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Home , Area C (West Bank), Ariel (city), Dani Dayan, Levy Report, Sasson Report, Yesha

Settlement Monitor

Edited by Geoffrey Aronson

This section covers items—reprinted articles, statistics, and maps—pertaining to activities in the , 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.

No Occupation, No Problem: Levy Commission Recommends Moving Toward De Facto Annexation...... 153

Moral Imperative Meets Practical Need Refuting Chairman ’s Myths About Settlements, by Lara Friedman (excerpts)...... 156 The New Settlers, by Ofer Petersburg (excerpts) ...... 158

Settlement Facts The Compensation Package for the Settlers: 851 Units to Undermine the Two States Solution, by Hagit Ofran...... 160 New Settlement Areas in Greater Jerusalem...... 161 Update ...... 162 ’s Plan to Save Billions by Reducing Some Benefits to Settlements, by Hagit Ofran (excerpts) ...... 163

No Occupation, No Problem: The secret negotiations that lead to Levy Commission Recommends the Oslo Declaration in 1993 and the Moving Toward De Facto decision of Israeli PM Sharon to “disengage” from the in 2005 Annexation offer instructive examples of ’s ability to shape the international diplo- From Settlement Report, July–August matic agenda. PM 2012. has been singularly successful in frus- The last two years of the administra- trating efforts by the international com- tion of U.S. Pres. Barack Obama have munity to conduct negotiations based been notable for the almost complete upon the armistice line separating Israel absence of serious diplomatic effort to from the West Bank and Gaza Strip. resolve the conflict between Israel and In June, the top-level Commission to the . Israeli DM Ehud Barak Examine the Status of Building in recently warned that “political inaction and , handpicked by Netanyahu is not an option, and if it becomes evi- in March 2012, rejected the interna- dent that it is impossible to reach an tional consensus and PM Netanyahu’s agreement, we need to think about an own statements supporting an end to interim arrangement, or even unilateral occupation and the creation of a Pales- action. Israel cannot allow itself to re- tinian state. The committee’s recommen- main in a state of deadlock.” dations illustrate the extent to which

Journal of Palestine Studies Vol. XLII, No. 1 (Autumn 2012), pp. 153–165, 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.XLII.1.153.

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the demands of Israel’s growing West and Samaria, and the establishment Bank settler population are supported of settlements cannot, in and of by critical sectors of Israel’s judicial, po- itself, be considered to be illegal.” litical, and administrative institutions. ••Article 49 of the 1949 Fourth They represent the state’s effort to pro- Geneva Convention outlawing the mote the increasingly strident demands transfer of populations is not appli- of the settler community to legalize cable. “Settlement is a consequence and protect its assets, especially land, of ideological commitment to settle against action, whether by Palestinians the Land of Israel, not compulsion, or by the state itself. and also because of the unsettled The committee, headed by former nature of sovereignty in the area.” High Court Justice Edmund Levy, ad- The committee’s legal and ideological dressed a principal instrument of set- arguments are not new. But this is per- tlement expansion in the last fifteen haps the first time that an Israeli prime years—the creation of scores of “unau- minister has enabled such views to be thorized” new settlements, or outposts. stated so comprehensively and authori- The committee report advances the most tatively. The critical contribution made explicit legal and official ideological as- by the Levy committee, however, is the sertion in decades of Israel’s rights in operational recommendations that result the West Bank, repudiating the interna- from its claim that there is no Israeli tional consensus regarding the status of occupation. the occupied territories. It also suggests These conclusions, if implemented, wide-ranging administrative measures would all but erase the distinction be- that would expand the already signifi- tween land ownership and settlement cant role played by domestic Israeli in Israel and in West Bank settlements, planning and development bodies at the and transfer jurisdiction from the mili- expense of the Civil Administration— tary occupation administration to Is- the military-run occupation bureaucracy, rael’s domestic institutions as a way of which was originally established as the consolidating Israeli control and effec- preeminent authority in the occupied tive sovereignty in the West Bank. territories but is increasingly viewed by According to the committee, because settlers and their patrons as a hindrance international law does not proscribe to their settlement-related demands. settlement, “it is necessary to consider The committee advanced four princi- this question from the standpoint of do- pal conclusions: mestic law.” This assertion that Israel’s ••Israel has an internationally sanc- settlement project is the province of do- tioned right to sovereignty in mestic Israeli jurisdiction is the most the West Bank. (Gaza and East noteworthy, critical, and challenging as- Jerusalem were excluded from the pect of the report. committee’s mandate.) This right The incremental expansion of con- was initially recognized by the inter- trol by Israel’s civilian institutions over national community in the 1917 everyday affairs regulating the lives and Balfour Declaration, which excluded conduct of Israel’s settlement commu- consideration of the political rights nities has been a central feature of oc- of the Arab population in Palestine. cupation since the late 1970s. In recent ••The laws regulating belligerent occu- years, the focus of such efforts has been pation do not apply to Israel’s pres- on the broad issues of land use, prop- ence in the West Bank. There is, in erty rights, and settlement expansion. short, no “occupation.” The commit- Settlers today have grown to almost tee accepted the view put forward 10 percent of Israel’s Jewish popula- by settlers that the internationally tion, now reaching 350,000 in the West accepted norms governing occupa- Bank and more than 200,000 in East tion and responsibilities toward pop- Jerusalem, intensifying settler demands ulation under occupation “are not for expansion of civil control and its relevant to Israel’s presence in the prevailing Zionist norms over their af- territories of Judea and Samaria.” fairs. Associated with these demands ••Based on international law, “Israelis is the state’s interest in addressing the have the legal right to settle in Judea pervasive inattention to law and proper

