Settlement Monitor Reviewed work(s): Source: Journal of Palestine Studies, Vol. 41, No. 2 (Winter 2012), pp. 190-199 Published by: University of California Press on behalf of the Institute for Palestine Studies Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/jps.2012.XLI.2.190 . Accessed: 02/05/2012 15:27

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 Settlement Monitor

Edited by Geoffrey Aronson

This section covers items—reprinted articles, statistics, and maps—pertaining to activities in the West Bank, including East , and the Golan Heights. Unless otherwise stated, the items have been written by Geoffrey Aronson for this section or drawn from material written by him for Report on Israeli Settlement in the Occupied Territories (hereinafter Settlement Report), a Washington-based bimonthly newsletter published by the Foundation for Middle East Peace. JPS is grateful to the foundation for permission to draw on its material.

“Peacemaking Efforts Running on Empty”...... 190

On the Ground UN Report on Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including (September 2010–July 2011) (excerpts)...... 192 Legalizing Settlement Outposts, by Laura Friedman (excerpts)...... 194 Givat Hamatos: A New Jewish Settlement in Occupied Jerusalem, by Peace Now (excerpts) ...... 195 Givat Hamatos and the Unprecedented Spike in East Jerusalem Settlement Activity, by Peace Now (excerpts)...... 196

The Struggle over Land and Resources “Water, Nonviolent Palestinian Resistance, and the IDF Response”...... 197 “West Bank villagers’ daily battle with Israel over water,” by David Hearst (excerpts)...... 198

“PEACEMAKING EFFORTS RUNNING Obama’s address, one Israeli commen- ON EMPTY” tator quipped that Netanyahu would have to rewrite his speech because the From Settlement Report, September– U.S. president had just delivered it. The October 2011. Quartet, yet again, demonstrated its in- As political theatre, September’s ability to break free of the U.S. policy Israeli-Palestinian clash at the UN proved straightjacket. After a frenzied diplo- to be an anticlimax. In dueling speeches matic effort, it issued a milquetoast call before the UN General Assembly, Israel’s to return to the negotiating table. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu The most notable element of Septem- and Chairman Mahmoud Abbas of the ber was the PLO’s determination to con- Palestine Liberation Organization ran front the Obama administration, which in place. Abbas gave a stirring speech has left no doubt of its opposition to making the Palestinian case for state- engaging the international community hood before an audience at pains to instead of, or even, as Abbas prefers, acknowledge it. Netanyahu left the po- alongside U.S.-led diplomacy. The PLO’s dium as he arrived—his hand “stretched adoption of a policy agenda at odds out in peace” according to principles with Washington has prompted threats that guarantee failure. President Barack from Congress to end financial support Obama’s remarks confirmed some- for the Palestinian Authority, a self- thing that has been clear for many defeating notion if there ever was one, months: The U.S. peacemaking machine and one which Netanyahu has been qui- is out of ideas and energy. Soon after etly urging Republicans in the House

Journal of Palestine Studies Vol. XLI, No. 2 (Winter 2012), pp. 190–199, ISSN: 0377-919X; electronic ISSN: 1533-8614. © 2012 by the Institute for Palestine Studies. All rights reserved. Please direct all requests for permission to photocopy or reproduce article content through the University of California Press’s Rights and Permissions website, at http://www.ucpressjournals.com/reprintInfo.asp. DOI: jps.2012.XLI.2.190.

