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Home , Ariel (city), Elkana, Nadia Matar, Oranit, Yesha Council

REPORT ON IN THE OCCUPIED TERRITORIES

A Bimonthly Publication of the Foundation for Middle East Peace Volume 11 Number 2 March-April 2001

ARIEL SHARON MOVES TO CENTER STAGE

Ariel Sharon is a pragmatic expan- majority within his own Labor party viable Palestinian entity and to serve the sionist who views Israeli settlement in supports Sharon’s view. tactical security function of dispersing the , , East Jerusa- Sharon is one of the three or four the Defense Forces throughout lem, and the Golan Heights as both an Israelis who have had the most influ- the entire region. ideological imperative and a security ence on the creation and expansion of The Oslo process accommodated asset. As the recently elected prime Israeli settlements in the occupied terri- these settlements as well as the larger minister of Israel, Sharon faces the chal- tories since 1967. “Were there not outposts—Ma’ale Adumim, the Etzion lenge of integrating these objectives into Jewish settlements today on the Golan bloc, Ariel—historically favored by an overall policy toward Yasser Arafat’s Heights in and ,” Sharon much of Israel’s ruling establishment. Palestinian Authority and the three mil- noted in 1995, “Israel would long ago The map created by the Oslo II accord lion under Israeli occupa- have returned across the . in September 1995 and last modified in tion who oppose Israel’s colonization The Jewish settlements are the only fac- March 2000 is almost a mirror image of policies. tor that has prevented the agreement of Sharon’s cantonization plan, which Sharon rejects absolutely the premise this [Rabin] government to withdraw envisaged the creation of noncontiguous underlying the diplomatic efforts of the and [has] created difficulties for it in the Palestinian cantons in the West Bank Barak government—beginning with the negotiations.” and Gaza Strip surrounded by Israeli activation of the Stockholm channel in Each of these outposts represents a settlements and roads. In contrast, the spring 2000 and ending in January 2001 symbol of Sharon’s effort to mold poli- map of the Palestinian state proposed by at Taba—that it is possible and prefer- tics, demography, and geography Barak at Taba (see pages 4 and 5) able to make the territorial sacrifices according to Zionist preferences, and he acknowledges that about 100 of these required to “end the conflict” with the is not prepared to surrender them easily. outposts fail to pass both the demo- Palestinians. The aftermath of former From Sharon’s perspective, former U.S. graphic and territorial preconditions for prime minister Ehud Barak’s resounding president Bill Clinton’s acknowledgment annexation by Israel. electoral defeat has revealed that a that the demographic transformation At this early stage in his tenure, and created by settlements is the basis for as distasteful as the notion is to Israeli Israel’s territorial claims in the occupied policymakers today, Sharon has chosen Also in this issue: territories, including East , not to alter the assessment upon which Short Takes 3 can be viewed as a victory and a contin- Israel’s participation in the Oslo process Barak’s Taba Map 5 uing challenge for Israeli expansionists. is based—that is, that Arafat and the Settlement Time Line 6, 7 Sharon’s leadership has been espe- security apparatus he heads remain part- cially important in the creation of what ners in the effort to secure Israel’s settle- ——— ◆ ——— former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin ment and security interests in the West Visit our homepage: derisively termed “political settle- Bank and Gaza Strip. http : / / www.fmep.org ments”—those sparsely populated out- Partners must be accommodated if posts that dot the central highlands they are to remain partners. As a minis- To subscribe to the e-mail version of running in a north-south line between ter in the government of Benjamin the Settlement Report: Jenin and Jerusalem. These settlements, Netanyahu, Sharon, in discussions with [email protected]; which Rabin numbered at around 60, both Palestinian and U.S. officials, leave “Subject” blank. were conceived by Sharon to explicitly Write: subscribe settlements-L. forestall the creation of a territorially SHARON, continued on page 7 TO OUR READERS FOUNDATION FOR MIDDLE EAST PEACE

Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon’s If Yasser Arafat is to crack down on Merle Thorpe, Jr. vision of Israeli-Palestinian relations, dis- Palestinian violence, there must be major Founder cussed in this issue, is a recipe for more reciprocal steps by Israel. Responsibility for (1917–1994) conflict, not peace. Sharon would reverse the violence lies not just with Palestinian the clock and ignore Ehud Barak’s Camp militants who foolishly believe they can Philip C. Wilcox, Jr. David proposals, Bill Clinton’s more gener- defeat Israel, and with Arafat’s apparent President ous ideas, and the proposals put forth at paralysis, but also with Israel’s unprece- Taba in January. Sharon’s promise to limit dented harsh and lethal tactics. More fun- Geoffrey Aronson Editor the Palestinians to 41 percent of the West damentally, mutual violence is inherent in Bank, preserve all settlements, and yield the occupation relationship in which Israel Shvili nothing on Jerusalem preserves the volatile holds a monopoly on power and has used Jerusalem Correspondent status quo that underlies the collapse of the it, unilaterally and in violation of its own Jenna Beveridge peace process. The Bush administration has Oslo promise, to force its goals in the terri- Editorial Associate dismissed the Clinton proposals and would tories, foremost, by continuing to seize land prefer to let the parties slug it out alone. and build Blanca Madani Instead, it should reengage soon. settlements. Violence is, however, only a Webmaster Sharon’s statement that new peace talks symptom of the conflict. Preaching against ADVISERS require an end to the violence is a more it is useless without dealing with the serious proposal. The Oslo promises to causes, a challenge that now awaits Prime Lucius D. Battle foreswear force and negotiate in good faith Minister Sharon. Landrum R. Bolling were sound and must be resurrected by Murray J. Gart both parties. Violence breeds fear and Peter Gubser hatred and undermines the moderates on Jean C. Newsom both sides. Stopping it is a two-way street. Gail Pressberg

—————— —————— TRUSTEES

Peter M. Castleman During his February visit to Israel, Secretary of State Colin Powell Chairman was told by prime minister-elect Ariel Sharon that Israel intended to Lucius D. Battle keep its settlements in the Valley as well as those located along Calvin H. Cobb, Jr. the mountain ridges east of the Green Line. James J. Cromwell Stephen Hartwell “We learned a lot from you Americans,” Sharon explained. “We saw Richard S.T. Marsh how you moved West using this method.” Richard W. Murphy Ha’aretz, February 26, 2001 William B. Quandt Sally S. Thorpe

Ma’ariv: In the Army’s view, is terrible mistake. It would mean there room for the evacuation of that we are withdrawing as a con- The Foundation, a non- profit, I.R.C. 501(c)(3) isolated settlements as part of an sequence of violence. To my sor- organization, receives no agreement with the Palestinians? row this happened to us [in U.S. or foreign government Deputy Chief of Staff Moshe October 2000, when the IDF, funds. It supports peace and security for Israelis and Ya’alon: From the tactical securi- under fire, evacuated] Joseph’s Palestinians through mutual ty point of view, the evacuation Tomb, and we have seen how recognition and a negotiated of settlements today could pro- much this action raised division of historic Palestine. vide some advantage, but from a Palestinian spirits. strategic vantage, it would be a Ma’ariv, February 16, 2001 Copyright © 2001