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procedure outlined most recently in the Sasson and the Sharon government, on settlement outposts which adopted the report and its rec- [see Doc. C2 in JPS 135—Ed.]. “We are ommendations, concluded that notwith- no longer in the formative stages of the standing de facto government support, creation of our state when things were the outposts in question should none- done in an informal and arbitrary man- theless be dismantled in light of Israel’s ner,” the Levy committee noted. own laws and international commit- The committee recommends limiting ments. The Levy committee embraced what are considered to be obstructionist this fact as a principal rationale for im- practices by the IDF’s Civil Administra- plementation of its broader agenda— tion, whose administrative requirements legalizing and facilitating the expansion are deemed to conflict with the commit- of settlement all but regardless of land tee’s essential presumption of “the basic ownership, and placing it under even right of all to settle on all of Judea more benevolent civilian oversight and and Samaria, and for a while at least, regulation. in territories under Israeli rule accord- The committee held that there is ing to agreements with the Palestinian no such thing as unauthorized, wild- Authority.” cat settlement efforts in the West Bank. The Civil Administration’s role in set- “From the information before us,” the tlement affairs is described as “onerous report states, “. . . there is no doubt that and superfluous”; expansion of settle- settlement was undertaken with knowl- ment is afflicted by “needless delay.” The edge by everyone—beginning with committee used the language of reform, government ministers and those who improvement, order, and conscientious lead them, and to the last operational administration to couch its interest in agency—and there was one reason for facilitating land grabs for further settle- lying about this—to ward off criticism ment, calling for the “removal of admin- from different quarters, principally istrative obstacles placed before planning international.” institutions, and enabling them to fulfill The committee concluded that estab- their objectives” and “to advance stability lishing new settlements and settlement and prevent lack of clarity.” expansion beyond existing planning The operational intent of the com- boundaries should remain the prov- mittee is to completely remove plan- ince of the political echelon. It also pro- ning decisions concerning settlements posed, however, a number of significant from the context of occupation, making changes in the settlement process: them no more remarkable than the con- sideration of building new dwellings in ••Expansion of existing or future Israeli towns like Rosh Pina or Ma’alot. settlements should be removed from Such practical application of domes- formal political oversight (i.e., cabinet tic Israeli law and jurisdiction was the votes) and handled instead by Israel’s principal means by which Israel ef- domestic planning bureaucracy. fected the annexation of East Jerusa- ••Unauthorized and illegal settle- lem and the Golan Heights and before ment outposts should be authorized that the Galilee and Negev conquests because they were established “with of 1948. the knowledge, encouragement, A key issue of the committee’s man- and tacit agreement of the most date included addressing an issue at the senior political level.” heart of Israel’s domestic debate—that ••Expedited planning at the profes- scores of new settlements materialized sional level and without overt in the last fifteen years without govern- political direction should continue ment support and in contravention of its for currently unauthorized, illegal, intentions. The committee’s first order and other settlements to provide of business was to annul the recommen- jurisdiction for territory to accom- dations of the 2005 report on settlement modate their “natural growth.” “outposts” by Talia Sasson. The Levy ••There should be a moratorium on committee marshaled evidence pre- demolition orders in all settlements sented in the Sasson report only to turn for unauthorized construction or con- Sasson’s argument on its head. struction on private Palestinian land.

