Settlement Monitor Author(s): Geoffrey Aronson Source: Journal of Palestine Studies, Vol. 26, No. 2 (Winter, 1997), pp. 135-142 Published by: University of California Press on behalf of the Institute for Palestine Studies Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2537799 Accessed: 26-02-2015 18:11 UTC

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EDITED BY GEOFFREY ARONSON

This section covers items-reprinted articles, statistics,and maps-pertaining to Israeli settlementactivities in the Gaza Strip and the WestBank, including East , and the Golan Heights. Unless otherwise stated, the items in this section have been written by GeoffreyAronson directlyfor this section or drawn from material written by him for Report on Israeli Settlementin the Occupied Territories(hereinafter SettlementReport), a Washington-based bimonthly newsletterpublished by the Foundation for Middle East Peace. JPS is grateful to the Foundation for permission to draw on its material. Major documents relating to settlementsappear in the Documents and Source Material section.

Raising Settlements' Public Profile Netanyahu Steers SettlementPolicy Toward Confrontationwith the Palestinians...... 135 A New SettlementBloc Near Ramallah?by Barton Gellman ...... 136 Flashpoints of the September Explosion: Settlementsand Roads ...... 138 New Jerusalem-EtzionBloc Road Opens ...... 140 Settlement Chronology ...... 140 Loan Guarantees Update ClintonAdministration Offsets 80 Percent of the 1996 SettlementPenalty ...... 142

RAISING SETLEMENTS' PUBLC tiniansare all characterizedby extensive PROFILE Israelicivilian settlement. They include: * Jerusalemeast to thesettlement of Ma'ale NETANYAHU STEERS SETrLEMENT POLICY Adumimand northto thesettlement of Givat TowARD CONFRONTATION WITH THE Ze'ev; PALESTINIANS * theJordan Valley, in thebroadest mean- ingof thatterm; From SettlementReport; November 1996 * theEtzion Bloc settlements:Efrat, Betar, Sincehis electionin June,Prime Minister and othersettlement communities south of BenjaminNetanyahu and his government, Jerusalem; unliketheir Labor predecessors, have proven * otherblocs of settlementsin theWest incapableof "buildingquietly." In theshort Banksimilar to theKatif Bloc in theGaza timesince his election,Netanyahu has been Strip. determinedto changethe context in which The Oslo II map,which presages these Israeli-Palestiniandiplomacy is conducted. preferences,is almosta mirrorimage of Ariel He has raisedthe public profile of 's Sharon's"cantonization" plan, which envis- commitmentto settlementin theoccupied ages thecreation of noncontiguousPalestin- areas,placing an internationalspotlight on ian administeredcantons in theWest Bank thissubject and embitteringrelations with and Gaza Stripsurrounded by Israelisettle- Palestinians,who doubthis commitmentto mentsand roads. the dialogueestablished during the Labor Netanyahubelieves that settlements are a years.Despite these changes, Netanyahu has centralfactor in determiningIsrael's borders yetto departfrom the pace or directionof and in limitingthe extent of Palestinian colonizationfollowed by Labor. autonomouscontrol in theoccupied territo- ries.He opposes Palestinianstatehood, Rabin's View althoughhe is morewilling to concede The areas of theWest Bank and Gaza powersto thePalestinian Authority (PA) in Stripthat Rabin intended to annexto Israel Gaza thanin theWest Bank. Like Rabin and as partof a finalsettlement with the Pales- Peres,Netanyahu supports a Palestinianpol-

Journalof PalestineStudies XXVI, no. 2 (Winter1997), pp. 135-142.

