Full story
Katz shifts policing powers
Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz ordered his army to transfer law enforcement powers in the occupied West Bank settlements to the Israeli police, a move Palestinian officials said effectively advances annexation as Israeli violations and settler attacks rose in Nablus and Hebron.
“effectively a step toward annexing the West Bank”
The Palestinian Authority condemned Katz’s decision as a “flagrant violation of international law, UN resolutions, signed agreements,” with PA Deputy Chairman Hussein Al-Sheikh saying it was a new attempt to impose Israeli law and sovereignty over the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
Al Jazeera’s “Beyond the News” program discussed the implications of appointing occupation police to enforce the law in the West Bank, framing Katz’s order as a step toward “judaizing the West Bank and consolidating Israeli sovereignty over it.”
Al Jazeera’s episode said Katz justified the transfer by expecting an increase in settler numbers amid “widespread violations by settlers against Palestinians in West Bank cities and towns with the support of occupation forces,” and it featured Dr. Muhannad Mustafa, Dr. Mustafa Barghouti, and former United Nations official Andrew Whiteley.
In parallel, Al Jazeera reported that Katz’s order coincided with a siege in Qusra, where Israeli forces prevented several Israeli and foreign demonstrators from reaching three homes under siege by settlers for about a week, with the homes inhabited by about 15 Palestinians including two children.
Qusra siege and reactions
In Qusra, south of Nablus in the northern occupied West Bank, Palestinian news agency quoted Qusra mayor Abdul-Azeem Wadi saying occupation forces prevented demonstrators from reaching three besieged homes and that settlers continued to besiege the families while blocking aid and basic necessities.
The siege drew international criticism as the blockade left residents of the three houses “effectively cut off from food and other supplies since the siege began on Sunday,” and France’s foreign ministry condemned the siege “in the strongest possible terms” while calling on Israel to arrest those responsible.
Al-Monitor reported that Katz’s office said he instructed the military to “prepare a plan to transfer all enforcement powers regarding civil matters among Israeli communities and population in Judea and Samaria to the Israel Police,” using the biblical term for the West Bank.
Al-Monitor also quoted Katz saying, “The army's 'role is to fight Palestinian terrorism, focus on defending borders and communities against threats... and not chase boys on the hilltops,'” referring to the Hilltop Youth.
The Guardian added that Katz unveiled the plan as the settler siege in Qusra entered its sixth day, and it quoted Israeli human rights lawyer Michael Sfard warning that “The military can delegate enforcement but not responsibility [of the law],” describing the transfer as potentially a major step toward formal annexation.
Annexation stakes and fallout
The Palestinian vice president Hussein al-Sheikh said the plan to transfer occupier policing powers to Israeli police would “entrench the illegal annexation of Palestinian land,” and he called on the international community led by the UN Security Council to “assume its responsibilities” and compel Israel to comply with international law.
“entrench the illegal annexation of Palestinian land”
Anadolu Ajansı reported that Katz instructed the army to prepare a plan to transfer law enforcement powers over occupiers in the West Bank to Israeli police under the National Security Ministry led by far-right minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, with his office saying a special police force would be formed and granted necessary powers and budget.
The Guardian said the transfer could constitute a major step toward formal annexation, and it described Katz’s plan as being unveiled amid domestic and international criticism of the army’s failure to tackle militants besieging three Palestinian families in Qusra.
The Guardian also reported that since October 2023, Israel has forcibly displaced 64 entire Palestinian communities and parts of 15 additional communities, affecting nearly 5,000 people, citing data from Israeli rights group B’tselem.
In the same period, the Jerusalem Post said Katz ordered the IDF to prepare to transfer West Bank civilian enforcement to police after “Kusra chaos,” while Reuters reported that shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz fell further as the US and Iran competed over claims to control the waterway, underscoring how regional security issues continued alongside the West Bank policy shift.
