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Israeli settlements are Israeli civilian communities in the Israeli-occupied territories (lands that were captured from Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria by Israel during the 1967 Six-Day War). Such settlements currently exist in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights. The latter two areas are governed under Israeli civil law but all three territories are considered to be under military occupation by the international community.

Eighteen settlements formerly existed in the Sinai Peninsula and twenty-one in the Gaza Strip. All of these areas were withdrawn from in 1982 and 2005, respectively.

As of July 2009, approximately 304,569 Israelis live in the 121 officially-recognised settlements in the West Bank, a further 192,000 Israelis live in settlements in East Jerusalem and over 20,000 live in settlements in the Golan Heights. Settlements range in their character from farming communities to suburbs to frontier villages, and, in the case of East Jerusalem, city neighborhoods. The three largest settlements, Modi'in Illit, Maale Adumim and Betar Illit, are cities with over 30,000 residents each.

International intergovernmental organizations such as the Conference of the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention, every major organ of the United Nations, the European Union, and Canada, have declared that the settlements are a violation of international law. have declared that the settlements are a violation of international law. A review of Israel's country report conducted by the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination stated "The status of the settlements was clearly inconsistent with Article 3 of the Convention, which, as noted in the Committee's General Recommendation XIX, prohibited all forms of racial segregation in all countries. There is a consensus among publicists that the prohibition of racial discrimination, irrespective of territories, is an imperative norm of international law." Non-governmental organizations including Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch have also characterized the settlements as a violation of international law. In 1978, the Legal Adviser of the Department of State to the United States Congress concluded that "the establishment of the civilian settlements in those territories is inconsistent with international law." Israel, the Anti-Defamation League and some prominent legal scholars disagree. Under Israeli law, West Bank settlements must meet specific criteria to be legal; Approximately 100 unauthorized small communities that do not meet these criteria exist and are called illegal outposts.

Israeli policies toward these settlements have ranged from active promotion to removal by force, and their continued existence and expansion since the 1970s is a key issue in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The ongoing settlement construction by Israel is frequently criticized as an obstacle to the peace process by third parties including the United Kingdom, the European Union, the United Nations and the United States.

Historical timeline

The cease-fire agreement following the 1967 Six-Day War left Israel in control of a number of areas captured during hostilities.

• From Jordan, Israel gained control of the entire western bank of the Jordan River, including parts of Jerusalem previously controlled by Jordan - East Jerusalem, and the West Bank.
• From Egypt, Israel gained control of the entire Sinai Peninsula up to the Suez Canal, and the Gaza strip.
• From Syria, Israel gained control of most of the Golan Heights, since 1981, administered under the Golan Heights Law.
• In 1967, the municipal borders of Jerusalem were extended to include all of the Old City as well as other areas. Residents within the new municipal borders were offered the choice between citizenship (subject to a few restrictions) and permanent residency (if they wished to retain their Jordanian passports). This annexation has not been recognized by any other country.
• The Sinai, Gaza Strip, and West Bank were put under Israeli military occupation. Residents were not offered citizenship or residency, though they typically had de facto work permits within Israel and freedom of travel there.
• In 1978, Israel forcibly evacuated its citizens from the Sinai and demolished their homes when the area was returned to Egypt pursuant to the Camp David Accords. The last Israeli community in the area, Yamit, was evacuated in early 1982.
• In 1980, the Knesset asserted Jerusalem's status as the nation's "eternal and indivisible capital" by passing the Jerusalem Law.
• In 1980 the UN declared the Jerusalem Law "null and void", and the Security Council in resolution 465 ordered Israel to dismantle the settlements.
• In 1981, Israel extended its law to the Golan Heights, passing the Golan Heights Law, which granted permanent residency, ID cards, and Israeli citizenship to the residents, but did not formally annex the territory.
• In 2003 Israel and the Palestinians agreed on the Road map for peace plan, where Israel undertook to freeze settlement building to accompany unconditional cessation of Palestinian violence.
• In August 2005, all settlements in the Gaza Strip and four in the northern West Bank (or northern Samaria) were forcibly evacuated as part of Israel's unilateral disengagement plan.
• In 2007 Israel decided to build 300 more Israeli homes in the Har Homa neighborhood of East Jerusalem, near Bethlehem. The move was condemned by the United States and the European Union.
• In early 2008, the Jerusalem municipality said it planned to build 600 new housing units. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice stated in response that settlement expansion should stop and was inconsistent with 'road map' obligations.
• In 2009, US President Barack Obama demanded a complete freeze on settlement construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The Israeli government agreed to a freeze in the West Bank. Peace Now argued that Israel was attempting to fool the United States. On 25 August 2009 Netanyahu said that he would attempt to gain an agreement with the U.S. to continue building settlements before attempting to talk with the Palestinians. On 28 August 2009 US officials said they would not impose conditions on the parties, but that it would be up to the parties themselves to determine if the threshold for talks had been met. Education Minister Gideon Sa'ar defended the freeze as an attempt to "protect the vital interests - Jerusalem and the relationship with the United States - and to avoid national isolation, because we won't be able to do the things close to our hearts while under international isolation."
• On 6 September 2009, Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal called Israel's proposal to temporarily halt settlement construction in exchange for improved relations with Arab countries "Dangerous", as he viewed it as an attempt to avoid US demands. The Hamas leader's opposition to the Israeli proposal was supported by Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa.
• On 18 November 2009, the United States government voiced their dismay at the approval by the Israel's interior ministry of 900 additional housing units at a Jewish settlement in East Jerusalem. A White House spokesman said the move makes it "more difficult" to revive Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. Settlements on occupied territory are considered illegal under international law, though Israel disputes this and consider Gilo, the planned settlement area "an integral part of Jerusalem".
• In December 2009, the Israeli government ordered a 10-month lull in permits for new settlement homes in the West Bank. The restrictions, which Israeli politicians and media have referred to as a "freeze", do not apply to East Jerusalem (whose de facto annexation by Israel is not recognised internationally), municipal buildings, schools, synagogues and other community infrastructure in the settlements. About 3,000 homes already under construction will be allowed to proceed. The Israeli government said the move was aimed at restarting peace talks, but Palestinian officials said it was insufficient. Palestinian officials have refused to rejoin peace talks until a total building halt is imposed, including in East Jerusalem. The announcement followed calls by the US government for a total freeze in settlement building. The US government, the European Union, Russia and the UN have criticized Israel's plans to continue building in East Jerusalem but both the US and the EU have stated that there should be no preconditions for resuming the suspended peace talks.
• In March 2010, the Middle-East Quartet condemned Israeli plans to expand settlements in East Jerusalem and called for a complete freeze of all settlement activities.

