Ramallah: The Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission has raised alarms following the Israeli Knesset's recent approval of a law that grants significant tax benefits to residents of numerous Israeli colonies established on occupied Palestinian land. The commission views this as a clear indication of Israel's ongoing efforts to utilize state resources to bolster its colonial settlement initiatives.
According to Palestine news and Information Agency, the newly passed law provides residents of 58 colonies with income tax reductions up to 7%, capped at 10,000 shekels annually per individual. The projected annual cost of these benefits stands at approximately 130 million shekels. Moayad Shaaban, the head of the commission, highlighted that this legislation adds to the array of incentives and privileges previously extended by successive Israeli governments to settlers. These include support for infrastructure, housing, services, education, and transportation, all aimed at encouraging migration to the colonies and bolstering their demographic growth.
Shaaban criticized the security justifications cited by Israeli authorities, arguing that they serve as a political facade for policies promoting settlement expansion. He noted that many colonies benefiting from the new law are already experiencing significant population growth and receive substantial government support. The legislation, Shaaban argued, underscores the growing influence of the settlement movement within Israeli decision-making bodies, where legislative and financial policies are increasingly leveraged to further annexation and colonial expansion objectives.
He emphasized that offering economic benefits to colonies deemed illegal under international law directly fuels settlement expansion and perpetuates a discriminatory system that allocates resources and benefits to settlers at the expense of the Palestinian population living under occupation. The legislation, Shaaban contended, is part of a broader legislative, administrative, and financial strategy aimed at bolstering settlement activities and expediting de facto annexation plans in the occupied West Bank, contravening international law and resolutions affirming the illegality of Israeli colonies in occupied Palestinian territories.
The commission has called on the international community to address these policies within the context of a comprehensive colonial system that extends beyond settlement construction. It includes the allocation of public resources and economic incentives to support an illegal colonial settlement project intended to alter the demographic, geographic, and political landscape of the occupied Palestinian territory.