Israeli Right wing settlers to reoccupy four outposts’ locations in the West Bank

In what has become something of a Jewish holiday tradition, Israeli Right wing settlers reoccupied four locations in the West Bank. The locations are: Reches [Hilltop] Sela', Maalot [Steps] Halhoul, Reches [Hilltop] Migron and Sha'are Hamezrach (The Eastern Gate). The four outposts were evacuated by the Israeli Occupation Army during the same day, but the settlers intend to go back and rebuild them. Map and Table 1 below show the location of the four outposts, their location from the nearest mother settlement and the Palestinian villages on which these outposts were established.

Source: ARIJ GIS Database -2008

Map 1: Location of the four israreli Settlements' Outposts

The right wing movements' (Land of Israel Faithful and youth for land of Israel) have prepared for the reoccupation of the afore-listed outposts by publishing posters encouraging Israeli settlers al over the West Bank area to join their campaign. See Posters below

Figure 1: The general poster of the event

Figure 2: Ma'alot Halhoul Poster –

Figure 3: Reches Sela' & Reches Migron Poster

1– Ma'alot Halhoul outpost: located between the Palestinian villages of Halhoul and Sa'ir and was established during the Jewish soukkot holiday last year. The Israeli Occupation forces have evacuated the site many times but the settlers persist on establishing a settlement there. On October 19, 2008 about 200 Israeli right wing settlers marched towards the location of the outpost in an attempt to reoccupy the site. The demonstration was led by Former Kedumim Mayor, Daniella Weiss and Alyakin Haatzani, member of the Yeisha council. The Israeli Occupation Forces and police did not prevent the activists from arriving at the place, planting trees and building a sukkah (traditional holiday structure).

2– Reches Sela' outpost: located 2 Km south of Nabluscity, near Har Bracha settlement.

3- Reches Migron outpost: it was established near the debated Migron outpost, 7 Km to the east of Ramallah city in the West Bank. The outpost was established as a reaction to the Israeli government's decision to evacuate the neighboring outpost, Migron.

4- Sha'are Hamezrach outpost: is located in the area between Shu'fat Refugee Camp and the French hill settlement in Jerusalem city. The area is considered to be strategic for the settlers since it lies near the bypass road number 1, which links Ma'aleh Adumim Settlement bloc. With Jerusalem, and along the controversial E1 area where the Israeli settlement council of Ma'ale Adumim plans to build 3500 housing units. The new outpost will serve dual purposes; first, it will form some sort of a buffer zone between Palestinian neighborhoods in East Jerusalem, cutting them off from each other and creating small and fractured Palestinian enclaves. Second, it will encourage the influx of Jewish settlers into the Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem to contribute to a Jewish demographic majority within the newly expanded Jerusalem municipal boundaries. 

An analysis conducted by Applied Research Institute – Jerusalem (ARIJ) – showed that 220 Illegal Israeli outposts already exist in the occupied West Bank Territory. They come to serve the Israeli settlements expansion plans; accordingly, the outposts established within existing settlements master plans constituted new neighborhoods while others established outside the master plan of Israeli settlements formed buds for new settlements. Therefore, 87 Israeli outposts are located inside Master Plan and 113 Israeli outposts are located outside the Master Plan of certain settlements. See Table 1 

Map 1: Distribution of Isdraeli settlements' outposts in the West Bank

To conclude:

The Israeli settlements' outposts remain one major impediment to the peace process. The Israelis on their part try to classify the outposts in the legal manner, by defining a number of them as legal and others as illegal. According to the international law, there is no such thing as legal or illegal outposts since it is not up to the Israeli government to identify its status or that of its population in the occupied territories. The ultimate fact of the Israeli outposts that they represent an explicit violation of the law regardless of the Israeli classification of them; both illegal and legal outpost are unconstitutional by any calculation and must be treated as same and eventually removed.

Prepared by 
The Applied Research Institute – Jerusalem