PLANS FOR MASSIVE SETTLEMENT EXPANSION IN WEST BANK AND JERUSALEM

SETTLERS GET GREEN LIGHT FROM NETANYAHU

17 July 1996

Following PM Netanyahu's statements indicating approval for settlement construction in the West Bank and Jerusalem, Yesha (the settlers' council) has prepared plans for the expansion of existing settlements and the establishment of new ones which would increase the settler population by 300,000 to 500,000 people.

This plan has yet to be presented to the current Israeli government, which has already proven itself as favorable to massive settler expansion in the West Bank and Jerusalem areas. Agriculture and Environment Minister Rafael Eitan has already called for hundreds of thousands of settlers to move into the West Bank. PM Netanyahu himself has already stated that his government supported "the unqualified right of the Jewish people to settle anywhere in the land of Israel" (NY Times, 26 June 1996). The Guidelines for the Government of Israel states that "in any political arrangement, Israel shall insist on ensuring the existence and security of Jewish settlements and their affinity with the state of Israel (17 June 1996).

Specifically targeted are settlements near Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, as Yesha claims the demand is highest in these areas.

These plans on the part of Yesha come on the heels of another proposal for massive construction in eastern Jerusalem, in the neighborhood of Shu'fat. Recently revealed plans of the Jerusalem municipality indicate the Israeli government's intention of confiscating some 2500 dunums of land in this besieged Palestinian area, which would connect the French Hill settlement to Pisgat Ze'ev settlement to Jerusalem's north. Commercial interests, Jewish-only housing and parks would be constructed to create an "Eastern Gate" to Jerusalem, thereby isolating Shu'fat entirely from its neighboring villages in the West Bank, and creating nearly a solid wall of settlements from Jerusalem north to Ramallah.

These new plans reveal an utter departure from the accepted standards by which the peace process has continued. The pledge in the Oslo agreement not to change the status quo of the West Bank and Jerusalem (article XXXI, 7) forbids new construction. It is clear that the Israeli government has all but formally declared their intention to halt the peace process and work towards consolidating their control over the 73% of the West Bank which comprises Area C.

LAWE views these developments with the gravest concern. The government of Prime Minister Netanyahu has shown very little intention of attempting to further the attempts towards peace in this region. The most basic requirements for a continuation of the peace process have been totally abandoned. The situation on the ground reflects the true intentions of this current administration - the prevention of a Palestinian State and the consolidation of permanent Israeli control over the West Bank and Jerusalem.

LAWE - 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. LAWE is also an affiliate of the Paris-based International Federation for Human Rights.