Settlement Monitor: Quarterly Update on Developments Author(s): Geoffrey Aronson Source: Journal of Palestine Studies, Vol. 25, No. 3 (Spring, 1996), pp. 131-139 Published by: University of California Press on behalf of the Institute for Palestine Studies Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2538275 Accessed: 26-02-2015 20:46 UTC

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EDITED BY GEOFFREY ARONSON

Afterthe Rabin Assassination

Romancingthe Right: Peres's New Approach...... 132 Peres'sDreams for the Territories, by ShalomYerushaimi ...... 134 Back to Square One: The January1996 Peace Index,from Ha'Aretz ...... 134

Facts on the Ground

SettlerPopulation Grows by 4 Percentin 1995...... 136 BuildingQuietly: An Interviewwith the Housing Minister ...... 137

SettlementBriefs

GeoffreyAronson, a writer and 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. 3 (Spring 1996), pp. 131-139.

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AFTERTHE RABINASSASSINATION This public commitmenthas been for- tifiedby a numberof initiatives. Peres has soughtto split the settlementmovement by attemptingto isolate religiousextrem- Romancingthe Right:Peres's New ists fromthe settlermainstream. On 19 Approach November,the cabinetdeclared that "ex- From SettlementReport, January 1996. tremist,violent, racist, and terroristorga- nizationsare a severedanger to Israel's Since Rabin's assassination,the gov- democraticregime, the securityof the ernmentof has begunto es- state,and public welfare;the cabinetwill tablishnew approachesto settlersand set- workto outlawthem." tlementsthat distinguish it fromthose of Administrativedetention orders have its predecessor.What has transpiredthus been issued,confining members of right- farhas servedto illuminatethe extentto winggroups living in theHebron area set- which the centralideas concerningset- tlementsassociated, for example, with the tlersembodied in theOslo II agreementre- late Meir Kahane. More than 120 indict- flecta broad Israeli national consensus. mentsfor such offensesas disorderlycon- The new government'sactions also reveal duct,assault, and violatingmilitary com- a moreconcrete political aim-to splitthe mands have been handed down against right-wingcoalition opposed to Labor'sre- settlementactivists, including members of electionin 1996 by drawingthe religious the "This is Our Way" and "Womenin communityand moderateLikud voters Green"groups that led protestslast sum- intothe Perescamp. mer,notably at Efrat.A numberof promi- Peres has changed the public atmo- nentrabbis were also called in forques- sphericsof the relationshipbetween the tioning,although all werereleased for lack prime ministerand the settlers.Rabin, of evidence.Among members of the gov- even as he determinedto protectsettle- ernment,Meretz MinisterYair Tsaban mentsand had no intentionof undermin- notedthat the government had failedto re- ing theirvitality, could not refrainfrom spond to the"fanatic rabbis whose role in conductinga public firefightwith the set- incitementis clearly evident."Another tlementmovement. Peres, on the other minister,Efraim Sneh, said thata confron- hand,has used thepost-assassination pe- tationwith the radicalright wing is una- riodnot to isolateand denigratethe move- voidable. ment,but to encourageits mainstreamto Peres,however, is attemptingto defuse understandthat the Oslo processprotects whatSneh and otherssee as an inevitable ratherthan threatens their everyday inter- conflict.And it is truethat even the ac- ests ifnot theircosmological aims. tions taken so far have proven half- Peres has traditionallyviewed settle- hearted.Peres has dismissedcalls, torex- mentsand settlersas a problemto be man- ample, to end the massive government aged bynegotiating a new relationshipbe- fundingof the militaryeducation system tween them and the Palestinians.He of "Hesder Yeshivas"in the settlements, believesthat settlementscan be perma- whichcombine military service with reli- nentlysecured and expandedwhile satis- gious studiesoften led by rightistrabbis. fyingPalestinian national aspirations, and Indeed,his actionsso farsuggest that he a closereading of the Oslo II agreementre- willcontinue to coddlesettlers and to sub- flectsthat Yasir Arafathas acceptedthis sidize the incitementof extremistrabbis. seductiveview. He shows no inclinationto stop funding In the presentationof his government the expansionof settlementsby spending beforeIsrael's Knesseton 22 November, hundredsof millionsof dollarseach year. Peres explained,"Even thoughwe have Like Rabin,he appearsto view settlersas reachedan agreementwith the Palestinian instrumentsof Israel'spermanent control Authority,we have no intentionof ignor- overthe ,but unlikethe more ing thedistress of thesettlers in theterri- combativeRabin he does not see themas tories.... We will not lessen our responsi- bearersof an ideologythat cannot be ap- bilityfor their security, and we will not peased but onlyfought and defeated. turna blindeye to theirneeds. And with- Thus Pereshas sought,with great suc- outviolating agreements, we willtalk with cess, to convincethe National Religious them,in orderto resolvethe real problems Party(NRP) to moderateits oppositionto thathave arisen-orwill arise-becauseof Oslo. Peres views the NRP, which com- changeson theground." mands the supportof manyreligious set-