Settlement types and locations

The Jewish population in the areas held since 1967 live in a wide variety of centers:

Municipal entities

• Self-contained cities with a stable population in the tens of thousands, infrastructure, and all other features of permanence, e.g. Beitar Illit (a city of close to 45,000 residents), Ma'ale Adummim, Modi'in Illit, Ariel (almost 20,000 residents).
• Towns with a municipal status of local council range between 2000 residents up to city status (between 20,000 and 30,000), e.g. Alfei Menashe, Eli, Elkana, Efrat, Kiryat Arba, etc...
• Villages that are run by a local elected committee but are grouped, sometimes over a vast area under an umbrella regional council that is responsible for municipal services, e.g. Kfar Adumim, Neve Daniel, Kfar Tapuach, Ateret, etc...
• Kibbutzim and moshavim, which are technically village-sized but are collective entities, e.g., Argaman, Gilgal, Niran, Yitav, etc...
• Jewish neighborhoods adjacent to Arab neighborhoods in the same city, e.g., Hebron
• Neighborhoods, where both Jews and Arabs live together, mainly in Jerusalem, e.g. Muslim Quarter, Silwan, Abu Tor, Sheikh Jarrah/Shimon HaTzadik, etc...

Types of localities

• Suburbs to other population centers such as Har Gilo.
• Settlement blocs, informal term to describe close groupings of localities, but not a legal entity e.g. Gush Etzion, the vicinity of Ariel, the Shechem/Nablus area.
• Frontier villages, such as those parallel to the Jordan River.
• Isolated outposts and/or unauthorized residential outposts, might be "wildcat" outposts consisting of campers, trailers, and even tents and sometimes have progressed to have some permanent public and/or private structures. Most of these settlements are the results of settlement and construction since 2000 and no new villages have been authorized. Though most settlements started out as such, the term is usually used to describe newly constructed developments since 1996 or March 2001 are largely on hilltops, at some distance from Arab communities, which are typically found in valleys. Many of the unauthorized outposts were and are in fact established , subsidized, and maintained by various ministries of the Israeli government. Ariel Sharon's administration commissioned the Sasson report, which found several government ministries cooperated to "systematically establish illegal settlement points", paying millions of dollars to create the infrastructure for scores of settlements.

Settlements on sites of former Jewish communities

A few of the settlements were established on sites that had been inhabited by Jews during the British Mandate of Palestine.

partial listing only

• Jerusalem – Jewish presence since biblical times, various surrounding communities and neighborhoods, including Kfar Shiloah, also known as Silwan - settled by Yemenite Jews in 1884, Jewish residents evacuated in 1938, settled again in 2004
• Gush Etzion - four communities, established between 1927 and 1947, destroyed 1948, reestablished beginning 1967
• Hebron - Jewish presence since biblical times, forced out in 1929 (because of the Hebron massacre), some families returned to the ruins in 1931 but the British evacuated them again to "prevent another massacre"; resettled in 1967
• Kfar Darom - established in 1946, evacuated in 1948, resettled in 1970, evacuated in 2005 as part of the withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.
• Kalia and Beit HaArava - the former was built in 1934 as a kibbutz for potash mining. The latter was built in 1943 as an agricultural community. Both were abandoned in 1948, and subsequently destroyed by Jordanian forces. Resettled after the Six Day War.
• Gaza City had a Jewish community for many centuries that was evacuated following riots in 1929. After the Six Day War, Jewish communities were built elsewhere in the Gaza Strip, but not in Gaza City proper.

Population

As of July 2009, approximately 304,569 Israelis live in the 121 officially-recognised settlements in the West Bank, a further 192,000 Israelis live in settlements in East Jerusalem and there are a further 102 unauthorized outposts in the West Bank not officially recognized by Israel.

Except for areas that were effectively annexed to Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, Israeli citizens and others can only move to areas captured in 1967 with the permission of the Israeli government. According to various statistics, the demographics can be estimated as follows:

including Sinai

In addition to internal migration, in large though declining numbers, the settlements absorb annually about 1000 new immigrants from outside Israel. In the '90s, the annual settler population growth was more than three times the annual population growth in Israel. In the '00s, the large settler population growth continues. The population of settlements in the West Bank has been growing at a rate of 5-6% since 2001.

According to the NGOs B'Tselem and Peace Now, the Israeli government has implemented a consistent and systematic policy intended to encourage Jewish citizens to migrate to the West Bank. One of the tools used to this end is to grant financial benefits and incentives to citizens.

As of 2009, the total number of Israeli settlers was 516,569. This figure includes settlers in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights.

Administration

The Golan Heights is administered under Israeli civil law as the Golan sub-district, a part of the Northern District. As the residents of pre-1967 communities in the Golan Heights (mainly Druze) are Israeli citizens, Israel makes no legal or administrative distinction between these communities and the post-1967 settlements.

