After years of delays, the government is about a month away from approving a plan to double the staffing of the IDF's Civil Administration in Judea and Samaria, Israel Hayom has learned.
The Civil Administration is responsible for managing many aspects of life for the Israeli and Palestinian populations. Since the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993, which created the Palestinian Authority, the Civil Administration's workforce has been whittled down under the assumption that Israeli control in certain areas would come to an end. But in reality, in the 25 years since the accords were signed, both the Jewish and the Arab populations have grown and the understaffed Civil Administration has found itself unable to meet all its responsibilities.
Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman decided some time ago to build a plan to increase the Civil Administration's workforce, and in recent years his ministry has been working closely on the matter with the Finance Ministry and other relevant ministries.
This has resulted in a plan to add 280 employees, including 150 Palestinians, to the Civil Administration, roughly doubling its current staff number.
However, the Finance Ministry may not approve all the new jobs.
In a meeting of the Knesset Subcommittee on Judea and Samaria on Monday, Civil Administration head Brig. Gen. Ahvat Ben Hur called the plan "major."
"The organization's purpose is to ensure maximal security stability in the region, while promoting quality of life for all the residents who live and work there and shaping the region based on Israeli interests," Ben Hur said.
He said that with the current staff shortage, the organization is unable to meet its goals, and cited specific examples, including a difficulty in curtailing "pirate" quarrying; a lack of oversight and appropriate handling of state-owned land; and massive bottlenecks in planning and construction, including of needed transportation infrastructure such as roads and railway lines.
"Thirty to 40 building plans are stalled in the Civil Administration, for reasons that include a personnel shortage," Ben Hur told the subcommittee.
Kobi Eliraz, settlement policy adviser to Lieberman, said the groundwork for an infusion of Civil Administration workers should be completed within a month.
If Lieberman and Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon reach an understanding on a budget, a formal proposal to expand the Civil Administration will be presented to the cabinet in about a month. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu supports the idea.
Subcommittee chairman MK Moti Yogev (Habayit Hayehudi) called for the plan to be approved and said that if the government does not do so, the current crises facing both the Jewish and Arab populations in Judea and Samaria will worsen.
"If today the Civil Administration can't meet its responsibilities, what do you think will happen five years from now?" Yogev said.
"I'm saying again, it hurts not only Jewish settlement, but also the Palestinians. If there is no working water infrastructure, if there aren't up-to-date electricity grids, if there aren't roads that can accommodate the population, they suffer exactly as we do.
"I expect the defense minister and the head of the Civil Administration to present a plan to address the problems and benefit the population in Judea and Samaria. We don't need to wait for some disaster to happen in 2040."
