The Illegal Israeli settlements which spreads throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) since the 1967 occupation , is one of the aspects of the Israeli occupation of the OPT and one of the main instrument of to control the Palestinian lands , where Israel started from the first day of its occupation of the OPT  in June 1967 with systematic policy of imposing facts on the ground mainly by building the Illegal Israeli settlements in all of the West Bank especially in the Eastern part of the occupied city of Jerusalem.

 

The successive Israeli Governments, regardless of their political affiliation, supported the construction of settlements and the expansion of existing ones on the expense of the Palestinian –owned lands, which had been illegally seized under military and security pretexts.

 

 In an analysis conducted by the Applied Research Institute Jerusalem – Jerusalem (ARIJ) concerning the Israeli settlements' expansions' in the West Bank between the years 1996 and 2007; It showed that expansion in Israeli settlements in the OPT had dramatically increased by 85% during the aforementioned period. Below are the details of the Illegal expansion in Israeli settlement:-

 

During the period of 1996 & 2000, Israel intensified its building in Israeli settlements in the OPT and doubled the area of these settlements, where the total area of the Israeli settlements in the West Bank had witnessed an increase calculated at 42%. Bethlehem Governorate came in the first place in term of expansion where it witnessed an increase of 7274 dunums during the period of 1996 & 2000, (more than 104% increase); while the Governorates of Nablus , Hebron, Tubas and Jerusalem had the Israeli settlements’ area increase by 74%, 67%, 63% and 52% respectively. See table 1 below for more details :

 

Table of the percentage of the settlement expansion in the years between 1996 & 2000
No.	Governorate	% of  Expansion
1	Jericho	14 %
2	Qalqilya	15 %
3	Salfit	17 %
4	Tulkarim	34 %
5	Jenin	36 %
6	Ramallah	36 %
7	Jerusalem	52 %
8	Tubas	63 %
9	Hebron	67 %
10	Nablus	74 %
11	Bethlehem	104%
Total		42
Source : ARIJ Database 2008

 

 

Moreover, ARIJ's analysis stated that many Israeli settlements in the OPT had doubled its area on the expense of the Palestinian lands, such as the Illegal Israeli settlement of Bitar 'Illit in Bethlehem Governorate and Maskiyyot settlement in the Governorate of Tubas. Furthermore, in Bethlehem Governorate many Israeli settlements had witnessed an increase in their area as follows:

• The settlement of Moshoky Daragot east of Bethlehem Governorate witnessed an increase in its area by 30 dunums ( 143% of its total area) in the years 2000, in comparison to 21 dunums in the year 1996.

• Betar 'Illit southwest of Bethlehem Governorate also witnessed an increase of 1745 dunums ( 126% increase to its total area in the year 1996).

• Rush Tsurim settlement also in Bethlehem governorate, witnessed an expansion of 492 dunums ( 123 % increased compared to the settlement area in the year 1996).

• El David settlement, located south of Bethlehem Governorate had witnessed an expansion of 33.3 dunums to an overall area of 62.7 dunums in the year 2000; an by increase of 113 %).

The table below explains the Illegal Israeli settlements’ expansion in Bethlehem and Tubas Governorates:-

 

Table of the Israeli settlements of Bethlehem Governorate which expanded with a percentage between 50% & 100 %
Colony Name	Area- Dunums (1996)		Area- Dunums (2000)	Percentage of expansion between the years 1996 & 2000
Gava'ot	59		90	53 %
Mitzpe Shalim	194		301	55 %
Nikodim	180		292	62 %
Efrat	943		1600	70 %
Neve Daniel	158		272	72 %
Giv'at Hamatos	137		268	96 %
The Israeli settlement expanded  more than 100%
Colony	Area- Dunums (1996)	Area- Dunums (2000)	Percentage of expansion between the years 1996 & 2000
Hadar Bitar	37	74	102 %
Teqou'	369	745	102 %
IL David	29	63	113 %
Rush Tzurim	400	892	123 %
Birat 'ILIT	1390	3145	126 %
Mishoki Daragot	21	51	143 %
Source : ARIJ Database 2008

