Settlement Monitor: Quarterly Update on Developments Author(s): Geoffrey Aronson Source: Journal of Studies, Vol. 25, No. 4 (Summer, 1996), pp. 125-136 Published by: University of California Press on behalf of the Institute for Palestine Studies Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2538020 Accessed: 26-02-2015 20:41 UTC

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

University of California Press and Institute for Palestine Studies are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Journal of Palestine Studies. http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 108.45.56.202 on Thu, 26 Feb 2015 20:41:59 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions QUARTERLY UPDATE ON DEVELOPMENTS

EDITED BY GEOFFREY ARONSON

The Changing of the Guard

Labor and Likud in theElections Campaign: Portending a SmoothTransition.. 126 1996 LikudParty Platform: Provisions Relevant to Settlements...... 127

Future Face of the ?

YESHA'sResponse to Oslo ...... 128 A Reporton BypassRoads, by LAWE (excerpts)...... 129 Road Map forIDF Redeployment-TheWest Bank-1996 ...... 134

Facts and Figures

Settlersand Settlementsat a Glance ...... 135 Land ConfiscationsSince Oslo...... 136 PropertyViolations from Oslo I throughFebruary 1996 (chart) ...... 136

GeoffreyAronson, a writerand analystspecializing in theMiddle East, is theeditor of the Report on Israeli Settlementin theOccupied Territories (hereinafter Settlement Report), a Washington-basedbimonthly news- letterpublished by the Foundation for Middle East Peace. Unless otherwise stated, the items in thissection havebeen written by Geoffrey Aronson directly for this section or drawn from material written by him for theSettlement Report. The Institutefor Palestine Studies is gratefulto theFoundation for permission to drawon itsmaterial. Major documents relating to settlementsappear in the"Documents and SourceMate- rial"section.

Journalof PalestineStudies XXV, no. 4 (Summer 1996), pp. 125-136.

This content downloaded from 108.45.56.202 on Thu, 26 Feb 2015 20:41:59 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 126 JOURNAL OF PALESTINE STUDIES

THE CHANGING OF THE GUARD Labor Encourages Settlers The preelectionseason provideda fo- Labor and Likud in the Elections Cam- rumfor the Labor party leaders to amplify paign: Portendinga Smooth Transition theirviews on the futureof settlements. Without exception, these statements [An earlierversion of thisarticle appeared demonstratedLabor's intentionto reas- in theSettlement Report, May 1996.] sure settlersand Israelis generallythat theyintend to preservethe special status Benjamin Netanyahu'selection has of settlersand settlementsachieved dur- generatedmuch speculation on thefuture ingthe Oslo processas wellas to continue direction of 's settlementpolicy. Israelimilitary control of settlement areas. Thereis evidenceto suggest,however, that Haim Ramon,Peres's ministerof the the differencesbetween Labor and Likud interiorand leader of a youngergenera- on settlementare less pronouncedthan tionof "doves"in the Labor party,stated conventionalwisdom would haveit. In an that"Yossi Beilin's idea is the only solu- articleon 3 June,for example, Ha'Aretz re- tion: thatis, most of the settlerswill re- portedthat Labor cabinetminister Yossi main underIsraeli rule and the question Beilin in the wake of the electionshad ofsovereignty over these areas will remain "stressedthat there is not todaya mean- open for fifteento twentyyears." Beilin ingfulgap betweenthe stands of the two had expresseda preferencefor the crea- major parties,but rathera joint under- tion of large blocs of Israeli settlements standingon thecentral issues, including a annexedto Israelin theWest Bank. "As for definedtimetable for the peace process the settlementsnot under Israeli sover- and a finalsolution that will be acceptable eignty,"he added,"no one is suggestingto to mostof theright-wing parties." evacuateor movethem. The optionswill Alreadyduring the e ectioncampaign, be in the hands of settlersthemselves: to Labor and Likud were both heading for stay in an area not under Israeli sover- thepolitical center in searchof the critical eignty,with some securityagreement, or swingvotes that held the key to political to moveto anotherplace withgovernment victory.The Labor party,led by Shimon assistance." Peres, proclaimedits intentionto build Beilinand Peresendeavored to increase upon theadvantages won duringits diplo- the prospectof religious-settlervotes in macy with the Palestiniansto secure favorof Peres'scandidacy by negotiating Israel's permanentpresence in the occu- an agreementwith Rabbi Yoel Ben Nun, a pied territories.The Likud, meanwhile, memberof YESHA [theCouncil of Jewish led by Netanyahu,emphasized its ideolog- Settlementsin the West Bank and Gaza ical commitmentto settlementthroughout Strip].Ben Nunhad said thathe and other GreaterIsrael while acknowledging its ac- settlerswould organize support for Peres's ceptanceof the politicalfacts created by reelectionif Peres guaranteed the future of Labor. all settlementsunder Israeli sovereignty as On 15 February,Peres agreed the gov- partof a finalstatus agreement; continued ernmentmust providean answerto the buildingin settlements;and madea public "naturaldevelopment of theJewish com- goodwillgesture, such as increasedbudg- munitiesin , Samaria, and Gaza," ac- ets forsettlements or recognitionof their cordingto MinisterRabbi Yehuda Amital, masterplans. whomPeres brought into the cabinet as a Accordingto the Ha'Aretz,on 3 April, gestureto the religious-settlementlobby Peres"agreed in principlethat settlements afterthe Rabin assassination.Amital ex- will not be evacuatedand agreed to the plained that "natural development"in- settlementbloc conceptaimed at creating cludes populationgrowth, more housing, territorial continuity between settle- and morepublic buildings. ments."One day earlierthe Knessetap- Laterthat week, Peres said thathe did provedan additional$7 millionallocation notsee theneed toremove any settlement, to thesettlements. evenin thecontext of a finalstatus agree- In earlyApril, Peres made perhapsthe mentwith the . As he toldIDF most substantiverevision of his political Radio on 2 April:"I said we wouldneither strategyby announcing that, as with removesettlements, nor add new ones. Syria,any agreement with the Palestinians That is the differencebetween us and the on thefinal status of theoccupied territo- Likud.' rieswould be submittedto a publicrefer-

