Report on Israeli Settlement in the Occupied Territories

On June 13, a group of Israelis determined to scuttle Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s promise to evacuate West Bank settlements gathered in Jerusalem. In their view, neither opposition like that waged unsuccessfully against the August 2005 evacuation of the Gaza Strip nor the more confrontational tactics used in a failed attempt to prevent the destruction of permanent dwellings at the settlement outpost of Amona in January could avert future withdrawals.

Israel’s continuing occupation and settlement of Palestinian land is remarkable, considering the universal condemnation this has provoked for moral and legal reasons, and the harm caused to Palestinian rights and Israeli long-term security interests.

The May 2007 edition of the settler monthly Nekuda featured an article by former YESHA chairman Adi Mintz. The article and an accompanying map offer the most detailed political-territorial plan ever put forward by the settlement movement. Extended excerpts from the plan are translated below:

The World Bank issued a report on August 15, 2006 that addressed issues related to Palestinian movement, trade, and access in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Excerpts from the Report follow: