations. Therefore, the share goes towards establishing more than 600 armed security teams with long rifles and protective equipment as part of Gvir's plan, which involves purchasing about 40,000 long firearms and rifles and related equipment. The documents published indicate the purchase of 25,550 long firearms and rifles so far out of the approved 40,000 rifles for arming the so-called Ben Gvir protection squads.

The documents also reveal the purchase of over 5.5 million training and emergency-ready bullets, along with the procurement of more than 20,000 protection kits, including helmets and bulletproof vests, at a total cost of about $71 million. According to an internal document of the ministry published by the "Calcalist'' economic newspaper earlier this month, The office of the National Security Ministry, directly subordinate to Gvir's authority, obtained $170 million, of which 633 million shekels will be allocated to establishing and arming hundreds of security teams established after October 7,

The Settlement Ministry, headed by the right-wing extremist minister Orit Struck from the Smotrich Party, had a substantial share in the amended Israeli budget of 200 million shekels added to the approximately 543 million shekels allocated to the ministry in the general budget. This is for the expansion of settlements in the West Bank. The Finance Ministry also submitted a request to the parliamentary finance committee to approve the transfer of an additional amount of 200 million shekels to this ministry. The distribution of this addition will be as follows: 90 million shekels in cash, of which 75 million shekels will be allocated to settlement outposts, specifically to the youth of the hills (Price Tag), and 15 million shekels for social activity and accommodation in what the ministry calls rural settlements. Additionally, 110 million shekels will be provided as a loan with unspecified spending directions.

In this regard, the Israeli newspaper "The Marker" pointed out that the transfer of the amount to the settlement outposts was hidden from the public, as it did not appear in the official statement on the topics discussed by the government.

It is clear that this policy, practiced by Ben Gvir, will exacerbate tensions in the buffer zones between settlements in general, particularly settlement outposts, and Palestinian villages and towns in their vicinity. Armed settlers in the settlement outposts, specifically, are no longer, as developments in the field indicate, limited to firing in the air or at the feet when targeting Palestinian civilians but are now "shooting with the intent to kill," as some Israeli media, Israeli human rights organizations, and international testimonies report.

Gvir does not content himself with arming the settlers and establishing terrorist militias in settlements and settlement outposts, as well as so-called pastoral farms. He goes further by sending messages to them through clear and explicit adoption of their practices. His followers organize campaigns to assist imprisoned settlers convicted of terrorist crimes against Palestinians, such as the terrorist Amiram Ben Uliel, who was convicted of burning and killing the Dawabsheh family in the village of Duma in July 2015.

Violence has escalated in the occupied West Bank, reaching its highest levels in over 15 years this year. The situation worsened under the brutal aggression on the Gaza Strip after October 7 when settlers and Israeli soldiers intercepted the funeral of three Palestinians killed by settlers in a previous incident. This was one of over 170 attacks by armed settlers on Palestinians recorded by the UN in less than a month since the events of October 7, resulting in the death of a significant number of Palestinians, according to UN data.

Additionally, Jewish terrorist organizations, sponsored by both the Finance Minister and the Settlement Minister in the Army Ministry, expand their activities targeting Palestinians. They exert pressure in various areas to force citizens, especially in Bedouin and rural Palestinian communities, to migrate.

In another context related to budgets allocated by the Israeli government for settlements and arming settlers, on Sunday, the British newspaper "The Guardian" revealed the illegal activities of an Israeli funding platform called "Israel Gives," directed towards residents in the United States. The platform collects donations for the Israeli army and settlers in the occupied West Bank, pointing out that this funding platform raises millions of dollars for illegal settlements in the West Bank, settler militias, and units of the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) currently operating in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank. Although legal experts confirm that some of these campaigns may be illegal under US tax law, enforcing the law on donors supporting Israel is rare. The funding revelation comes amid a growing humanitarian crisis resulting from IOF attacks killing civilians in Gaza and campaigns in the US to enforce laws preventing non-profit organizations from funding illegal settlements.

The newspaper identified at least 450 fundraising campaigns, including 240 campaigns initiated after October 7, aiming to purchase tactical equipment and logistical support. The beneficiaries, particularly the IOF and quasi-military units associated with specific Israeli groups, include many settlement groups in the West Bank.