JPS4102_13_Settlement Monitor.indd 190 27/02/12 11:53 AM Settlement Monitor 191

of Representatives to abandon. The conflict. For them, the days after Sep- House’s other contribution to peace- tember are indistinguishable from the making is the tabling of a bill support- days before. Abbas and the PA lack the ing Israel’s annexation of West Bank means to assert Palestinian sovereignty settlements. on the ground without provoking Is- Congress has dealt itself out of re- rael. Israel remains in total control of sponsible oversight, and the White Area C, comprising almost 60 per cent House has put aside the vital interest of the West Bank; settlements; and bor- in a peace agreement while President ders. It restricts moves by Palestinian Obama campaigns for reelection. Even security forces into Area B. Abbas calls so, Washington will prevent the formal- for a “Palestinian Spring” to accompany ization by the UN Security Council of his UN diplomacy, but the distinguish- the international consensus support- ing feature of the Arab Spring has been ing Palestinian sovereignty in the West the spontaneous uprising by civil soci- Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem ety against the regime—rather than the and the creation of a Palestinian state mobilization of the public by the re- that recognizes Israel. What it can- gime. Abbas too is wary of a civil upris- not do, however, is stop efforts on the ing that would provoke Israeli reprisals. ground to fill the leadership vacuum West Bank Palestinians did not take created by the Obama administration’s to the streets in protest or to confront retreat. settlements, but rather in celebration of Abbas and Fatah, the besieged pillars of the Palestinian political establishment. Facts on the Ground Scattered confrontations in the West The on again, off again military con- Bank during the UN session were not frontations between Israel and Hamas so much a function of the PLO’s diplo- have long ignored conventional ap- matic campaign for statehood as of the proaches to peacemaking. Once con- escalating conflict between settlers, the fined to the area in and around Gaza, Israel Defense Forces, and Palestinian they now include Egypt’s lawless Sinai villagers. The territorial appetite of the region. In the West Bank, settlement settlers cannot be sated, and their abil- expansion continues to dominate Israel’s ity to outpace the Israeli security forces West Bank agenda. The first half of in vigilante attacks against Palestinians 2011 witnessed a whopping 500 percent and their property grows. The one Pal- increase in settlement housing starts, estinian fatality during September was to 546. This number begins to reestab- a 33-year-old from the village of Qusra, lish the pace of expansion briefly inter- who was killed by live IDF fire hours rupted by the settlement moratorium before Abbas’s speech. A mosque in the during 2010. New construction has been village, south of Nablus, was set on fire announced for numerous settlements, hours after Israel obeyed an order of including the East Jerusalem settlement the High Court to demolish three struc- of , where 1,100 new units were re- tures in the settlement outpost of Mi- cently approved. Settlers are calling on gron on September 4. Settlers arrived Netanyahu to expedite construction of at the mosque on September 5, threw 4,500 units across the West Bank. “The burning tires toward it, and broke sev- only obstacle preventing this construc- eral of its windows. tion,” declares a political advertisement Not only are settlers targeting Pales- addressed to Netanyahu during the tinians and their property, notably in summer wave of protests about hous- the area near settlement outposts be- ing costs in Israel, “is your signature tween Ramallah and Nablus, in Septem- and that of the defense minister. If you ber they also infiltrated an IDF base, will only sign, we can solve the housing destroying equipment and painting problems of 4,500 families.” slogans “as if it were an enemy army In this environment, the PLO’s claim base,” reported the right-wing Makor to sovereignty contrasts starkly with the Rishon. Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz, IDF chief facts on the ground in the West Bank, of staff, described the perpetrators as where settlers and Palestinian villag- a “group of fanatic criminals.” Others ers remain in the front ranks of the suggested that the use of the settlers’

JPS4102_13_Settlement Monitor.indd 191 27/02/12 11:53 AM 192 Journal of Palestine Studies