East Jerusalem is defined in the Jerusalem Law as part of Israel's capital, Jerusalem. As such it is administered as part of the city and its district, the Jerusalem District. Pre-1967 residents of East Jerusalem and their descendants have residency status in the city but are mostly not citizens of Israel. Thus, the Israeli government maintains an administrative distinction between Israeli citizens and non-citizens in East Jerusalem, but the Jerusalem municipality does not.

Settlements in the West Bank are encompassed in the Judea and Samaria District. Authority for planning and construction in the district is held by the Israel Defense Forces Civil Administration. Since Israeli civil law does not apply to the West Bank, settlers in the area are theoretically subject to martial law. In practice, however, settlers are generally judged in civil courts within Israel proper. The district consists of four cities, thirteen local councils and six regional councils.

• Cities: Ariel, Betar Illit, Maale Adumim, Modi'in Illit;
• Local councils: Alfei Menashe, Beit Aryeh-Ofarim, Beit El, Efrat, Elkana, Giv'at Ze'ev, Har Adar, Immanuel, Karnei Shomron, Kedumim, Kiryat Arba, Ma'ale Efraim, Oranit;
• Regional councils: Gush Etzion (Ezion Bloc), Har Hebron (Mount Hebron), Matte Binyamin (Staff of Benjamin, named after the ancient Israelite tribe that dwelled in the area), Megilot (Scrolls, named after the Dead Sea scrolls, which were discovered in the area), Shomron (Samaria), Biq'at HaYarden (Jordan valley).

The Yesha Council is an umbrella organization of municipal councils in the Judea and Samaria district. (Yesha is a Hebrew acronym for Judea, Samaria and Gaza, which was coined when there were Israeli settlements in the Gaza strip.)

Education

Higher education

The major Israeli institution of higher education in the West Bank is the Ariel University Center of Samaria (formerly The College of Judea and Samaria), Israel's largest public college. The college was accredited in 1994 and awards bachelor degrees in arts, sciences, technology, architecture and physical therapy.

Teacher training colleges in West Bank settlements include Herzog College in Alon Shevut and Orot Israel College in Elkana. The Golan Heights boasts Ohalo College, located in Katzrin.

Curricula at Israeli academic institutions in the West Bank are overseen by the Council for Higher Education in Judea and Samaria (CHE-JS).

Economy

The UK Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has suggested that products produced by the settlements for sale in UK markets be labeled as such.

Debate on the settlements

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Palestinians argue that the policy of settlements constitutes an effort to pre-empt or even sabotage a peace treaty that includes Palestinian sovereignty, and claim that the settlements are built on land that belongs to Palestinians.

The Israel Foreign Ministry asserts that some settlements are legitimate, as they took shape when there was no operative diplomatic arrangement, and thus they did not violate any agreement. Based on this, they assert the following specific reasons for accepting settlements as legitimate:

• Prior to the signing of the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty, the eruption of the First Intifada in the late eighties, down to the signing of the Israeli-Jordanian peace treaty in 1994, Israeli governments on the left and right argued that the settlements were of strategic and tactical importance. The location of the settlements was primarily chosen based on the threat of an attack by the bordering hostile countries of Jordan, Syria, and Egypt and possible routes of advance into Israeli population areas .These settlements were originally thought of as contributing to the peace and security of the state of Israel at a time when peace treaties had not been signed. Some supporters of the settlements still cite these reasons.
• Many religious Jews assert the biblical Jewish connection to the areas in dispute, arguing that their claim to build is equal to the biblical Jewish connection to the other areas in Israel.

Legal status

The consensus view of the international community is that the building of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, is illegal under international law, although Israel disputes this.

Article 3 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination says "States Parties particularly condemn racial segregation and apartheid and undertake to prevent, prohibit and eradicate all practices of this nature in territories under their jurisdiction." A review of Israel's country report by the experts of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination took issue with the establishment of Jewish-only settlements and stated "The status of the settlements was clearly inconsistent with Article 3 of the Convention which, as noted in the Committee's General Recommendation XIX, prohibited all forms of racial segregation in all countries. There was a consensus among publicists that the prohibition of racial discrimination, irrespective of territories, was an imperative norm of international law. The primary judicial organ of the UN, the International Court of Justice, found the settlements to be illegal under international law. The Court's finding was based on the provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention and UN Security council resolutions, which condemned establishment of settlements and attempts by Israel to alter the demographics of the territories under its control, including resolutions 446, 452, 465, 471, and 476, which find the settlements to be illegal.

Settlements, Palestinians, and human rights

Human rights organisation Amnesty International argues that Israel's settlement policy is not only illegal, but is discriminatory and a violation of Palestinian human rights. The Israeli human rights centre B'Tselem has highlighted the impact on Palestinian freedom of movement due to Israeli travel restrictions. In Hebron especially, "grave violations" have of Palestinian human rights have occurred due to "the presence of the settlers within the city." They claim that more than fifty percent of West Bank land has been expropriated from Palestinian owners "mainly to establish settlements and create reserves of land for the future expansion of the settlements". While the seized lands mainly benefit the settlements, the Palestinian public is prohibited from using them in any way. They also regard some of the roads established by Israel throughout the West Bank that are closed to vehicles with Palestinian license-plates as 'discriminatory'.

Human Rights Watch reports on "settler violence," which refers to the phenomenon of violence, such as stoning and shooting, committed by Israeli settlers against Israeli security forces and Palestinians who live in the Palestinian territories. In recent years Israeli withdrawals from Gaza and Hebron have triggered settler rioting in protest. There is also continual conflict between settlers and Palestinians over land, resources and perceived grievances.

