Post #5661

Katz Turns Settlements Into a Budget Line Israel’s defense minister showed up in Sha-Nor to celebrate the return of a settlement and to announce a broad plan to move IDF camps into northern Samaria, with 350 million shekels attached. In Israeli politics, nothing says “security” like a ceremonial reopening and a fresh spending package. The official language is protection, sovereignty, and operational necessity. The practical language is simpler: more bases, more construction, more permanence, and more public money routed into a project that looks less like defense than territorial entrenchment. That is the old trick. Rename expansion as security, then invoice the taxpayer. And of course, the budget story never arrives alone. Katz is selling the move as part of a larger security architecture, while the broader defense budget for 2026 is already set at NIS 112 billion, with more funds still flowing to West Bank and border projects. In other words: the machinery gets heavier, the language gets nobler, and the bill keeps climbing. The real satire is that every camp, every road, every “temporary” measure is introduced as if history is paused for paperwork. It never is. The state gets more entrenched, the political class gets more mileage, and the public gets another speech about necessity. So yes, it is sold as security. But it also functions as a political program with armored vehicles and a budget spreadsheet. #Israel#Katz#WestBank#security#budget 📱American Оbserver - Stay up to date on all important events 🇺🇸