This content downloaded from 108.45.56.202 on Thu, 26 Feb 2015 20:41:59 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions SETTLEMENT MONITOR 127

endum.The intendedpolitical effect of the up all our most basic values. Whoeveris announcementwas to increasethe pros- readyto rush out of Hebronis willingto pect that religious voters with doubts leave half of .... The basic dif- about Peres'scommitment to settlements ferencebetween us and Labor is thatwe would vote for him knowingthat they will restoreto the peace processwith the could alwaysvote againstwhatever agree- Palestiniansthe principlethat we are tak- ment he reached with the Palestinians. ing responsibilityfor security." The referendumidea, firstraised last No- vemberafter the Rabin assassinationby 1996 Likud Party Platform:Provisions Beilinin talkswith religious parties, was Relevantto Settlements welcomedby theIsraeli public, which reg- [Thefollowing points were extracted from isteredover 70 percentapproval for the theLikud Party Platform of 1996.] idea. Opposition to the referendumcame * "Immigrationwill be increased,and fromthe Meretz party, Labor's current co- settlementwill be strengthened.The deci- alitionpartner. Meretz is expectedto lose sion to freeze settlementswill be re- perhaps half of its currentseats in the scinded."(Chapter 1, Peace and Security, Knesset,and its liberalsupporters oppose Preamble) Peres'sefforts to woo the religious-settler - "The Govemmentof Israel will honor vote. internationalagreements, and will con- tinuethe diplomaticprocess to achievea Likud Favors Autonomy just and lastingpeace in theMiddle East. The Likuddid not endorsethe Oslo II It will recognizethe factscreated on the accords which resultedin the redeploy- groundby the various accords,and will mentof the IDF out of the West Bank's act toreduce the dangers to thefuture and major citieslast autumn,but it is recon- securityof Israel resultingfrom these ciled to theirexistence and supportsthe agreements."(Chapter 1, Peaceand Secur- creationof an autonomousPalestinian en- ity,Operative no. 1) tityin the territoriesthat the IDF has al- * "The Governmentof Israel will enable readyleft. Eliahu Ben Elissar,a hard-line the Palestiniansto manage their lives Likud leader,said he was "evenready to freely,within the frameworkof self-gov- giveup sovereignty[over the entireWest ernment.However, foreign affairs and de- Bankand Gaza Strip]if only there will be fense,and matterswhich require coordi- Israelirule oversettlements." nation,will remain the responsibilityof Regarding settlements, the Likud theState of Israel. The governmentwill op- promisedsimply to increaseconstruction pose theestablishment of an independent in all settlements,rather than followLa- Palestinianstate." (Chapter 1, Peace and bor's policy of concentratingpublic re- Security,Operative no. 3) sources in the greaterJerusalem region, * "Jewishsettlement, security areas, where thereis a ready marketfor addi- waterresources, state land and road inter- tional housing.Raphael Eitan, leader of sectionsin Judea,Samaria and the Gaza the Tsometparty and a winner on the Stripshall remainunder fullIsraeli con- Likudlist, favored opening 2,700 unoccu- trol."(Chapter 1, Peaceand Security,Oper- pied dwellingunits in West Bank settle- ativeno. 5) mentsto new immigrants."We carrythe * "Israel will keep its vital water re- flag of GreaterIsrael," explained Eitan, sourcesinJudea and Samaria.There shall "The stateneeds to lend a hand to settle- be no infringementof Israel's use of its mentin all availableterritory." waterresources." (Chapter 1, Peaceand Se- Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu, curity,Operative no. 6) meanwhile,promised that the Likud will * "Unitedand undividedJerusalem is the "establishmore and morenew communi- capital of the State of Israel. Activities tiesin theWest Bank. We see in thisa fun- whichundermine the statusof Jerusalem damentalpart of thesettlement process of will be banned, and thereforePLO and the people of Israel in its land," he ex- PalestinianAuthority institutions in the plained. city,including the OrientHouse, will be Netanyahusupported a "clear, solid, closed." (Chapter 1, Peace and Security, and massivepresence in all of Hebron," Operativeno. 7) partof which Israel was supposedto evac- * "TheJordan River shall be the eastern uatein Aprilunder terms of the Oslo II ac- borderof the State of Israel, south of Lake cord."We will reachpeace withoutgiving Kinneret.This will be thepermanent bor-

This content downloaded from 108.45.56.202 on Thu, 26 Feb 2015 20:41:59 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 128 JOURNALOF PALESTINESTUDIES