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••New courts for the adjudication of Palestinian land owners throughout the land disputes should be established territory. With or without the Levy com- to expedite the process of resolving mittee, however, Israel is engaged in a land claims, to “facilitate access by relentless effort to consolidate control local residents,” and to restrict the over the West Bank, heedless of inef- authority of the Civil Administration fectual international opinion, indifferent appointed by the IDF. to Palestinian rights, and happy to let ••The prerogatives of the Civil credulous foreign donors bear the cost Administration on issues pertaining of managing Palestinians while it con- to land and land registration should solidates its territorial conquests. be restricted in favor of civilian Israeli institutions not subordinate to the IDF. Moral Imperative Meets ••To give greater security of tenure Practical Need to settlers, none of whom holds recognized title to West Bank land, Refuting YESHA Chairman Dani the land registration process frozen Dayan’s Myths About Settlements since 1967 should be revived for (excerpts) “Palestinians and Israelis alike.” Those who fail to register land The piece excerpted below—origi- within a period of four to five years nally titled “Lara Friedman Responds should “lose all their rights” over to Dani Dayan”—was published in The the land. (Ha’Aretz reported on Daily Beast on 26 July 2012. Friedman 3 July 2012 that a parallel land reg- is the director of policy and government istry is planned in order to facilitate relations for American’s for Peace Now. recognition of the land ownership The full text is available online at www. claims of settlers “and appears thedailybeast.com. designed to prevent Palestinians from appealing the validity of the Today’s New York Times features an ownership listings.”) op-ed by Dani Dayan, the head of the ••End Civil Administration oversight (the group that repre- of expansion in settlements built sents settlers and their interests). There on land requisitioned for military isn’t really any news here: It shouldn’t purposes. surprise anyone that the settlers want ••Rescind all restrictions on the pur- the world to believe that settlements are chase of West Bank land by Israelis. good, peace efforts are pointless, and In cases where settlements and set- that the way forward should be pre- tlers “acting in good faith” stole pri- mised on leaving all settlements in place, vate Palestinian land, “the option of and leaving the West Bank under Israeli evacuation is not realistic, and there control, in perpetuity. Nonetheless, it is is another solution, for example worth examining some representative payment of compensation or provi- snippets from this high-profile op-ed. sion of alternative land.” Settlers Dayan starts with the assertion that report that more than 9,000 such “Israel legitimately seized the disputed ter- units exist in the West Bank. ritories of Judea and Samaria in self-de- fense.” This assertion ignores the fact that Although Netanyahu created the Levy in the post-colonial era, there is no such committee, he has not been anxious to thing as a country “legitimately” seizing publicize its findings for fear of inter- territory in self-defense or for any other national opposition. He sees no need to reason. Love it or hate it, but the acqui- attract critical attention while Israel en- sition of land by force, even when that joys the most permissive international force is, at least initially, about self-de- environment for settlement since the ad- fense, is not allowed under international ministration of Ronald Reagan. law, period (nor is extended occupation The recommendations of said land). This fact is enshrined in UN offer an administrative road map to Security Council Resolution 242, which annexation of more than half of the notes the “inadmissibility of the acquisi- West Bank and increase the threat to tion of territory by war.”

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Dayan also states that “Giving up implement a negotiated two-state so- this land [the West Bank] in the name lution.” Of course, Dayan well knows of a hallowed two-state solution would that there has never been a negotiated mean rewarding those who’ve histori- two-state solution to implement. The cally sought to destroy Israel.” In fact, was just the starting point; leaving settlements in place is a re- since it was signed, both sides have un- ward to those who in recent decades dertaken actions that are inconsistent have worked the hardest to destroy with a two-state solution. For their part, Israel (i.e., the settlers themselves). Get- the Palestinian Authority leadership re- ting out of the West Bank, on the other mains committed to two states and to hand, isn’t about rewarding Palestinians a rejection of violence; indeed, such a or for good or bad behavior—it commitment was implicit in their ap- is about what Israel needs to do for its peal to the last fall. On own sake. Holding on to the West Bank the other hand, successive Israeli gov- comes at a cost of Israel’s own security, ernments have, over the years since of the viability of Israel’s democracy, of Oslo, acted unilaterally without pause, the health of Israel’s economy, and of in close collaboration with the settlers, the strength of Israel’s moral claims as to change the facts on the ground in a a Jewish state. The policies required for manner that seeks to pre-judge or even Israel to hold on to the West Bank, and foreclose the possibility of any negoti- the policies that cater to the settlers as ated two-state solution in the future. they expand and deepen their hold on Dayan is similarly disingenuous it, feed anti-Israel sentiment around the when he argues that “Today, security— world—sentiment that no amount of the ultimate precondition for everything— hasbara will ever be able to overcome. prevails. Neither Jews nor Palestinians There is also Dayan’s argument are threatened by en masse eviction; that “. . . any peace agreement would the economies are thriving. . . .” Yes, collapse the moment Hamas inevitably there is security for settlers, subsidized took power by ballot or by gun. Israel by the same Israeli taxpayers who are would then be forced to recapture the protesting the lack of government fund- area, only to find a much larger Arab ing for social services inside the Green population living there.” Dayan implies Line. There is little security for Pales- that he is actually open to a two-state tinians, especially those who in some solution but has concluded that it just areas routinely face “price tag” attacks won’t work. Given his clear commitment by settlers. There is no security for Pal- to the settlement enterprise, such open- estinians living in the eight villages that ness to a two-state solution defies cre- the IDF just announced will be evacu- dulity. Moreover, Dayan ignores the fact ated to make way for an IDF training that with a peace agreement in place, ground. There is no security for the Pal- Israel will be in a far stronger position estinians in Susya whose entire village to defend itself from outside threats is threatened with demolition. As for than it is today, including threats from a the thriving economy, settlers indeed future Palestinian state that might turn enjoy the benefits of the thriving Israeli hostile. Israel’s military actions with re- economy that exists inside the Green spect to the West Bank and Gaza today Line—in fact, per capita they enjoy far are often challenged and criticized, due more benefits than Israelis living inside to the blurriness of the line that sepa- the . For Palestinians, it’s an- rates defending the occupation (and other story. The World Bank recently quashing challenges to it) and true Is- reported that the Palestinian economy raeli self-defense. A peace agreement “isn’t strong enough to support a state,” that ends the occupation and yields uni- in part due to Israeli restrictions that versally recognized borders will mean make real economic growth, which re- that Israel’s right to use force to defend quires investment, impossible. itself, within these borders, will be un- Dayan’s statement that “Our presence challengeable—leaving Israel in a far in all of Judea and Samaria—not just stronger security position. in the so-called settlement blocs—is an Dayan laments that “. . . the Pal- irreversible fact” is perhaps the most estinians have repeatedly refused to interesting thing he has to say in his

