In violation of international humanitarian law,[i] Israel has allowed and encouraged Israeli civilians to move to occupied territory since the occupation of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, began in 1967. These people are called settlers.
What is a settlement?
The Israeli settlers live in so-called settlements. Settlements are organized societies consisting of Israeli civilians that are established on occupied territory with approval and direct or indirect support from the Israeli government.[ii] It is impossible for Palestinians from East Jerusalem or the West Bank to live in the settlements since they are almost exclusively intended for Israeli citizens or people of Jewish decent.[iii] There are a total of 149 settlements on the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.[iv] In addition to the settlements, there are nine industrial zones controlled by Israelis.[v] Since the occupation began in 1967, construction in the settlements has continued under each government.[vi] According to the Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem, all Israeli governments have implemented a systematic strategy to encourage Israelis to move to the West Bank.[vii] The number of settlers has increased dramatically in recent years. Between 1987 and 2008 the number has almost increased threefold from about 169,000[viii] to 480,000. [ix]
Outposts
In addition to the 149 settlements approved by the Israeli government, there are about 100 so-called outposts.[x] While all settlements are illegal according to international humanitarian law, outposts are settlements that are also illegal according to Israeli law since they lack approval or planning from the Israeli government.[xi] The first outposts were established in 1995 when the Israeli government, in response to increased international pressure, almost stopped the expansion of settlements.[xii] In 2005, the office of the then Prime Minister Ariel Sharon published the results of an investigation often referred to as the Sasson Report. The report found that Israeli governmental bodies and authorities hade played a crucial role in establishing the outposts, primarily through massive economic support. Between 2000 and 2004 the Ministry of Housing and Construction invested more than 71.8 million shekels (approximately 21 million USD in current exchange values) in the outposts, despite knowing this was illegal. The actual figure is, according to the Sasson Report, believed to be much higher.[xiii]
The effects of the settlements
The West Bank has – due to the settlements, roads and infrastructure intended exclusively for the settlers – been divided into a number of enclaves. This division of the territory fundamentally affects the possibilities for Palestinians to live normal lives by inhibiting trade and access to employment, hospitals, schools and universities, amongst other things.[xiv] In areas where there are few settlements, as in the northern parts of the West Bank, fragmentation is less severe and the Palestinians can travel more freely.[xv] Settlements, outposts, military areas, Israeli infrastructure, and other areas completely off-limits or very difficult to access for Palestinians make up more than 38% of the West Bank today.[xvi] The settlements and outposts, including the cropland belonging to them, take up more than 5% of the West Bank.[xvii]
The settlements are connected through an extensive network of roads enabling Israelis to travel freely between the settlements on the West Bank and Israel.[xviii] Palestinians are generally prohibited from using these roads or only given limited access to them. They are controlled through a strict system of provisions, hundreds of roadblocks and other obstacles.[xix] According to OCHA, these roads fulfill a dual function: they are corridors for travelers between Israel and the settlements on the West Bank while also serving as barriers for Palestinians and impeding their movements in the area.[xx] In reality there are two separate road systems on the West Bank and the Palestinians are forced to use the alternative system with lower quality roads and poorer access.[xxi] Palestinians who live on one side of a road intended for Israelis cannot cross that road to get to a neighboring village, but instead are forced to travel great distances to arrive at destinations that in the past only took a few minutes to reach.[xxii]
The fragmentation of the West Bank has negative effects on the social, as well as the economic, life of the vast majority of the Palestinian population.[xxiii] Both the World Bank and OCHA consider it to be one of the main reasons the economy of the West Bank has deteriorated.[xxiv] OCHA predicts that the pressure on natural resources, such as cropland and water, will increase as the number of Israeli settlers and Palestinians on the West Bank rises. Based on the trend of the last 42 years, it is obvious that the expansion of the settlements, including their roads and infrastructure, will be at the expense of the Palestinians and their freedom of movement.[xxv]