der betweenthe State of Israel and the 70 percentof theGaza Stripthat Palestin- HashemiteKingdom of Jordan." (Chapter ian Authority(PA) currentlycontrols. 1, Peaceand Security,Operative no. 8) "It is necessaryto concentratesettle- * "Israelwill conductpeace negotiations mentresources according to the premise withSyria, while maintaining Israeli sover- thatafter the elections a governmentdesir- eigntyover the Golan Heights and its ous ofcontinuing setdement will be estab- waterresources." (Chapter 1, Peaceand Se- lished,"noted the settlementplan. "The curity,Operative no. 9) size of thesecommunities, the connection * "The govemmentwill set a goal of hav- betweenthem, and theiraccess to centers ing sevenmillion Jews in Israelwithin the of Jewish population [i.e., Israel] will nextdecade. The governmentwill prepare greatlyinfluence their status in theeyes of the countryto absorbJews, both new im- theIsraeli public-and thereforeexert a di- migrantsand returningcitizens, viewing rect influenceon the politicaldecisions this not only as a nationalundertaking thatwill be made in thecoming years." but as strengtheningIsrael economically Underthe direction of Amana director and culturally."(Chapter 6, Aliyahand Ab- Ze'ev Hever,a small groupof settlers,as sorption,paragraph 1) well as politicianslike ArielSharon, were * "Settlementin all partsof the Land of mobilizedsoon afterthe signingof the Israel is of nationalimportance and part Oslo accordsin September1993 to draw of Israel's defensestrategy. The govern- up a blueprintfor large-scale settlement. ment will allocate special resourcesfor They prepared,at great cost, computer settlementin borderand sparsely-popu- generatedmaps incorporatingextensive lated areas." (Chapter8, Agricultureand aerial photos of the region cross-refer- Settlement,paragraph 1) encedwith data on ownershipdeeds, offi- cial maps, and urban plans fromvarious sources. The settlementplan was devel- FUTURE FACE OF THE WEST BANK? oped on thebasis of thismapping project and on the Oslo II maps, in which the West Bank and Gaza were divided into YESHA's Response to Oslo zones A, B, and C. The maps are not yet [An earlierversion of thisarticle appeared publiclyavailable, but the plan calls for in theSettlement Monitor, May 1996.] thebuilding of tens of thousandsof addi- tionalhousing units, the establishmentof Amana, the settlementarm of the twelveadditional nahals (or paramilitary Councilof Jewish Settlements inJudea, Sa- settlements),and fourteenadditional mili- maria, and the Gaza Strip [YESHA] has tarybases on the main roads of theWest preparedan extensive$4 billionconstruc- Bank. tion plan to more than triplethe settler Benjamin Netanyahu has been populationin the occupied territoriesto presentedwith the plan,as havemembers 500,000 by theyear 2000. of the NRP. But the plan was also crafted This grandioseplan is in the spiritof in such a way as to enable it,with some settlementprograms advocated by settlers modification,to be adopted by a Peres and theirpatrons in the Likud and NRP governmentin theevent of a Laborvictory. (NationalReligious Party) since the early It is based upon expandingthe existing 1970s. Whilemost schemes did notreach settlementinfrastructure, particularly by theirstated settlement goals, they did suc- "thickening"the larger settlements,and ceed in deterrniningthe direction of settle- aims at exploitingthe opportunitiesfor mentefforts during the rule of both Labor settlementgrowth opened by the creation and Likud governments. Even with of the extensiveseries of bypass roads Likud's victoryat the polls at the end of (costing$600 millionin 1995) developed May, it is unlikelythat Israel's housing in thewake of the Oslo agreement. sectorcould manage the precipitousex- This road plan has transformedmany pansion outlinedin theplan. settlementsaround Jerusaleminto sub- Amana'splan was writtenin theexpec- urbs of the city.Already today there is a tation of taking quick advantageof a ready marketfor new constructionin Likudvictory to createadditional "facts on places like Kokav Ya'acov, Psagot, and the ground"that would precludean ex- Adam."The bypass road plan,"explained pansion of Palestinian control signifi- Hever,"even without intention, has given cantlybeyond the approximately28 per- settlementin Judea and Samaria a big centof the West Bank [areasA and BI and boost."

This content downloaded from 108.45.56.202 on Thu, 26 Feb 2015 20:41:59 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions SETTLEMENT MONITOR 129