self-selected term “price tag” be re- from the latest report (A/66/364 of 16 placed by the word “terror” to describe September 2011), covering September actions against Palestinians by “Jewish 2010–July 2011. The sections provid- jihadis.” Ha’aretz reported that Israel’s ing background based on earlier re- security service is “urging the Educa- ports (A/65/365 of 14 September 2010, tion Ministry to immediately halt fund- A/64/516 of November 2009, and ing to the Od Yosef Hai Yeshiva in the A/63/519 of November 2008), the legal settlement of Yitzhar, near Nablus, say- context, information the Golan Heights, ing it has received intelligence informa- and final recommendations have been tion that senior rabbis in the yeshiva are omitted for space, as have endnotes. encouraging their students to attack Ar- The full text is available on the United abs. The army’s GOC Central Command, Nations Information System on the Maj. Gen. Avi Mizrahi, recently issued Question of Palestine (UNISPAL) web- restraining orders that forbid several site at unispal.un.org. students affiliated with the yeshiva to enter the West Bank. This decision was III. Discriminatory Practices based on what security sources termed Underlying Israeli Settlement ‘well-founded suspicions’ that these Expansion and Law Enforcement students had been involved in attacks in the West Bank on Arabs, including ‘price tag’ attacks . . . on Arab property and the torching of mosques in nearby villages.” A. Expansion of Settlements The Palestinians who confronted set- and Restrictions on Palestinian tlers and the IDF in Qusra were part Construction of a new network of “Local Defense . . . Committees” organized by villagers to 9. During the reporting period, defend against settler provocations. Pal- settlements in the Occupied Palestin- estinian security services are prevented ian Territory, including East Jerusalem, from protecting the Palestinian public continued to expand. The most recent against settlers. According to the well- figures available indicate that 296,586 informed Roadmap report, Jibril al- Israeli settlers live in the West Bank, Bakri, the governor of Nablus, declared not including those in East Jerusa- that “the Israelis have left us with no lem, in at least 123 settlements and ap- alternative. We will not look on forever proximately 100 “outposts” scattered without intervening.” throughout the West Bank. In East Je- rusalem, 50,000 residential units in at ON THE GROUND least 12 Israeli settlements are occupied by almost 192,000 Israeli settlers. That brings the total number of settlers liv- UN Report on Israeli Settlements in ing in Israeli settlements in the Occu- the Occupied Palestinian Territory, pied Palestinian Territory to nearly half including East Jerusalem (September a million. Immediately after the end of 2010–July 2011) (excerpts) the 10-month partial moratorium on set- In December 2007, the UN General tlement construction in September 2010, Assembly (UNGA) issued Res. 62/108 Israeli settlement activities resumed in expressing “grave concern” about Is- the West Bank. That included approval rael’s continued settlement activities and construction of hundreds of new and the rising incidents of settler vio- housing units in various settlements as lence against Palestinians, and re- well as confiscation and clearing of Pal- questing updates regarding settlement estinian-owned land in preparation for expansion and settler actions. Since settlement expansion. An interim report then, the UNGA has annually received published by the Israeli non-governmen- reports from the Office of the UN High tal organization Peace Now in May 2011 Commissioner for Human Rights en- indicated that, immediately after the titled “Israeli Settlements in the Occu- end of the partial moratorium, Israeli pied Palestinian Territory, including settlers started the construction of 2,000 East Jerusalem and the Occupied Syr- previously approved housing units in ian Golan.” The excerpts below are 75 different settlements and “outposts,”

JPS4102_13_Settlement Monitor.indd 192 27/02/12 11:53 AM Settlement Monitor 193

one third of them in settlements east 2. Area C of the barrier. Meanwhile, the Israeli 19. The Government of Israel applies Government approved the planning a zoning regime in Area C, compris- and marketing of at least 800 new units ing 60 percent of the West Bank, which in 13 settlements. Peace Now has also further benefits the establishment and documented a dramatic increase in the growth of settlements while denying the number of new illegal buildings in the natural growth and development of Pal- settlements since the end of the partial estinian communities. It effectively pro- moratorium. In most cases the construc- hibits Palestinian construction in some tion is proceeding according to plans 70 percent of Area C, approximately that were never approved by the Israeli 44 percent of the West Bank, allocated Minister of Defense. At least 507 unap- for the use of Israeli settlements or the proved housing units are currently be- Israeli military. In the remaining 30 ing built in 29 settlements (9 of which percent a range of restrictions make it are “outposts,” where there are 35 unap- virtually impossible for Palestinians to proved structures under construction). obtain a building permit for any build- In July 2011, Israel revealed plans for ing of homes or infrastructure like wa- construction of 900 new housing units ter pipes or electrical lines. In practice, in East Jerusalem. The Israeli Govern- Israeli authorities allow Palestinians to ment continued to promote settlement build only within the boundaries of a expansion through a variety of bene- plan approved by the Israeli Civil Ad- fits and incentives offered to settlers in ministration, which covers less than 1 spheres of construction, housing, edu- percent of Area C, much of which is cation, industry, agriculture and tour- already built up. As a result, Palestin- ism. Recent public statements by senior ians are forced to build without Israeli Israeli officials are indicative of the building permits, risking the demoli- Government’s intention to continue ex- tion of their structures and subsequent panding settlements in the West Bank, displacement. . . . In addition to zoning including East Jerusalem. and demolitions, Israeli authorities have . . . practically prohibited Palestinians from having any access to the Jordan River 1. East Jerusalem through drilling wells to service settle- . . . ments that have dried up Palestinians’ 18. Plans of the Israeli municipality water sources, cutting Palestinian water of Jerusalem for the demolition of Pal- lines, and confiscating Palestinian wa- estinian structures in East Jerusalem ter tankers, tractors, sheep, and other demonstrate the link between the pol- property. During the period from Au- icy of demolition and that of settlement gust 2010 through June 2011, the OCHA expansion in the city. Not only do poli- recorded that the Israeli authorities de- cies and practices of zoning and plan- molished 149 Palestinian residences in ning make it virtually impossible for Area C of the West Bank, displacing Palestinians to build to meet the natural 820 people, including 374 children. The growth of their communities, contrary OCHA also reports a marked increase in to what is accorded to Israeli settler the demolition of Palestinian structures. communities, but demolition of Pales- In the first half of 2011, 342 Palestinian- tinian structures built without permits owned structures, including 125 resi- is at times followed by building new or dential structures and 20 rainwater col- expanding existing Israeli settlements. lection cisterns, were demolished by the In a recent example, the historical Shep- Israeli authorities. A total of 656 peo- herd Hotel in Sheikh Jarrah was demol- ple, including 351 children, lost their ished in January 2011 to make way for homes in the first half of 2011, almost the construction of a new Israeli settle- five times more than within the same ment. In Silwan, nearly 1,000 Palestin- period last year. One third of these peo- ians are at risk of being displaced due ple were displaced in June 2011 alone. to Municipality’s plans for demolition of Over 3,000 demolition orders are out- their homes, which were built without standing, including 18 targeting schools. Israeli permits, to make way for a “bibli- Most demolitions in 2011 affected liveli- cal park.” hood structures, negatively affecting the