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itythat is "lessthan a state."But he cannot processand thehealth of Israel'sLabor conceive,as Labordid, that the Palestinian governmentsoutweighed the damage caused leadershipwould agree,in thecontext of a by Israel'ssettlement actions, and he worked finalsettlement, to theextensive limitations to defusepopular anger. The Netanyahu on statesovereignty that Israel demands, election,and his government'sactions and Netanyahusupports the concept of settle- wordssince June, have made thisunderlying mentblocs thatare at theheart of Labor's presumptionfar more difficult to maintain. settlementvision-a strategythat was first Palestinianconcessions concerning settle- articulatedin thesettlement plan introduced mentsand a hostof issuesthat were once by thegovernment of MenachemBegin one rationalizedas necessaryway stationsalong monthafter the Camp David summitin 1978. theroad to eventualindependence, now are He intendsto makethese blocs territorially viewedfar less charitably.Netanyahu has contiguousthrough the expansion of hous- removedeven thepretense that Palestinian ing,industry, and commercialdevelopment statehoodwill be a diplomaticallynegotiated along thebypass roads and maineast-west optionat finalstatus talks not yet begun. arteriesrunning through the West Bank. The Netanyahugovernment continued to Netanyahuviews the territories as divided delaythe IDF's redeploymentfrom Hebron, intothree areas: areas with a Palestinian followingthe precedent established by his population,others with Israeli settlement, predecessors,until forced to do so by the and therest "unpopulated" or "empty"areas. crisisthat erupted in September.The rede- For thoseisolated settlements that cannot be ploymentin thecity only marginally will fittedinto this framework, he intendsto modifythe protections afforded to thecity's followthe precedent established at Netzarim, fourhundred settlers and theconsolidation thetiny settlement in theGaza Stripthat has of a territorialbridge among the various been a flashpoint for conflict despite exten- areasof Israelisettlement in thecity that sive protectionsestablished in cooperation were agreedupon by Israeland Palestinian PA withthe negotiatorslast spring. PrimeMinister Netanyahu intends to claimlarge parts of area C-the 70 percentof Iftoday the PA longsfor the golden days theWest Bank where settlements, military of Peresand Rabin,it is because Labor installations,and statelands are located-by convincedthe Palestinian leadership to ac- definingthe sought-after portions as security cept theseductive concept that peace and areas.He intendsthat new settlementseven- settlementswere not mutuallyexclusive. The tuallywill be establishedin theseregions. currentIsraeli government, in contrast,has The twelvenew settlementscalled forin a no interestin mollifyingits erstwhile Pales- $4 billionplan to increasethe settler popula- tinianpartners, and makesno secretof its tionto a halfmillion by 2000,presented to oppositionto Palestinianindependence any- Netanyahuby settlerleaders, were approved wherebetween the Mediterranean Sea and duringthe Shamir era. Prospectivenew set- theJordan River. tlements,like the anticipatedexpansion of In thisenvironment, settlements have existingsettlements, are to be locatedon been transformedinto a battleground. lands thatwere eitherdeclared "state lands" by theShamir government or thatfall within A NEw SETTLEMENT BLOC NEAR RAMALLAH? themaster-plan boundaries of existingsettle- Barton Gellman, "FromSettlement to ments. City on the WestBank: Planned Expansion The Negotiating Environment Would Put Jewish Metropolis in Prime Arab- Onlya fewmonths into his term,Netan- Inhabited Area' yahu'ssettlement record is limited,but in The day afterPrime Minister Benjamin contrastto movesduring the Labor years, his Netanyahuwas electedlast spring, this West marginalalterations of Israel'ssettlement pol- Bank settlement[Nachliel] posted an exul- icies have occurredin a politicalcontext tantsign at itsgate. Beginning immediately, characterizedby a steadilydeteriorating it said,Nachliel's "Torah community" of stalemate.When PA ChairmanYasir Arafat OrthodoxJews would buildand sell sixty- was forcedto respondto Israel'ssettlement eightnew apartmentsalongside the sixty-one activitiesduring the Labor era-at Hebronin alreadyhere. March1994, Efrat in January1995, and Jerusalemin May 1995-he consistently maintainedthat the continuation of theOslo * Washington Post, 9 December1996.

