Israel appoints settler who backs annexation to head powerful land authority

Israel appoints settler who backs annexation to head powerful land authority Submitted by Nadav Rapaport on Tue, 05/05/2026 - 14:46 Yehuda Eliyahu, an ally of Smotrich, takes charge of key body amid concerns over occupied West Bank settlement expansion and the impact on Palestinian citizens of Israel An Israeli settler at the Karmel outpost records activity in the Palestinian village of Um el-Kheir, south of Yatta in the occupied West Bank, 14 April 2026 (Hazem Bader/AFP) Off Israel has appointed a settler and close ally of far-right minister Bezalel Smotrich as head of the Israel Land Authority, the government body responsible for allocating and managing state land, including occupied West Bank settlements. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved the appointment of Yehuda Eliyahu on Monday. A long-time associate of Smotrich, Eliyahu previously headed the Settlement Administration within the defence ministry, where he oversaw the largest Israeli land grab in the West Bank in recent memory.