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article. Israel is a democracy, with one nonetheless vibrant democracy, with the of the strongest armies in the world. If rule of law and a healthy civil society— an Israeli government decides to remove and replacing it with the a religious- settlements, it has the ability to do so. fascist state characterized by the tyranny In this context, could Dayan’s words be of a Jewish minority. understood as a threat, similar to the threat implicit in the settlers’ “price tag” The New Settlers (excerpts) campaign? The goal of such a threat This article by Yedi’ot Aharonot col- would be to scare and intimidate, by umnist Ofer Petersburg originally ap- sending a message: don’t dare try to peared in the paper’s Hebrew print confront us or the price will be high. edition. It was translated by Israel News Later in the piece, Dayan argues that Today and circulated by American’s for “The settlements of Judea and Samaria Peace Now on 13 August 2012. This Eng- are not the problem—they are part of lish translation can be found at www. the solution.” Dayan and his fellow trav- peacenow.org. elers no doubt really believe this— because the solution they have always It is doubtful if this was the solu- been committed to is “Greater Israel, at tion envisioned by the leaders of the any price.” This is an Israel that extends social protest when they went out [in from the River to the Mediter- July 2011] to demonstrate over the cost ranean Sea—a mirror image of what of housing in Israel. But the impossible they always claim Israel’s enemies want real estate prices and the unfreezing to achieve for themselves. This will be of land over the Green Line have cre- an Israel ruled not by pesky democ- ated a new and surprising trend in the racy that gives equal rights to all, but past year: Hundreds of secular families by some other form of government, per- have moved to Judea and Samaria in ex- haps something they will call “Israeli change for tax breaks and the low price democracy” or “Jewish democracy.” for a house with a garden. All of this is Such a system would boil down to five minutes from Kfar Saba, Shoham, or tyranny of a Jewish minority over what Rosh Haayin. will soon be a non-Jewish majority (as Many of the families who took this well as over any Jewish minority that course of action did not move to Ju- might object to its rule). Under such a dea and Samaria for political reasons, system, non-Jews will not have rights and are not identified in any way with as enfranchised citizens with a recog- the right wing and the struggle for the nized history and legitimate claims to Greater Land of Israel. On the contrary, the land, but will “enjoy” limited privi- many of them are as far removed from leges deriving from Israeli magnanimity— the as Shenkin Street is privileges that could be revoked at will, from , and even vote for left wing including overt signs of ingratitude or and center parties. Hundreds of such misbehavior (for an example of what families have already moved or pur- this could look like, the current status chased apartments in Judea and Samaria of Palestinian residents of East Jerusa- settlements, mainly those close to the lem might be instructive). Green Line. They define themselves as Finally, Dayan’s over-arching thesis “non-religious”—people who have be- in this op-ed is that “. . . our four- come tired of paying excessive rent in decade-long settlement endeavor is both Greater and want to move into a [moral and wise].” The truth is that new four-room apartment of their own. some of the settlers and their rabbis Meet, for example, the Barkans— have twisted the whole concept of mo- 49-year-old Eyal, 42-year-old Liat, and rality in order to justify an ideology that their three children—who moved two values land over human life, over secu- years ago from Ramat Hasharon to the rity, and over peace. This is an ideology community/settlement Beit Aryeh. “We that can justify stealing land, destroying left Ramat Hasharon for better quality of olive trees, and abusing and even kill- life,” says Eyal, a wood contractor. “The ing children of the “enemy,” all for the house we have today is much larger than goal of destroying the modern state of the previous one. The children are very Israel—a state that is an imperfect but happy with the nature and the pool, and

