Blackmailers of Peace !!!

Over decades of Israeli occupation to the Palestinian territories, the Israeli settlers were the ones who got benefited for years from the 'settlement program' adopted by the consecutive Governments of Israel. The pace of the 'settlement program' fluctuated but never stopped, depending on the ruling party that heads the Israeli government.

Statistics show that the active timeline of settlements construction has boosted to its maximum during the rule of the Likud government with approximately 62% accountability versus 34% of the settlements construction during the Labor government ruling while the construction of the remaining 4% of Israeli settlements occurred during coalition (Likud & Labor) government rule. Click to see the following chart. 

Source: http://www.pmo.gov.il

The enormous benefits offered by the government of Israel for the Israeli settlers to reside in the settlements are much more of a bribe than anything else. These so-called benefits include personal income tax exemptions (up to 13%), grants (20-50%), soft loan and mortgages (as low as 1-3%); special bounces for teachers willing to reside in settlements (4 years seniority, 80% housing subsidy, 100% reimbursements for traveling and much more). In conclusion, the benefits provided by the government of Israel for families residing in Israeli settlements located in the Palestinian territories reach more than $10,000 per year in comparison to the Israelis living within Israel.

Reimbursing Israeli Settlers

The Israeli settlers & settlements existence in the Palestinian Territories occupied on June 5, 1967 is an indisputable and explicit violation of the International law, the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949- Article 47 & 49 and the UN Resolutions 242, 446 452 &465.

During this immoral & elongated occupation in our modern history, Israel exploited the Palestinian land to the fullest, particularly the Gaza Strip (362 Km2) where it controls 36% of the land (130 Km2) divided to yellow areas, Israeli settlement area, Military installations and Security zone and accommodate 7500+ Israeli settler (population density 43/1Km2) while keeping 1.4 million Palestinians confined to 64% (232 Km2) of Gaza where the population density 7000+/1Km2, the highest recorded in the World.  See Geo-political map of Gaza Strip

Over the past 37 years, Israel coarsely exploited the Gaza Strip; building 21 Israeli settlements, bypass roads in addition to the various military installations. However, that was not all what Israel committed during its years of occupation for the past 4 years. During the current Intifada, Israel marked unprecedented violations that included the killing of more than 1500 Palestinians and wounding more than 13,000 others, the demolition of more than 2500 Palestinian houses and the uprooting of one million fruitful trees. See Pictures of demolition in Gaza Strip.

Photo Courtesy of PCHRGAZA

Following is a list of articles which document the Israeli violations in Gaza Strip during the last couple of years.

• A disregard of Human Rights, August 19, 2004.

• Violating international laws … Disproportionate re-incursion of Palestinian communities in Gaza Strip, July 15, 2004

• Israeli Ethnic Cleansing in Rafah. May 2004

• The nonstop campaign of house demolition in Gaza Strip, May 2004

• Land razing and house demolition in Deir El Balah city, May 2004.

• Walls … Today's Fashion in Israel, March 2004.

• Daily suffering of Al Mawasi residents, February 2004.

• Intensification of house demolition campaign in Gaza Strip during the year 2003.

• Homeless in Rafah, October 2003

• IOF Impair the Gaza Strip, September 2003.

The reimbursement chapter for the Israeli settlers in exchange for leaving Gaza is extensive; it includes pre-payments, long terms loans, relocations cost benefits, adaptation incentive, down payments and unemployment if applicable.

The number of settlers' families living in Gaza and lined for compensation estimated at 1800. Each of the families is set for reimbursement with an average sum of $300,000 US, a total of $540 million for all the families. With regard to the Israeli military withdrawal from Gaza, the estimated cost projected by the Israeli Ministry of Defense is at $560 million which brings the total cost of the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza to $1.1 Billion.

Israel Mistake .. Israel Liability

Israel's decision to inhabit the Palestinian lands has proven decades later that such a decision will constitute an obstacle to successful peace talks between Palestinian and Israelis. What's more is the obscene amount of money Israel spends annually to maintain & defend these settlements in spite of their illegal status. Furthermore, the Israeli budget-set for the settlements remains to be confidential  figures, known to only a handful of officials in Israel. In the year 2001, there were 204,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank & Gaza (less than 3% of Israel's population) who cost the Israeli government approximately $540 million; excluding military spending, which is estimated at $560 million annually to protect these settlements.

To conclude, Israel withdrawal plan from Gaza is a long delayed step as the Israeli settlers are the most to gain from it; in addition, the occupation process itself has proven to be futile and financially expensive.

Israeli Settlements = Cost-Effective Investment

All the talks regarding the compensation of Gaza settlers has contributed to noted increase of purchasing housing units in Gaza and the West Bank settlements projected for evacuation especially with the lucrative returns on the original investment in addition to supplementary incentives.

The whole Israeli withdrawal plan from Gaza maybe recorded a precedent of its kind as the party that committed the assault is compensated before the real victim, exactly the case of the 900,000 Palestinian refugees living in Gaza and still awaits to return to their occupied lands based on the UN Security Council resolution 194.   

Related articles

• Only Proper Disengagement is the Guarantee of Peace, April 2004.

• To Pullout from Gaza! .. A Daring Step or Just a Tactical One

Prepared by:
The Applied Research Institute – Jerusalem