“Settlements” Jewish communities in the West Bank
The West Bank Area: 5, 900 Km 2 (2, 300 sq. mi. ) • Ancient homeland of the Jewish people • Continuous Jewish presence for 3000 years • Known as Judea and Samaria from Biblical times until 1950.
The West Bank 1948: Jordan occupies Judea and Samaria in the 1948 War, and renames it the West Bank. 1948 -1967: Jordan expels Jews. Only time in over 1, 000 years Jews prohibited from living in West Bank. 1967: Israel captures the area during its defensive 1967 War and begins building and rebuilding communities in the West Bank. Jews being expelled from the Old City of Jerusalem, 1948
Israeli Settlements Cover < 5% of West Bank Land Area Actual built-up areas cover only 1. 7% Settlements • 293 Km 2 • Less than 5% West Bank Area: 5, 900 Km 2 The number of authorized Israeli settlements has remained the same since 1994. The number of people and structures within many settlements has grown.
Where? 80% of Israelis in the West Bank live in 43 communities along or adjacent to the “Green Line. ” 60% of the West Bank is virtually vacant land with only 2% of the Palestinian population
Major Blocs Ariel Modiin Ilit Ma’ale Adumim Gush Etzion
Israeli settlements are cities… Ma’ale Adumim (pop. 34, 000) was established in 1976 and built on vacant, unowned land. Ariel (pop. 19, 000) was founded In 1978. Seven percent of the land was purchased from a neighboring Arab village; the other 93% was on vacant, unowned state land.
…agricultural communities… Kibbutz Almog near the Dead Sea. Founded 1977. Population: 150 …and isolated outposts Kfar Eldad outpost Founded 1994 Population: 14 families
II. Settlements were built because of security considerations and historic connections
Security Considerations Arab armies had repeatedly invaded Israel from the West Bank heights. The first settlements were for security, to protect population centers located in Israel’s strategically vulnerable coastal plain.
Israel’s Strategic Vulnerability from the West Bank
Highway #6 Kfar Saba Qalqilya Qalqiliya Tel Aviv < ½ mile (. 43 miles) Highway #6
Ancient historical connections and home to Judaism’s holy sites. Machpelah Cave, Hebron Rachel’s Tomb, near Bethlehem The only time in over 1, 000 years that Jews could not and did not live in the West Bank was when Jordan occupied it, 1948 -1967.
Jewish Communities Lost in the War of Independence (1947 -1949)
Returning to land Jews owned before their expulsion in the 1948 War Kfar Etzion (pop. 800) Kibbutz Kalia (pop. 300)
III. Settlements: Legal but Politically Contentious
Israel’s Legal Rights to West Bank Territory International agreements recognized the Jewish homeland encouraged Jewish immigration and settlement in all of Palestine. • Balfour Declaration, 1917 • San Remo Resolution, 1920 • Palestine Mandate, 1922 • Anglo-American Treaty, 1924 • United Nations Charter, 1945
League of Nations British Mandate for Palestine: 1921 -1948 Guidelines (Articles 6 & 7): • “Facilitate Jewish immigration” • “Encourage. . close settlement by Jews on the land” • “Facilitate the acquisition of Palestinian citizenship by Jews” Britain cut off Transjordan in 1922, and “postponed” the right of Jewish settlement in the area.
Legal Status: Disputed Territory • No Palestinian Arab state has ever existed – No historical borders. – The “Green Line” is the ceasefire line of the 1948 War. • No legal sovereign in the West Bank after the 1948 War. – The Mandate for Palestine was the last legal authority. • Israel holds the land since war of self-defense in 1967 • Palestinians want a new state in the West Bank – Oslo Accords: Negotiations with Israel will determine future borders. • Technically, an unallocated portion of the Mandate Until negotiations conclude, the area will remain “disputed territory. ”
![Israeli Settlements Accord with Fourth Geneva Convention (1949) Art. 2. [T]he present Convention shall](https://present5.com/presentation/aa8eaace77466dea672ad4bd1e749312/image-20.jpg "Israeli Settlements Accord with Fourth Geneva Convention (1949) Art. 2. [T]he present Convention shall")
Israeli Settlements Accord with Fourth Geneva Convention (1949) Art. 2. [T]he present Convention shall apply to all cases of declared war or of any other armed conflict which may arise between two or more of the High Contracting Parties […] The Convention shall also apply to all cases of partial or total occupation of the territory of a High Contracting Party […. ] • Applies to occupation of another sovereign nation’s territory • Does not apply to the West Bank – There was no legal sovereign nation in the West Bank. – It was illegally occupied by Jordan (1949 -1967) – There had been no Arab sovereignty in the area for over 1, 000 years. – Jordan explicitly renounced all claims in 1988. – Israel had legal, historic, and security claims to the land.