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DoublingNachliel's housing stock, a pro- A fewmiles southeast of here,settlement jectfor which construction starts next month, leaderPinhas Wallerstein showed how Nach- is thesmallest of theambitions revived here liel could be linkedwith other settlements to by Israel'srightward electoral shift. Over a forma thickcolumn of Jewish-inhabited color-codedmap as big as a billiardtable, territorythat could be joinedwith still other Nachlielsecretary Menachem Yedvav lays Jewishsettlements to thewest. out detailedplans to makea cityout of his hamletof threehundred residents fifteen milesnorthwest of Jerusalem. Other maps show how Nachlielcould linkup with nearbysettlements to forma vastJewish- controlledbloc in theheartland of thefertile NiliNaali Nahliel Samarianhills. Because theseare some of thebest TalmonB undevelopedlands left after years of struggle forthe West Bank, they have become a Talmon centralbattleground between Jewish settlers and Palestiniansintent on buildinga home- TalmonC D land.As such,they are emergingas a practicaltest of Netanyahu'sintentions in the rivalpursuits of Jewish expansion and a negotiatedend to theIsraeli-Palestinian con- 0 20 Miles Ramalish flict. Underagreements signed by then-Prime MinisterYitzhak Rabin, Palestinian leader YasirArafat has limitedauthority over a The idea of settlementblocs, and their smallfraction of theWest Bank-six of its mergerinto formal Israeli sovereignty, is not sevenlargest municipalities, but no territory new.The previousgovernment proposed outsidethem. He is supposedto extendhis similartreatment for a ringof settlements jurisdictionto all theWest Bank except aroundJerusalem and a clusternorth of here Jerusalem,Jewish settlements, and "specified alongthe 1967border. But those blocs militarylocations" in thenext fifteen months. alreadywere thicklysettled by Jews. Importantmembers of Netanyahu'sgovem- Whatthe settlers are askingfor now is mentare arguingthat nearly everything that thatIsrael swallow a chunkof land on which is notyet in Arafat'shands should be fewerthan 2,000 Jews now live among describedas a militarylocation-a gambit 32,000Palestinians. This would shiftIsrael's some hope willhalt Palestinian self-rule effectiveborder deep intothe most valuable whereit stands. land in thecentral West Bank, within three cityof "It'snot a cancelingof theagreement," milesof thebooming Palestinian EducationMinister Zevulun Hammer, of the Ramallah. "Itthus becomes clear," said geographer settlement-mindedNational Religious Party, KhalilTufakji of theArab Studies Society, said in an interview."It's a differenceof "how theIsraeli plan to separatethe Palestin- interpretation." ian populationareas intocantons of decreas- The practicalface of thislawyerly claim is ing size,surrounded by Israelisettlements of in Yedvav'smap and the "masterplan" on increasingproportions, would practicallyde- whichit is based. InfrastructureMinister Ariel stroyany Palestinian dream of sovereignty." Sharonand actingHousing Minister Meir Netanyahu'sgovernment has noten- Porushhave alreadybeen hereto bless the dorsedor rejectedthe plan, and it is unlikely plan,which calls forfour stages of construc- everto do either.Like the last Likud govern- tionof 500 to 700 apartmentseach on ment,which ruled until 1992, its settlement territoryten times Nachliel's present size. policiesare deliberatelyopaque. "In termsof availableland in themaster Atthe settlement of Kedumimnorth of plan,"Yedvav said in a recentinterview, here,for example, expansion plans first referringto boundariesdrawn during the last began to leak out lastweek DaniellaWeiss, LikudParty government, "this place could thesettlement's leader, disclosed details to have 3,000families" with as manyas 12,000 IsraelRadio. Official spokesmen first denied people. thereport in itsentirety. Then David Bar

