Settlements: An Introduction

Since the signing of the Wye Agreement on 23 October 1998, the Israeli authorities have given the green light to the construction of bypass roads in the West Bank. Their purpose is to link the settlements to each other and impose de-facto Israeli control and presence in order to lay claim to these lands prior to the final status talks This campaign of land grab, settlement expansion and building, and by-pass road construction has been rapidly escalated.

The Israeli government has stepped up its plans to implement a policy of quiet deportation and ethnic cleansing in what has come to be known, in the case of Jerusalem, as the city's 'judaisation'. Israeli officials have publicly declared that these plans are meant to expropriate the large part of Palestinian land.

The existence of Israeli settlements contravenes the Fourth Geneva Convention which demands the occupier of foreign land to refrain from undertaking any procedures meant to change the status quo of the occupied territories, including the transfer of its civilians.

The actions also contravene with UNSC resolutions and the bilateral signed agreements. Such unilateral Israeli practices breach the Wye Agreement. The provisions related to unilateral actions state the following: "Recognising the necessity to create a positive environment for negotiations, neither side shall initiate or take any step that will change the status of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip in accordance with the Interim Agreement."

The Israeli Government, whether through the statements of Ministers encouraging settlers to 'take over the hills in the West Bank', or through official approval for the expansion of settlements, is violating the general provisions and terms of the Wye River Agreement.

Furthermore, these procedures violate the Cairo Agreements of May 1994, which in the preamble reaffirm " their understanding that the interim self-government arrangements, including the arrangements to apply in the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area contained in this Agreement, are an integral part of the whole peace process and that the negotiations on the permanent status will lead to the implementation of Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338."

It is clear that the unilateral actions taken by the Israeli Government will not lead to the implementation of Security Council resolutions 242 and 338, and will not cause the agreement's deadlines to be met, but will rather perpetuate the occupation. In relation to the permanent status negotiations the agreement states: "The two sides will immediately resume permanent status negotiations on an accelerated basis and will make a determined effort to achieve the mutual goal of reaching an agreement by May 4, 1999. The negotiations will be continuous and without interruption. The US has expressed its willingness to facilitate these negotiations."

Not only do Israeli procedures violate the legitimate political rights of the Palestinian people, they also take over their property, threatening their security and life. The construction of bypass roads will devour Palestinian agricultural land, the source of their pride and living. Furthermore, the roads will necessitate the demolition of hundreds of Palestinian houses and the dislocation of hundreds of families. Israeli forces have been preventing residents from cultivating the land adjacent to their houses. Many people have been detained because of their attempts to cultivate their own land, and water supplies to the neighbourhood have been cut off.

Settlers have also been known to attack residents of the same neighbourhood. This appears to be part of an orchestrated attempt to threaten the Palestinian community in an effort to make way for settlement expansion.

The prohibitions stipulated in Wye did not stop Israel's Foreign Minister Ariel Sharon from calling on settlers to "take over the hills of the West Bank before it is too late". A public statement of this nature by a minister of the Israeli Government can only be viewed as official encouragement to settlers to carry out unilateral action in disregard of international law and the agreements signed by their own government. Additional efforts must be undertaken immeidately to stop the violation of law and life.