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tlersand whoseprosettlement views led it Bankis takingshape in theLabor Party to- in 1977 to desertLabor in favorof a coali- day thatreturns us to theold and terrible tionwith the Likud, as vitalto his plan of idea of a functionalcompromise. I can broadeningpublic support for his govern- only describethis plan as a policyof an- mentand theOslo process.In his effortto nexation-in-the-making,little different courtthe NRP he has reversedhis viewof fromthe enclave plan of " theneed to dismantlethe NRP settlement (Ma'ariv 11/29). of Netzarimin Gaza. He also engaged Despitesuch reservations,it is increas- MinisterYossi Beilin to declare,in thecon- inglyclear thata nationalIsraeli consen- textof a dialoguewith the NRP,not only sus supportingOslo II, shroudedby rhe- thathe was glad thatthe settlement in He- toricalopposition during Rabin's tenure, bron existed,but also thatIsrael "can at- has blossomedin thewake of his assassi- tain a permanentarrangement in which nation.Peres has soughtto encouragethis mostof thesettlers would remainin their sentimentby going all out to promotea settlementsand the areas they live in spiritof nationalunity since he tookover would be annexed to Israel and become thegovernment. The NRPstatement is one part of sovereignIsrael." indicationof thebacking he has received. The NRP, and the settlersthey repre- FormerLikud Minister Ariel Sharon reiter- sent,are farmore comfortable with Peres's ated a kind of supportfor the agreement preferencefor a "functional"compromise when he noted thata Likud government ofthe kind outlined in theOslo II accords could accept the implementationof Oslo ratherthan Rabin's preferredterritorial II. EvenLikud leader Benyamin Netanyahu "separation"from the West Bank. has sugested a plan not fardifferent from In discussionsBeilin conductedwith theOsTo II map,calling for a "demarcated theNRP during November, it became clear autonomy,not a Palestinian state" in that the party was prepared to refrain which Palestinianswill rule Arab-inhab- from topplingthe governmentif Peres ited areas while most of the West Bank, promisedto increase settlersecurity, to uninhabitedby Arabs,will remain as a se- supportincreased settlement construction curityarea as definedin both the Camp (especiallyin greaterJerusalem), and not David accords-formulatedby a Likud to movebeyond the Oslo II accordbefore government-andthe Oslo agreementde- the 1996 election.Members of theMeretz vised by Labor. party vetoed Peres's positiveformal re- The growingaccommodation to Peres's sponse to the NRP's demands. Even so, policiesby thereligious settler movement Pereswon NRP supportfor Oslo II when was givenanother boost when Uri Elitzur, the party's membersissued a theeditor of thesettler magazine Nekuda, statementon 28 Novemberthat declared, publishedby the Council ofJewish Com- "the NRP has not changed its position munitiesin theWest Bank and Gaza Strip about EretzIsrael and our rightto livein [Yesha],called fora settlerdialogue with it. Neverthelessthe NRP believesthat no the PalestinianAuthority. The question, futuregovernment will embarkon war in notedthe editor, is not whetherOslo II is order to returnto the [West Bank and good or bad, but "how to live with it" Gazan] citieswe left,unless securitycir- (Ha'Aretz12/14). The editorialcaused an cumstancesor grossviolations call fora uproaramong settlementleaders, forcing response." Elitzurto withdrawhis suggestion.Never- An editorialin Israel'sleading newspa- theless,the action reflected an evolvingac- per Ha'Aretztwo dayslater observed that commodationby settlers to thereality that Beilin'sremarks to the NRP were "espe- Oslo II representsand an understanding cially surprisingto those who thought that theirfuture strategy has to aim at that the Peres governmentwould be at maximizingtheir advantagesunder the least as dovish as the previousgovern- systemPeres is creating. ment."It suggestedthat "the electoral fu- In the West Bank itself,settlers may tureof the Labor Partydepends on it be- not like the Oslo agreement,but theyare ing able to point to clear differences becomingreconciled to its existence.The betweenit and theright." implementationof the initial IDF rede- Meretz ministerYossi Sarid, a sup- ployments,including the openingof by- porterof Rabin'spreference for territorial pass roads, has producedcomplaints by separation,criticized Labor's growingaf- settlers,principally because of continuing finityfor a functionalsolution: "To my dis- attackson WestBank roads. But redeploy- may,a cantonizationplan for the West menthas not yetproduced any calamity.