The settlementmovement appears pre- Palestiniantowns of Tulkarm,, pared to accept at least nominalPalestin- Jericho,, and Hebron.The high- ian controlin areas A and B, wherethe PA way begins in the Israeli town of Beer- has exerciseda measureof controlsince sheba,south of the West Bank, and contin- late 1995. None of the anticipatedsettle- ues all theway north through the center of ment expansion is located on lands in Hebron,, Jerusalem, Ramallah, eitherarea. The twelvenew settlements Nablus,and Janin to Afula,an Israelitown called forin the plan wereapproved dur- just overthe Green Line to thenorth. This ing the Shamirera. They,like the antici- highwayis open to all traffic,but thenew pated expansion of existingsettlements, bypassesto be constructedaround every are to be locatedon lands eitherdeclared majorcity, and thesmaller ancillary roads as state lands by the Shamirgovernment whichwill connect the settlements to each or withinthe masterplan boundariesof otherand to Israel,will be closed to Pales- existingsettlements. In the Oslo II ac- tiniantraffic. cords, the PA recognizedIsrael's "legal Jerusalemitself is also undergoinga rights"over state lands. renovationof its infrastructure.A new The anticipatedgrowth of settlements highwayaround the city to the east is is tobe achievedwithout large-scale public underconstruction; highway 60 will feed sector participationor concessional fi- into this new ring road; and new roads nancingin housingconstruction. Amana will thenlink the settlementsin the East is dependingupon theprivate sector to re- Jerusalemarea to it. spond to marketdemand for new housing Highway60 now lies almostentirely in in settlementsthroughout the West Bank area C, the area to remainunder Israeli and Gaza Strip.The governmentis being controluntil the final agreement. This pro- asked to continueto providemortgages to vides an Israeli controlled corridor purchasersat competitiverates. By re- throughthe entire length of the West frainingfrom the obvious use of public Bank.Where the road passes throughthe fundsto satisfythe "naturalgrowth" of center of the Palestinian towns listed settlements,Amana has thuscrafted a pro- above (and thereforethrough areas A and gramgeared not to elicitstrong U.S. pro- B), theJewish-only bypass roads are under test. construction,allowing in most cases for settlersto remainin area C. The following A Report on Bypass Roads reportdetails thirteenof the twentynew [TheAmana plan outlined above relies upon roads.Some ofthe roads not detailedhere a systemof bypass roads officiallyan- are thesmaller Jewish-only roads ofa kilo- nouncedby theIsraeli army at theend of meteror less. 1994 and legitimizedwith Oslo II: Israeli militaryredeployment, the condition for Pal- THE HEBRON AREA estinianelections, was made contingenton The Hebron-Halhulbypass road. Highway thecompletion of bypass roads to assurethe 60, in makingits way to the northof the securityof the settlements. Some twenty new West Bank,passes throughthe centerof roadsare currentlyeither completed or in the main Palestiniantowns. The bypass variousstages of construction. In May1996, roads, of course,are meantto allow the Land and WaterEstablishment for Studies Jewishsettlers to travelwithout passing and Legal Services(LAWE), a Palestinian throughthese Palestinian populated areas. nongovernmentalorganization and theWest The Hebron-Halhulbypass road currently Bank affiliateof the Paris-basedInterna- underconstruction passes aroundHebron tionalFederation of Human Rights, issued a to theeast. Twelve kilometers by sixtyme- lengthyreport on thebypass road system. ters,this road cuts directlythrough the Thefollowing excerpts, which focus on the most fertileland in the southernWest currentstatus of the roads, could serve as an Bank.It passes aroundYatta and Hebron updateto thearticle "Asphalt Revolution," to the east, throughthe lands of al- whichappeared in SettlementReport of Shuyukh, Halhul, Souir and finally May 1995 and in JPS's "SettlementMoni- throughBayt Omar to reconnectto high- tor"in Summer1995]. way60 and allow fora completebypass of theHebron-Halhul area. Highway60, the aginghighway which This constructionhas meantthe demo- bisectsthe West Bank from north to south, litionof seven houses already, and theloss comprisesthe centralartery for the new of 5,000 dunumsof agriculturalland for bypasseswhich will circumventthe major thisroad alone. An additionalsixteen to

This content downloaded from 108.45.56.202 on Thu, 26 Feb 2015 20:41:59 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 130 JOURNAL OF PALESTINE STUDIES ninetyhomes remainat risk forthe con- and Rafatvillages and connectRamot and structionof thisroad, which passes near surroundingsettlements to Jerusalem. or parallelto the highwaywhich already Al-Bireh-Ramallahbypass road will connect exists. settlementsto theeast and westof Ramal- lah to each otherand highway60. The Highway35. To be built in coordination road will begin east of Ramallah in withthe Hebron-Halhulbypass road, this Mikhmassettlement, run north around al- extensionto highway35 (theTrans-Judean Birehand Ramallah,pass throughBeyt El, highway,according to Israeli maps) will intersecthighway 60, and continuesouth connectthe Etzion block of settlementsto down the west side of Ramallahthrough highway60. Highway35 at the moment Beitunia,Jdarah, and Rabatvillages to link runsfrom Israel in thewest, connects the Givat Ze'ev settlementwest of Ramallah Telemand Doran settlementswest of He- and Qalandiyyaairport to a militaryinstal- bron,and intersectshighway 60 just north lation.These Palestinianvillages, because of Hebron. of theirproximity to the settlementclus- The extensionwill begin at a new in- tersin thisregion, have alreadylost over terchangeto be constructedin the Bayt 75 percentof theiragricultural lands to Atutarea northof Hebron,where the He- thesettlements, the industrial site, and the bron-Halhulbypass road, highway 60 and JerusalemQalandiyya airport. the new extensionof highway35 will in- tersect.The roadwill then continue north- NABLUS AREA eastthrough the lands ofHalhul, Souir, al- Nablus, because of its strategicloca- Shuyukh,and BaytFajjar; connectto the tion in the centerof the northernWest Mezad and Mezad B settlements;and pro- Bank, is surroundedby Jewish settle- ceed northto the Etzion block of settle- ments.Kedumim, Kedumim Tzafon, Givat mentswest of Bethlehem. Hamerkazilie to theeast; ShaveiShomron This road will be approximatelyfour- to the northwest;the Mt. Ibal militaryin- teenkilometers by 180 meters,and 3,500 stallationand to the north dunumsof land have alreadybeen confis- and northeast;Tel Hayim and Itamarto cated forits construction.The economic thesoutheast and south;Barakha directly losses to the farmersof the area forthis south;and Yitzharsouthwest. These settle- road, like forthe Hebron-Halhulbypass, ments,and theJewish-only bypass roads will be enormous,as this land is highly thatare plannedto linkthem, will entirely cultivated.An unknown number of houses surroundNablus and isolate it fromthe are at riskas a resultof thisconstruction restof theWest Bank. as well. -Mt.Ibal bypass road. Twenty-fourhundred dunums from Dayr JERUSALEMAREA Sharaf,Naqura, Bayt Iba, Zawata,and Ibe- Bethlehem-BaytJala bypassroad, in south- lia, located to the west-northwestof Na- emrJerusalem,perhaps the most elaborate blus, have been confiscatedto build an of thebypass road plans,is nearingcom- eightkilometer road surroundingNablus pletion.Two tunnels and a bridgewill link to the north,crossing highway 60, which the East Jerusalemsettlement of Gilo to will link Shavei Shomronto the military the Etzion block of settlementswest of installationon Mt. Ibal. Thereis a strong highway60, meaningthe destructionof doubtthat the road will end at themilitary threehomes and an unspecifiednumber installation,as Elon Morehlies just to the of dunums of agriculturalland in Bayt east of the militaryinstallation. The area Jala. throughwhich this road will pass is con- sideredthe bread basketof the area, and Jerusalem-Ramallahbypass road in the are affected nine kilometers overone hundredpeople by northernJerusalem area, theseconfiscations. long,has takena heavytoll as well on the East Jerusalemneighborhood of Bayt Nablusbypass road. The largestof theNa- Hanina,located to thenorth of Jerusalem blus bypassroads is the twenty-four-kilo- near the main Jerusalem-Ramallahroad meterroad meantto linkElon Morehset- (wherethe northern extension of highway tlementlocated northeast of Nablus with 60 begins).This bypass road, beginning in settlementsto the east and south. This Jerusalem,will pass westof Ramallahand roadwill begin at Elon Moreh,move south throughthe lands of Birnaballah,Jdarah, on the lands of Dayr Khattab,and then