According to B'Tselem, more than fifty percent of the land of the West Bank has been expropriated from Palestinian owners "mainly to establish settlements and create reserves of land for the future expansion of the settlements". While the seized lands mainly benefit the settlements, the Palestinian public is prohibited from using them in any way. According to Meron Benvenisti,

'the entire "settlement enterprise" has become a commercial real estate project, which conscripts Zionist rhetoric for profit'.

The recent construction of the Israeli West Bank barrier routed inside the green line to encompass a variety of settlements has also been cited as an infirengement on Palestinian human and land rights. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimates that 10% of the West Bank will fall on the Israeli side of the barrier.

Relations with Palestinians

Palestinian opinion of settlements

According to Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, 63% of Palestinians oppose efforts made by the Palestinian National Authority to criminalize Palestinians from working in the settlements. However, 72% of Palestinians support a boycott of the sale of the communities products.

Human rights

Human rights organisation Amnesty International argues that Israel's settlement policy is not only illegal, but is discriminatory and a violation of Palestinian human rights. The Israeli human rights centre B'Tselem has highlighted the impact on Palestinian freedom of movement due to Israeli travel restrictions. Travel restrictions imposed on Palestinians have been compared to South Africa's apartheid regime. In Hebron especially, "grave violations" of Palestinian human rights have occurred due to "the presence of the settlers within the city."

Economic

Palestinians have been highly involved in the construction business since the settlements first started appearing in the West Bank. The Palestinian Authority estimates over 12,000 Palestinians are employed by Jewish and Arab contractors in building and expanding settlements. It is reported that even supporters of Hamas and Islamic Jihad work in the settlement business. A lack of jobs and relatively high salary has been cited as a motivation for Palestinian involvement. Arab workers are said to be paid approximately 3 times as much by Israeli contractors than Palestinian employers. Jewish employers pay an average of NIS 400 ($100 US$) while Palestinian contractors pay NIS 100 to NIS 150 per day.

According to a 2008 annual report by Kav LaOved, many Palestinians who work in Israeli settlements are not given the same basic protections that apply to Israeli workers under Israeli labor law such as a minimum wage, payment for working overtime, work safety and other social rights. Instead, many Israeli employers in the West Bank treat Palestinian workers according to Jordanian labor law, which is much more "lax" than Israeli law. Jordanian law does not require minimum wage, payment for working overtime and other social rights. This system was legally challenged in 2007 by Kav LaOved and reached the Israeli Supreme Court, which ruled that Israeli labor law does apply to Palestinians working in West Bank settlements. The court ruled that applying different rules in the same work place based on differing nationalities constituted as discrimination and was unacceptable. In spite of the ruling, Kav LaOved believes the law will not be enforced as only a few workers have gained rights that they are legally entitled to. The ruling has however allowed Palestinian workers to file lawsuits in Israeli courts, which has led to an average settlement of "100,000 shekels." Israeli human rights group B'Tselem has expressed similar concern for the conditions of Palestinian workers in the West Bank.

Violence

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Background

Israel has justified its civilian settlements by stating that a temporary use of land and buildings for various purposes appears permissible under a plea of military necessity and that the settlements fulfilled security needs. The United Nations affirmed the principle of international law that the continuation of colonialism in all its forms and manifestations is a crime and that colonial peoples have the inherent right to struggle by all necessary means at their disposal against colonial Powers and alien domination in exercise of their right of self-determination. National liberation struggles are categorized as international armed conflicts by Article 1(4) of the Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 to which the majority of states (including the Western states) are parties. The International Court of Justice concluded that Israel had breached its obligations under international law by establishing settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and that Israel cannot rely on a right of self-defence or on a state of necessity to preclude the wrongfulness of imposing a régime that is contrary to international law. The Court also concluded that the Israeli régime violates the basic human rights of the Palestinians by impeding the liberty of movement of the inhabitants of the Occupied Palestinian Territory (with the exception of lsraeli citizens) and their exercise of the right to work, to health, to education and to an adequate standard of living.

This said, the number of settlers killed by Palestinians far exceeds the number of Palestinians killed by settlers. Between the beginning of the Second Intifada and the end of 2008, 237 Israeli settlers were killed by Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, while 45 Palestinians were killed by Israeli settlers in those areas.

Palestinian violence against settlers

Types of fatal attacks by Palestinians against settlers have included suicide bombings of buses and hitchhiking posts, firing of rockets and mortars, shootings, stabbings, bludgeonings, stonings and axe attacks. Children, including infants, have often been targeted in these attacks. Incidents that received relative notoreity include:

• 26 March 2001: A ten-month-old Israeli infant was shot in the head and killed by a Palestinian sniper while seated in her stroller on the streets of Hebron.
• 8 May 2001:Two 14-year-old boys from the settlement of Tekoa were found dead in a nearby cave after their heads were smashed in by rocks. A group called Hizbullah-Palestine claimed responsibility
• 12 June 2001: A five-month-old infant, the son of settlers, was hit in a Palestinian stoning attack on the car in which he was travelling. The baby died from his injuries after six days.
• 19 June 2002: an Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades suicide bombing at a crowded bus stop and hitchhiking post frequented by settlers in the French Hill neighborhood of East Jerusalem killed 10 civilians.
• 20 June 2002: a Palestinian gunman entered a home in the settlement of Itamar and killed a mother and three of her children. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine claimed responsibility for the attack.
• April 2009: An ax-wielding Palestinian killed a 13-year-old boy and wounded a 7-year-old boy in the settlement of Bat Ayin.

Settler violence against Palestinians

Israeli settlers committed violence against Palestinians over 500 times during 2007 and the first half of 2008. There is continual conflict between settlers and Palestinians over land, resources and perceived grievances. The Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and settler evictions in other areas have triggered settler rioting and attacks against Palestinians in protest. Extremist settlers using a tactic called Price Tagging, if the Government sends police or soldiers to dismantle an outpost that is being built, the settlers make the Palestinian population pay the price.