2 ❖ Report on Israeli Settlement March-April 2001 SHORT TAKES

The intifada can have the potential to unsettle the stability Residents of , following their successful efforts of the Zionist enemy and deter him by hitting at his soldiers yesterday, attempted to continue blocking the highway there and settlers. Consequently, it will achieve a similar result to to Arab traffic this morning. Police intervened, however, and what Hizballah achieved in South Lebanon, namely, the even arrested Women in Green leader Nadia Matar. She later unconditional Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank and explained, “Chief of Staff Mofaz gave clear instructions that Gaza without us having to relinquish our claim on 80 percent two or more Arab men in private cars are not to drive on the of Palestine. Thus it is better to build a state in the Jabalya roads of , while Arab families and Arab taxis are refugee camp without conceding our right to Palestine, than allowed. So we were basically forcing the army and the police to establish a state in the West Bank and Gaza while giving to do their job.” up on 80 percent of Palestine. This is the basic rule. We are News Service, February 13, 2001 not for giving up Palestine. ————————————— Why are we asked about killing heavily armed settlers occupying our land who have a free hand to do as they please Former president [Bill] Clinton offered his ideas to assist and take our lands by force—calling them civilians? The the parties in their efforts, and the former president himself truth is that there is not one civilian in the Zionist entity. made clear that the ideas would leave with him when they They are all soldiers carrying arms. He who finishes his mili- left office. tary service joins the reserves until the day he dies. The ques- Richard Boucher, spokesman, tion about killing civilians should be addressed to the Israeli U.S. Department of State, February 9, 2001 side—we are defending ourselves: I want to ask you—[set- ————————————— tlers] who have been killed in Gaza recently—what are they Just as we set a limit to Lebanon and had the strength to doing here? Several dozen settlers leave it, and as we set a limit to the take over more than one-third of recession and had the strength to the Gaza Strip’s 360 square kilo- Every Republican administration, take the country out of the reces- metres, while one million like that of the elder Bush in 1991, sion and bring it to a state of Palestinians live in the rest. and the new one, eventually reaches growth, we shall also have the Abdelaziz Rantisi, Hamas strength to take our boys out of spokesman, Falastin al-Muslima / the connection between oil barrels Judea and Samaria. Mideast Mirror, February 16, 2001 and settlements. Ehud Barak, Israeli prime ————————————— MK Uri Savir minister, Jerusalem Post, Ha’aretz, March 1, 2001 January 31, 2001 “The Sharon era will not be one of stability and security as the ————————————— criminal Sharon claims,” said a leaflet distributed last week in During the period of September 29, 2000-January 15, Bethlehem by the Fatah political party. “The settlements that 2001, the Israeli occupation forces razed 6291.5 dunams of he spent his life building and establishing at the expense of land in the Gaza Strip, about 4776.5 dunams (76%) of which Palestinian land will become hell and fire.” were agricultural lands, and about 1515 dunams (24%) were Philadelphia Inquirer, February 19, 2001 wooded and sandy areas. During the period of December 19, ————————————— 2000-January 15, 2001, the Israeli occupation forces razed 1835.5 dunams of land, about 1240.5 dunams (67.6%) of We were calm for seven years in order to give a chance to which were agricultural lands and 595 dunams (32.4%) were the negotiations, of which I have been a keen supporter. But wooded lands. These figures do not include houses and civil- the Israelis used that time in order to negotiate interim agree- ian and agricultural facilities established on these properties, ments that were never implemented and to continue their which were also razed and demolished. Bulldozers of the policy of a fait accompli on the ground: the new settlements, Israeli occupation forces also demolished 88 Palestinian hous- the expropriations, the confiscation of land, the keeping of es on razed areas during the period of September 29, 2000- prisoners in the jails. Why should calm now be restored? So January 15, 2001, making their residents homeless. that they can resume the same policy? We have the right to “Uprooting Palestinian Trees and Leveling Agricultural self-determination, like all the peoples of the world. Land,” the fourth report on Israeli land sweeping and demo- Marwan al-Barghuthi, Fatah secretary general lition of Palestinian buildings and facilities in the in the West Bank, Le Monde, October 26, 2000 Gaza Strip, by the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, ————————————— January 26, 2001

March-April 2001 Report on Israeli Settlement ❖ 3 DECONSTRUCTING THE TABA TALKS

The talks at Taba and Eilat conducted by Israel and the Palestinian Authority in the waning weeks of the Barak gov- Projection of the Abu Mazen-Beilin Map ernment achieved both a conceptual and practical break- through on the central question of the territorial dimensions of a Palestinian state and the corresponding extent of Israeli annexation of territories occupied in June 1967. The Barak REHAN Jenin government, in a departure from positions put forward at the ISRAEL Camp David and Washington negotiations, modified long- standing territorially-based security demands, allowing for a significant transformation of its settlement-related require- ments. The Palestinians, in turn, for the first time presented a Tulkarm map acceding to Israel’s annexation of some West Bank (and East Jerusalem) territory where settlements had created demographic realities that were hard to ignore, in return for land of equal value in Israel. Despite what Palestinian nego- Kalkilya tiator Abu Ala described as “very tangible progress,” consider- SHOMRON SETTLEMTS.

