REPORT ON ISRAELI SETTLEMENT IN THE OCCUPIED TERRITORIES A Bimonthly Publication of the Foundation for Middle East Peace Volume 15 Number 1 January-February 2005 SETTLERS LOSING THE BATTLE FOR GAZA SETTLEMENTS By Geoffrey Aronson gagement Administration, announced, a consequence have raised fears of a vio- “All of the residents of [the Gaza set- lent and perhaps bloody summer as set- Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s plan tlement] Pe’at Sadeh, 20 families in all, tlements are evacuated. to “disengage” Israel from the Gaza as well as five additional families from The IDF, charged with the task of Strip and a small part of the northern other settlements, will move together to evacuating areas slated for disengage- West Bank achieved political and opera- moshav Mavqi’im” in Israel. ment, remains profoundly ambivalent tional critical mass in late 2004. Military and logistical preparations about its mission. One day after settler A December vote in the Likud for the $680 million redeployment pro- leaders warned chief-of-staff Moshe Central Committee opened the way to a ceed apace, including advanced consid- Ya’alon that thousands of religious sol- national unity “disengagement coalition” eration of the construction of a trench diers would not follow orders to evacu- that features the Labor party as a junior along the Gaza-Egypt border—and the ate settlements, Deputy Defense partner, marking a signal political defeat associated destruction of perhaps hun- Minister Ze’ev Boim said that such a for forces within Sharon’s own party dreds of Palestinian dwellings along its refusal could torpedo the disengagement who opposed the plan. route—meant to prevent the construc- plan. As the IDF issues the operational The operational momentum of the tion of arms smuggling tunnels. The orders guiding evacuation, those settlers plan also continued to grow. In early evacuation of Gaza settlements is to and their allies committed to physically December the more than 200 teachers begin on July 3, 2005, and run for obstructing the withdrawal are ambigu- in Gaza settlements met with officials in twelve weeks. ously described as “our forces.” As the the Ministry of Education to reach While the fate of the settlements Israeli newspaper Ma’ariv described it, agreement on new employment after the noted in the plan has been all but “In such a fashion a situation may be evacuation of the 17 settlements in the sealed, the vast majority of settlements created in which ‘our forces’ will be Gaza Strip and four in the northern continue to thrive and prosper. The set- required to evacuate ‘our forces’ from West Bank. On December 26, Yonatan tler population increased by six percent their homes, to manacle them and to Bassi, head of the government Disen- during 2004 to 250,179 (not including confine them to holding camps. In the 180,000 in East Jerusalem) and almost most extreme instance, ‘our forces’ (set- 4,000 new settlement dwelling units are tlers and right-wing activists) battle ‘our See our website for recent currently under construction. forces’ (soldiers and police), even going articles, reports, maps, and Notwithstanding the ever-present so far as to open fire upon them.” momentum of settlement expansion One senior member of the security pictures: www.fmep.org. throughout the West Bank and East forces was reported to have called this Also in this issue: Jerusalem, the settler-led campaign to scenario “a coalition of the insane. block implementation of the disengage- Thousands of settlers hunker down in Palestinians on Gaza Settlements 3 ment plan, and more critically the cam- the settlements scheduled for evacua- Settlement Time Line 4–5 paign to undermine any future evacua- tion. Some of them are prepared to use U.S. Short Takes 7 tion of additional settlements in the arms. Settlers and soldiers grab each ——— ◆ ——— West Bank, has suffered a cascade of others’ throats while Hamas missiles fly Arabic and Hebrew translations of setbacks unprecedented in the history of overhead.” recent Settlement Reports can be viewed Israel’s 37-year settlement enterprise. at www.fmep.org. These reversals have alarmed the settle- ment movement as never before and as SETTLERS, continued on page 6 TO OUR READERS FOUNDATION FOR MIDDLE EAST PEACE The Israeli-Palestinian conflict offers the horse. True freedom and democracy for President George W. Bush a stunning Palestinians require an end to Israel’s occu- Merle Thorpe, Jr. opportunity to demonstrate the sincerity of pation and settlements and the emergence Founder his intention, grandly announced in his of a sovereign Palestinian state with viable (1917–1994) January 20 inaugural speech, to extend the borders and economic prospects. blessings of freedom and democracy Israel’s liberty and democracy also Philip C. Wilcox, Jr. abroad. What better place to begin than depend upon liberation of the Palestinians. President Israel and Palestine? Where else could Israel’s democracy cannot long survive the Geoffrey Aronson American leadership so readily combine the corrupting burdens of occupation and the Director, Research and rewards of