Israeli human rights group B'Tselem says that the violence is "a means to harass and intimidate Palestinians" and that the evacuations are a necessary part of the peace process. According to B'Tselem that when a building is evacuated by the Israeli government, settlers lash out at Palestinians because they're "easy victims" and as a means to widen the area under settler control. B'Tselem says Israeli authorities "employ an undeclared policy of leniency and compromise" toward settlers who commit violent crime against Palestinians. The United Nations says that Israeli security forces fail to intervene in settler attacks and arrest settlers suspected of violence.

Unlike Palestinians, Israeli civilians living in the Palestinian Territories are not subject to military or local law, but are prosecuted according to Israeli penal law. Haaretz has stated "Israeli society has become accustomed to giving lawbreaking settlers special treatment", noting that no other group could similarly attack Israeli law enforcement agencies without being severely punished.

Olive farming is a major industry and employer in the Palestinian West Bank and olive trees are a common target of settler violence, with over 10.000 olive trees destroyed by settlers in 2007-2010.

There are a number of extremist groups associated with the settler movement. Gush Emunim Underground was a terrorist organization linked to the settler activist group Gush Emunim. They carried out attacks against Jewish students and Palestinian officials, attempted to bomb a bus and planned an attack on the Dome on the Rock.

According to B'Tselem 45 Palestinians were killed by Israeli civilians between 2000 and 2008, of which the vast majority would be settler-related.

Palestinians have accused Israel of "encouraging and enabling" settler violence in a bid to provoke Palestinian riots and violence in retaliation.

Violence of activists against the settlers

International left-wing, anarchists and pro-Palestinian activists frequently demonstrate near settlements. There have been recorded cases of them stone-throwing and physical attacks as well as provocations within the settlements.

It has been claimed that they sometimes record only the settler response on film in order to publicize it in the media as evidence of settler violence. In 2008, Commander Avshalom Peled, head of the Israel Police's Hebron district, described "left-wing" activity in the city as dangerous and provocative. He claimed that the "leftists" liked to antagonize the settlers in hope of getting a reaction. He called organizations like Bnei Avraham and Breaking the Silence as wolves in sheep's clothing.

In April 2010, a group of left-wing activists broke into Otniel on the Jewish holy day of Shabbat and made a provocation when one of their women stripped to the waist and began to play a flute while topless. The activists resisted the requests of the local action squad and Israeli soldiers who needed to wait for police to arrive to arrest the group.

Environmental issues

The Municipal Environmental Associations of Judea and Samaria was set up by settler councils to promote environmental awareness in the West Bank. Their stated goals include a commitment to find solutions to sewage treatment problems and to work with the Palestinian Authority on environmental issues.

Sewage and water

While Israeli settlers account for only 10% of the population in the West Bank, they are responsible for approximately 25% of all sewage according to a study by Haaretz. Residents of Beit Duqqu and Qalqilyah have accused settlers of polluting their farmland for the past 15 years. Villagers claim children have become ill after swimming in a local stream polluted with sewage by settlement Givat Zeev. Legal action has been taken against 14 colonies by the Israeli Ministry of the Environment but enforcement is problematic due to difficulties by the Israeli administration in the West Bank. Some Israeli settlers have criticized Palestinians on "their own environmental record". The Palestinian Authority has reportedly been targeted by environmentalists for not doing more to prevent water pollution.

Settlers and Palestinians share the mountain aquifer as a water source, and both generate sewage and industrial effluents that endanger the aquifer. A 2004 report by Friends of the Earth Middle East said that inadequate sewage treatment existed among Palestinians and settlers. Sewage from Palestinian sources was estimated at 46 million cubic meters a year, and sources from settler sources are 15 million cubic meters a year. The report concluded that sewage from many settlements received unsatisfactory treatment, while sewage from Palestinian villages was disposed in unlined cesspits with no treatment at all, and sewage from Palestinian cities was generally discharged without treatment into streams or the open environment.

According to a 2007 study conducted by the Israel Nature and Parks Authority and the Israeli Ministry of Environmental Protection, Palestinian towns and cities produce an estimated 56 million cubic meters of sewage per year, 94 percent of which is discharged without adequate treatment, while Israeli sources produce an estimated 17.5 million cubic meters per year, 31.5 percent of which is discharged without adequate treatment.

Industrial waste

Settlers also operate industrial and manufacturing businesses that can create pollution as many do not conform to Israeli standards according to Palestinian environmentalists. Abu Shusha, a former Palestinian quarry located between Kedumim and Nablus in the West Bank is to be converted to an industrial waste dump that will receive 10,000 metric tons each month from Israel. Pollution experts warn that the dump will threaten Palestinian water sources.

Settlements and the peace process

The settlements have on several occasions been a source of tension between Israel and the U.S. President Jimmy Carter insisted that the settlements were illegal and unwise tactically, and decades after leaving office he wrote Palestine Peace Not Apartheid. President Ronald Reagan stated that they were legal, though he considered them an obstacle to negotiations. In 1991 there was a clash between the Bush administration and Israel, where the U.S. delayed a subsidized loan to pressure Israel not to proceed with the establishment of settlements for instance in the Jerusalem-Bethlehem corridor. In 2005 the United States ambassador to Israel, Dan Kurtzer, expressed U.S. support "for the retention by Israel of major Israeli population centres as an outcome of negotiations", reflecting President Bush's statement a year earlier that a permanent peace treaty would have to reflect "demographic realities" in the West Bank. In June 2009, President Barack Obama said "The United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements."