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Settlersare anticipatingwith trepidation IndeedPeres focused the lengthy nego- whatOslo II calls "furtherredeployment": tiationsat Taba mainlyabout the author- thetransfer of parts of Area C-comprising ity to be transferredto the Palestinians almost threequarters of the West Bank- and said hardlyanything about the bor- fromIsraeli to Palestinianrule. Settlers are ders. Peres believes,or wants to believe, determinedthat this land will remain that the 140,000 Jewishsettlers will re- underIsraeli control. main in the territoriesin perpetuityand thatno Jewishsettlement will ever be evac- Peres's Dreams forthe Territories uated. "Eighthundred thousand citizens live Shalom Yerushaimi,"Trying to Under- in Israel,and thereis a respectableand stand Peres" (excerpts).* nonviolentarrangement between us and YehudaHarel and HayimGuri, two of them.There is no reasonwhy the same re- thefounders of theThird Way Movement, lationsthat exist in Israelshould not exist alwayssay thatShimon Peres is the only there,"said Peresin theKnesset, borne on realsupporter of Greater Israel in thepres- the wings of imaginationabout his New entgovernment. He did notwant to parti- MiddleEast. Unusually,this time the for- tionthe Land ofIsrael lengthwise and was eign ministerdid not mentionthe town not enthusiasticabout separation between Ma'alot-Tarshikhaof Israel where Arabs Israelis and Palestinians.Peres, who, al- and Jewslive in harmony. readyin the 1970s, establishedthe settle- Peresdid not stressthat the Arabs who ments Ofra and Sebastia [now called live in Israel recognizethe Israeligovern- Kedumim],was alwaysopposed, according ment and agree to live under its sover- to thosetwo, to dismantlingany of the set- eignty.They participatein the elections tlements. Moreover, Peres mocks the and are electedto theKnesset. In contrast, Likud hawk MK Tshai Ha'negbi and his the tensof thousandsof Jews who live in friendswho wereevacuated by Beginfrom the territoriesamong the Palestinianpop- Yamitin 1982 and claims thathe would ulation do not recognizethe Palestinian not allow himselfto be so evacuated.He entityand do not wantto accept its laws dreamsabout the industrialparks on the or to be electedto its governingbodies. frontierbetween Israel and thePalestinian Theyhave extremeviews and containvio- entitywhere Palestinianswill be em- lent elementsthat do not believein any ployed,but apparentlyunder Israeli own- reasonablearrangement with the Palestini- ershipof theseparks. ans and prayfor the day when the Oslo I Anyonewho listenedto Peres'sspeech and II accordswould fallapart and Yasir two days ago,** at the opening of the Arafatwould be broughtto trialin an Is- Knesset'swinter session, and anyonewho raeli courtand sentencedto death. Peres has heardhis statementsin variousclosed can receiveaccurate details about all this forums,understands better what Harel fromthe right-wingextremists such as and Guri are saying.Peres would like to Geula Cohen.... stabilize the map of the interimsettle- ments,hoping that this will be theperma- Back to Square One: The January1996 nentmap of Israeland thePalestinian en- Peace Index* tity-neitherseparation, nor annexation; to swallowthe Palestinians, but not to eat From Ha'Aretz,5 February1996.** them.That is whyPeres is so enthusiastic The sharp rise in the Israeli public's about Oslo II, whichgave the Palestinians supportfor the peace processimmediately controlof only about 27 percentof the afterthe assassinationof PrimeMinister West Bank and leftIsrael withauthority was-as we anticipated- over Palestiniansecurity and foreignaf- temporary.It gave a transientexpression fairs.Perhaps that is also thereason why to thegeneral shock at theevent or to the he rubbedhis handswith glee after the Ac- cordwas signedand said in a privatecon- versationat thehome of the Chineseam- * The Peace Index Projectis conductedby theTami bassador,"We screwedthe Palestinians." SteinmetzCenter for Peace Studies at Tel AvivUni- versity; headed by Professor Efraim Ya'ar, Dr. Tamar Herman, and ProfessorAryeh Nadler; and * Ma'ariv,25 October1995, translatedin Israel carried out by "Moodi'in Ezrahi." Shahak, Fromthe Hebrew Press, December 1995. ** Providedover the internetby the Israeli Foreign ** See SpecialDocument B inJPS 98. Ministry'sInformation Division.

