Israeli Settlements

Since 1967, the Israeli government has continuously funded Jewish-only settlements in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, although such settlements clearly contravene international law and have been condemned by successive U.S. administrations as an obstacle to peace.

• B'Tselem, "Land Grab: Israel's Settlement Policy in the West Bank," May 2002
  "Israel has created in the Occupied Territories a regime of separation based on discrimination, applying two separate systems of law in the same area and basing the rights of individuals on their nationality. This regime is the only one of its kind in the world, and is reminiscent of apartheid in South Africa."
• Foundation for Middle East Peace, "Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Territories: A Guide," March 2002
  "The Oslo agreements did not expressly prohibit expansion of settlements, but they did preserve the 'integrity and status' of the West Bank and Gaza Strip during the interim period. Nevertheless, settlement construction continued and the settler population doubled."
• Geoffrey Aronson, "Eating Away at Palestine," Le Monde Diplomatique, November 1998
  "Israel's policy of 'creating facts on the ground' -- establishing new Israeli settlements and expanding existing ones throughout the occupied territories -- is well on its way to reaching the objective of preventing the creation of a independent, sovereign Palestinian political entity."
• Dan Ephron, "Middle East: The Sky's the Limit," Newsweek, May 27, 2002
  "In Ma'aleh Adumim, the largest settlement in the West Bank, the schools and health services are better and the houses are cheaper because of Israeli government subsidies. Israelis who move to the West Bank also get a 7 percent tax break. However you do the calculation, it doesn't add up to better peace prospects."
• Molly Moore, "On Remote Hilltops, "Israelis Broaden Settlements," Washington Post, December 8, 2002, p. A1
  "The number of new settlement outposts has exploded in the West Bank. Many are manned by bands of armed, often violent young settlers. 'Whoever says we are occupiers is a hypocrite,' said one settler. 'Until all the land of Israel belongs to the people of Israel according to what was promised in the Bible, there will be no peace.'"