This content downloaded from 108.45.56.202 on Thu, 26 Feb 2015 20:41:59 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions SETTLEMENT MONITOR 131

southeastthrough Salem village lands un- criticallydamage agricultureas a source til it reachesthe BaytDajan plains.There of incomefor this area. the road will branchinto two parts:The firstwill pass BaytDajan to theeast until QALQILYA it reachesthe Hamra settlementand con- Qalqilya,because of itslocation on the tinuesouth until the Mukhara settlement. Green Line at the westernmostpoint of The secondroad will move west from Bayt highway55, remainsone of themost iso- Dajan, intersectwith the bordersof the latedof Palestinian towns. Highway 55 be- Nablus municipalitybefore turning south tweenNablus and Qalqilya servesa long again to theentrance of settlement. line of settlements:Kedumim, Kedumim From thereit passes west until Barakha Tzafon, Jit, Givat Hamerkazi, Qarnieh settlement,located just south of Nablus Shomron and its industrialsite, Ginot proper. Shomron,Ma'ale Shomron,, and AlfeMenashe. Road 477 will be built ostensiblyto con- Qalqilya is surroundedby nect the Palestinianvillages of Salfit, Israel to the west, Alfe Menashe to the south and Tzofimto the north.Highway Farkha,and Burkin,although paved roads 55 enters from alreadyexist between these three villages. Qalqilya theeast. The confiscations(and theroad) wereor- The Qalqilya bypass road will run from dered by the Israeli Civil Administration Tzofimin thenorth, through Qalqilya's ag- in February1994, and a highlyrestrictive riculturallands whichare heavilyplanted skeletonplan was introducedat thattime. withguava and citrusfruit, to the Israeli Althoughannounced as a road serving villagesof Eyaland KokhavYair just over thesePalestinian villages, the area lies in the GreenLine. It will mean the confisca- area B and thereforecannot be considered tion of 192 dunumsof land and will fur- theresponsibility of the CivilAdministra- therisolate Qalqilya fromits primeagri- tion. But what also seems obvious from culturalarea to thenorth. the trajectoryof this road is that it will eventuallyenhance the infrastructurein JANIN thefuture for transportation between Ariel Janinis one of the Palestiniantowns settlementand settlementssouth of the least affectedby settlementactivity. The mainAriel-Israel highway. closestsettlements to Janin are Ganimand The constructionof thisroad will not Kadimsettlements to thewest and Ginnat only severelyrestrict the growthof these to thenorthwest. Further away, encircling villages(according to the skeletonplans Janinbut at some distance,are , introduced)and limitthe ability of the Pal- Hinnanit, Site, , , estinianmunicipalities to expandmunici- Sanur, and to the west and pal servicesin thisarea, but also will de- southwestand Iritto the southeast.All of stroythousands of olive trees.According these settlementsare small, with fewer to Mr.Khamis al-Hamad, an activistin the thanfive hundred settlers each. Therefore fieldof land defenseand spokespersonof in orderto maintaina militarypresence in theLand DefenseCommittee for this area, the area, and to facilitatecontrol around the villages will lose the productionof Janin,a new militaryinstallation and by- about eightytons of oliveoil a year. pass road were proposed and begun in In April 1994, the people of the af- 1995. fectedvillages asked LAWE to take the Janinbypass road. The militaryinstallation case against this road. LAWE presented will be located near Qabatiyyavillage, the objectionon 17 April1994, but until southof Janin, for which twenty dunums todayno hearinghas been held concern- of land were confiscated.The seven-kilo- ing thisroad. meterbypass road, requiring the confisca- Theseroads, along with the settlements tion of lands fromJanin, Dayr Abu Daif, thatsurround Nablus on all sides,will to- Bayt Qad, Dayr Ghazzalah, Arranah, tallyisolate Nablus fromits surrounding Jalamah,and Burkinvillages, will beginat villagesand theagricultural lands forthis the militaryinstallation; proceed north; area. The lands of Dayr Khattaband Sa- pass Janinto theeast; intersect the road of lem are cultivatedwith thousands of olive and Ganim settlements;continue trees,and threeother villages rely on agri- norththrough the lands of Janin,Dayr culturein theBayt Dajan plains.The dam- Ghazzalah,Arranah and Jalamah;bisect age and agriculturallosses forthe region highway60; and head westwarduntil havenot begun to be calculated,but it will reachingthe main Janin-Nazareth road.