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Ilan,a senioradviser to Netanyahu,said 100 of new "bypassroads," it took an hourto new apartmentswere planned.At around the driveto Jerusalem from here-and the pitted same time,Defense Ministry spokesman Avi roadstook Jewish settlers through Palestinian Benayahusaid 300. villagessuch as Beitillu,where the settlers' Weiss said thenumber of unitsactually carswere oftenstoned. Now theJerusalem approvedfor building was 700,with another commuteis thirtyminutes, and thesettlers 1,000in advancedstages of planning.No hardlyneed look at an Arabon theway. one would makepublic written records of MeronBenvenisti, a WestBank expert, thedecisions or answerreporters' questions said thatkind of infrastructuregives a clearer about them. pictureof realitythan "the number of toilets" Here at Nachliel,much of thelegal and in settlers'houses. "Once you can travel[by physicalinfrastructure fora massiveexpan- thebypass roads] without having to see sion has alreadybeen laid. Palestinians,except from a distanceor Foundedin 1984by theWorkers of througha tunnel,then this is a moremean- AgudatYisrael, an ultraorthodoxnationalist ingfulgeopolitical fact than counting group,Nachliel struggled to maintainits first houses,"he said. fifteenfamilies. But as thelast Likud govern- Netanyahu'srhetoric also has set the mentbegan itsfinal year in 1991,Sharon, stagefor expansion here by influencingthe thenhousing minister, gave thesettlement a psychologyof potentialbuyers. In visitsto majorpush. thesettlement of Ariel,where he said Jews He directedthe construction of twenty- are buildingon land "thatwas emptyfor fivegovernment-funded apartments in Nach- 2,000years," and to Eli,where he spoke of liel,more than doubling the initial number. "theJewish people renewingitself in its Moreimportantly, he oversawthe seizure of land,"Netanyahu has reassuredIsraeli Jews 575 acresof Palestinianolive groves and thatthey can movewith confidence to the grazinglands around the settlement and its occupiedterritories. redesignationas Israeli"state land," which he "People didn'twant to live here before," thenincluded in Nachliel'sboundaries. Yedvavsaid. "Theywere afraid.They didn't Thatlegal maneuverrelied on Israeli knowwhat would happento themto- militaryorders that said onlya Jordanian morrow.The electionschanged a lot of land registrationcertificate would be recog- people's thinking,and we can feelit in the nized as proofof privateownership by inquirieswe are gettinghere now." Palestinians.The Jordanianregistration pro- FLASHPOINTS OF THE SEPTEMBER cess had notyet covered two-thirds of the ExPLOSION: SETTLEMENTS AND RoADs WestBank when lsraelcaptured the territory in 1967. FromSettlement Report November 1996. KhaderShkerat, the lawyer who repre- Settlementsin theGaza Stripand roads sentedthe Fananaand Samarafamilies in usedprimarily by settlers were the primary theireffort to fightthe land seizure,said they pointsof conflictduring violence that had Jordanianand Israelireceipts proving eruptedin theWest Bank and Gaza Stripin theypaid propertytaxes on theland. Some late Septemberin thewake of theopening plotsof land,he said,also had registration inJerusalem's Muslim Quarter of an exitto papersfrom the period of theBritish Man- an Israeli tunnelnear theHaram al-Sharif. date thatended in 1948.But they had no Somefifteen Israelis and eighty-sixPalestini- formalJordanian registration, and Israeli ans werekilled in theclashes. The following courtstherefore ruled the land to be the information,gatheredfrom a varietyof propertyof thestate. Israeliand Palestiniannews sources, high- Whatall thatmeans to Yadvav now is lightsthis fact. thata settlementthat sits on less thansixty- 25 September threeacres has assertedthe legal rightto The isolatedsettlements of KfarDarom, expand to 638. Thatis enough,he said,"to Netzarim,and Moragare shutdown due to createa totaldemographic revolution in the Palestiniandemonstrations. Shootings occur whole area." in KhanYunis near Neve Dekalim.Katif Bloc A crucialfactor in Nachliel'shopes is a entriesare closed. $3.7 millionroad builtby Rabin'sgovern- 26 September mentbetween here and theTalmon settle- Palestinianssurround Kfar Darom and mentsto thesouth. Until the arrival of that Netzarim,throw stones and allegedlyfire at road,which links Nachliel to some 188 miles thesettlements. Heavy counterfire by the

