Report on Israeli Settlement in the Occupied Territories

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was keenly aware that the execution of Israel’s “disengagement” from the Gaza Strip and a portion of the northern West Bank was critical if Israel is to continue to dominate the diplomatic playing field and maximize its security and settlement interests in the occupied territories.

In this Report, Jeff Aronson describes the new IDF strategy that, if implemented, abandons forty years of doctrine that settlements are vital to Israel’s security. This is a historic watershed that, logically, should help speed the end of the ill-fated settlement adventure.

The big settlements have cost hundreds of millions of dollars each. The small settlements--of a few houses or tens of caravans and a road--cost between $2 and 5 million. In total, the state of Israel has built 39,483 apartments in the West Bank for $4.3 billion. It spent an additional $4.7 billion on 18,462 housing units.

I address myself to the Israelis, especially that they are on the verge of parliamentary elections. I guarantee to them that the path to security can only pass through a just peace. We are confident that there is no military solution to the conflict. Negotiations between us as equal partners should put a long-due end to the cycle of violence.