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each one has his own friends. The com- Central Bureau of Statistics also indi- munity also helps us in all matters.” cate a drastic change in investments in settlement in Judea and Samaria. From Q: Doesn’t it bother you that you’ve 2003 to the end of 2011, Israel’s gov- become settlers? ernments invested over NIS 10 billion A: “We call the settlement ‘territories in settlements over the Green Line and lite’ [i.e., a diluted version], and for us it over NIS 1 billion in the past year alone. is a little paradise. I grew up in Ramat The Kosoy family—Adita and Vladi- Efal, and I never had any connection mir, 32, and their two small children— with the settlements. I live today in the came to Ariel a few years ago in order hills, I have a breeze, I can see the sea, to study at the college, and recently and it’s not disgusting like in the center registered to purchase an apartment in of the country. Before we came to Ramat the city. Adita works at the Ariel Uni- Hasharon we were in the , versity Center and her husband works and I said to my wife that I have to live in Tel Aviv. The two say that it is im- outside the city. We searched for a long portant for them to live in a new, aes- time throughout Israel. I wanted to live thetic, and nice-looking home, but also in the north because of the hills, but one that they can afford to pay for. “We when we came to Beit Aryeh it reminded have no political direction,” says Adita. me a lot of the Galilee landscape. “We haven’t decided amongst ourselves “We enjoy all the benefits of living whether we’re left wing or right wing. close to the center. The settlement is Our family conducts a healthy lifestyle, located half an hour from Tel Aviv and and it’s important for us to live in a five minutes from Shoham and Modiin. green project and not drive a lot.” I have no traffic jams, and I have lots of The social protest has also led many options for reaching every central loca- families beyond the lines. Revital Acker- tion in Israel. [. . .] man, 38, and her partner Amir Tiny, 43, and their three children (four-year-old Tired of Moldy Apartments twins and a two-year-old), who define “Ariel is not related to ideology, it themselves as left wing, moved about a has become a real estate capital for resi- year ago, in the midst of the social pro- dents of central Israel who can’t afford test, from Givatayim to . an apartment,” says Ariel Mayor Ron “The economic situation broke us,” Re- Nahman. The recognition of the city’s vital admits. “We lived in an old three- academic institution as a university, room apartment, and I felt it wasn’t Nahman says, will cause rents to in- enough for the children. Today we rent crease in the city. Rent there has already a five-room garden apartment with a risen, approaching the prices of the pe- yard and a porch. It’s very difficult to riphery of the greater Tel Aviv area. find a normal apartment of over three The settlements in Judea and Samaria rooms in a decent area in central Israel most sought after by the new settlers with low rent.” are Shaarei Tikva, , Ariel, Alfei Menashe, and Beit Aryeh in central Is- Q: Don’t your political opinions rael, and Maale Adumim in the Jeru- play a part in your decision? salem area. The government recently A: “No. We’re left wing in our opin- unfroze hundreds of housing units for ions, but when we think about the chil- construction in the territories—and this dren it’s neither Left nor Right, but the has increased the migration even more. future of the children. They get a com- The benefits given by the government munity and social life here that are bet- to residents of Judea and Samaria also ter developed than in the center.” [. . .] play an important part in the turnabout. “We’re unwilling settlers,” admits G, In general, the settlements in Judea and who moved into a small settlement in Samaria received positive reinforcement Judea and Samaria. “People here know about a month ago from the government that I’m not right wing, but I’m very committee headed by retired judge Ed- pleased with the quality of life and the mond Levy, which determined, among possibilities for raising children here. other things, that building settlements Clearly it’s a compromise, but the prices was not illegal. Data provided by the in the center of the country won’t drop,

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so this is the cheapest alternative that is plan or irregular use. The reason for closest to Greater Tel Aviv.” this is that the planning and construc- tion law does not apply to Judea and Not Afraid of Eviction Samaria, as is customary in cities and As inexpensive and tempting as such communities inside the Green Line. [. . .] a move may be, it is also accompanied by serious worries—mainly the fear of Settlement Facts an eviction from Judea and Samaria. But many of the people who move to the set- tlements admit that they have taken the The Compensation Package for the chance into account and rely on the fact Settlers: 851 Units to Undermine the that they will receive compensation from Two States Solution the state. Attorney Neta Cohen-Salman, This report by Hagit Ofran, director who deals, among other things, with real of the Settlement Watch project at Is- estate deals in Judea and Samaria, says rael’s Peace Now, was published by the that the amount of compensation for a Huffington Post on 22 June 2012. It can family that will be evicted from Judea be found at www.huffingtonpost.com. and Samaria is expected to reach about NIS 4 million, including all the compo- As part of the political crisis around nents and services that a family needs the Ulpana Hill outpost, PM Benjamin during and after the eviction. Cohen- Netanyahu announced a “compensation Salman notes that the evacuees of Gaza package” for the settlers in which 851 and northern Samaria received about NIS new units will be built in disputed areas 1.5 million to NIS 2 million per family on in the West Bank. According to the an- the average, not including compensation nouncements new houses will be built in: for jobs, businesses that ceased to exist, Ariel - 117 units and so on. The scope of compensation Efrat - 114 units predicted by Cohen-Salman is debatable, Adam (Geva Binyamin) - 144 units but there is no doubt that if settlements - 84 units such as Ariel, Alfei Menashe, and other Maale Adumim - 92 units settlements near the Green Line are re- - 300 units moved—the residents will be given sizeable compensation. Almost all of the announced con- Another problem that hampers the struction is located precisely in disputed purchase of an apartment in Judea and areas which could prevent the possibil- Samaria: Attorney Salman-Cohen ex- ity of establishing a Palestinian state plains that often this is a considerable alongside Israel. The formal negotia- procedural headache, which stems from tions between Israel and the Palestin- taxes and high fees, because the apart- ians, as well as informal negotiations ments cannot be registered in the land such as the , have re- registry office. vealed the critical disputed areas that Conversely, the Judea and Samaria are threatening the viability of the Pal- residents are entitled to many ben- estinian state, and in which the con- efits in the areas of taxes and welfare. struction of settlements could prevent Data presented by the Finance Minis- the chance for an agreement. try indicate that in 2001, the tax ben- 1. Ariel—117 units—Ariel is one of efits for residents of Judea and Samaria the most sensitive points in terms of the amounted to NIS 130 million. In the possibility for a two states solution, as it past decade there was a large increase is very big and important for Israel, and in the number of Israelis living beyond at the same time located 20 kilometers the Green Line, and now their number from the Green Line at the heart of the stands at 340,000, and so by all esti- West Bank. CBS figures show that in the mates the total amount of tax breaks last decade the number of settlers leaving has grown significantly. Ariel was greater than the number com- Unlike the customary situation ing to live in it and its current number of within the Green Line, the local coun- residents is less than 18,000. Nonetheless, cils in Judea and Samaria do not charge on December 8, 2011 the government is- a betterment tax for approving a master sued a tender for 277 new housing units