able obstacles remained to resolving contradictory Palestinian r e

v territorial and Israeli settlement demands. i R

ARIEL The final status map presented by Israeli negotiator Gilad n a d r Sher in January 2001 proposed Israel’s annexation of 5 per- o OFARIM J cent of the West Bank. A reconstruction of this proposal, WEST BANK based upon extensive investigation, appears on the page oppo- site. The map is significant in a number of respects. On a MODIIN conceptual level, it disaggregates Israeli security demands ILLIT Ramallah from territorial/settlement issues. Israel dropped demands for GIV'AT extensive lease-back arrangements in the Jordan Valley, along ZE'EV Jericho the southern West Bank perimeter and around , MA'ALE in contrast to the map presented by Israel in December 2000. East ADUMIM J'lem (see page 4 of the January 2001 Report). Instead, there were Abu far more productive discussions about the creation of discreet, Dis limited security points in the Jordan Valley, arrangements BETAR Bethlehem which would have no territorial or settlement dimension and EFRAT K.ETZION Dead which would not be conditioned on Israeli control of princi- Sea ple transport routes. This new Israeli policy also established the basis for the Areas annexed reduction in Israel’s territorial demands along east-west corri- to Israel dors in the Ariel and Ma’ale Adumim regions, a reduction Palestinian State that markedly increases the territorial continuity of the pro- spective Palestinian state. Corridors reaching to Keddumin Major Israeli Settlements and Shavei Shomron west of Nablus, to Shilo and Eli across

Route 60, from Ma’ale Adumim to Bet El and northeast 0 20 KM of Ramallah, and east of Ma’ale Adumim towards the Jordan SHANI Valley are no longer included in territory claimed by Israel. FMEP Map : © Jan de Jong 20 Miles These settlement corridors protrude like slender but lengthy territorial ‘fingers’ deep into Palestinian territory, controlling would lower this threshold to 65 per cent of West Bank set- all its key crossroads and functionally cantonizing it into sec- tlers, excluding those in East Jerusalem. The Taba map signi- tions that can be controlled much more easily than one con- fied that more than one third of Israeli settlers, living in 87 tiguous bloc. West Bank settlements, would have to be evacuated. The Israel’s more restrictive application of this geopolitical value of real property in these outposts would be deducted mechanism made impossible the realization of another key from the compensation claims of Palestinian refugee property element of Barak’s settlement program—the incorporation of in Israel. at least 80 per cent of West Bank settlers into Israel, not counting those in annexed East Jerusalem. The Taba map TABA TALKS, continued on page 7

4 ❖ Report on Israeli Settlement March-April 2001 Final Status Map Presented by Israel — Taba, January 2001 Based on a 5 % Ð West Bank Territorial Transfer to Israel

Palestinian Autonomous Areas (Areas A and B)

'Brown' Area: Palestinian Sovereignty

'White' Area: Israeli Sovereignty / REHAN Jenin KADIM Settlement Built-up Areas GANIM No Man's Land as defined in ISRAEL Armistice Agreement 1949 MEVO DOTAN Israeli territory offered as part of a 3 % land-swap SANUR MEHOLA Israeli Settlements within 'Brown' Areas Tulkarm

AVNE White Area 5 % HEFEZ ENAV SHAVE SHOMRON SAL'IT ELON 41 / KEDUMIM Nablus MOREH ZOFIN 65% Kalkilya YIZHAR EMANUEL ALFE ITAMAR MENASHE BRAKHA SHOMRON Biddia SETTLEMTS. r e

West Bank v

i R 87 / 35% ARIEL MA'ALE Brown EFRAIM n SHILO a Area d BET r Rantis ARYE o 95 % J

West Bank Sovereignty Areas, OFARIM including Number of Israeli Settlements and Percentage of Settlers, HALAMISH excluding East Jerusalem Ni'lin TALMON A Palestinian State Ð Historical Comparison BET OFRA EL Jewish state according to UN Partition Plan-1947 MODIIN Saffa Ramallah Deir Dibwan Palestinian State according ILLIT to UN Partition Plan-1947 GIV'AT ZE'EV Projected Palestinian State according to the Jib Jericho Israeli Proposal-2001 Latrun Biddu Proposed land- Salient swap areas

City limits unilaterally MA'ALE expanded by Israel, ADUMIM June 28, 1967, East WEST annexed by , J'lem BANK July 30,1980 Abu KALIA Dis ISRAEL Jerusalem BETAR Bethlehem

Gaza EFRAT GAZA K.ETZION STRIP TEKOA

N A Halhul D R Halutza O J

Hebron K.ARBA

Dead

E Sea G Y P T Dhahriye 0 20 KM ESHKOLOT SHIM'A MEZADOT YEHUDA 20 Miles Foundation for Middle East Peace Map : © Jan de Jong