Although the Oslo accords did not include any obligation on Israel's part to stop building in the "settlements", Palestinians argue that Israel has undermined the Oslo accords, and the peace process more generally, by continuing to expand the settlements after the signing of the Accords. Israel previously also had settlements in the Sinai Peninsula, but these were forcibly evacuated and destroyed as a result of the peace agreement with Egypt.

Most Israeli and U.S. proposals for final agreement have also involved Israel being allowed to retain long established communities in the territories near Israel and in East Jerusalem (the majority of the settler population is near the "Green Line"), with Israel annexing the land where the communities are located. This would result in a transfer of roughly 5% of the West Bank to Israel, with the Palestinians being compensated by the transfer of a similar share of Israeli territory (i.e. territory behind the "Green Line") to the Palestinian state. Palestinians complain that this would legitimize what they see as an illegitimate land grab, and that the land offered in exchange is situated in the southern desert, whereas the areas that Israel seeks to retain are among the West Bank's most fertile areas, including major aquifers. Israel, however, sees the current "Green Line" as unacceptable from a security standpoint - Israel would have at some points no more than 17 kilometers from the border to the sea. For more details, see Proposals for a Palestinian state.

Former President George Bush has stated that he does not expect Israel to return entirely to pre-1967 borders, due to "new realities on the ground." One of the main compromise plans put forth by the Clinton Administration would have allowed Israel to keep some settlements in the West Bank, especially those in large blocs near the pre-1967 borders of Israel. in return, Palestinians would have received some concessions of land in other parts of the country.

Both U.S. President Bill Clinton and U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair, who played notable roles in attempts at mediation, noted the need for some territorial and diplomatic compromise on this issue, based on the validity of some of the claims of both sides.

Proposal of Palestinian citizenship for remaining settlers

A number of proposals for the granting of Palestinian citizenship or residential permits to Jewish settlers in return for the removal of Israeli military installations from the West Bank have been fielded by such individuals as Arafat, Ibrahim Sarsur and Ahmed Qureia. According to Rabbi Yehoshua Magnes, the possibility that any such exchange of sovereignty over the Jewish settler population can occur without subsequent Arab reprisal violence is low.

Israeli Minister Moshe Ya'alon said in April 2010 that "just as Arabs live in Israel, so, too, should Jews be able to live in Palestine." ... "If we are talking about coexistence and peace, why the insistence that the territory they receive be ethnically cleansed of Jews?".

Dismantlement of settlements

Background

Given the dispute over the territories where the settlements were built, the issue of dismantling them has been considered. Arab parties to the conflict have demanded the dismantlement of the settlements as a condition for peace with Israel. As part of the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty, Israel was required to evacuate its settlers from the 18 Sinai settlements. The evacuation, which took place in 1982, was done forcefully in some instances, such as the evacuation of Yamit. The settlements were demolished, as it was feared that settlers might try to return to their homes after the evacuation.

During the peace process with the Palestinians, the issue of dismantling the West Bank and Gaza Strip settlements has been raised.

As part of the Disengagement Plan, Israel has evacuated the Gaza Strip and part of the West Bank, including all 21 settlements in Gaza and four in the West Bank, while retaining control over Gaza's borders, coastline, and airspace. Most of these settlements have existed since the early 80's, some are over 30 years old, and with a total population of more than 10,000, many of whom have yet to find permanent housing. There was significant opposition to the plan among parts of the Israeli public, and especially those living in the territories. American President George W. Bush has said that a permanent peace deal would have to reflect "demographic realities" in the West Bank regarding Israel's settlements.

Within the former settlements, almost all buildings were demolished by Israel, with the exception of certain government and religious structures, which were completely emptied. Under an international arrangement, productive greenhouses were left to assist the Palestinian economy but these were destroyed within hours by Palestinian looters. Following the withdrawal, many of the former synagogues were vandalized by Palestinians, in a clear instance of religiously motivated aggression.

Some Israelis believe the settlements need not necessarily be dismantled and evacuated, even if Israel withdraws from the territory where they stand, as they can remain under Palestinian rule. These ideas have been expressed both by people from the left, who see this as a possible situation in a two-state solution, and by extreme right-wingers and settlers that, while objecting to any withdrawal, claim stronger links to the land than to the state of Israel.

A July 2009 survey of Israeli public opinion found that people are about evenly divided on the issue, with 46 percent of those polled in support of further construction and 44 percent opposed.

Recent events

In January 2009, Israeli political activist group Peace Now stated that settlement construction rose by 60 percent from 2007 to 2008. A classified Israel Defense Forces study allegedly leaked to the Israeli media that month reported that 3 out of every 4 settlement building projects did not have proper permits. Israel-based Palestinian solidarity group Yesh Din argued that the report described Israelis "systematically violating international law and the property rights of Palestinian residents". The Israeli government has not commented on the authenticity of the report. The New York Times has published a Google Maps-based adaptation of the data.

President Barack Obama and his special envoy to the Middle East, George Mitchell, both support taking down the settlements. In January 2009, Kadima Chairwoman Tzipi Livni vowed to dismantle them should her party win in the that month's election. Likud Chairman Benjamin Netanyahu planned to expand them, saying specifically that "I have no intention of building new settlements in the West Bank... But like all the governments there have been until now, I will have to meet the needs of natural growth in the population. I will not be able to choke the settlements."

On 15 October 2009, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he had ended talks with the Americans over the settlements.

Operation Price Tag

Operation Price Tag is a coordinated tactic adapted by the Israeli settlers movement of attacking Palestinian property in retaliation for attempts by the Israeli government efforts to remove illegal West Bank outposts. Several hundred, mostly young Israeli settlers, are involved. Israeli security forces, the Israeli Defense Force, IDF, are poorly equipped to deal with the outbreak. The Israeli government has responded with a plan to increase law enforcement and cut off aid to illegal outposts.

