NEW SETTLEMENT BEGUN NEAR RAMALLAH

19 December 1996

(Ramallah) -- On 18 December, settlers from the Bet El settlement near Ramallah unilaterally declared and laid the foundations for a new settlement on a nearby hill called Artis mountain, east of the settlement. All the land surrounding the Bet El settlement is privately-owned Palestinian land. Sources stated that 1000 new units would be built in what they call the Ita and Ephraim settlement, named after the two killed from the drive-by shooting last week.

The establishment of this new settlement follows in the wake of PM Netanyahu's decision to change the development status of West Bank settlements to "A" priority, making a variety of tax benefits, larger mortgages, free preschool and grants for new businesses available to Jewish settlers.

The unilateral creation of this new settlement can be seen as a response to the official green light given by the Israeli government for settlement expansion and population transfer into the Occupied Territories. The establishment of new settlements like this one and the already approved new settlement in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Ras al Amoud, along with continuing land confiscation and house demolition, moves this already volatile area further towards open confrontation.

LAW - The Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights and the Environment is a non-governmental organization, dedicated to preserving human rights through legal advocacy. LAW is also an affiliate member of the Paris-based International Federation for Human Rights.