March-April 2001 Report on Israeli Settlement ❖ 5 SETTLEMENT TIME LINE

October 25 Gunshots are fired at Palestinians fire on Gilo from Beit Jala, hit- ised to keep the corridor in Gaza ; the Israel Defense Force responds ting nine homes. open to Israeli traffic. with three tank missiles. Exchanges of fire Ha’aretz reports that the IDF will invest A roadside bomb detonates next to an Israeli also take place at the Ayosh junction north $6.25 million in armored ambulances, buses, bus near the Morag settlement in Gaza. No of Ramallah, at a roadblock in Bethlehem, and other vehicles, bulletproof vests, bullet- injuries are reported. and the Elisha military outpost near Jericho. proof windows for houses facing Palestinian Shooting incidents occur at al-Haddad, near Artuz-7 reports the planting of a roadside areas, concrete blocks, and night-vision and Jerusalem, and the Ayosh junction north of bomb and shooting by Palestinians on an other optical equipment. One thousand Ramallah. Israeli convoy en route to Morag. No injuries reservists residing in settlements have been are reported. called up for service in the preceding month. Palestinian gunmen shoot and kill two Israelis at the National Insurance Institution The IDF fires four mortar shells into al- October 28 Palestinians shoot at Israeli in Jerusalem. Bireh after shots are fired into the Psagot targets and settlements including Adura, settlement. (south of Hebron), the Atarot airport in Palestinian police release the body of an East Jerusalem, Gilo, the Katif bloc, and Israeli civilian found in Beit Jala near his According to the Addameer Association, the Kadim. home in Gilo. IDF twice shells the village of Beit Jala and the nearby Aida refugee camp from the Gilo Al-Ayyam reports that the IDF destroyed a Yediot Aharanot reports that settlers have settlement; residents of Beit Sahour are Palestinian farm and orchard for the protec- established a Web site, www.helpingisrael. shelled once by tanks as well. tion of the Morag settlement in Gaza. com, to encourage contributions to settle- ment efforts to defend against Palestinian According to the Addameer Association, October 29 Arutz-7 reports three fire- attacks. Items requested include night-vision Israeli settlers attack Palestinian villages in bombs are thrown at Neveh Dekalim in equipment and armored playgrounds. Hebron, Hossan, and Tekou in the Bethle- Gaza. No injuries are reported. hem region, and Beit Furik, Burin, Huwarra, October 31 Palestinians shoot at an Israeli Clashes erupt in Nablus and the Netzarim Qaryout, and Yitma near Nablus. Many bus near the settlement of , junction in Gaza, killing four Palestinians Palestinians report injuries as a result of injuring one passenger. and wounding more than 50 others. Two these attacks. Israelis are wounded. November 1 Palestinians shoot at IDF outposts and settlements at Atzmonah in The Addameer Association reports that the Palestinians fire at the control tower of the , the Ayosh junction, the Degan homes of some Palestinian residents of Atarot airport in East Jerusalem. No injuries hilltop in Efrat, Karni junction, and Rachel’s Hebron are being used by the IDF as new are reported. military outposts. Palestinians under Israeli Tomb. Residents of Jelazun burn tires and control in Hebron [H-2] remain under cur- Palestinians fire on Psagot and engage Israeli throw rocks and firebombs at IDF soldiers few for the 26th consecutive day. soldiers near the Ayosh junction and IDF near the settlement. checkpoints near Hebron, Kalkilya, Nablus, The Tunnel Road closes to traffic. Ha’aretz Ha’aretz reports that the settlement outpost and the settlement of Vered Jericho. of Mitzpe Hagit on the Allon Road is being reports that the IDF is advising the con- resettled one year after it was evacuated as Fifteen Israeli tanks and armored vehicles struction of a western alternate to the high- part of an agreement with the government of engage in a nine-hour gun battle with way. The proposed road would run from the Ehud Barak. Palestinians in efforts to open the Karni- Jerusalem neighborhood of Malha via Netzarim road in Gaza. Wallaja to the al-Hadar intersection north of October 26 Palestinians shoot at the the Etzion bloc. The Rabbis Union, led by former chief rabbi settlement of Gilo. The IDF responds with Abraham Shapira, states, “The rights and An IDF officer tells Ha’aretz that journeys machine-gun fire and shells. According to obligations of the Nation of Israel to sover- of residents to and from Netzarim are now Ha’aretz, many families who live in the eignty over the Land of Israel and to the set- being taken under fire. Settlers travel in southeast portions of Gilo have temporarily tlement of the land are an eternal command armored cars provided by the IDF. left; families who have stayed sleep in rooms by the Creator to the entire nation, for the on the western side of their homes. Artuz-7 reports an IDF plan to cut its forces entire land, throughout all the generations. in the West Bank and Gaza by 20 percent. A Every concession weakens us, and gives our Amnesty International reports more than spokesman states the deci- enemies more strength and confidence to 130 Palestinian deaths, 40 of them children sion is “illogical, ignores the state of war in fight us.” at the hands of Israeli security forces. YESHA, and will invite further attacks by Amnesty also claims that Israeli security Ha’aretz reports that in the wake of Palestinians on Jewish residents.” forces have persistently used excessive force. Hizballah’s capture of three Israeli soldiers, According to IDF Radio, Hamas and the the IDF has closed the tourist facility at the October 27 Palestinians throw rocks at Tanzim jointly declare that the intifada Golan settlement of Neve Ativ. Israeli vehicles near Bethlehem and the will operate in East Jerusalem and that Jordan Valley, injuring four people. October 30 The IDF accuses the Palestin- lives of the Jewish settlers “will become ian Authority of violating agreements prom- hell.”