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lack of a wish by a large part of those forcesin thecountry before Rabin's assas- questionedto voice a differentstand from sination.This findingis particularlyinter- thatsupported by themajority of the pub- estingin the lightof the changes in the lic. Jewishpublic's stands towardthe Pales- That is broughtout by the Peace In- tiniansand theirleadership. On thisissue, dex's findingsfor January, which follow twokinds of questions were posed: one re- the trendof the findingsfrom the end of lated to the conductof affairswithin the Novemberthrough December. Already in zone of thePalestinian authority; and one theprevious two months, the findings had thatdealt with the pattern of relationsbe- hintedthat the significant rise in thewake tweenthe Palestinians and Israel. of the assassinationof thestrength of the In the firstcontext, we reverted,inter camp supportingthe peace process did alia, to the question asked previously: not express a substantivechange in the "How,in youropinion, have thePalestini- patternof standstaken by theIsraeli Jew- ish public. ans been managingaffairs till now in their And indeed, the GeneralPeace Index autonomy?"Those with a clear opinion forJanuary-in the surveyconducted on splitas follows:Very badly or badly,27.8 29 January-showed60.3 points (com- percent(compared with 70 percentin No- paredto 73.1 rightafter the assassination, vember1994); ratherwell or verywell, at the startof November;65.7 at the end 20.3 percent(compared with 5.7 percenta of November;and 62.1 at the end of De- yearago). cember).In addition,the "Oslo" Index for An exampleof the changein the pub- Januaryfell in comparisonwith its prede- lic's viewson relationsbetween the Pales- cessorand stoodat 51.5 points(compared tinianAuthority and Israel can be found to 57.9 rightafter the assassination; 58 at in answersto the question:"To what ex- theend of November;and 55.8 at theend tent,in youropinion, have the Palestinians of December). so farbeen carryingout theirshare of the Perhapsan evenmore significant drop Oslo agreement?"InJanuary, 21.5 percent occurredin the level of supportfor full maintainedthat the Palestiniansare alto- withdrawalfrom the Golan in returnfor getheror sufficientlydoing so (compared full peace with Syria. In the previous to 10 percentin November1994). And month,those supporting,or greatlysup- 27.7 percentthought they were not either porting,the withdrawalon those terms sufficientlyor altogethercarrying out were31.6 percent;and the opponents,or theirpart (comparedto 57.4 percentin strongopponents, were 45.3 percent.In November1994). January,supporters totalled only 24.2 per- A significantchange can also be dis- cent,and oppositionrose to 54.8 percent. cerned in the public's attitudein this Therewas also a meaningfuldecline in country[Israel] to Yasir Arafat. When peo- supportof aspectsrelating to thescope of ple were asked to give their opinion withdrawalfrom Golan. In December, whetherArafat today is moreof a states- 23.9 percentbacked fullwithdrawal for man or more of a terrorist,40.6 percent fullpeace, while 30 percentopposed any In said he was more of a statesman,while withdrawal. January,by contrast,only 34.3 said he was morea terrorist. 18.3 percentagreed to full withdrawal, percent 37.7 percentaccepted partial withdrawal, (The remainder took an intermediate and 41.7 percentopposed any withdrawal. stand.)This was a considerablechange of Therewere also substantialchanges in imagecompared to December1994. Then, publicpreference in politicaland partyis- only23.3 percentthought he was morea sues,as evincedin repliesregarding candi- statesman,while 43.7 percentregarded datesfor prime minister: right after the as- him as morea terrorist. sassination,57.3 percentfavored Shimon The Januarysurvey indicates, in addi- Peres;while 24.5 percentbacked Benjamin tion,a markedrise in the sense of per- Netanyahu.In December,53.0 percentof sonal securityby those responding.Of thosequestioned said theywould vote for them,36 percentthought the personal se- Peres,and 30.4 percentfor Netanyahu. curitysituation of the residentsof Israel The latestsurvey January) showed Peres had improvedsince thepeace processbe- being supported by 46 percent, and gan,while 29.9 percentthought it had re- Netanyahugarnering 35.2 percent. mained unchangedand 30.9 percentfelt In effect,the January index showsvir- the situationhad worsened.The remain- tuallya returnto theprevailing pattern of der had no clear standon thematter.