JPS4102_13_Settlement Monitor.indd 193 27/02/12 11:53 AM 194 Journal of Palestine Studies

sources of income and living standards substantial resources are devoted to the of some 1,300 people. Many communi- prosecution of Palestinians accused of ties in Area C have suffered multiple engaging in violence against settlers. waves of demolitions. The result of the situation is an overtly . . . discriminatory system against Palestin- ians, both in law and in practice. C. Settler Violence and . . . Discrimination in Law Enforcement 33. In East Jerusalem, the Israeli au- in the West Bank thorities allocate considerable financial . . . resources to the protection of the Israeli 23. During the reporting period for settlers currently living in “outposts” the present report, impunity for settlers throughout East Jerusalem. Around- perpetrating violent attacks continued. the-clock armed private security guards The Israel Defense Forces [IDF] not only protect, escort and transport Israeli set- failed to protect Palestinians, there are tlers. Available estimates indicate that documented instances of their direct security arrangements cost 54 million involvement in violence perpetrated Israeli New Shekels in 2010 and more against Palestinians. The following than 70 million in 2011. cases monitored by OHCHR [Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Legalizing Settlement Outposts Rights] are illustrative of the violence (excerpts) that Palestinians suffer at the hands of Israeli settlers in the West Bank. [Two Below are excerpts from an article by detailed cases follow.] Lara Friedman of Peace Now, who also . . . authored the “Settlements in Focus” re- 31. The problem of discrimination is port, excerpts of which follow. The piece, most apparent in the markedly differ- which appeared in the Huffington Post ent justice systems to which Palestin- on 11 October 2011, was originally titled ians and settlers are subjected. When “Outposts & Abuse of Law in Service of violence is committed or is suspected the Settlements.” The full text can be ac- to have been committed by Palestinians cessed at http://www.huffingtonpost.com. against Israeli settlers in the West Bank, the Israeli authorities often mobilize Outposts are again taking center vast resources to apprehend the perpe- stage in the settlements debate, as the trator. Large-scale arrest and detention Netanyahu government announces two campaigns are often carried out by the new policies aimed at legalizing illegal [IDF] throughout the West Bank, and outposts. In doing so, the Netanyahu the Israeli police and Border Police in government is sending a clear signal specific neighbourhoods of East Jerusa- that it values settlements over negotia- lem. Curfews on Palestinian towns and tions, and it prefers “Greater Israel” to villages are also often imposed. The peace. OCHA reports that between September In March, the Israeli government 2010 and June 2011, Israeli forces car- announced a new policy: it would de- ried out 3,791 search-and-arrest opera- molish outpost construction on private tions during which 2,760 Palestinians Palestinian land, but would seek to “le- were arrested. Most of those arrested galize” all other outpost construction. will be tried through the Israeli military Previous Israeli governments consis- justice system, contrary to Israeli civil- tently promised the Israeli High Court ians who, when arrested, are tried by ci- they would enforce the law against il- vilian courts. Israeli civil courts provide legal outposts, but for the most part more protections to the defendants in found legal pretexts to delay doing so. a number of areas, including the right The Netanyahu government, in contrast, to see a lawyer, the length of detention was refreshingly honest—declaring its before being brought before a judge and policy openly rather than continuing the maximum penalty allowed. Settlers the charade. are de facto given impunity for violent It was clear from the outset that this acts against Palestinians and their prop- new policy was a Pyrrhic victory in the erty in the occupied West Bank while fight against the outposts. It meant that