This content downloaded from 108.45.56.202 on Thu, 26 Feb 2015 20:41:59 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 132 JOURNAL OF PALESTINE STUDIES

Three hundred and fiftylandowners campaign.The additionalirony lies in the willbe affectedby theseconfiscations, and factthat the justification listed on mostof theroad bisectsthe fertileagricultural ar- theseizure orders is securityand military eas to theeast ofJanin. Large areas of land necessity-arationale that cannot be ar- are currentlycultivated with olive trees, gued againstor challengedby any Pales- wheat,and irrigatedand nonirrigatedveg- tinianlandowner. etables.In thecourse of theconstruction, These confiscationsare illegaland con- 1,500 olive treeshave been uprootedand stitutea violationof both international large areas of land cultivatedwith irri- law and Israelilegal precedent. First, inter- gatedvegetables such as pepper,eggplant, nationallaw statesthat it is illegalto effec- tomatoes,and cucumberswere destroyed, tuatepermanent changes to an occupied alongwith the water pipes thatfed them. area, unless thereis a need to modernize Farmers believe that they will lose aging infrastructure.These bypass roads $1,142-$1,428per dunumyearly as a re- constitutea permanentchange on thePal- sultof thisconstruction, added to thefact estiniancountryside and are unrelatedto that theirland will now be dividedinto theinfrastructure needs ofthe local popu- two parts,making the more distantpart lation. across theroad verydifficult to access. Second,the roads are builtfor the ex- clusiveuse of the illegaland supposedly LEGAL ACTION temporaryJewish settler population in the Land and WaterEstablishment took on WestBank. Although Palestinians own the many of the cases against these bypass lands used forthese roads, and the road roads, understandingthe catastrophic networkfor the local population has consequencesof the roads and theirex- hardlybeen improvedsince 1967, thisul- plicitly racist nature. LAWE accepted tramodernroad networkis designedfor thesecases despitethe fact that the PA had themaximum convenience of the "tempo- agreedto theroads (contraryto theirfirst rary"settler population and builtin such a statements)and thatthe roads were linked way as to permanentlyexclude the local to the redeploymentfrom the Palestinian populationfrom their use. Many of the populatedareas. roads run parallelto alreadyexisting ag- Most of the land was taken through ingroads, and othersare locatedin such a seizureorders, a thinlyveiled legalism for way as to preventtheir eventual use by confiscationand the preliminarystep to- nearbyPalestinian villages. ward permanentconfiscation. These or- In addition,these confiscations violate ders,issued by the GeneralCommander an Israeli legal precedentset in 1982, of theWest Bank Ilan Biran,are meantto whichforbids the confiscation of thelocal reflectthe supposed "temporary" nature of population'sproperty for permanent use. the roads. How the destruction of The destructionof homes and the use of thousandsof dunums of agricultural land, land forroad-building constitute a perma- the demolitionof overa hundredhomes nentuse, particularlyas theroads are now in theWest Bank, and thepaving of roads accessibleonly to thesettlements and mil- constitutesa temporarymeasure is not itaryinstallations. clear.The seizureorders, in thesecases of Finally,the construction of these roads a "temporary"period of three or fiveyears, will destroythe only source of incomefor allows thegeneral commander to circum- hundredsof familiesin the West Bank. ventthe normal,more complicatedlegal Compensationcannot begin to redressthe requirementsrelating to confiscationand permanentloss ofincome for families that takemuch less timeto effectuate.Legally, have depended on theirlands for their objectionscan be made onlyto theIsraeli livelihoodsfor generations. The overallef- Civil Administration.If this objection fectof thisdamage to thePalestinian agri- fails,the affectedlandowners have a brief culturaleconomy will be dealt withlater forty-eighthours to submita petitionto in thisreport. theHigh Court. Because of complicatedarrangements The factthat the firstcourt of appeals made duringand afterthe signing of Oslo is also theconfiscating authority, and the II,challenging these roads on a legal level inadequate forty-eight-hourpetition pe- became very difficult.In addition, the riod, makes a seizure ordermuch more plansfor many of the roads do notinclude destructiveto the more time-consumingdetailed informationon the dimensions confiscationorder. This legal "trick"has and trajectoryof the roads. It is impossible allowedfor this latest massive confiscation to assess the damages or presentobjec-

This content downloaded from 108.45.56.202 on Thu, 26 Feb 2015 20:41:59 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions SETTLEMENT MONITOR 133