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In December1994, by contrast,the an- FACTSON THE GROUND swers were 16.4 percent(much better); 27.7 percent(the same); and 54.8 percent (slightlyor muchworse). This meansthat SettlerPopulation Grows by 4 Percent while the numberof those thinkingthat in 1995 thepersonal security situation had deteri- oratedwas much largerin the past than thosewho thoughtit had improved,today From SettlementReport, January 1996. the numberof those thinkingit is better thanbefore the peace process is slightly Israel's settlerpopulation in the occu- higherthan those thinkingit has wors- pied WestBank and Gaza Strip(excluding ened. annexedEastJerusalem) grew 4 percentto How is it possible,therefore, to explain 133,000during 1995, accordingto Israel's thefact that the improvement in theimage CentralBureau of Statistics(CBS). This of the Palestiniansand the rise in the growthrate is higherthan for any region sense of personalsafety by Jewish Israelis in Israel.According to theCouncil ofJew- did not contributeto a higherlevel of sup- ish Settlementsin Judea, Samaria, and the portfor the peace process,anticipated im- Gaza Strip (Yesha), however,the settler mediatelyafter Rabin's assassination? The populationin the West Bank and Gaza answerresembles that givenin the past now numbers147,200. when people were asked how to explain All settlerpopulation numbers are nec- thefact that, even after serious terrorist at- essarily approximations,reflecting in- tacks,support for the peace processhad formedestimates as well as either the not vanished. politicalbias or cautionof the reporting We explained then that the basic organization.Yesha's figures,which are stands of the public in the countryvis-a- based on local tax records,are usually vis the peace process are not influenced higherthan those of Israel'sCBS. by exceptionalevents, at least not in the The Yesha estimatesare the firstthat long run, and not substantively.Accord- have been issued in more than one year. ingly,even positive assessments regarding Accordingto a reportin the newspaper the functioningof the adversaryare not Ha'Aretz,"Yesha has refrainedfrom pub- enough to alter,in a period for some lishingestimates because of the govern- months or even years, the positions ment'spolicy of freezing construction and originatingin basic beliefs,in belongingto fearsthat reports of an increasein popula- groups,and in deeperconcepts, which in tionwould resultin furtherconstruction most cases have a strongcomponent of cutbacks." nontrustin Arabsand no desirefor com- ing closerto them. SettlerPopulation in theWest Bank and As proof,even todaya decisivemajor- Gaza Strip ityof thosereplying (62.8 percent)agree Estimated Estimated withthe argumentthat most Palestinians Year Population* Year Population* have not reconciled themselvesto the existenceof Israel and would destroyher 1995 147,220 1983 22,800 if theycould. Only 21.2 percentof those 1994 140,000 1982 21,000 replyingsaid theyoppose thisclaim. As in 1993 120,000 1981 16,119 thepast, most Israelis (73.5 percent)also 1992 112,000 1980 12,424 believethat even in a situationof peace it 1991 92,000 1979 10,000 is preferable,from Israel's viewpoint,to 1990 76,000 1978 7,361 have a closed and clearly-definedborder 1989 69,000 1977 4,400 withthe Palestinian entity, and onlya mi- 1988 63,600 1976 3,176 norityof 13.2 percentoppose such a sepa- 1987 57,700 1975 2,581 ration. 1986 51,100 1974 2,019 1985 44,100 1973 1,514 1984 35,200 1972 1,182