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Israel DefenseForces [IDF] resultsin a wherePalestinian police are located.Settlers responsefrom PA police.Riots ensue, and in Bracha,Yitzhar, Itamar, Elon Moreh,and the IDF managesto push back thoseat- othercommunities near Nablus are confined temptinga forcedentry. Sixty to seventy to theirhomes due to stone-throwingon the GivatiBrigade soldiers handle the riots with roadsin thearea. backupfrom helicopters and armoredper- The fiftiethanniversary of KfarDarom's sonnelcarriers. Males in KfarDarom are founding(the original settlement) is canceled placed on alertand beginto preparetheir due to fightingand thetwentieth anniversary weapons. celebrationof Ma'ale Adumimis canceled Two IDF soldiersare killednear Netzarim out of respectfor the families of soldiers when Palestinianprotesters charge a nearby killed.The situationin KatifBloc, however, armypost. calmsdown and settlersare able to drive Womenand childrenare evacuatedfrom withoutIDF escorts. the settlementof Nisanitto thenearby city of In theJordan Valley, settler leader David Ashkelonin Israel.Men in thesettlement Elhayanipraises the placement of tanksand takeup guardposts. theerection of roadblocksin theregion as In thenorthern part of theWest Bank, enhancementsto security.Israeli Defense severalmain arteries are shutdown. Road- MinisterYitzhak Mordechai meets settler blocksand stone-throwingby Palestinians leadersand explainsthat "serious cracks" in are reported.The IDF urgessettlers to re- thePA have createda new situationand that duce road travelas muchas possible. IDF soldiersmust review security arrange- Shootingcontinues on bothsides in the mentsfor the settlements. He promisesto KatifBloc area. In fightingnear Joseph's supplysettlers with the "toolsnecessary to Tomb in Nablus,five people are killedand maintaintheir security." 191 are wounded.IDF soldierscannot be Seven residentsof theNachliel settlement evacuatedfor treatment due to riotingin are inductedinto military reserve duty under surroundingareas. The tombis reportedto the"Article 8" clause,which allows induction be on fire. of reservesoldiers without prior notice in the The two-week-oldbypass road around case of waror direemergency. Residents are Bethlehemis closed afterincidents of sniper also informedthat intelligence indicates a fireon passingvehicles. possibilityof a Palestinianattack in their Fightingbreaks out betweenIDF soldiers community. and PA police nearthe Beit El settlement 30 September northof Ramallah. DefenseMinister Mordechai approves the Israelimilitary authorities declare a cur- use of "anyelement of forcenecessary" to fewfor Palestinian residents in Hebron.Is- respondto violencedirected at settlersand raeliforces redeploy around all settlements Israelisoldiers. in thearea. 1 October A molotovcocktail is thrownat a settler Residentsof theMorag settlement in the bus at theentrance of theBeit Omar village. Gaza Striprequest emergency accommoda- 27 September tionsfor their children in anticipationof a Clashesbetween the IDF and Palestinians "PLO onslaught."Settler leaders in Gaza are reportednear Nachal Oz, an Israeli request$300,000 in specialassistance from kibbutzclose to theGaza Strip. theMinistry of Laborand Social Welfareto The situationin KfarDarom worsens as expandpsychological, social, and day-care thousandsof Palestiniansgather in frontof servicesin thewake of theviolence. thesettlement gates. The womenand chil- YitzhakLevy, Israeli minister of transpor- drenin thesettlement take cover while the tation,says on a visitto Gaza settlements, settlers'first response security teams deploy. "Continuingdevelopment and construction, Palestiniansdemonstrate at theElisha set- and theexpansion of Jewish settlement- tlementnear Jericho. Israeli army deploys theseare thenecessary responses in orderto tanksin response,killing two demonstrators. strengthenthe feeling of securityof residents NearJanin, 20,000 Palestinians march to- in KatifBloc." Some parentstell the minister wardthe Ganim settlement; Palestinian po- thatthey would preferto evacuatetheir lice attemptto push back theprotesters. childrenif the Washington summit fails. 29 September 2 October AdditionalIDF unitsare sentto some Stoningsand shootingsare reportednear settlements,particularly those near area A thesettlements of Shomron,Gush Shilo,

