The Financial Architecture of Occupation
THE ACTORS: Bezalel Smotrich (Finance Minister, leader of the Religious Zionist Party), Benjamin Netanyahu (Prime Minister), Yair Lapid (Opposition leader, criticized Smotrich's plans), settler organizations (e.g., Regavim). THE FUNDING: Smotrich's 2024 budget allocated hundreds of millions of shekels to West Bank settlements. Specifically, he transferred 300 million shekels ($82 million) in
'coalition funds' directly to settler councils in July 2023, circumventing established administrative channels. This funding supports infrastructure, education, and security within settlements, solidifying their presence. The budget also included provisions to penalize the Palestinian Authority by withholding tax revenues. In 2023, Netanyahu's government froze $30 million in Palestinian tax
revenues in response to PA actions perceived as hostile (Reuters, 2023). THE INCENTIVES: For Smotrich and his political base, the incentive is the fulfillment of a religious-nationalist agenda: the expansion of Israeli sovereignty over what they term Judea and Samaria. For Netanyahu, it secures crucial right-wing coalition support. For settlers, it translates to material investment and the
effective normalization of their presence, shifting the administrative apparatus of occupation from military rule to civilian governance, thus cementing control without formal annexation. This echoes the long-term strategy articulated by figures like Ariel Sharon, who advocated for 'creating facts on the ground' to make a future Palestinian state unviable (International Crisis Group, 2005). THE