The settlements and the wall
In June 2002 Israel began the construction of the wall or separation barrier.[xxvi] According to the Israeli government, the sole purpose of this wall, said to be temporary, is to prevent suicide bombers from entering Israel and increase security in Israeli territory.[xxvii] A substantial part of the wall, about 87%, is constructed in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, which it partitions and surrounds.[xxviii] In the most severe cases, the wall reaches 22 kilometers into occupied Palestinian territory.[xxix] When completed, the wall will encircle 80 settlements and around 80% of all settlers, physically connecting them with Israel.[xxx] Representatives for the Israeli government have recently admitted that the wall could have political implications.[xxxi] In December 2005 the Minister of Justice at that time, Tzipi Livni, stated that the wall would constitute the future boarder of Israel.[xxxii] In July 2009 about 58% of the wall was completed and an additional 10% was under construction.[xxxiii] OCHA affirms that the wall is planned in accordance with the settlements and contributes to making the settlements permanent.[xxxiv] If the settlements would not exist, the wall would follow the green line:[xxxv] the internationally recognized boarder between Israel and Palestine.[xxxvi] When the wall is completed it will have placed 9.8% of the West Bank on the Israeli side. This area includes all of East Jerusalem.[xxxvii]
The Settlements and the peace process
The international community unanimously agrees that the Israeli settlements constitute a major obstacle to a peaceful solution to the conflict. The EU stated in February 2009 that the Israeli settlements form a huge impediment for peace in the Middle East, and that continued activities in the settlements would throw doubt on the seriousness of the Israeli engagement in reaching a two-state solution.[xxxviii] This opinion is shared by the UN Security Council, which in Resolution 465 from 1980 determined that the settlements constitute an obvious violation of international humanitarian law and an obstacle to achieving an inclusive, fair and sustainable peace in the Middle East.[xxxix] Former Secretary General of the UN Kofi Annan concluded in his final report to the Security Council that the settlements constitute the single most important obstacle for the realization of a territorially coherent and viable Palestinian state.[xl]
[i] Article 49 of the Geneva Convention states: ”The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies.”, Red Cross, http://www.icrc.org/ihl.nsf/WebART/380-600056?OpenDocument
[ii] United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA, The Humanitarian Impact on Palestinians of Israeli Settlements and Other Infrastructure in The West Bank, 2007, p. 13, available at http://www.ochaopt.org/documents/TheHumanitarianImpactOfIsraeliInfrastructureTheWestBank_full.pdf
[iii] United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA, The Humanitarian Impact on Palestinians of Israeli Settlements and Other Infrastructure in The West Bank, 2007, p. 13
[iv] United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA, 2007, The Humanitarian Impact on Palestinians of Israeli Settlements and Other Infrastructure in The West Bank, p 13
[v] United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA, 2007, The Humanitarian Impact on Palestinians of Israeli Settlements and Other Infrastructure in The West Bank, p. 13
[vi] United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA, 2007, The Humanitarian Impact on Palestinians of Israeli Settlements and Other Infrastructure in The West Bank, p. 12
[vii] B’Tselem, 2002, Land Grab – Israel’s Settlement Policy in the West Bank, p. 73, available at http://www.btselem.org/English/Settlements/Statistics.asp
[viii] United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA, 2007, The Humanitarian Impact on Palestinians of Israeli Settlements and Other Infrastructure in The West Bank, p. 20
[ix] B’Tselem, Land Expropriation and Settlements, 2008,
[x] United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA, 2007, The Humanitarian Impact on Palestinians of Israeli Settlements and Other Infrastructure in The West Bank, p. 34
[xi] United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA, 2007, The Humanitarian Impact on Palestinians of Israeli Settlements and Other Infrastructure in The West Bank, p. 34
[xii] United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA, 2007, The Humanitarian Impact on Palestinians of Israeli Settelments and Other Infrastructure in The West Bank, p. 34
[xiii] Sasson, Talya, 2005, Summary of the Opinion Concerning Unauthorized Outposts, Official Israeli governmental report, p. 14, available at http://www.mfa.gov.il/NR/rdonlyres/5AD2CBB2-851D-4917-89B2-CFF60C83C16C/0/SummaryoftheOpinionConcerningUnauthorizedOutposts.doc
[xiv] United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA, 2007, The Humanitarian Impact on Palestinians of Israeli Settlements and Other Infrastructure in The West Bank, p. 58