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in Ariel. On May 22, 2012 another tender of Hebron, east of the separation bar- for 14 units in Ariel was issued. rier with 7,500 settlers. Kiryat Arba was 2. Efrat—114 units—According to never considered to be part of Israel reports in the media, the 114 units [al- and will undoubtedly need to be evicted located to] Efrat are for the construction in a case of an agreement. of 114 permanent homes in Givat Hata- 5. Ma’ale Adumim—92 units—Like mar, which is a hilltop one kilometer Ariel and Efrat, Ma’ale Adumim is one north of the built-up area of Efrat. This of the most disputed settlements. It is is a dramatic expansion of the area of a city of 35,000 settlers, and is consid- Efrat towards the suburbs of Bethlehem. ered in Israel as a normal Israeli city Like Ariel, Efrat is one of the most dis- that “will never be evicted.” However, it puted settlements that could prevent a is located at the heart of the West Bank, two states solution. With 8,000 settlers, separating the North and the South of Efrat is adjacent to Bethlehem in the the West Bank, and closing the potential south, and is located east of the main development of . highway (60) connecting the southern 6. Beit El—300 units—There is no West Bank with Bethlehem. The fu- approved plans for such construction in ture annexation of Efrat to Israel would Beit El. In order to build, the govern- sever the southern West Bank from ment will need to prepare new plans, Bethlehem. The Netanyahu govern- approve them, and only then will it be ment began working in recent months possible to allow the construction. This to advance plans that were halted for would take years. years. On December 8, 2011, a tender In addition, all of the land of Beit was issued for the construction of 40 El is privately owned by Palestinians new housing units in the Givat Hadagan which was seized for security needs neighborhood. Another tender for 213 in 1978 (just before the 1979 court rul- additional units in Givat Hazayit in Efrat ing that stopped the use of military sei- was issued on December 29, 2011. zures as a means to build settlements). Givat Hatamar is now inhabited by The government might face the need trailer homes (caravans). The expected to expand the seizure order or to use tender will enable the construction of 114 old seizure orders that were truly used permanent homes at the hill, which is for military purposes in the past, and only a few meters away from the houses change the use into settlement. This of the Palestinian village of Alkhadr. could be problematic from a legal per- 3. Adam (Geva Binyamin)—144 spective. Of all of the announced units, units—The settlement of Adam (aka Geva the 300 units in Beit El are the most Binyanin) is located southeast of Ramal- hard and far from being implemented. lah, east of the separation barrier, and east of the main road from to New Settlement Areas in Greater the south of the West Bank. In some of Jerusalem the maps presented by the Israelis in the official negotiations with the Palestinians From Settlement Report, May–June the settlement of Adam was suggested to 2012. be annexed to Israel as part of “a finger” that would include other settlements (Ko- Atarot chav Ya’acov, Beit El, and ) all the Israel has long planned to construct way up to Ramallah. Those maps were a settlement at the moribund Jerusalem never accepted by the Palestinians. airport on the city’s northern perimeter There are approximately 5,000 set- as a way to link settlements north and tlers living in Adam, and during the last west of the city with those to its east (see year about 40 new housing units were Settlement Report, March 2007). In Febru- built in it. The new 144 could be part of ary 2012, the Jerusalem municipality took the plan that was approved as an alter- the first concrete steps toward develop- native for the settlers of Migron and of ing the airport, by transferring owner- which the infrastructure work had be- ship of the land from the Israel Airports gan in recent weeks. Authority to the city of Jerusalem. This 4. Kiryat Araba—84 units—Kiryat move still needs approval by the Interior Araba is adjacent to the Palestinian city Ministry’s National Committee and the