JPS4102_13_Settlement Monitor.indd 194 27/02/12 11:53 AM Settlement Monitor 195

for the first time the government had State Solution,” was published on 13 Oc- firmly committed to demolishing some tober 2011. The full text can be accessed outpost construction, but it also meant at: http://settlementwatcheastjerusalem. that the majority of the outposts— wordpress.com. whose construction is unequivocally illegal under Israeli law—would be On October 11, Plan no. 14295 was laundered, leading to the establishment deposited for public review, for the of numerous new settlements in the construction of 2,610 housing units in West Bank. This, despite the fact that a new neighborhood in east Jerusa- since 1992 it has been the policy of ev- lem called Givat Hamatos, east of Beit ery Israeli government NOT to establish Safafa. This plan is the reparcellation new settlements. This new policy made scheme that enables the implementa- news last week when it was reported tion of plan no. 5834A which was de- that the government is making final posited three years ago and caused preparations to legalize the isolated out- controversy. post of Shvut Rahel. There are at least 10 outposts that the state intends to ••The first new Israeli neighbor- “legalize” under this policy, involving hood in east Jerusalem since some 650 illegal homes (approximately Har Homa: Unlike recent plans 3,900 people). that caused controversy in Gilo Now Netanyahu also wants to “legal- and Pisgat Ze’ev which expanded ize” outpost construction on private Pal- the footprint of existing neigh- estinian lands. This development is the borhoods, the new plan creates next stage in this same outposts saga, an entirely new footprint of a with the Netanyahu government now new Israeli neighborhood in East obliged to update the Court by Novem- Jerusalem, for the first time since ber 1 on its plans to remove outposts the establishment of Har Homa on private land, per the policy it an- in 1997 by the first Netanyahu nounced in March (for details see Peace Government. Now’s “Six Outposts” petition). While ••“A mini-E-1”: a game changer that the government’s March announcement significantly changes the pos- was phrased as a general policy, it ap- sible border between Israel and pears for now that it will implement the Palestine: The new neighborhood policy only in cases where construction will complete the isolation between has been challenged in court, of which Bethlehem and East Jerusalem, and there at least 8, out of a total of at least will destroy any possibility of a ter- 70 outposts located fully or partially on ritorial solution in and private land, along with many official Shurafat (sic). . . . settlements. ••The plan is for immediate As that deadline nears, settlers are implementation: the plan for the increasing pressure on the government establishment of Givat Hamatos and Netanyahu appears to be caving. In neighborhood was firstly exposed order to “legalize” these outposts, the when plan no. 5834A was depos- State will have to find a pretext to void ited for public review under the the Palestinians’ claims to the land (e.g., Olmert government on January by declaring it absentee property—a 2008. This plan was for the construc- mechanism used over the years to seize tion of 2,337 housing units and it land), or expropriate it, ostensibly for completed the approval process in “public” use. recent months. However, this plan . . . was a general plan that couldn’t be implemented without further detailed planning called “reparcella- Givat Hamatos: A New Jewish tion.” Today the reparcellation plan is Settlement in Occupied Jerusalem ready, and it is deposited for public (excerpts) review. The detailed plan increases This Peace Now statement, originally the capacity from 2,337 units to titled “A New Israeli Neighborhood in 2,610 units and once it is approved East Jerusalem is Threatening the Two the construction can begin.

JPS4102_13_Settlement Monitor.indd 195 27/02/12 11:53 AM 196 Journal of Palestine Studies

