Overview
- Defense Minister Israel Katz instructed the IDF to draft a plan to hand civilian enforcement for Israeli communities in the West Bank to the Israel Police, a step announced on Friday by multiple outlets.
- Reporting says the plan will focus on Area C and place COGAT in charge of implementation, but the precise geographic scope and legal mechanics remain unresolved.
- Officials told reporters the Israel Police would need major expansion, with one estimate calling for roughly doubling the Judea and Samaria district from about 1,500 to 3,000 officers to meet enforcement demands.
- Supporters frame the change as freeing the army to focus on Palestinian terrorism and border defense, while critics and analysts say the shift could amount to de facto annexation and will require undoing parts of the Oslo-era arrangements.
- The transfer would change a core feature of the occupation governance system because the military has long held civilian enforcement powers in the West Bank, and the move could trigger new legislation, funding fights, and shifts in how settlers and Palestinians are policed.