On December 18, 2011, The Israeli daily newspaper “Jerusalem Post” revealed that the Israeli Ministry of Housing and Construction published tenders to build 1028 new housing units in three illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem and that the new housing units have already been approved for building in various planning levels. The tenders included the building of 500 new housing units in Har Homa settlement (north of Bethlehem Governorate and south of Jerusalem city), 180 housing units in Giv’at Ze’ev settlement northwest of the city of Jerusalem and 348 housing units in Betar ‘Illit settlement northwest of Bethlehem city within Gush Etzion settlement bloc. Table 1
|
Table 1: Israeli Tenders to build new housing units in Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory
|
||||
|
No.
|
Name of Settlement
|
Establishment Date
|
Area (Dunums)
|
Population 2009
|
|
1
|
Har Homa
|
1997
|
2204
|
22261
|
|
2
|
Giv’at Ze’ev
|
1982
|
2856
|
11300
|
|
3
|
Betar ‘Illit
|
1985
|
4685
|
39736
|
|
Total
|
|
|
|
|
|
Source : ARIJ Database 2011
|
||||
It is worth mentioning that it became part of a plan for the right wing Israeli minister “Ariel Atias to lower housing prices in Israel by building more housing units in cooperation with the Israeli Land Authority which also published tenders for lands to be offered for the building of 5984 housing units in 44 localities throughout Israel and the Occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) including the Eastern part of the city of Jerusalem.
Additionally, during the year 2011, the Israeli government approved plans to build 4274 housing units in the aforementioned settlements, Har Homa (2840 housing units), Giv’at Ze’ev (800 housing units) and Betar ‘Illit (634 housing units). Furthermore, since January, 1, 2011 until December 20, 2011, the Israeli government approved plans to build 17,408 housing units in Israeli settlements in the oPt, 15,487(89%) of which in the illegal Israeli settlements of East Jerusalem. Table 2 below:-
|
Table 2 : Israeli Plans and Tenders to build Housing units in Israeli Settlements in the occupied Palestinian Territory (oPt)
|
|||
|
Name of Settlement
|
Location
|
No. of Housing Units
|
Total No. of H. Units in Each Governorate
|
|
Giv’at Ze’ev
|
Jerusalem
|
980
|
15,487
|
|
Ramot
|
236
|
||
|
Ras Al-‘Amoud
|
200
|
||
|
Shim’on Hatezdik
|
13
|
||
|
Gilo
|
5,377
|
||
|
Ramat Shlomo
|
1,299
|
||
|
Pisgat Ze’ev
|
916
|
||
|
Sheikh Jarrah
|
386
|
||
|
East Telpiot
|
90
|
||
|
Giv’at Hamatos
|
2,610
|
||
|
Har Homa
|
3,340
|
||
|
Ma’ale Adumim
|
40
|
||
|
Karni Shomron
|
Qalqilyah
|
46
|
46
|
|
Shilo
|
Nablus
|
119
|
119
|
|
Ariel
|
Salfit
|
277
|
277
|
|
Beit Arye
|
Ramallah
|
100
|
|
|
Betar ‘Illit
|
Bethlehem
|
982
|
1,299
|
|
Efrat
|
317
|
||
|
Massua’
|
Jericho
|
80
|
80
|
|
Total
|
*****
|
17,408
|
17,408
|
|
Source: ARIJ Database 2011
|
|||
The Israeli Discrimination Approach: ‘Israeli settlements population boosts in the oPt’
During the past two decades, Israel has boosted up settlements construction and settlers population in the occupied West Bank in general and in Jerusalem area in particular with intensive settlements’ constructions and packages of incentives. Accordingly, the area of Israeli settlements’ built-up area and the numbers of Israeli settlers in the oPt increased abundantly where in year 1990, the Israeli settlements built-up area was recorded at 69 km², which has increased to 188 km² in year 2011, an increase of 173%.
This in turn has reflected on the number of Israeli settlers living in the settlements, from 240000 in year 1990 to more than 628000 Israeli settlers in year 2011, an increase of 162%. In view of that, the Palestinian population density within the built-up areas of the West Bank Governorates soar to 8537 people per km², in opposite to that of the Israeli settlers living in West Bank settlements which is 901 Israeli settlers per square kilometer for the areas that are occupied by Israeli settlements, according to the Israeli settlements master plan.
In the case of the three aforementioned settlements that were included within the expansionist plans of the Israeli Ministry of Housing & Construction, the settlement of Har Homa population density is estimated at 15 settlers per one dunum, while for the nearby city of Bethlehem, the population density is 15 residents per one dunum. Moreover, the population density for Betar ‘Illit settlement is estimated at 8 settlers per dunum, while for the adjacent Palestinian village of Husan, the population density is 25 residents per one dunum.
This comparison constitutes a typical example of the Israeli methodical discrimination approach conducted by Israel for the interest of Israeli settlers living in West Bank settlements and outposts and against the Palestinian residents of the Palestinian territory where they have been systematically deprived from their legitimate rights to build and expand on their own lands.
Legal & International Status
The continuous Israeli building in the West Bank and East Jerusalem settlements contradicts with the International law rules and conventions in additions to the United Nations Security Council Resolutions as follows:-
- Article XXXI of the 1995 Oslo agreement provides that: Israelis forbidden from building or planning to any project or settlements or any colonial expansion or any plan that lead to change the status of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The article provides “Neither side shall initiate or take any step that will change the status of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip pending the outcome of the permanent status negotiations”.
- Moreover United Nations Security Council, Resolution 446 March 22, 1979 calls on Israel to rescind its previous measures and to desist from taking any action which would result in changing the legal status and geographical nature and materially affecting the demographic composition of the Arab territories occupied since 1967, including Jerusalem and, in particular, not to transfer parts of its own civilian population into the occupied Arab territories’ .
- Also the resolution 452 of the 1979 “calls upon the Government and people of Israel to cease, on an urgent basis, the establishment, construction and planning of settlements in the Arab territories occupied since 1967, including Jerusalem.
- Article 49 paragraph 6 in the Fourth Geneva Convention that” The occupying power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own population into the territories it occupies.”
- In May 2001, the head of the International Red Cross delegation to Israel and the Occupied Territories said that settlements are ‘equal in principle to war crimes’. (Note: ‘The transfer, the installation of population of the occupying power into the occupied territories is considered as an illegal move and qualified as a ‘grave breach.’ It’s a grave breach, formally speaking, but grave breaches are equal in principle to war crimes’, Rene Kosirnik, head of the ICRC delegation to Israel and the OPT, press conference 17 May 2001.)
::::::::::___
[1] Minister of housing and construction
[2] This number excludes the 4274 units that were issued to be published in the settlements of Har Homa, Giv’at Ze’ev and Betar Illit during the year 2011.
Prepared by:
