How real is Israel’s decision to stop the support for the outposts in the West Bank?

In 1996, the Israeli settlers, operating with the support and the patronage of the former Israeli prime minister and the agricultural minister then Ariel Sharon; instigated a new experience which later-on became known as “outposts” which is a new technique improvised by the Israeli settlers along with indirect government concession to confiscate more Palestinian lands and build new colonies. The practice involves a group of an Israeli settlers taking control of Palestinian hilltops located in close perimeter of an existing Israeli settlement (identified as “Mother settlement”) and setting-up few caravans for young Israeli settlers couples. The consecutive Israeli governments did not officially sanction the outposts’ sites; but it certainly indulged them with military protection and infrastructure services, in addition to occasional financial support.

Since 1996 until November 2007, the Israeli Government has managed to set up 220 illegal Israeli outposts throughout the Palestinian Territory accommodating more than 3000 Israeli settlers. See table 1

Source: ARIJ date base- 2008

In March 2005, an official report prepared by Israel former Attorney General Talia Sasson at the request of the former Prime Minister (Sharon) to look into the legal aspects for the growth of the unauthorized outposts; in an attempt to cast a shadow of legitimacy on other existing outposts, which consequently will classify them legal. The Israeli produced report that tackled the legality issue of the outposts from an Israeli perspective; intended to categorize the outposts between legal, as to had been funded and authorized by the Israeli government and illegal, as to had been established without proper governmental authorization and funding but the reality is that none of these existing outposts or settlements for that matter are with legal status as long as the West Bank is an occupied territory and the residents of these outposts and settlements are Israeli civilians; a fact articulated explicitly in Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949: 

Accordingly, Israel simulated several attempts to at least express its intentions to dismantle illegal outposts' set-up by Israeli settlers randomly in the West Bank but never carried out all the way, or as happened in many outposts locations where the Israeli settlers went to reoccupy the evacuated outposts site few hours, day, or days with the well knowing and assistance of the Israeli Army.  

Will Israel evacuate the outposts soon … doubtful?

It is highly doubtful and unlikely that Israel will adopt any tangible step to evacuate the outposts from the West Bank, even those the Israeli government render illegal. Talia Sasson, Israel’s former Attorney General and the one who prepared the outposts report said that it would not be easy to cutoff financial support to the outposts’ locations. Her statement comes in response to floating reports of Israel’s minister of Defense considerations to cutoff water, electricity and other essential services from the outposts.  

Recently the Israeli Government announced that it would cut off all funding and support for all Israeli outposts throughout the West Bank. This threat came as a punishment for the increase of violence by the Israeli settlers against the Israeli Army, as stated by the Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in the Israeli weekly cabinet meeting 'This is an intolerable situation that we refuse to accept'  

Ehud Olmert, who described the Israeli outposts as a 'disgrace', worked very hard since his came to rule the Israeli Government in 2006 to develop and expand the Israeli outposts and settlements particularly the ones in and around Jerusalem.

The Israeli Government position on the outposts

The consecutive governments of Israel have never formally announced its support to the Israeli outposts in the West Bank, but according to Talia Sasson, Israel’s former Attorney General Talia Sasson; none of the Israeli Governments exhibited any seriousness to dismantle the outposts or even make it less comfortable for the settlers to stay there, and what was worse is that more outposts were established and other existing became even bigger and more equipped.

According to the Sasson report, the bodies involved in establishing the Israeli outposts are: the Ministry of Defense with all it operating bodies (the Israeli Army, the Civil Administration); the Ministry of Construction & Housing; the Settlements’ Division of the World Zionist Organization and the Ministry of Interior Affairs. Thus is concluded that the consecutive Israeli Governments have indirectly supported the illegal outposts as it designated tens of millions of Shekels (NIS) on providing security and infrastructure such as mobile homes, water tanks and electrical generators, and more important than all of this around the clock security.

A new report issued by ADVA center (Information on equality and social justice in Israeli) notes that the consecutive Israeli Governorates supported and still support the Israeli settlements, which still receive the highest balancing grant in Israel in comparison to other cities and towns inside the Green Line.

Sasson doubted the Israeli Government’s decision, saying she doesn’t believe much will change on the ground. She also said that the evacuation of the outposts would not be implemented; on the contrary expansion of these outposts is more likely to happen. An in-depth report prepared by the Applied Research Institute- Jerusalem acknowledges that the Israeli Authorities managed to set up 39 new outposts in the occupied Palestinian Territory since 2005. Table 2 & Map 1 below show the new outposts and their locations.

Source: ARIJ date base- 2008

 Photo 1 & Photo 2 show East Eshkelot and Giv’at Hadegel (The Flag Hill) outposts,
which established after Sasson report in 2005. show East Eshkelot and Giv’at Hadegel (The Flag Hill) outposts, which established after Sasson report in 2005.

The Israeli government had expressed several times its intention to evacuate the outposts of the West Bank. In fact, several attempts were actually carried out, for example, in January 2006, the Israeli Prime Minister Olmert announced his intention to dismantle nine structures from Amona outpost in Ramallah governorate, and on April 2008, the Israeli Ministry of Defense and Yesha council signed up an agreement to evacuate 26 outposts. Early in this month of November 2008, the Israeli Supreme Court instructed Israeli settlers occupying Al Rajabi building (Beit Hashalom) in Hebron to evacuate it within three days. Theoretically, the Israeli courts may issue rules as they may see fit concerning any thing in the West Bank but to put such rules into effect that is different story that is when the Army steps in to override any decision using “security” as pretext to justify the Army’s actions and the actions of the Israeli settlers.

Conclusion

Under international laws, all the Israeli outposts as the settlements constructed in the West Bank are considered illegal and must be dismantled, as they are the main obstacles to the peace process. That was also what the Roadmap peace plan of 2003, required 'The Israeli Government is to freeze all construction activities on the settlements of the West Bank and dismantle the illegal outposts established since March 2001.'   

However, Israel continue with its attempts to manipulate the status of the Israeli outposts and settlements; much more spread confusion about what is legal or illegal at a time when all of the existing Israeli outposts and settlements for that matter; on lands classified as an occupied territory are illegal, as the construction process of these outposts and settlements came under coercion to the real landowners; the Palestinians and not with their consent, which makes the amputations of these adversative structures to ever achieving a genuine peace between the two conflicting parties a mandatory step rather than an optional one.

Prepared by 
The Applied Research Institute – Jerusalem