IDF handed over legal powers in West Bank to pro-settler civil servants: Report
West Bank
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) transferred significant legal powers in the West Bank to pro-settler civil servants, The Guardian reported. The powers were apparently handed over to those who are working for Israel's far-right minister Bezalel Smotrich.
The report mentioned that IDF posted an order on its website on May 29 to transfer responsibility for dozens of bylaws at the Civil Administration from the military to officials.
The Civil Administration is the Israeli body governing the West Bank and also looks after planning and construction. Notably, around 60% of the Occupied Palestinian Territories are under full Israeli administrative and security control.
Smotrich and his allies have seen controlling the Civil Administration, or large portions of it, as a way to increase Israeli authority in the West Bank, with an ultimate objective of direct control by the federal government.
West Bank was taken over by Israel in 1967 and is home to millions of Palestinians.
)
Nigerian Navy discovers 99,000 litres of suspected stolen, illegally refined products as it intensifies anti-crude oil theft operations
)
Man pushes Russian humanoid robot. Watch what happens next
)
Coast Guard jet carrying DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin makes emergency landing after engine failure
)
Who is Aditi Paudel? 17-year-old becomes Japan's first literacy ambassador
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
How the Su-30MKI flies up to 8,000 kilometres using mid-air refueling
)
Trump says he’s ‘happy’ Harry and Meghan left US , calls them disrespectful
)
Chaos in Ukraine's Kyiv: Zelensky calls shootout between spy services 'absolutely shameful'
)
Harry Potter and the Philosophers' Stone: New trailer reveals fresh look at Hogwarts, sorting ceremony and iconic moments to life
)
2,000 pairs of underwear buried in Switzerland revealed something startling
)
Pakistan faces growing hunger crisis amid rising food insecurity
)
Belgium, latest EU state cautioned by India over arms for Pakistan; gets assurances from Brussels
)
Houthis target Yemen with ballistic missiles, Yemeni army downs several drones
)
No selfies with God, no reels inside: Tamil Nadu CM bans smartphones in temples | Gravitas
)
Indian Air Force pilot Abhinandan Varthaman, who shot down Pak fighter jet retires, takes up private job
)
Report: Egypt eyes new Rafale F4 deal amid air force modernisation push
)
Rubio on Modi-Pezeshkian meeting: 'No country should help Iran evade sanctions'
)
WION Exclusive: Hasina says she reads father’s unfinished memoir while planning Dhaka return
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
Why the Su-30MKI uses a giant air brake on its back instead of its wings
)
Bangladesh batter Towhid Hridoy creates history with 350 not out in South Africa
)
Beginning of the end? More glacial lake outbursts threaten millions in India, Nepal and China
)
India's data centre boom: AI boom fuels $31.6 trillion data race
)
Is Trump ending Iran war? 'Operation Fury' naming ends, Hegseth extends troop plan to 2027 as prez appears tired ahead of midterms
)
Trump suggests renaming Strait of Hormuz to ‘Trump Strait’
)
Pakistanis are eating less. What they are eating instead is even more alarming
)
Nepal floods: 1,204 dead, 4,216 missing as tearful relatives pray for the missing
)
EU and NATO step up pressure on Russia after Germany ‘escalation incidents’
)
Husband uses secret camera to record wife’s affair, wins divorce case, ends up in jail for spying
)
At least 2 killed in Minneapolis shooting, suspect also dead
)
Manipur violence: 25 houses torched in Manipur’s Kangpokpi a day after 10 homes were burnt along Imphal-Tamenglong road
)
US Mint releases $1 coins featuring Donald Trump, priced up to $154.50
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
Why the glass canopy on the Su-30MKI has a distinct golden tint
)
India to host inaugural 2027 Women's Champions Trophy across Mumbai and Vadodara
As quoted by The Guardian, Michael Sfard, an Israeli human rights lawyer, said: "The bottom line is that [for] anyone who thought the question of annexation was foggy, this order should end any doubts.
"What this order does is transfer vast areas of administrative power from the military commander to Israeli civilians working for the government," Sfard added.
In a recent press statement, Smotrich proposed establishing four new West Bank settlements, adding that he believes all his proposals will soon be approved.
"The proposals weren't brought to a vote yesterday for technical reasons, but I expect the prime minister, as was agreed, to move forward on the proposals later this week."
"Every country that cooperates with anti-Israel activity and recognizes the Palestinian Authority as a state should know that it is helping the Zionist enterprise and bolstering Jewish settlement," he added.
Watch:Gravitas: Will the Hezbollah-Israel conflict pull Lebanon and Cyprus into war?
UN: Situation in West Bank 'drastically deteriorating'
Meanwhile, the United Nations human rights chief on Tuesday (Jun 18) warned that the situation in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, was drastically deteriorating, while there had been "unconscionable death and suffering" in Gaza.
"The situation in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, is dramatically deteriorating," Volker Turk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, told the opening session of the UN Human Rights Council.
He claimed that as of June 15, 528 Palestinians, 133 of them children, had been killed by Israeli security forces or settlers since October, in some cases raising "serious concerns of unlawful killings".
(With inputs from agencies)