Terminology

• In Hebrew, the common term for the Israeli settlements outside the Green Line is hitnakhluyot(Hebrew: התנחלויות; singular התנחלות/hitnakhlut, hitnakhalut). This term was introduced when the Likud party came to power in 1977, 'evoking Biblical injunctions and promises to "inherit" the land through settlement'; it officially replaced the earlier and emotionally neutral wordhityashvut. Associated with this change, the Likud also prohibited use in news reports of the terms Occupied Territory and West Bank, to describe where the settlements were built. The terms Land of Israel,Judea and Samaria were to be used officially instead. The term hitnakhluyot is still widely used in the media and in public, although some think it has acquired a derogatory connotation in recent years. The settlers themselves are calledmitnakhalim (Hebrew: מתנחלים; singular - מתנחל/mitnakhel). Most settlers, their supporters, and most official Israeli government references use the term yishuvim (יישובים; singular - יישוב/yishuv) for settlements and mityashvim(מתיישבים; singular - מתיישב/mityashev) for settlers. These terms evoke a continuation of earlier Zionist settlement history, and refer to pre-state settlements inside Israel as well. The English term "settler" is also often associated primarily with the Religious Zionist movement, while other religious settler populations (such as the Haredi residents of Betar Illit and Modi'in Illit) do not associate themselves with this Zionist term.
• In Arabic, settlements are called mustawtanaat (Arabic: المستوطنات), and settlers are mustawtineen (مستوطنين).Mustamaraat (مستعمرات) is another term used among Palestinians, which translates literally as colonies; from the Palestinian point of view, most settlers are considered foreigners to Palestine.
• The official Israeli government term for the district encompassing West Bank settlements is Judea and Samaria. These names for two sub-regions, first documented in Assyrian inscriptions from the 8th Century BC, derive from the biblical Israelite kingdoms of the same name in the area and were resurrected for use by the Israeli government after its occupation of the area in 1967. This change in terminology reflected a historic attachment to these areas and rejection of the 'West Bank' name that was seen as implying Jordanian sovereignty over them.

See also

• State of Judea
• List of Jewish Settlements in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast
• Palestinian Land Law
• Sasson Report

References

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   • John Ashley Soames Grenville (2005). A History of the World from the 20th to the 21st Century. Routledge. p. 937. Ariel Sharon with the backing of President Bush embarked on unilateral solutions in 2004. He wishes to persuade Israelis to withdraw from Gaza and to accept the removal of some 7000 settlers.
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   • Yael Yishai (1987). Land Or Peace. Hoover Press. p. 58. During 1982 Israel's government stuck to its territorial policy in word and deed. All the settlements in Sinai were evacuated in accordance with the Camp David Accords, but settlement activity in the other territories continued uninterrupted. A few days after the final withdrawal from Sinai had been completed, Begin announced that he would introduce a resolution barring future governments from dismantling settlements, even as a result of peace negotiations.
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157. "Planned obsolescence - The slow death of the two-state solution - Palestinian-Israeli conflict". Christian Century. 3 May 2003. Retrieved 15 Feb. 2008. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
158. • Ian Lustick (2002). The Riddle of Nationalism: The Dialectic of Religion and Nationalism in the Middle East. Logos, Vol.1, No-3. pp. 18–44. The terms "occupied territory" or "West Bank" were forbidden in news reports. Television and radio journalists were banned from initiating interviews with Arabs who recognized the PLO as their representative.
     • Myron J. Aronoff (1991). Israeli Visions and Divisions: Cultural Change and Political Conflict. Transaction Publishers. p. 10. "Judea and Samaria", the biblical terms that the Likud government succeeded in substituting for what had previously been called by many the West Bank, the occupied territories, or simply the territories. The successful gaining of the popular acceptance of these terms was a prelude to gaining popular acceptance of the government's settlement policies.
     • Shlomo Gazit (2003). Trapped Fools: Thirty Years of Israeli Policy in the Territories. Routledge. p. 162. the Likud Government was not satisfied with the name 'Administered Territories'. Even though the name 'Judea and Samaria' had been officially adopted as early as the beginning of 1968 instead of the 'West Bank', it has hardly been used until 1977.
     • Emma Playfair (1992). International Law and the Administration of Occupied Territories: Two Decades of Israeli Occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Oxford University Press. p. 41. On 17 December 1967, the Israeli military government issued an order stating that "the term "Judea and Samaria region" shall be identical in meaning for all purposes . .to the term "the West Bank Region". This change in terminology, which has been followed in Israeli official statements since that time, reflected a historic attachment to these areas and rejection of a name that was seen as implying Jordanian sovereignty over them.
     • Ran HaCohen (1992). Influence of the Middle East Peace Process on the Hebrew Language. Undoing and Redoing Corpus Planning, Michael G. Clyne (ed.). pp. 385–414, 397. During a short period immediately after the 1967 war, the official term employed was 'the Occupied Territories' (ha-shetahim ha-kevushim). It was soon replaced by 'the Administered Territories' (ha-shetahim ha-muhzakim) and then by the (biblical) Hebrew geographical terms "Judea and Samaria". The latter were officially adopted and successfully promoted by the right wing governments (since 1977) and are still the official terms in use.
159. • Ian Lustick (1998). For the Land and the Lord: Jewish Fundamentalism in Israel. Council on Foreign Relations. p. 205 n.4. For political purposes, and despite the geographical imprecision involved, the annexationalist camp in Israel prefers to refer to the area between the green line and the Jordan River not as the West Bank, but as Judea and Samaria.
     • Raphael D. Frankel and Ilene R. Prusher (22 August 2005). "In West Bank, a 'Masada mind-set'". USA Today. Physically, the mountainous settlements are harder for the army to close off. But ideologically, for settlers who only refer to this region by its biblical name, Samaria, this land is on an even higher ground.
     • "Zionism and Israel - Encyclopedic Dictionary". The Zionism and Israel Center. This historic term assumed political significance after 1967. It is used by the Israeli government, Zionists and Israelis, to refer to the modern region, but it is no longer used by others, who prefer the Jordanian term for the entire portion of the land occupied by Israel -"West Bank," which they coined after World War II.