tions since the informationsimply is not In July1995, however,LAWE lost yet made availableto theaffected villages. De- anothercase againstthe confiscationsfor spite these restrictions,LAWE has taken theroads. Duringthe arguments, the law- legal cases againstthe Janin bypass road yerfor the Stateof Israel claimedthat the (twenty-eightowners), the Nablus bypass Civil Administrationwas confiscating road fromShavei Shomron to themilitary lands forthe bypass roads on thebasis of installation,the Ramallah-al-Birehbypass an agreementbetween the PA and the Is- road, the Skaka-Salfitroad south of Na- raeli government.In frustration,LAWE blus, and theHebron-Halhul bypass road. wrotea letterto Arafat,asking him to clar- In everycase the Civil Administration ifythis point,and to tell the Palestinian ruled in favorof the Israeli army,which peoplethat this claim was falseand thePA arguedthat the confiscationswvere neces- had not agreed to the constructionof sary for militaryand securityreasons. these roads and the confiscationswhich LAWE took one case to the Israeli High theynecessitated. On 6 August,Arafat re- Court which,like the Civil Administra- spondedwith a two-linefax, saying "The tion, accepted the argumentof military agreementwas thatthey must not confis- and securityreasons. The HighCourt dis- cate land (forthe bypass roads) without missedthe objections of LAWE,based on coordinationwith us. Theyhave not coor- internationallaw, on Israeli legal prece- dinatedwith us." This statementreveals dent,and on humanitariangrounds, stat- an agreementin principlewith the Israeli ing thatthey were political arguments. It bypass road plan and thereforewith the became apparentthat there was no effec- confiscationsnecessary to facilitatethem. tiveway of seekinglegal redressagainst The factthat there had been no coordina- the confiscationof these lands, particu- tionin thiscase can hardlylay to restfears larlyafter it became known that the PA thatthe PA had agreedto theprinciple of had, in fact,agreed to the constructionof the theftof Palestinianland. It is one of theseroads. theremarkable developments of this peace processthat for the first time the Palestin- ian leadershiphas approvedof the confis- THE END OF POPULAR PROTEST cationof Palestinianlands foroccupation Since thereremained very little hope purposes(in thiscase, Jewish-only roads). thatlegal challengeswould receivea fair Only severalmonths after Oslo II did hearingor providelegal reliefto thisde- thisfact become apparentto the Palestin- struction,popular demonstrations became ian community,and thisweakened popu- theonly method of protestingthese hated lar protest.During the Land DefenseCom- roads. As the catastrophicconsequences mitteemeeting held in November1995, on local agriculturalbecame moreappar- the fax to LAWE fromArafat was made ent,area residentsturned out in forceto public, revealingthat the roads were a tryto protecttheir lands. politicalissue and alreadyresolved by ne- Land DefenseCommittees have played gotiation.Shortly thereafter, the Land De- a largerole in organizingthis anger of the fenseCommittee in Hebroncalled offits people into protestactivity. Throughout weeklyvigil, recognizing that theywere 1995,meetings were held all overthe West demonstratingagainst what theycame to Bank betweenPA membersand the land- understandas PA policy(Challenge Maga- owners,who demanded that action be zine,January 1996). Arafat'sagreement to takento protecttheir lands. In one meet- permitPalestinian land to be taken to ing in Augustlandowners from Rafat vil- build the bypass roads effectivelyunder- lage nearRamallah, who haveseen over70 mined political oppositionand popular percentof theiragricultural land confis- protest against the confiscations.Left catedfor roads, a militaryinstallation and withoutany recourse,Palestinian land- the Jerusalemairport, demanded action ownersare forcedto stand by and watch fromPA ministerYasir Abid Rabbuh.Vil- as the bulldozersuproot their vineyards, lagerssaid thatthese roads will dividethe cut downtheir olive trees, tear down their Palestinianlands and preventthe forma- houses,and end theirlivelihoods. It is un- tionof a Palestinianstate, and askedwhy likelythat the lands takenfor these roads thePA did not stop thenegotiations until will be returnedto theiroriginal owners, thisissue was resolved.At thistime all PA and evenif they will be returned,the dam- membersdenied that the PA had approved theconstruction of theseroads.

This content downloaded from 108.45.56.202 on Thu, 26 Feb 2015 20:41:59 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 134 JOURNAL OF PALESTINE STUDIES

Road Map for IDF Redeployment- the West Bank -1996

.10r| MediterranewJ4i Sea

fI `1 A 'N /k

| {) (-{leWtj_ | Tulkare> ~ ~ \

IRII ~ ~ ~ SRI

I RL i:cf @v\~ /ter-lna7} 1 JO)RL)satu KaLtbe dtrined)" WestBank~ ~~~~Hoes

| Telilis X - (Israeli occupied- O

LEGEND~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ i Recmmede TraveWest Route Bank / (Israelioccupie- f> o statusto be determnined) * 11 ;

LEGEND H; 8,J j Recommended Travel Route < for Israelis Non-Recommended. Route for Israelis J - 4hV

Route Restrictedto Operational Forces , " Joint(Israeli-Palestinian)-Patrol Route AreaArea A - A- ~~~~~Bethleh^7,, / Palestinian Cities flAreaB - Palestinian Villages O Area C - Settlement and militaryareas, / roads, state lands I * ebro;n O MilitaryFirst Aid ( o Israel Police Station /Dead * Israel-Palestinian /Sea Co-ordination Office ;

0 5 10 15kilometers

O 5 10miles

SOURCE:Yedsx Aharanoa. January 3. 1996

This content downloaded from 108.45.56.202 on Thu, 26 Feb 2015 20:41:59 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions SETTLEMENT MONITOR 135 age-a paved road in the middle of their Population Growthin Settlementswith fields-isirreparable. over 5,000 Inhabitants From 1992 to 1994: FACTS AND FIGURES * The populationof Ariel grew from 10,400to 12,800(+ 23 percent) * The populationof Givat Ze'ev grew Settlersand Settlementsat a Glance from6,100 to 6,700(+ 10 percent) * Thepopulation of Ma'ale Adumim grew [Thefollowingstatistics and variousaspects from15,200 to 18,400(+ 21 percent) of Israel's settlercommunity in the Wlest * The populationof Qatzringrew from Bank and Gaza Stripare drawnfrom the 4,200to 5,000(+ 19 percent) mostrecent annual publication(1995) of * The populationof KiryatArba grew Israel's CentralBureau of Statistics-The from4,900 to 5,100(+ 4 percent). StatisticalAbstract of Israel. Theyportray Sources of Population Growth a settlercommunity growing more slowly thanduring the early 1990s butat ratesat or abovethe historical average. JANUARY1994 116,300 The followingdata excludethe almost SettlerPopulation 200,000 Israelisresiding in EastJerusalem. In somecases thefigures of thereport are notinternally consistent.] Internal Sources of Population Growth in the Migration 7,000 West Bank and Gaza Strip, 1994 * Total population growthin Israel in 1994 was 2.7 percent;settler growth was overthree times this figure. * The settlementsalso absorbed 1,000 Natural new immigrants. Israel, it will be 3,700 remembered,committed itself in 1990 to a Increase policyof not encouragingimmigrant set- tlementin theterritories. Immigrants 1,000 * Israelis are still moving across the GreenLine in largenumbers. This internal DECEMBER 1994 127,800 migrationis also consideredby theUnited SettlerPopulation Statesto be partof the "naturalincrease" in settlerpopulation and has thus not been a topicof U.S. criticismsince the Au- gust 1992 understandingsbetween Presi- SettlerPopulation dent George Bush and Prime Minister YitzhakRabin. SettlerPopulation, 1972-1994 SettlerPopulation by Type of Locality (thousands)