••These are the final planning these are not normal circumstances— phases: The detailed plan (no. these are circumstances in which a po- 14295) was deposited for public litical decision has been taken to make review on October 11th, 2011. The this plan happen. As a result, approval 60-day objection period for the plan of Givat Hamatos is proceeding at a pre- has now begun. At the end of that viously unimaginable speed. period, and after hearing the objec- Politically, approval of this plan is tions, the plan can be approved. fraught with symbolism and political Following the approval there might signals, since it will create the first new be appeals to court that could take Israeli settlement neighborhood in East another few months but eventu- Jerusalem since Netanyahu established ally, if the plan is not withdrawn Har Homa in 1997, during his first term by the government, the plan will as prime minister. And on the ground, receive the final approval in a few this project is a game changer. Givat months to a year. Once Plan 14295 Hamatos, if built, will become a physi- is approved, construction can cal and inhabited barrier blocking any commence. future Palestinian contiguity between Palestinian neighborhoods in the south- It is important to mention that the ern part of East Jerusalem and the West plan is under the authority of the Local Bank. In doing so it will make a two- Planning Committee at the Jerusalem state solution in Jerusalem, and thus Municipality. Unlike the Regional Plan- the entire two-state solution, exponen- ning Committee which is made up of tially more difficult to achieve. It should civil servants, the Local Committee is be noted, too, that the approval of Gi- made up of elected city council mem- vat Hamatos comes on the heels of re- bers, which are politically motivated cent approvals of three other settlement and might want to approve the plan as plans for Jerusalem’s southern flank. quickly as possible. Taken together, a settlement buffer be- . . . tween East Jerusalem and the West Bank is taking shape before everyone’s eyes. Givat Hamatos and the Unprecedented Approval of the Givat Hamatos plan Spike in East Jerusalem Settlement is only the latest incident in a pattern Activity (excerpts) of problematic behavior by the Netan- Below is an excerpt from a Peace yahu government in East Jerusalem. Now report, originally titled “Settle- This pattern started at the beginning of ments in Focus: Settlements Back on the November 2010, immediately after the Agenda” published 1 November 2011. settlement “moratorium” expired. That The full text is available at http://peace- moratorium included, quietly, a de facto now.org. freeze on government-backed settlement activity in East Jerusalem (beginning Only recently, the world learned immediately after the March 2010 inci- about well-advanced Israeli plans for dent, when the approval of construction a new settlement in the southern part in the East Jerusalem settlement of Ra- of East Jerusalem, called Givat Hama- mat Shlomo was announced during [U.S] tos. This plan has nothing to do with Vice President Biden’s visit to Israel). “natural growth” of an existing neigh- The moment the moratorium ended the borhood, and while there are genuine Netanyahu government opened the set- housing needs in Jerusalem, the reasons tlement floodgates in Jerusalem. to proceed with this particular (and ex- Looking at just one key step in the tremely controversial) plan appear to be approval process—the depositing of primarily political—which helps explain plans for public review—tells the story. why the plan is being fast-tracked. The This is one of the final steps in the planning requirements related to this lengthy process for approving a new settlement are unusually complicated, plan, which involves a number of ap- due to complex property ownership in provals at various levels. During Ne- the area. Under normal circumstances tanyahu’s first year in office, 3,710 sorting this out would take years. But units were deposited for public review,

JPS4102_13_Settlement Monitor.indd 196 27/02/12 11:53 AM Settlement Monitor 197

continuing the high level of approv- opposition has, in fact, characterized als that began after the Annapolis Con- the vast majority of actions taken by ference. This number dropped to zero Palestinians under occupation for al- during the moratorium. But between most half a century. Recent revelations November 1, 2010 and October 15, 2011, by Wikileaks, together with a report by 7,779 units were deposited for public B’Tselem, an Israeli human rights orga- review. nization, offer insights into Israel’s re- Similarly, during Netanyahu’s first sponse to such efforts. year in office, 1,360 units received final In general, Israel views Palestin- approved. That number dropped to zero ian protests of any kind as unaccept- during the moratorium. But between able challenges to its military rule. As November 1, 2010 and October 15, 2011 Maj. Gen. (res.) Amos Gilad, director of that number jumped to 3,995 units. Policy and Political-Military Affairs at All of this occurred in addition to the Ministry of Defense, explained to private settlement activity, supported James B. Cunningham, then–U.S. am- and approved by the government of Is- bassador to Israel, “We don’t do Gandhi rael, inside Palestinian neighborhoods very well.” His comment was reported in East Jerusalem. Here, too, the be- in a February 16, 2010 cable authored havior of the Netanyahu government by Cunningham and recently released over the past year has been problem- by Wikileaks. Cunningham reported atic, giving the green light for new units further that the head of Israeli Central in Sheikh Jarrah, at the Shepherd Ho- Command of the Israel Defense Forces tel, on the Mount of Olives, and in Ras (IDF), Maj. Gen. Avi Mizrachi al-Amud. In total, approval has been granted to 114 new units (500–600 peo- warned that he will start sending his trucks with ple), all located deep inside Palestin- “dirty water” to break up [Palestinian] protests, ian neighborhoods of East Jerusalem, in even if they are not violent, because they serve locations where settlements have one no purpose other than creating friction. . . . On orders from Mizrachi, West Bank main purpose: to prevent the establish- commander[s] . . . reportedly met with the ment of a Palestinian capital in East Palestinian security force commanders recently Jerusalem. to deliver a strong message that they must stop If settlement activity in East Jerusa- these demonstrations or the IDF will. Mizrachi lem continues at current levels, within asserted that he would prefer not to break 2–3 years the geographic and demo- up these demonstrations, but will if he must. graphic map of Jerusalem will become Many of the demonstrations are organized so Balkanized that the very possibil- by “suspicious people,” Mizrachi said, and he ity of the two-state solution will be in plans on arresting organizers of demonstrations that “serve no purpose” beyond exciting the jeopardy. If settlement activity in East population. Jerusalem continues at current levels, the resumption of negotiations appears B’Tselem recently published a report, extremely unlikely (and if negotiations Show of Force: Israeli Military Conduct were somehow resumed, it seems very in Weekly Demonstrations in a-Nabi unlikely that they would last for very Saleh, detailing Israel’s response to pro- long and have a chance of reaching tests in the small Palestinian village of fruition). Nabi Saleh.