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Transportation Ministry. Once the area be aware of Barakat’s plan.” Four Jew- is classified as city land, the municipal- ish families have resided in the area, ity can begin to develop projects and known by settlers as Kidmat Zion, start the approval process to build them. since 2004. A municipality spokeswoman called the move a “common bureaucratic process.” Area C Update Gai Ben Hinnom From Settlement Report, May–June In mid-March 2012, the local plan- 2012. ning committee approved a plan pro- moted by the settlement organization Basic Facts Elad to construct a restaurant near Gai ••Israel maintains full responsibil- Ben Hinnom, near the East Jerusalem ity for security and civil affairs. neighborhood of Abu Tor. The Palestinian Authority has no “We are speaking of another ex- powers, except those delegated by ample of municipal support for Elad,” Israel. complained Deputy Mayor Peppi Alalu, ••Comprises approximately 59% of the sole dissenter in the committee ap- the West Bank (approx. 3,300 sq. proval, “whose only objective is to ex- km.), excluding East Jerusalem. pand the Jewish community in East ••66% percent is “state land.” Jerusalem and to establish facts in the ••More than 33% is closed military heart of Arab parts of the city.” zone/firing zones that includes The area in question is now used by 59 Palestinian communities. neighboring Palestinians and is known ••3% is Israeli military bases and for its relatively pristine views of Jerusa- the security zone along Jordanian lem’s Old City. Palestinians plan to con- border. test the decision. ••Palestinian population estimated at 150,000; 5.8% of West Bank Givat Hamatos Palestinian population, excluding Israeli authorities have released plans East Jerusalem. for 2,610 housing units and 1,110 ho- ••350,000 Israeli settlers live in 124 tel rooms in East Jerusalem in the area recognized settlements and approxi- known as Givat Hamatos abutting Road mately 100 outposts. 60 near Gilo and Har Homa. Construc- ••Municipal area of settlements is 5.5%. tion could start later this year, creating ••40% of land on which settlements the first new, fully fledged East Jerusa- are built is privately owned by lem settlement since the establishment Palestinians. of Har Homa in 1997. ••271 Palestinian communities have On 3 January 2012, the Israeli Hous- more than 50% of their built-up ing Ministry and Israel Lands Admin- areas in Area C, including many istration published tenders for new which are entirely in Area C. housing in the East Jerusalem settle- ••Palestinian construction allowed ments of Pisgat Ze’ev for 47 units and without Israeli permit in approxi- Har Homa for 247 units. On 4 April mately 1% of Area C. 2012, tenders for 800 housing units ••Palestinian construction prohibited were issued for Har Homa C and an- in 70 % of Area C (settlements, firing other 72 for Har Homa B. zones, nature reserves, buffer zone around barrier), heavily restricted Kidmat Zion (Israeli permit necessary) in 30%. “Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barakat is ••94% of Palestinian building permits planning to take advantage of the U.S. applications rejected in recent years. elections in order to create facts on the ground,” reported Yedi’ot Yerusha- layim on 30 March 2012. “[T]he mis- EU Statement on Area C: sion—Construction approval of a new “The EU expresses deep concern Jewish neighborhood of 250 units next about developments on the ground to the [dormant] parliament in Abu which threaten to make a two-state so- Dis. [Benjamin] Netanyahu is said to lution impossible . . . [including] the

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worsening living conditions of the Pal- Highlights of the Peace Now plan: estinian population in Area C and seri- ous limitations for the PA to promote Contribution of Various the economic development of Palestin- Government Ministries to Local ian communities in Area C, as well as Authority Budgets: Savings of NIS plans of forced transfer of the Bedouin 310 million communities, in particular from the Various government ministries con- wider E1 area. . . . tribute to the local authority budgets Social and economic developments in order to provide education, welfare, in Area C are of critical importance and other services. According to Central for the viability of a future Palestinian Bureau of Statistics (CBS) figures, the state, as Area C is its main land reserve. various ministries (Ministries of Edu- The EU calls upon Israel to meet its cation and Interior excluded) gave NIS obligations regarding the living condi- 606,701,000 to settlements localities, out tions of the Palestinian population in of NIS 7.4 billion granted to all localities Area C, including accelerating approval (i.e., 8% of the budget). Had the settle- of Palestinian master plans, halting ments received funding in accordance forced transfer of population and de- to their proportion of the population molition of Palestinian housing and in- (i.e., 4% of Israeli citizens), the govern- frastructure, simplifying administrative ment would have saved NIS 310,658,440. procedures to obtain building permits, The contribution of all ministries to the ensuring access to water, and address- settlements is NIS 4,862 per capita; in ing humanitarian needs. The EU calls Israel it is NIS 2,312. upon Israel to work together with the The Ministry of Education: PA to allow it more access and control Savings of NIS 298 Million over Area C.” The Ministry of Education [MOEd] ——“Council Conclusions on the grants more to settlements than to Is- Middle East Peace Process,” Brussels, raeli localities, both in the regular 14 May 2012 budget and in the development and construction budget. According to the Peace Now’s Plan to Save Billions by CBS, in 2010 the settlements received Reducing Some Benefits to Settlements from the MOEd NIS 401 million out of [excerpts] NIS 7.5 billion granted to all localities as regular budget (i.e., 5.4 %). Had the The article excerpted below by Hagit settlements received the funding in ac- Ofran, director of the Settlement Watch cordance to their proportion (i.e., 4% of project at Israel’s Peace Now, was pub- Israeli citizens), the Ministry would have lished by Americans for Peace Now on saved NIS 102,923,880. 31 July 2012. It can be found on www. In addition, according to the data peacenow.org. At press time $1=NIS 4. reported by the Ministry of Finance to [PM Benjamin] Netanyahu’s new the U.S. administration (see below), the austerity plan aims to reduce the defi- construction and development budget cit through an across-the-board bud- of schools in settlements was NIS 145.2 get cut of NIS 800 million. All Israelis million in 2011. will feel the new VAT tax hikes, but The Higher Education Council of the one group remains insulated from the Occupied Territories, which is funded majority of the austerity measures: the by the MOEd at NIS 115,668, recently settlers. approved the declaration of the college This proposal aims at reducing the in Ariel as a university. The minister of settlers’ benefits to the same level of finance promised to allocate NIS 50 mil- the average Israeli citizen in propor- lion for that. College officials estimate tion to their numbers in society, not that it will take another NIS 160 million eliminating essential services in the to complete the process of establishing settlements. the university. Peace Now has noted a few line Per pupil, the funding of the MOEd to items that would save the state at least settlements (in regular budget) was NIS NIS 1.6 billion if eliminated. 8,034, whereas in Israel it was only