* Not including Israelis living in annexed Jerusalem.Population figures vary [sometimes by as much as 20 percent]depending upon the source.These numbersshould be considered conservativeapproximations.

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SettlerPopulation in theWet Bar,kand Gaza Stip -1995 On Jerusalem Ben-Eliezer:There are building sites in East Pisgat Ze'ev, Har Homa, in Gilo, in 160,000- _ _ _ Ramot[all locatedin EastJerusalem], and have au- 140,000 _ also otherparts of the city.We -0__ thorized1,100 units in PisgatZe'ev, 2,300 in Har Homa. . . . We are in an era of heavy politicalpressure, there are many "MovementsNow" that cause problemsfor 100,000

t20,000- our constructionefforts. There is Peace Now and Peace Yesterdayand Peace Two Days Ago,and withall thesemovements I look forpeace withour children,with our youngcouples, and I need to providethem withhousing. 1995 1993 1991 19H9 1907 1905 1983 1981 1979 1977 197 1973 The Politicsof Settlement Construction Question:Until a yearago you were the pre- ferredminister of theright wing-the Bull- Building,that didn't care about the dozer of Building Quietly: An Interview with Meretzand themoderate ministers in your Housing Minister ownparty. You spoke of Greater Jerusalem, of theconfiscation of land,and eventoday From Report,January 1995. Settlement you repeatthese expressions. Benjamin Ben-Eliezer,a formergeneral Ben-Eliezer:Fuad does everythingquietly. in the IDF, has held the constructionport- folio in Israel since July 1992. During that Question:That is to say? time, he has eased the transition from a Ben-Eliezer:In Ma'ale Adumim,in Givat housing construction market forced into Ze'ev and Beitar,I am building.It is clear overdrive by massive immigration from thatall the noise [protest]doesn't affect the former Soviet Union; absorbed large this effort.The momentthat I have the numbers of dwelling units left empty completeprotection of theprime minister, when immigrationslowed; and continued I buildquietly. My goal is to buildand not constructionat a pace enabling the contin- to encourageopposition to myefforts.... uing growth and expansion of settlement Meretzis not exactlya partywhich be- communities in the West Bank and EastJe- lievesthat Har Homa should be built for rusalem. Jews.It is a factthat Har Homa is aboutto Unlike his predecessor Ariel Sharon, be put up forbid. The neighborhoodwill Ben-Eliezer prefers,in his own words, to be built,even if Meretzmanages to put "build quietly." Like Sharon, Ben-Eliezer, thousandsof its activists in thestreets and known by his nickname "Fuad," has also preventsconstruction. been called "the Bulldozing Builder" for I preferto build and not to play with his energetic effortson behalf of settlers. politics.It is importantto me to buildwith Since the death last year of Mordechi the greatesteffort in Givat Ze'ev, Ma'ale Gur, Ben-Eliezer has been an important Adumim,and Beitar. UerusalemMayor governmentcontact with settlementlead- Ehud] Olmertspeaks ofpolitically joining ers, with whom he meets weekly. He has [theseareas with Jerusalem]. This mayoc- been theiradvocate in a largely successful cur,but not today.What is importantto effortto market hundreds of completed me is to build, build, build, and build but unsold apartments in settlements some more.... No one considers raising such as Ariel. And he sympathizes with the possibility of dismantling Ma'ale widespread settler efforts to extend the Adumimand GivatZe'ev. It won'thappen. of settlements beyond the boundaries Theministerial committee on set- fences that surround their built-up lands Question: tlementestablished to vetnew construction to as far as their planning authorityper- according mits. has preventedyou from building toyour priorities? He expressed his views on settlements in an interview in the Israeli periodical, Ben-Eliezer:What a question!Of course! Bonus, on 29 September 1995. This is a politicalcommittee [established