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Nachliel,Ma'ale Michmas,Dolev, Hebron, structthe road was made in themid-1980s, and on bypassroads. and workwas begunin 1990by then- The IDF preparesfor renewed unrest in Ministerof HousingAriel Sharon. The Rabin Gaza afterthe end of theWashington sum- governmentcontinued construction, and the mit.Army snipers are positionedat Khan Netanyahugovernment oversaw its comple- Yunis,and tanksremain deployed in the tion. Gaza Strip,including the border checkpoint Atthe road's dedication Sharon remarked, intothe Katif Bloc settlements.Defense Min- "Thisroad assuresthat in practice,the Etzion isterMordechai asks KfarDarom settlers "not Bloc willremain a partof thestate of Israel." to takethe law intotheir own hands."He denies thatKatif Bloc settlershave requested SEI"TLEMENT CHRONOLOGY evacuationand assertsthat such an evacua- tionwould notbe necessarydue to the From SettlementReport November 1996 strengthof IDF backing. 7July 3 October The Netanyahugovernment approves the Israelisettlements request more defensive transferof $3 millionto theSettlement measuresfrom the IDF, includingbulletproof Departmentof theJewish Agency, which buses and ambulances.They also ask thatPA worksprincipally in thesettlements in the police be movedaway fromNetzarim Junc- occupiedterritories. tion.Earlier, ambulances transporting 25July woundedIDF soldiershad been subjectedto The IsraelLands Administration, now sniperfire. underthe direction of InfrastructureMinister 7 October ArielSharon, instructs settlements to use The KatifBloc regionalcouncil will re- statelands for forestation or industrialareas ceive NIS 1 million($300,000) for damage to in orderto "reduceas muchas possiblethe settlementsincurred during the rioting. The amountof stateland to be transferredto the WestBank councilswill receiveNIS 9 mil- PalestinianAuthority." lion ($3 million). 2 August

NEW JERUSALEM-ETZION BLOC RoAD OPENS The Israeligovernment announces the rentalor sale of 1,500empty and an equal From SettlementReport, November 1996 numberof inhabitedapartments in various The second of Septembermarked a mile- settlements.It also changesthe approval stonein Israel'sexpansion into the West processfor settlement expansion. The minis- Bank.On thatday, a new roadwaywas terof defenseis empoweredto ruleon all opened betweenJerusalem and theEtzion new residentialconstruction planning and Bloc of WestBank settlements south of the zoningapplications in thesettlements. city.The 12-km.route is, at $43 million,the II August mostexpensive road projectever built by In thefirst statement on GreaterJerusa- Israel. lem by a ministerin Netanyahu'sgovern- For the 12,000settlers living in thisarea, ment,Internal Security Minister Avigdor the routesupplants a windingtwo-lane ar- Kahalanideclares that "facts on theground" tery,obstructed by permanentand roving shouldbe createdlinking Jerusalem with the Israelicheckpoints restricting Palestinian en- settlementof Ma'ale Adumim. tryinto Israel, and passingthough the Pales- 12 August tiniantowns of Bethlehemand BaytJalla. Approvalfor the placement of 300 mobile The new road reducestravel time between homesfor nonresidential purposes is an- southernJerusalem and theEfrat settlement nounced. to less thanfifteen minutes, and itwill act as 18 August a conduitfor the expansion of settlements Constructionof 300 dwellingunits is fromthe Etzion Bloc to Hebron. approvedfor the Golan Heightssettlement Palestiniansare not permittedby Israelto of Qatzrin. use thenew road.During the violence of 21 August late September,the road was temporarily DefenseMinister Yitzhak Mordechai ap- closed forsecurity reasons after shots were provesthe construction of 900 unitsat the firedat Israelivehicles. settlementof KiryatSefer near the Green The road is a testamentto an Israeli Line.The decisionis theNetanyahu govern- consensusfor incorporating this area of the ment'sfirst concrete action to expand settle- WestBank intoIsrael. A decisionto con- ments.