Further reading

• Israeli Settlements interactive map and Israeli land use from The Guardian
• Israeli settlements: Where, when, and why they're built, Ilene R. Prusher, Christian Science Monitor, 15 September 2009
• Text of the Fourth 1949 Geneva Convention from icrc.org
• The legal status of Israeli settlements under IHL (International Humanitarian Law), Reuters ReliefWeb, 31 January 2004
• The Humanitarian Impact on Palestinians of Israeli Settlements and Other Infrastructure in the West Bank from UN OCHA, Palestinian territories
• Israeli Communities in Yesha & Jordan Valley

Viewpoints and commentary

• Monitoring Israeli Colonization Activities in the Palestinian Territory, The Applied Research Institute Jerusalem
• Land Expropriation and Settlements from B'tselem
• Israel and The Palestinian Territories, The Carter Center
• Israeli Confiscation and Settlement on Palestinian Land from If Americans Knew
• Myths about the settlements and A compilation of facts on the settlements, Jewish Virtual Library
• Settlements and Settlements and U.S. Policy, Americans for Peace Now
• Bregman, Ahron Elusive Peace: How the Holy Land Defeated America
• 'The Wye River Memorandum and Israeli Settlements”, Geoffrey Aronson, The Jerusalem Fund, 4 August 1999
• For Israel, Land or Peace Jimmy Carter, The Carter Center, 26 November 2000
• Backgrounder: Jewish settlements and the Media from the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America, 5 October 2001
• From "occupied territories" to "disputed territories", Dore Gold, Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, 16 January 2002
• Ottoman Land Registration Law as a Contributing Factor in the Israeli-Arab Conflict by Rabbi Jon-Jay Tilsen, 2003
• Diplomatic and Legal Aspects of the Settlement Issue from the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, 19 January 2003
• Jewish Settlements in "the Territories" Aren't the Problem, Chaim Herzog, FrontPageMag.com, 9 April 2003
• Occupation and Settlement: The Myth and Reality, David Meir-Levi, Think-Israel.org, 24 June 2005
• "At Israeli Outpost, Showdown Looms for Settlers, Government Gershom Gorenberg, Forward.com, 27 January 2006
• Settlements 'violate Israeli law', BBC News, 21 November 2006
• Backgrounder: The debate about settlements from the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America, 13 June 2007

v t e Judea and Samaria Area
Cities	Ariel Beitar Illit Ma'ale Adumim Modi'in Illit
Regional committee	Yesha Council
Regional councils	Gush Etzion Har Hevron Mateh Binyamin Megilot Dead Sea Shomron Southern Jordan Valley (Bik'at HaYarden)
Local councils	Alfei Menashe Beit Aryeh-Ofarim Beit El Efrat Elkana Giv'at Ze'ev Har Adar Immanuel Karnei Shomron Kedumim Kiryat Arba Ma'ale Efrayim Oranit
See also	Israeli occupation of the West Bank Enclave law Area C COGAT Israeli Civil Administration IDF Central Command Israeli settlement List Population statistics Seam Zone Jerusalem District

v t e Zionism
Concepts	Zion Land of Israel Aliyah Yerida Homeland (proposals) Jewish state Law of Return Yishuv Territorialism Promised Land Gathering of Israel Settlement Negation of the Diaspora Revival of the Hebrew language Hebraization of surnames Judaization Zionism, race and genetics
Ideologies	General Labor Revisionist Reform Religious Cultural Federal Post-Zionism Proto-Zionism Neo-Zionism Non-Zionism Green Christian Canaanism Yiddishist Golus
Organizations	Histadrut Hovevei Zion Bilu World Zionist Organization Zionist General Council Zionist Federation of Germany Zionist Organization of America Zionist Organization of Canada Religious Zionists of America Jewish National Fund Poale Zion Jewish Agency for Israel Jewish National Council Mizrachi Bnei Akiva Habonim Dror Hashomer Hatzair Haganah HaNoar HaTzioni World Agudath Israel Irgun Betar Lehi Jewish Party (Czechoslovakia) Jewish Party (Romania) Jewish Resistance Movement Palmach Women's International Zionist Organization Hadassah Women's Zionist Organization of America Aytzim American Zionist Movement Am Yisrael Foundation Zionist Federation of Great Britain and Ireland Institute for Zionist Strategies International Fellowship of Christians and Jews Nefesh B'Nefesh Birthright Israel
History and timelines	History of Israel Chronology of Aliyah History of Zionism Balfour Declaration UN General Assembly Resolution 3379 UN General Assembly Resolution 46/86 Timeline of Zionism Israeli–Palestinian peace process Timeline of the Arab–Israeli conflict
Holidays	Yom HaZikaron Independence Day Jerusalem Day Yom HaAliyah Herzl Day Jabotinsky Day Ben-Gurion Day Rabin Day
Related topics	List of Zionists Anti-Zionism The Holocaust Antisemitism New antisemitism Not one inch Jewish Autonomism Jewish emancipation Jewish political movements Greater Israel Muscular Judaism Muslim supporters of Israel Progressive except Palestine Zionism as settler colonialism Zionist antisemitism Zionist political violence Zio (pejorative) Ulpan Conservatism in Israel Liberalism in Israel

• Articles to be merged from March 2010
• Misplaced Pages neutral point of view disputes from November 2007
• Misplaced Pages neutral point of view disputes from March 2009
• Arab–Israeli conflict
• History of Israel
• Israeli settlements