6 ❖ Report on Israeli Settlement March-April 2001 SETTLEMENT TIME LINE

The IDF lifts the curfew on the Palestinian Palestinians shoot at the Vered Jericho set- become operational. The return to “business residents of Hebron. tlement and kill one reserve officer near the as usual” includes the construction of 1,500 IDF’s Elisha outpost. dwelling units in the settlement, enough to Palestinians fire on the Gilo settlement from increase the population of 7,500 by 50 per- Beit Jala. According to an IDF officer, the The IDF warns Palestinian residents of one cent, as well as infrastructural improvements. firing “was the most massive and intense . . . Hebron neighborhood to evacuate their The settlement of Klia Elon has also won since the beginning of the current violence.” homes after an evening of heavy gunfire. preliminary approval for 50 additional units. The IDF responds with machine-gun fire, Palestine Report claims that the Israeli army missiles, and helicopters. No injuries are has opened ten new bypass roads on November 2 A pipe bomb explodes under- reported. Palestinian land classified as Area A. neath a car near the Jerusalem Theatre, injuring one person. While touring the Gilo settlement, Jerusa- Palestinians in Abu Sneinah shoot at resi- lem mayor Ehud Olmert and senior police dents of the Abraham Avinu settlement in In Hizme Palestinians close the Jerusalem- officers come under Palestinian fire. Olmert Hebron. Shomron road, which services traffic from demands that the IDF take a more forceful Jerusalem to the Binyamin and Shomron Two Israeli soldiers are killed attempting to policy on Beit Jala, stating that the army settlements. “should retake Beit Jala” if necessary and rescue wounded soldiers at al-Hadar, near impose a closure in order to prevent attacks the Tunnel Road. One other Israeli soldier dies near Elisha, outside Jericho. on Gilo. Prime Minister Ehud Barak orders SHARON, continued from page 1 an aid package for residents of Gilo and Ha’aretz reports that plans for the expansion other border neighborhoods. of the Golan settlement of Katzrin have endeavored to establish an agreed-upon basis for the creation of a Palestinian TABA TALKS, continued from page 4 ter Barak noted, it marked the first time state, albeit one hobbled in both its ter- that the Palestinians had incorporated ritorial and sovereign dimensions by Israel’s Taba map is both conceptual- the principle of Israeli annexation of Israeli territorial and security demands. ly and territorially reminiscent of the West Bank territory into a formal pro- Sharon’s formula, however, was consis- Abu Mazen-Beilin Plan of 1995, which posal. tent with the Oslo process crafted for established a Palestinian willingness to The Abu Ala map illustrated three Rabin, with its focus upon “interim consider trading settlement blocs for important Palestinian objectives: reduc- agreements” enhancing Israel’s settle- equivalent Israeli land. A map illustrat- ing the area to be annexed by Israel to ment objectives and its overall security. ing the Plan’s principles was never dis- twice the settlements’ current built-up Since that time, Sharon has expand- closed and remains controversial to this areas; minimizing the number of West ed his notion of the territorial dimen- day. Bank Palestinians to be annexed by sions of the state of Palestine to include The final status map suggested by Israel from more than 20,000 projected the 41 percent of the West Bank now Israel at the Taba talks begins to address by Israel’s Taba map to practically zero; classified as Areas A (17.2%) and B Palestinian concerns that the scale of rejecting the annexation of any part of (23.8%) and most of the Gaza Strip. Israel’s settlement-related demands the Jerusalem area settlements of Ma’ale While he does not come close to meet- would decisively prejudice the territorial Adumim or Givat Ze’ev. ing minimal Palestinian demands for a cohesion of the West Bank and that Palestinian leader Nabil Shaath, in final status agreement, Sharon also does Arab East Jerusalem would be frag- his February 2001 discussions with not require the kind of Palestinian con- mented, jeopardizing the socio-eco- Secretary of State Colin Powell in cessions—first among which is an nomic viability of a Palestinian state. Washington, brought out both the explicit agreement to “end the con- Although improving Palestinian territo- Israeli and Palestinian maps to demon- flict”—unsuccessfully demanded by rial contiguity and unhindered road strate how much the parties had Barak. passage, Barak’s map would nevertheless improved upon the current territorial As Sharon sees it, the challenge fac- not solve remaining defects impacting division of the West Bank. Powell, ing both Israelis and Palestinians after upon both territorial continuity and according to one source, had never the guns fall silent, a challenge that the transport corridors in crucial locations before seen the maps. He explained that parties have failed to meet since the near Jerusalem, Ramallah, Bethlehem, the Bush administration never said that opening of “final status” talks last year, is Kalkilya and Nablus. Taba had not moved the parties closer. not to repudiate but to reinvigorate The map presented by Palestinian It had only noted that none of what Oslo’s focus on interim solutions. The negotiator Abu Ala aimed at addressing transpired was binding upon the gov- next step: the agreed-upon establish- these deficiencies. The Palestinian map ernment of Ariel Sharon. ment of a Palestinian state that leaves represents a significant historical and Israel’s settlement and security objec- diplomatic landmark. As Prime Minis- tives intact.