Fourth Geneva Convention (con’t) Article 49 (6). An occupying military power “shall not deport or transfer part of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies. ” • Israel has not “deported” or “transferred” anyone into the West Bank • Settlement residents live there by their own choice • Applies to forceful relocation, not voluntary migration.
Israeli Settlements Accord with UN Resolution 242 (1967) “Land-for-peace” formula • Withdrawal from “territories”—NOT all the territories • Establish “secure and recognized boundaries. ” – "We did not put the 'the' in, we did not say all the territories, deliberately… We all knew – that the boundaries of '67 were not drawn as permanent frontiers, ” Lord Caradon, 1978 • U. S. Joint Chiefs of Staff study advised …that the security of Israel required Israel to receive parts of the territory of the West Bank as essential to its defense. 1967
Israeli Settlements Are in Accord with Oslo Accords and Palestinian-Israeli Agreements • “Permanent status negotiations…shall cover remaining issues, including: Jerusalem, refugees, settlements, security arrangements, borders…” Oslo Accords, Article V • “[T]he parties themselves—Israelis and Palestinians— will negotiate a border that is different than the one that existed on June 4, 1967. …. It allows the parties themselves to account for the changes that have taken place over the last 44 years… including the new demographic realities. ” –President Obama, May 2011
Summary: Settlements are legal • International law and treaties established right to Jewish settlement between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea • In accord with Geneva Convention, Resolution 242, and Oslo Accords
IV. Settlements are Not an Obstacle to Peace
Settlements have not been an obstacle to peace Year Number of Settlements/ Population West Bank 1948 -1967 -1977 -1994 Gaza Zero 14 No 2 5, 023 1979: Peace with Egypt 1993: Oslo Accords 1994: Peace with Jordan 17 122 Israeli offers to uproot most settlements. Intifada: Sept. 2000 246, 000 2005 -2010 122 No 17 120 136, 109 2000 -2004 Peace Progress 0 Israel uprooted all Gaza settlements. 9, 000 rockets and mortars from Gaza fired into southern Israel.
Settlements do not prevent a two -state solution
Settlements do not impede Palestinian state-building • Settlements cover less than 5% of the West Bank • The West Bank economy has experienced renewed prosperity and a construction boom since the Palestinian Authority began controlling terrorist groups and cooperating with Israel. Nablus, home to the Palestinian Stock exchange. Ramallah, the Palestinian Authority’s political and economic center.
Land Swaps Settlements could be Incorporated into Israel No. of Communities Population Approximate. Area (sq. miles) Ma’ale Adumim 6 40, 210 28 Modiin Illit 4 51, 773 2. 2 Ariel 15 41, 720 47 Gush Etzion 18 54, 939 10 Givat Ze’ev 5 12, 916 3 Total 48 201, 558 90. 2 Bloc “Consensus Settlements” <4% of West Bank land
Evacuating Settlements Israel is willing to make painful sacrifices for peace. Israeli soldiers comfort grieving evacuees as they enforce disengagement from Gaza, 2005
Israel has previously evacuated settlements in its quest for peace. Yamit 1982 Ofira 1982 Neve Dekalim 2005 Kfar Darom 2005
Remain in a Future Palestinian State • Ethnic minorities in nation-states, usually in and near border regions: • • 2 million Hungarians in Romania >1 million Germans in Russia 800, 000 Turks in Bulgaria >1. 5 million ethnic Albanians in Kosovo • 1. 5 million Palestinian Arabs are Israeli citizens – Jews should be able to live in a future Palestinian state
Summary • Settlements are Jewish cities, towns and communities in the West Bank – Built for security and historic/religious reasons • Settlements are legal but politically contentious. • Settlements are not an obstacle to peace – Settlements do not preclude the establishment of a future Palestinian state
With a sincere commitment to peaceful coexistence, the settlement issue can be resolved, bringing hope for the future.
Скачать презентацию Settlements Jewish communities in the West Bank
aa8eaace77466dea672ad4bd1e749312.ppt