Israeli Settlements dramatically expand in the Occupied West Bank between the years 1996 & 2007

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 :

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:-

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 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