THE STRUGGLE OVER LAND and Background to Conflict The al-Qaws Spring has long been Resources utilized by the residents of Nabi Salih and the nearby village of Dayr Nidham “Water, Nonviolent Palestinian for both farming and recreational ac- Resistance, and the IDF Response” tivity. The lands of al-Qaws Spring are From Settlement Report, September– privately owned by a resident of Dayr October 2011. Nidham. In February 2009, settlers laid claim to the spring, “putting up shelters, Palestinians are often urged to op- making roads, building steps to enable pose the occupation through nonvio- access, pouring concrete, planting trees, lent action and protest. Nonviolent [and] installing irrigation systems.”

JPS4102_13_Settlement Monitor.indd 197 27/02/12 11:53 AM 198 Journal of Palestine Studies

Palestinian complaints to Israeli authori- The arrested include two persons consid- ties between 2008 and 2011 have either ered to be leaders of the struggle in the village. gone unanswered due to a “lack of evi- Naji Tamimi was arrested on 6 March 2011 and dence” or dismissed on the ground of convicted in a plea bargain of incitement and support of a hostile organization, given that he “offender unknown.” “organized, incited and executed disturbances In early January 2010, Israel in- of the public order and violent demonstra- formed the residents that the spring tions,” including instructing youths from the was an archeological site. Consequently, village to throw stones. He was sentenced to a the area was declared a closed military year’s imprisonment, two years of conditional area, and Palestinians were denied ac- imprisonment, and a 10,000 shekel fine. Bassem cess to it. While such a declaration re- Tamimi was arrested on 24 March 2011; a week quires the cessation of all construction later, an indictment was filed against him, alleg- by Israeli settlers and the demolition of ing, inter alia, “incitement and support of a hostile organization,” “taking part in a proces- structures built after February 2010, set- sion without a permit,” and “conspiracy to throw tler construction continues. On July 28, objects at a person or property.” He is being 2011, the landowner and representatives held in custody pending the completion of the of the two villages petitioned Israel’s criminal proceedings against him. High Court of Justice to demolish the settler structures and facilities built on the land. The High Court ordered the “West Bank villagers’ daily battle state and the Binyamin Regional Coun- with Israel over water” (excerpts) cil to file their response by September The excerpt below is from an arti- 15, 2011. At present, the army prohibits cle by David Hearst that originally ap- access of Palestinians in groups and on peared in the Guardian on 14 September Fridays, but allows individual Palestin- 2011. The full text is available at http:// ians to go to the spring. Settlers are al- www.guardian.co.uk. lowed unrestricted access.