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afterthe disputeover constructionnear thestructure of the accord. The agreement Efratsettlement in January19951. It had is primarilysecurity-oriented. It is mul- notpermitted me to do all thatI want,but tifaceted,but its core is security,and we in the meantime,I get along withit, and can ensure the securityof the residents. continueto build in Ma'ale Adumimand The areas of Judea, Samaria, and Gaza GivatZe'ev. Within the framework of limi- havealways been thetarget of attacks. No- tationsimposed by the ministerialcom- body thinksthat the attacks will now dis- mitteewe continueto build. appear,but we do believethat residents of On GreaterJerusalem the area havebeen offeredan appropriate answer." Question:Do yousee Ma'ale Adumim,Givat Mata Vilna,Deputy Chief of Staff,Davar Rishon, Ze'ev,and Beitaras partof Jerusalem? 24 November1995 Ben-Eliezer:Without a doubt.I see oneJe- rusalem.I see a chain of settlementsthat "SinceJanuary 1993, when the Rabin surroundit in two circles.The firstcircle governmentordered a haltto all planning is Ma'ale Adumimand Givat Ze'ev. The for West Bank settlements,the govern- ment's 'exceptions committee'has ap- naturalgrowth of thesecommunities will con- continue.If you ask whetherapartment proved417 requestsfor settlement pricesin theseplaces will fall-myanswer struction and planning, according to is no. Half of Meretzlives in GivatZe'ev informationprovided by the government and Ma'ale Adumim. of MK Dedi Zucker. "The governmentreported that 80 set- Question:Will thesecommunities be under tlementplans were depositedand 89 ap- theauthority of thePalestinians? provedby thecommittee. The plans range Ben-Eliezer:God forbid!That isn't to say fromsingle buildingplots to settlement thatthe Arabs don't believe otherwise. It is masterplans." importantto knowwhat we want.... I, Yedi'ot Ahronot,26 October1995 Fuad, don't see any possibilityof re- turningGush Etzion. For me, this is "In 1996,military expenditures and re- Greater Israel. Givat Ze'ev, Ma'ale paymentof military debt will total54 per- Adumim,and Beitarare integralparts of centof the budget. In the 1995 budget,for the Stateof Israel. comparativepurposes, this section swal- lowed only a littleless [52 percent].The Question:And what of thePalestinians? peace processremains far from producing Ben-Eliezer:We need to impartto them a proportionalchange in thestate budget. thatwe are theauthority which must also "Theincrease in thesecurity budget re- servethem. sultsnot only fromthe factthat the pro- cess is stillin itsinitial stages, but also be- cause of the characterof the agreement SETTLEMENTBRIEFS withthe Palestinians.Because of the new militaryredeployment in the territories, "Themost ridiculous Likud accusation includingthe paving of bypassroads [for is that of abandoningthe settlers.The thesettlers] and heavylogistical burdens, agreementwas delayedfor months in or- militaryexpenditures will increase in der to guaranteethat all the settlements comingyears.... would remainintact and