[xv] United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA, 2007, The Humanitarian Impact on Palestinians of Israeli Settlements and Other Infrastructure in The West Bank, p. 72
[xvi] United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA, 2007, The Humanitarian Impact on Palestinians of Israeli Settlements and Other Infrastructure in The West Bank, p. 8
[xvii] United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA, 2007, The Humanitarian Impact on Palestinians of Israeli Settlements and Other Infrastructure in The West Bank, p. 41
[xviii] United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA, 2007, The Humanitarian Impact on Palestinians of Israeli Settlements and Other Infrastructure in The West Bank, p. 58
[xix] United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA, 2007, The Humanitarian Impact on Palestinians of Israeli Settlements and Other Infrastructure in The West Bank, p. 58-72
[xx] United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA, 2007, The Humanitarian Impact on Palestinians of Israeli Settlements and Other Infrastructure in The West Bank, p. 70
[xxi] United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA, 2007, The Humanitarian Impact on Palestinians of Israeli Settlements and Other Infrastructure in The West Bank, p. 68
[xxii] United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA, 2007, The Humanitarian Impact on Palestinians of Israeli Settlements and Other Infrastructure in The West Bank, p. 70
[xxiii] United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA, 2007, The Humanitarian Impact on Palestinians of Israeli Settlements and Other Infrastructure in The West Bank, p. 8
[xxiv] United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA, 2007, The Humanitarian Impact on Palestinians of Israeli Settlements and Other Infrastructure in The West Bank, p. 58 och 72
[xxv] United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA, 2007, The Humanitarian Impact on Palestinians of Israeli Settlements and Other Infrastructure in The West Bank, p. 121
[xxvi] There are different views about which is the proper term to use. United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA uses the term “barrier” whilst the Israeli government calls it a “security barrier”. Settlerwatch chooses to use the term wall based on the verdict from the International Court in 2004 that established that it is a “wall”.
[xxvii] United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA, 2007, The Humanitarian Impact on Palestinians of Israeli Settlements and Other Infrastructure in The West Bank, p. 46
[xxviii] United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA, 2008, The Humanitarian Impact of the Barrier, p. 4
[xxix] United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA, 2008, The Humanitarian Impact of the Barrier, p. 10
[xxx] United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA, 2008, The Humanitarian Impact of the Barrier, p. 6
[xxxi] United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA, 2007, The Humanitarian Impact on Palestinians of Israeli Settlements and Other Infrastructure in The West Bank, p. 46
[xxxii] United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA, 2007, The Humanitarian Impact on Palestinians of Israeli Settlements and Other Infrastructure in The West Bank, The quote can be found in note 33 on page 56.The original source is an article by Yuval Yoaz in the newspaper Haaretz that Settlerwatch has not been able to find.
[xxxiii] FN:s kontor för humanitärt bistånd, OCHA, Five years after the International Court of Justice advisory opinion, 2009, s. 8
[xxxiv] United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA, 2007, The Humanitarian Impact on Palestinians of Israeli Settlements and Other Infrastructure in The West Bank, p. 124
[xxxv] The green line is the internationally recognized boarder based on the truce of 1949 following the Arab-Israeli war initiated 1948. Source: Diakonia, Är muren laglig? Fakta och statistik, available at http://www.diakonia.se/sa/node.asp?node=1156 See also Wikipedia for more information about the green line: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Line_%28Israel%29
[xxxvi] United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA, The Humanitarian Impact on Palestinians of Israeli Settlements and Other Infrastructure in The West Bank, 2007, p. 124
[xxxvii] United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA, 2008, The Humanitarian Impact of the Barrier, p. 6
[xxxviii] EU, 24/2 2009, Declaration by the Presidency on behalf of the European Union on the settlement activities of Israel, available at http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/en/cfsp/106251.pdf
[xxxix] UN Security Council Resolution 465, 1980, available at http://daccessods.un.org/access.nsf/Get?Open&DS=S/RES/465%20(1980)&Lang=E&Area=RESOLUTION
[xl] United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA, 2007, The Humanitarian Impact on Palestinians of Israeli Settlements and Other Infrastructure in The West Bank, p. 124