(Rural and Urban) 140

* 50,300 settlers,or 39.35 percent,live in 120

122 rurallocalities. Of these, 100 - 41,200 live in 82 settlements(average 80 population:500), - 2,000live in 9 kibbutzim,and 60 - 7,000live in 31 moshavimand collective 40 moshavim. 20 * 77,500 settlers,or 60.64 percent,live in 0 thefourteen largest settlements. Of these, 1972 1983 1990 1992 1993 1994 - 46,200 live in urbansettlements with populationsranging from 2,000-9,999, and * Note thealmost 20% increasein thesettler population - 31,300 live in urbansettlements with ofthe Gaza Stripduring the 1992-1994period. populationsranging from 10,000-19,000 (i.e.,Ma'ale Adumim and Ariel).

This content downloaded from 108.45.56.202 on Thu, 26 Feb 2015 20:41:59 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 136 JOURNAL OF PALESTINE STUDIES

Population by Age In recentmonths plans forthe expan- sion oftwo settlements near Janin-Ganim * The nationalmedian age is 26.7 years- and Kadim-havebeen announced.Each significantlyhigher than the median set- will expand by 1,400 dunums,approxi- tlerage of 19.7. matelythe area of Jerusalem'sOld City. * 50 percentof the settlerpopulation is The Peres govemment'sintention to ex- under20 yearsof age; 42 percentis under pand these two sites is notable particu- 14 years of age; 16 percentis under 4 larly because of their isolated location yearsof age. nearJanin. These actions, and in particularthe Internal Migration to and from the continuingconstruction of bypass roads, West Bank and Gaza Strip haveelicited sporadic, popular Palestinian * of protests,as wellas complaintsby Palestin- In 1992, therewas a positivebalance ian officials.As AhmadQurai', economic settlersarriving in the West Bank and ex- Gaza Stripover settlers leaving those areas ministerof the PalestinianAuthority, thatreached 76.2 per thousand. plained: * In 1993, therewas a positivebalance of It was agreedthat this [settlement]issue settlersarriving in the West Bank and shouldbe postponedto thefinal status ne- Gaza Stripover settlers leaving those areas gotiations,provided that neither side takes thatreached 62.7 per thousand. measureswhich would harm the other side'srights or tries to change the situation * In 1994, forevery 111.7 Jewish settlers on theground. What we havenow is land who enteredthe West Bank and Gaza seizureon the pretextof buildingbypass Strip,54.7 left,leaving a positivebalance roads,and expansion of the settlements, de- (per thousand)of 57.1. spiteformer Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin's * In 1994, forevery 13.5 Jewswho en- promisethat no settlement'sboundaries teredIsrael proper, 6.6 left,leaving a posi- willextend further than fifty meters beyond tivebalance of 6.9. thelast housein it. Worsestill is thefact * In 1994, theWest Bank and Gaza had a thatIsraeli Housing Minister Ben-Eliezer is nowan expertat announcingnew confisca- higherrate of population growth than any tionand ncw projectsfor building Israeli districtof Israel. Some districtsof Israel, homeson Palestinianland. With regard to includingTel Avivand Jerusalem,exper- Jerusalem,there is an attemptto stifleit iencednegative balance ratesin the same andisolate it fromthe other Palestinian ar- year. eas bysetting up roadblocks and attempt- * From 1992 to 1994, therate of net in- ingto limitPalestinian activity there. crease of the settlerpopulation has de- clinedby almost25 percent(from 76.2 to 57.1). PropertyViolations fromOslo I throughFebruary 1996 Land ConfiscationsSince Oslo This table shows propertyviolations [Thisarticle appeared in SettlementReport fromSeptember 1993, afterthe signing of in May 1996.] the Oslo Accord,to 29 February1996. Accordingto Palestiniansources, Israel These figures,compiled frompress re- has confiscatedalmost one quartermil- portsand LAWE'scase work,give a rough lion dunums throughoutthe West Bank estimationof the extent of damages sincethe Oslo accordswere signed in Sep- caused by the occupationafter the begin- tember1993. Most of these actionshave ningof thepeace process. proceededon thebasis of confiscationor- Total Total ders issued before1992. Constructionof Natureof Violation Jan-Feb.1996 sinceOslo I numerousbypass roads throughoutthe ConfiscatedLand' 14,628 dunums' 244,966 dunums WestBank has entailedthe confiscation of BulldozedLand& 600 dunums 23,346 dunums an additional16,000 to 20,000 dunums[4 House Demolition 10 houses 67 houses House DemolitionNotices 97 notices 193 notices dunumsequal one acre].The latterconfis- UprootedTrees 206 trees 30,359 trees cationsproceeded according to an agree- 'This category includes over 16,000 dunums of land mentreached with the Palestinian Author- confiscatedfor the bypass roads currently under construction throughoutthe West Bank. b' dunum- 1/ acreor 1,000square ity. Settlershave unilaterallytaken an meters.'This categoryrefers to land unilaterallyseized by the additional23,000 dunums,according to settlersbut notofficially confiscated. the Land and Water Establishmentfor Studiesand Legal Servicesin Jerusalem. Source:Land and Water Establishment, Jerusalem, April 1996

This content downloaded from 108.45.56.202 on Thu, 26 Feb 2015 20:41:59 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions