New Settlements Must Gain Independence Without Harming Their Parent Communities
The article argues that Israel’s recognition of longstanding outposts and their conversion into independent communities is strategically important, but must be handled fairly toward the parent settlements. It says the current government has both legalized veteran outposts and promoted brand new settlements, a move described as important not only for settlement policy but also for territorial control, spatial planning, and strengthening Israel’s hold on the area.
A key focus is on neighborhoods built over recent decades as parts of parent settlements. According to the article, these should now receive official and municipal independence so they can continue to grow, stabilize, and expand. But the transition from neighborhood to independent settlement, it says, should be responsible, balanced, and based on sensible formulas for dividing land, property, infrastructure, income sources, public areas, schools, community institutions, and mutual aid systems.
The piece warns against arrangements that leave the new community permanently dependent or allow the parent settlement to exert excessive control. It criticizes parent communities that insist on keeping these areas under their control for real-estate gains or land leverage, calling that demand petty and disconnected from the needs of the field. After about 20 years of legal battles, construction freezes, planning stagnation, and community struggles, the author says these neighborhoods should finally be allowed to stand as independent settlements with a clear future.
It adds that the residents themselves carried most of the day-to-day burden, including community, security, planning, and public responsibilities, often with little involvement from the parent settlement. The right approach now, the article says, is not an internal fight over assets or municipal prestige, but mature coordination between the two sides. It calls for clear rules on shared assets, future rights, obligations, and continuing cooperation, while leaving open the possibility of revisiting mergers or regional frameworks after a decade or more of stabilization. The article is signed by Kobi Eliraz, who served as an adviser on settlement affairs under Defense Ministers Moshe Ya'alon, Avigdor Liberman, Benjamin Netanyahu, and Naftali Bennett on Area C matters.