thatthe settlers "In thebudget of theministry of agri- would have maximumsecurity. This en- culture,for example, a sum of $40 million tailed an immensefinancial investment. is allocatedfor 'new settlementin the Go- The situationin thesettlements was never lan Heights,the West Bank, and Gaza betterthan that which was createdfollow- Strip.'Only recentlythe ministrybegan ing the Oslo II agreement." the 'Growthof the Negev'project, part of YossiBeilin, Ma'ariv, 27 September1995 which includes extensivebenefits to the "Thesecurity of the settlers is theheart settlersof the Katif Bloc [in the Gaza of Oslo-Il. The agreementis detailedand Strip],which has been annexedfor these complexparticularly because we wanted purposes to the Negev.Every new appli- to guarantee100 percentsecurity-if there cantwho wants to settleis entitledto mon- is such a thing-whilenot removingany etarygrants for the developmentof hot settlements.These werethe primeminis- houses and fishponds." ter's two instructions,and theydictated Davar Rishon, 27 November1995

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"The governmenthas approveda 15- "Anyonewho still recalls the evacua- percentincrease in thebudget of theJew- tion of Yamitin 1982 and the massive ish AgencySettlement Department. Some demonstrationsof the settlersimmedi- 140 millionshekels are earmarkedfor the atelyfollowing the Oslo agreementcan see developmentof theGolan Heights,Jordan thatthere is no genuineconcern here and Valley,and Dead Sea areas.Finance Minis- thatthe rebellion[settler demonstrations terShohat also said he willapprove an ad- at EfratinJuly 19951 was a playstaged by ditional 15 million shekels for regional the settlers.It is no coincidencethat the projects.The allocationsare part of the secularright wing did not succeed in mo- government's overall development bilizingthousands of its supportersfor budget." these demonstrations.The secular right Qol Yisra'el,26 December1995 wingknows that the governmentis faith- fullyand thoroughlyimplementing the de- "The governmenthas decidedto 'thaw' mands it has posed foryears. In an inter- some sevenhundred apartments and cot- in Sharon boasted in view Davar, 14 July, tages Arielwhich have been frozenfor thatthe plan now implementedis exactly the past threeyears, since the Labor-led what he has been proposingsince 1974 governmentcame to power.... and he even praised Rabin for his cun- "The housingunits were built by the ning, using such statementsas: 'I also Africa-Israel,Dankner, Schechter,and have no doubt that there are people Ashdarconstruction companies, as wellas abroad who think that Rabin gave the others, during the Likud government's Palestinianssome big deal. No way.These term.When Labor came to power,all the thingsare beingdone withcunning.'" constructionworks in Judeaand Samaria were frozen,and the Constructionand TanyaReinhart in Yedi'otAhronot, 19 July1995 Housing Ministrybought all the apart- mentsthese companies had built." Yedi'otAhronot, 31 December1995

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