commitment to principle, attendant repression of a potential demo- Publications, Editor, Report on morality and human rights with enhancing graphic majority of Palestinians. Israeli Settlement in the Occupied Territories America's national security and restoring Add to this confluence of Israeli and its credibility? Palestinian interests a new, more centrist Ashely Brott The Palestinians offer a ripe opportunity coalition in Israel, Sharon’s plans to evacu- Editorial Assistant for U.S. democratization goals in the ate Gaza settlements, the declining power Kyle Little Middle East. They are well prepared, with of the settler right (described in this issue), Andrea Shaw their high level of education and experience plus polls showing a convergence of Israeli Interns with grass roots and civic organization. and Palestinian public views on the ingre- The recent orderly election of President dients for peace, and the opportunity for TRUSTEES Mahmoud Abbas, municipal elections, and renewed American diplomatic leadership forthcoming parliamentary elections con- becomes even more promising. So what are Lucius D. Battle firm their eagerness for democracy. But we waiting for? Landrum R. Bolling democracy for Palestinians cannot be Calvin H. Cobb, Jr. achieved without liberty. The notion, sug- James J. Cromwell gested by President Bush last December, Peter Gubser that democracy and reform must precede Stephen Hartwell Palestinian statehood, puts the cart before Richard S.T. Marsh Richard W. Murphy Jean C. Newsom Sharon Faces Settler Tsunami Gail Pressberg William B. Quandt Nicholas A. Veliotes The Foundation, a non- profit I.R.C. 501(c)(3) organization, supports peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians through mutual recognition and a negotiated division of historic Pales- tine. It publishes the bi- monthly Report on Israeli Settlement in the Occupied Territories. Copyright © 2005 2 ❖ Report on Israeli Settlement January-February 2005 PALESTINIANS CONSIDER USES FOR SETTLEMENTS AFTER DISENGAGEMENT Palestinians are considering potential uses for settlement areas to on pure speculation. be evacuated by Israel later this year in the Gaza Strip and West Areas used for agriculture can be easily reintegrated as Bank as part of its disengagement plan. The following are excerpts such, with an emphasis on changing cropping patterns and from Reintegration and Development of Evacuated Areas,pre- irrigation methods, etc., to minimize water use such as [in] pared by the Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of Planning. horticulture and production of value crops, e.g., vegetables, strawberries, and flowers. This concerns all colony areas. Gaza Strip The road network in the colony areas coincides with the The sand dune areas in the north and south, where the two configuration of the regional road network in the Gaza Strip. major colony blocs [Nissanit and the Katif bloc] are located, Hence, the main road network of the colonies should be kept contain the best water aquifers, represent landscapes and nat- intact. The utility of local roads will be decided upon after ural features of very high value, and constitute an important inspection. potential for environmentally sound, sustainable agriculture. Infrastructure, such as electricity, water, [and] wastewater According to the Regional Plan for Gaza Governorates, it is of and telecommunication networks and facilities, can largely be the utmost importance that these areas are protected against taken over and reused, pending inspection and evaluation. unplanned development. As a rule, the sand dune areas will be All formal and informal solid waste dumps must be reintegrated as areas under environmental protection against removed. Toxic and otherwise harmful waste [must also be] urban development. The assets in the urban built-up areas of completely removed, and the natural state restored. the colonies must therefore be removed, because they endan- West Bank ger Palestinian long-term sustainability requirements. This would also include service buildings, such as fire stations, clin- Israeli withdrawal from the four colonies with maintenance ics, and schools. of the existing closure system would not bring any benefits to Netzarim can be a part of the urban growth strategy of the Palestinian community. It would provide only marginal Gaza City and would serve as a core for low density develop- benefits for Palestinian development. In political and humani- ment. tarian terms, mere withdrawal will not contribute to any sig- Morag is situated on the main road between Khan Yunis nificant improvement. and Rafah. The location does not coincide with the growth Ganim and Qadim are located within a Nature Protection strategy for these two cities, however, Morag is interesting Area. There are two alternative uses of the area, which to because of its function as an agricultural colony. It could serve varying degrees, could be combined: as a research and development facility in agriculture, in con- ■ Rehabilitate the area as a natural reserve, reestablish lost nection with university expansion plans in the south.