GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — As Likud leader and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu struggled this week to form a new government, offering and considering controversial deals to bring together an alliance and avoid new elections, one of the less visible issues on the table is of great importance to the Palestinians.
The Likud Party, winner of the April 9 Israeli parliamentary elections, wants to expand the powers of Israeli government ministries in the West Bank at the expense of the civil administration. Some see this as a step toward Netanyahu fulfilling his promise to annex West Bank settlements if he won the election and retained his post.
Expanding the powers of ministries is one demand of a right-wing coalition Netanyahu needs to form the new government, and would be a complete abolition of the civil administration’s role in civil life in West Bank settlements, leaving it to manage the lives of the Palestinians only.
The civil administration is an Israeli governing body in the West Bank affiliated with the Israeli army. It was established in 1981 as an alternative to straight Israeli military rule over the Palestinian territories, and it coordinates civil affairs between the Palestinians and Israel. It also handles transportation, communications and agriculture in the West Bank, while other sectors such as health, education and welfare are carried out directly by Israeli ministries.
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