 

 

Table of the Illegal Israeli settlement expansion in Tubas Governorate
Table of the Illegal Israeli Settlement in Tubas Governorate which expanded  with a percentage between 50% & 100 %
Colony	Area- Dunums (1996)	Area- Dunums (2000)	Percentage of expansion between the years 1996 & 2000
Rotem	46	73	58 %
Beqaot	959	1892	97 %
The Israeli settlement expanded  more than 100%
Colony Name	Area- Dunums (1996)	Area- Dunums (2000)	Percentage of expansion between the years 1996 & 2000
Shila	64	157	146 %
Hemdat	79	213	171 %
Shidmat Mehola	25	72	184 %
Maskiyyot	22	70	221 %
Source : ARIJ Database 2008

 

In addition, and in the period between the years 2000 & 2007, the Illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank had witnessed yet additional and sizeable expansions calculated at 31%. The increase is mainly attributed to the Israeli Apartheid Segregation Wall, which started to shape in the occupied territory since 2002 and has dramatically contributed in looting and isolating more Palestinian lands to the interest of the Illegal settlements such as in the case of the settlement of Eshkalot in Hebron Governorate.

 

On the other hand, the Illegal Israeli settlers had adopted systematic and aggressive practices like attacking the Palestinian farmers, and landowners and illegally capturing their lands and use for cultivation, and/ or to increase the settlements’ territorial lands; all of which falls under the strategy to impose facts on the ground and illegally seize Palestinians’ lands.

 

Accordingly, Tubas Governorate had witnessed the ever-largest settlements’ area expansion as most of Tubas lands where open for grape to the Israeli settlers who took advantage of the fact that the Israeli Army has classified the majority of their lands as a 'closed military areas' since 1967 and imposed restrictions to the use of the remaining lands; thus the Palestinian owners of these lands were deprived from their right to utilize their lands.

 

It is worth mentioning that the expansion rate in the Israeli settlements in Tubas Governorate was an immense as it reached 107%, followed by Nablus Governorate with 103%, Tulkarim 77 %, and Jenin with 76 %.

 

The percentage rate of the Illegal Israeli settlement expansion in the West Bank Governorates between the years 2000 & 2007
No.	Governorate	Percentage of expansion between the years 2000 & 2007
1	Ramallah	6%
2	Jerusalem	14%
3	Bethlehem	27%
4	Salfit	33%
5	Qalqilya	36%
6	Hebron	36%
7	Jericho	42%
8	Jenin	76%
9	Tulkarim	77%
10	Nablus	103%
11	Tubas	107%
	Total rate	31%
Source : ARIJ Database 2008

 

 

The illegal expansion of the Israeli settlements opposite to the international law

The Israeli acceleration in building and expanding of the Illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank territory reflects the Israeli apathy of the International legitimacy regulations and resolutions, represented by the United Nation Security Council Resolutions:

• UNSCR No. 446 of 1979 states that 'all of the Israeli practices and activities concerning the building and expanding of the Israeli settlements in all of the Arab territories occupied in June 1967 are Illegal and void.'

• UNSCR No. 452 of 1979 also 'called upon the nation and the state of Israel to immediately halt the construction of the Israeli settlements   in the occupied territory including the city of Jerusalem.'   

• UNSCR No. 465 of 1980 'called upon Israel to stop building in the Israeli settlements in the occupied territories and to dismantle all of the Israeli settlements built in the aforementioned territories since the year 1967, and demanding all of the state parties of the UN not to help Israel in building these Illegal settlements'.

 

Over the years is has shown no signs of willingness to comply with the resolution stated above and many others like, instead, Israel has intensified its illegal and colonial activities in a clear step of defiance to the international law and well and in spite of the Oslo Peace Accord of 1995 (which is signed by Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organization PLO). The fact that Israel’s actions to control the occupied territory, something that is being affirmed with the Segregation Wall being constructed at this crucial time of the peace process, which could ultimately eradicate the essence of the whole peace process.

 

 

 

 

Prepared by 
The Applied Research Institute – Jerusalem