In another development related to settlement activities, the Israeli occupation authorities focus on harsh war conditions imposed in the city of Jerusalem. The Israeli Land Authority published tenders on the 25 of this month for the construction of 1,839 settlement units in East Jerusalem. This intensification of settlement activities during the war exploits the situation to impose more facts on the ground.

Furthermore, the finance committee of the Israeli municipality in Jerusalem approved an increase in the budget allocated to the city for the next year to reach 6.2 billion shekels, an increase of 200 million shekels from the previous fiscal year. The new municipal budget includes plans to enhance settlement construction in the occupied city, by providing incentives to investors, paving roads around and within the occupied city, as well as a plan to strengthen the settlement presence in the city. Additionally, the budget primarily aims to reinforce Jewish settlements in East Jerusalem rather than improving the lives of Palestinian residents.

In the weekly violations documented by the National Bureau for the Defense of Land, the incidents were as follows during the period covered in the report:

Jerusalem: IOF forced the citizen Hashem Sabah to demolish the expansion of his house near the French Hill in Shuafat to avoid new fines and the high costs of demolition, under the pretext of lack of a permit. The Ja'abees family was also forced to demolish its commercial property in the village of Jabal Mukaber by hand, after all attempts to license the commercial property, established six years ago, were rejected. The final demolition order was issued last October.

Hebron: The seizure of hundreds of dunums of land owned by Palestinians continues in the southern part of Hebron by settlers from the Beit Hagai settlement. IOF also raided the homes of residents in the village of Susiya in Masafer Yatta, seized their vehicles, and halted construction in their structures, such as the Khalat Al-Amira School, which is still under construction in Masafer Yatta. Additionally, IOF invaded the Sada Al-Thaghla compound in Masafer Yatta, arrested the brothers Yahya and Ibrahim Jamal Awad after settlers attacked homes in that area, threatening them with murder and arrest to force them to leave their homes and lands.

Bethlehem: Settlers erected mobile homes "caravans" on lands in the town of Nahalin in the Al-Hanjaleh area to control an area of more than 100 dunums. Others plowed lands in the village of Artas in the Jabal Abu Zeid area south of the village. At the same time, settlers poured "firewater" on the tent of the family of the citizen Muhammad Awad Al-Rushaida, consisting of nine members, after settlers poured it using a drone while the family was inside. The family managed to leave the tent, which was significantly damaged. Settlers also expanded an agricultural road on the lands of Palestinians between the city of Bethlehem and the town of Beit Jala, a length of 500m, to expand the settlement outpost previously established in the area.

Nablus: Settlers cut down around 60 olive trees in the village of Jalud south of Nablus on the land of the citizen Nizar Bassam Odeh in the entire sector between Jalud and Qusra. The settlers also cut water pipes and damaged water tanks used for agriculture. Additionally, settlers from the "Eli" settlement fired live ammunition at the farmer Sabri Qarouti while he was working on the farm west of the village, forcing him to leave his land. In Froush Beit Dajan, IOF demolished eight residential and agricultural structures, three of which date back to before the occupation in 1967. They also demolished three agricultural ponds on the pretext of lacking permits.

Salfit: The Israeli occupation authorities issued a decision to seize and expropriate lands in the town of Deir Istiya, covering an area of 31,886 dunums in the southern part of the town, known as the “Al-Burayj and Khallet Hadeideh" basins, for military purposes, according to the decision. The objection period was set for 24 days, and the area is adjacent to the settlement of Refafo," which is established on the lands of the towns of Deir Istiya and Haris. Settlers from the "Refafo" settlement bulldozed large areas, uprooted mature olive trees, and stole them from the Ma'arid area south of Deir Istiya. Armed settlers attacked the brothers Hasan and Mohammed Yusuf Salman while they were grazing their sheep in the "Al-Iqraa" area north of the town of Deir Istiya. They also attacked 64 –year-old farmer Saeed Al-Qadi while he was grazing his sheep in the same area. It is worth noting that the settlers established a settlement outpost in the Hareiqat Yasin area north of Deir Istiya last June, naming it "Hafat Oben Haiber," and since then, attacks by settlers on farmers in the area have continued.

The Jordan Valley: IOF arrested the brothers Muhammad and Adi Qadri Dragma from the residents of Ain al-Hilweh while they were grazing their family's cows in the natural pastures east of the northern Jordan Valley. Settlers also detained dozens of cows owned by the Dragma family. They also detained the citizen Hussein Yusuf Bisharat while he was grazing his sheep in the same area in the northern Jordan Valley.


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