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29 August childrenare evacuatedfrom the nearby set- DefenseMinister Mordechai approves tlementof Nisanit,Infrastructure Minister plans forthe construction of 3,550new Sharondeclares that "the Golan Heightswill dwellingunits in thesettlements of Kiryat contain25,000 people [currentpopulation Sefer(700), Hashmonaim(1050), a nearby 15,0001within a fewyears. Settlements in Jewishseminary (900), Matityahu(200), and Judeaand Samariawill be widenedand Betar(700). expanded,including those in thenorthern 3 September Gaza Strip." TransportationMinister calls 25 October fora triplingof thesettler population in the Approvalof a new settlement,Mod'in Ilit, JordanValley. Levy promises valley settlers nearKiryat Sefer is reported.The ministerof $4.4 millionfor improvements on themain defensealso has approved1,806 units of a north-southroad throughthe valley. planned4,000 units. 6 September 27 October PrimeMinister PrimeMinister Netanyahu announces the meetswith settlement leaders and promises sale of apartmentslocated in WestBank to implementgovernment decisions regard- settlementswhose dispositionhad been fro- ing "thawing"settlement construction. zen by theprevious government. The an- The chairmanof theYESHA settlers' nouncementsignals the implementation of a councilstates, "We toldthe prime minister decisionannounced on 2 August.On 23 thatwe have neverexperienced such a October,the Finance Committee had periodof dryingout settlementsunder any made available$20 millionto refurbishthese governmentand thatwe are waitingfor apartments.Sale pricesfor these units sug- action.' gesta governmentsubsidy approaching $200 7 September million. Announcedstate and local couLncilsubsi- 28 October dies and financingwill decrease the price of A new settlementsite 1 kmeast of the 300 planneddwelling units in theGolan settlementof Itamaris revealedby Peace Heightssettlement of Qatzrinby $20,000per Now. Settlersmaintain that it is a two-year- unit.Plans to expandthe settlement by an old "neighborhood"of Itamar. additional1,000 units are underconsidera- tionby thelocal council. 30 October 8 September Sitework begins for 800 new dwelling The Jerusalemmunicipality approves unitsin thefollowing locations: Ali Zahav $160,000for a continuingstudy of the"East- (30 units),Bet Ayan(40), Dolev (30), Halam- ernGate" settlement construction plan, due ish (40), Harmesh(16), KarmeiTsur (20), forcompletion in 1997. KfarAdumim (35), KiryatNetefin (20), Kiryat 18 September Sefer(200), KochavHaShahar (17), Ma'ale Justhours before his firstmeeting with Shomron(54), Mevo Dotan (15), Migdalim PA ChairmanYasir Arafat, Defense Minister (20), Neve Daniel (73), Nili(40), Nokdim Mordechaiapproves the construction of (15), Pedual (30), Tekoa (33), Talmon(20), 1,800units at Matityahu.Mordechai explains and Yakir(40). thatthis construction, like others that he A seniorHousing Ministry official re- previouslyhad approved,is partof the marks,"The building starts approved so far 10,000units approved by thegovernment of are onlythe beginning." YitzhakShamir, but frozen by YitzhakRabin 3 November in August1992. The InfrastructureMinistry describes plan 22 September forthe expansion of two settlementareas-at PrimeMinister Netanyahu promises to KiryatSefer near the Green Line support the constructionof an additional 580 (10,000-11,000new units)and in theregion unitsin KiryatSefer and 200 unitsin Betar of thesettlement of Dolev furthereast afterleaders of theUnited Torah Judaism (12,000units)-to accommodate100,000 new partythreaten to leave his coalitiongovern- settlers.The area's currentsettler population mentif such supportis notforthcoming. is 14,000. 26 September The yet-to-be-approvedplan includesad- As Palestinianpolice battleIsraeli soldiers ditionsto thefollowing settlements: Dolev outsidethe gates of theGaza settlementsof (500), MatityahuG (3,500),Or Samach(700), Netzarimand KfarDarom, and womenand Talmon(1,000), and a new neighborhoodof