March-April 2001 Report on Israeli Settlement ❖ 7 BARAK’S SETTLEMENT LEGACY

Settler population in the West Bank and Gaza 203,068 in the Etzion bloc 299 incidents Settler population increase during Barak’s tenure, October 1, 2000-January 24, 2001: June 1999-December 2000 22,419 from Beit Jala toward Gilo 53 incidents at Rachel’s Tomb 59 incidents Distinct settlement locations in the from Bet Sahour to Har Homa 10 incidents West Bank and Gaza 200 sites Rock-throwing incidents against Government tenders issued for construction Israeli targets in the Etzion bloc, in West Bank/Gaza settlements, October 1, 2000-February 13, 2001 2,000 incidents June 1999-September 2000 3,499 units Closure frequency of Tunnel Road, linking Building sites in the West Bank/Gaza sold by the Etzion bloc to Jerusalem, the Israel Lands Administration, 2000 2,804 lots September 28, 2001-February 13, 2001 91 times Building permits issued by the Ministry of Percentage increase in traffic along the main Housing and Construction in West Bank/Gaza Jerusalem-Tel Aviv highway since the beginning settlements, January-October 2000 1,184 units of shooting incidents along Route 443, the Public construction starts in West Bank/Gaza secondary route through the West Bank 40 percent settlements, 2000 1,943 units Decrease in traffic along Route 443 since the Shooting incidents against settlers/settlements beginning of the al-Aqsa intifada 80 percent

U.S. president [George W.] Bush called to relay his good wishes. He told me of his desire for close coop- eration with the government which I will head. He recalled a tour we went on together of Samaria and the Jordan Valley. The government that I will lead will work towards restoring security to the citizens of Israel, and toward achieving genuine peace and stability in the region. I know that peace means painful compromises on both sides. Any settlements reached will be based on security for all peoples in the region. I call upon our neigh- bors the Palestinians to abandon the path of violence and return to dialogue and pursuit of a resolution to the disagreements between us in a peaceful manner. The government which I will lead will work toward a realistic settlement which will safeguard the existential and historical interests of Israel, and will be based on mutual respect and the fulfillment of reciprocal obligations. The government that I will lead will raise the flag of social issues, alongside the flags of security and peace, with the top priority being education. Above these are the flag of Zionism, the flag of national honor, immigration, and settlement of the land. The government which I will establish will pursue the strengthen- ing and building up of a united Jerusalem, the capital of Israel, and the eternal capital of the Jewish people for which we are forever obligated: “If I forget thee O Jerusalem, let my right hand lose its cunning. If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, if I do not set Jerusalem above my highest joy.” Israeli prime minister-elect Ariel Sharon’s victory speech, February 7, 2001

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