The report notes, The South Hebron Hills, sweltering In recent years, Palestinians have organized in 34C heat and in its second consecu- unarmed demonstrations throughout the West tive year of drought, is a landscape of Bank in protest against the seizure of their land brutal contrasts. There is enough water by settlers, the construction of the Separation here to support lush greenhouses, big Barrier deep inside the West Bank, and their dis- cattle sheds, even ornamental plants. placement from land that provides their liveli- It arrives in large, high-pressure lines. hood, among other issues. Such demonstrations And there appears to be no limit to the have been a weekly occurrence for more than bounty it can bring. eighteen months in the village of a-Nabi Saleh, Ramallah District, turning it into a focal point Cheek by jowl with the water tow- of protest in the West Bank. The Israeli security ers and red roofs of the Israeli set- forces have made a concerted effort to stop the tlers in this area of the West Bank is a demonstrations in the village. landscape of stone boulders, tents and Between January–August 2011, the Red caves. The Palestinian village of al- Crescent transported 35 Palestinians to the hos- Amniyr looks from afar like a rubbish pital for injuries suffered during the suppression tip until you realise that the rubbish is of demonstrations. Four were hospitalized. Five people’s dwellings, which have been de- demonstrators were struck by rubber bullets, stroyed in attacks targeting their water four by shrapnel, ten sickened by tear gas inha- lation, two suffered from shock, and another cisterns. four treated for “other” injuries. The villager Mohammed Ahmad Ja- Since the beginning of 2010, 78–81 bor’s water cistern has been destroyed Palestinians have been arrested or detained three times this year. The last time was for questioning. Among them were 17 minors. by the settlers. The settler attacks come Thirty arrests were made during the Friday generally at night and where they can- demonstrations. Thirty-five were arrested on not destroy water cisterns they poison other days of the week. Twelve were arrested in them by putting chicken carcasses in the middle of the night. Those prosecuted were them. charged with stone throwing, membership in an unlawful organization, interfering with the duty The second time Jabor’s cistern was of a soldier, and violation of Order 101 (1967), destroyed was by Israeli soldiers who which “prohibits almost completely the holding [also] destroyed seven tent dwellings of demonstrations in the West Bank.” and a sheep pen.

JPS4102_13_Settlement Monitor.indd 198 27/02/12 11:53 AM Settlement Monitor 199

Jabor has gone to the Israeli courts water systems to Mekorot, the Israeli na- repeatedly, which have upheld his and tional water company for the nominal fellow villagers’ ownership of the land, price of one shekel. a title he claims that dates back to Otto- The Oslo accords created a Joint man times. Water Management Committee, which But the ruling of the court has had grants Israel a veto over water resource no effect either on the determination of and infrastructure in the West Bank. soldiers and settlers to stop anyone or The committee issued a joint declara- any animal living in al-Amniyr. The land tion in 2001 “for keeping water infra- has been declared as agricultural, a des- structure out of the cycle of violence.” ignation which prohibits residents from The Emergency Water, Sanitation constructing structures of any kind, es- and Hygiene group (EWASH), a multi- pecially cisterns. national consortium of NGOs funded Constructions need permits, which by the European commission, accuses are all but impossible to obtain. Where Israel of breaking this declaration, al- they are obtained, it is in areas such as though there is a long list of other ob- quarries, which are impossible to ex- ligations under humanitarian law as an ploit. And under another law, if the land occupying power. In the past two years, is not used for three years, it reverts to it has logged the destruction of 100 wa- Israel. ter, sanitation and hygiene structures, So the inhabitants of al-Amniyr, at- 44 cisterns, 20 toilets and sinks, 28 Tuwani and the other villages that com- wells. This year alone, 20 cisterns have prise Susiya, are faced with a catch-22. been destroyed. Most of this is happen- If they comply with the law they cannot ing in Area C, which is under full Israeli build cisterns and collect even the rain- military control. water. But if they fail to use their land The effect of the water shortage on agriculturally, they lose it anyway. the Palestinian population is not dis- “We are without tents and without puted. The average use of water by Pal- water, so how can we live here?” Ja- estinians is 50 litres a person a day for bor asks. Walking past the roots of a domestic purposes, one-fourth of the ripped-up olive grove—the replacement Israeli use. Rates of diarrhoea are high, seedlings are already planted—Jabor particularly among children in herder answers his own question. A blue plas- communities. One survey found that 44% tic sheet in an entrance to the rock con- of children between six months and five ceals a heavy, metal door. Beyond lies years had diarrhoea in the two weeks a cave, complete with a crying kitten, before. Bodies such as the World Bank, chickens and a metal stove for the win- UNRWA, Unicef and the World Food Pro- ter. This is home for him and his seven gramme have all carried out studies on it. children. Where Palestinian villages are per- Most villagers date the start of their mitted, villagers complain of weak battle over water with Israel to 1982, water pressure or the high price of tan- when Ariel Sharon, then minister of kered water. defence, transferred all the West Bank . . .

JPS4102_13_Settlement Monitor.indd 199 27/02/12 11:53 AM