Report on Israeli Settlement in the Occupied Territories

The government of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, ravaged by defections in the Likud and the ruling coalition, is proceeding undeterred along its established timetable for the evacuation of all 17 settlements in the Gaza Strip and four others in the northern West Bank by the end of 2005.

The stars are never perfectly aligned for a breakthrough toward Israeli-Palestinian peace, but the environment today offers new opportunities. The death of Yasser Arafat has removed the "no partner" argument that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon had used to avoid negotiations.

Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon is determined to leave a legacy maximizing Israel's territorial interests that his successors will have no choice but to sustain. Settlement expansion throughout the West Bank and East Jerusalem remains his enduring trademark.

Based upon an aerial survey in August, settlement expansion activity is under way at 80 West Bank settlements where 3,700 dwelling units are under construction.

"Israel will not finance  the growth of the Jewish population in Judea and Samaria [the  West Bank] from the public budget; it will not construct new communities and will freeze construction in existing communities,  except for construction within a line of existing construction  (to distinguish from the [much larger] border of municipal jurisdiction);  it will not confiscate or take new land for settlement purposes  in Judea, Samaria, and the Gaza District."