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NIS 4,915 (the ultra-orthodox settlements In addition, the Israeli government of and Modi’in Illit excluded). decided to invest over NIS 65 million It is worth mentioning that this is only in building two alternative settlements the budget transferred through the lo- for the relocation of the Migron outpost calities. There are many other funds that (in Adam and in Winery Hill). The cost go to the settlements, directly from the of caravillas for the Ulpana settlers was MOEd to the schools, especially to reli- estimated to be at least NIS 7.8 million. gious schools. The proposal to saw the buildings into 108 pieces and rebuild them someplace Ministries of Industry, Agriculture, else was estimated by the prime minis- Water and Settlement Division: ter [to be] NIS 14 million. Savings of NIS 109 Million In an agreement with the American Tourism Ministry: Savings of NIS administration of the early 1990s, the Is- 18 Million raeli government promised to report the The Tourism Ministry contributes at amount in the budget transmitted each least NIS 785,000 to publicity campaigns year to the settlements, so the admin- to encourage tourism in the occupied istration can offset this sum provided territories. by the United States in loan guarantees In addition, as part of the Heritage to Israel. Following that stipulation, Plan, the government decided to allo- the Finance Ministry has provided the cate NIS 17 million to the development Americans with a calculation of unique of sites in the occupied territories. government expenditures on the settle- ments every few months, and the ad- Finance Ministry: Savings of NIS ministration deducts an amount from 10.8 Million the guarantees granted to Israel based Following the decision by the EU on assessments and amendments they to implement the free trade agreement make themselves. with Israel only for goods produced in Peace Now received those figures and Israel and not in the settlements, the found that the investment in settlements Finance Ministry compensates export- by the Ministries of Trade and Industry, ers who manufacture in the settlements Agriculture, Water and the Settlement for the loss of tax benefits in the EU in Division in 2011 was NIS 108,854,813. the amount of NIS 10.8 million every year. Transportation Ministry and the National Roads Company: Savings The Ministry of Energy: Savings of of NIS 342 Million NIS 6.45 Million The figures transferred to the U.S. The Israel Electric Corporation (IEC) administration show that in 2011 the allows private parties to generate solar investment of the Ministry of Transpor- electricity and buys the electricity from tation in settlements was NIS 306.8 mil- them at a rate set by the Ministry of En- lion. An additional NIS 35 million was ergy. While the price the IEC pays for allocated for bus discounts for “spe- a single kWh manufactured in Israel is cial population” (i.e., settlers and ul- NIS 1.61, the price in the settlements is tra-orthodox). The figures reported to NIS 2.04. At a minimum estimate of the U.S. administration do not include 15 million kWh a year generated in the construction of intercity roads to the settlements, the Israeli government is settlements because it is considered an paying an additional NIS 6,450,000 for investment for the Palestinians too, not the special rate. just for Israeli settlers. The Interior Ministry: Savings of Housing Ministry: Savings of NIS NIS 371 Million 175 Million In addition to the funds that are The figures reported to the U.S. ad- transferred to the settlements localities ministration show that in 2011 the in- by the different ministries, the Ministry vestment of the Ministry of Housing in of Interior [MOIN] grants the localities development and construction in settle- an additional NIS 3.5 billion for balanc- ments was NIS 87.8 million. ing their budgets and for development.

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In 2011, the MOIN gave NIS 369 Grants” which allows the minister dis- million out of the NIS 3.5 billion to cretion to increase funding to localities the settlements (i.e., 10%) which is 2.5 without specific criteria. times their proportion in society. Had the settlements received the funding in Reduction of Public Money Devoted accordance to their proportion, (4% of to Political Campaigning: Savings Israeli citizens), the government would of at least NIS 10 Million have saved NIS 224,296,088. The settlement local authorities trans- In addition the MOIN gave another fer millions of taxpayers’ shekels every NIS 12,470,000 as part of “Minister year to controversial political activity.

Armed settlers from the hardline Jewish settlement of Yitzhar stand on a cliff overlooking the Palestinian village of ‘, south of , during confronta- tions after settlers set fire to Palestinian-owned fields and olive trees. Settlers opened fire on Palestinians villagers, gravely wounding one Palestinian, 26 May 2012. (Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP/Getty Images)

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