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2,000units at thesettlement of Nachliel,5 of supportingSoviet immigration to Israel. km east of the GreenLine. Butthe economic rationale for the program 6 November alwayshas been less importantthan the A new settlementsite 1.5 kmfrom the Bet politicsdriving it-so muchso thatthe Rabin Yatirsettlement is establishedwith four mo- governmentwas permittedto use theentire bile homes. $4 billionloan guaranteefor 1995 and 1996 7 November to guaranteethe financing of itsnational Settlersleave meetingswith Prime Minis- budgetdeficit. terNetanyahu and DefenseMinister The principleof compensatingIsrael for Mordechaiwith guidelines outlining "com- itsexpenditures on militaryredeployment pensation"(in theform of additionalsettle- associatedwith negotiations with the Pales- mentdevelopment) for the expected rede- tinianAuthority was thesubject of extended ploymentin Hebron. debatein 1994between the State Depart- mentand CongressmanLee Hamilton(D-IN). LOAN GUARANTEES UPDATh The formerchairman of theHouse Foreign AffairsCommittee argued that this offset CLINTON ADMINISTRATION OFFSETS 80 arrangementweakened the legislation's orig- PERCENT OF 1996 SETrLEMENT PENALTY inalpurpose-to demonstrateto Israelthat Fr-omSettlement Report; November 1996 therewere coststo continuingsettlement The Clintonadministration has notified expansion.(See SettlementMonitor inJPS Congressthat Israel will suffera $60 million 94) A November1996 Congressional Re- "settlementpenalty" to be deductedfrom the searchService (CRS) Reporton the Loan final$2 billioninstallment of loan guarantees Guaranteesnoted that "the appearance that Washingtonmade availablein October. U.S. fundingwas behindthe highway project The administrationdetermined that Israel [theroad networklinking Israeli cities with spent$307 millionon settlementsin the Jewishsettlements in theoccupied territo- fiscalyear ending 30 September.Last year ries]led some to concludethat the United thisfigure was $303 million;in FY 1994,the Statessupported Israel's retention of the UnitedStates determined that settlement ex- occupiedterritories." Still, news of thisyear's penditurereached $311.8 million. The penaltywas releasedalmost without notice amountthe United States actually deducted in thedays immediately following the un- fromthe loan guaranteeprogram each year, precedentedviolence in theoccupied territo- however,has been significantlyless. riesin late September. Continuinga policyinitiated in 1994,the LoAN GUARANTEE SETTLEMENT PENALTIES Clintonadministration determined this year 1992-96 thatit was "importantto thesecurity interests (MILLIONS OF DOLLARS) of theUnited States" to restore$247 million of thededucted guarantees. Last year, $243 Settlement Net millionwas restoredin the same mannerto Year Penalty Offset Reduction compensateIsrael for costs incurred in its redeploymentin Gaza andJericho. 1992 - _ - The $10 billionprogram in U.S. loan 1993 437.0 - 437.0 guarantees,spread out in equal installments 1994 311.8 95.0 216.8 over fiveyears, was initiatedin 1992.The 1995 303.0 243.0 60.0 guaranteesinitially were devisedas a means 1996 307.0 247.0 60.0

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