Settlement Time Line

July 6

Four settlers from Asfar beat and injure two Palestinian men from the village of Sa’ir, near Hebron, who were tending their sheep in the vicinity of the settlement. (OCHA)

B’tselem reports that the Israeli military recently severed routes to the Palestinian village of al-Nabi Samwil, population, 220, from the rest of the West Bank, isolating it almost completely. The village lies on the route between the Ramot and Givat Ze’ev settlements.

July 10

Yedioth Aharonot reports that the Israeli Defense Ministry has lifted a freeze imposed on the construction of 25 factories near the settlement of Ariel, which would double the size of the Ariel West industrial zone. 

The Regional Construction and Planning Board for Jerusalem approves the construction of 910 housing units in the East Jerusa−lem settlement of Har Homa and 900 housing units in the settlement of Pisgat Ze’ev. (Arutz 7, Ha’aretz)

Palestinians from the village of Bil’in submit a petition in a Montreal court against two Canadian firms for working on construction projects in the settlements of Matityahu-East and Modi’in Illit. (Ma’ariv)

July 11

Palestinians fire on and injure an Israeli driving near the West Bank settlement of Yakir. IDF soldiers later shoot and kill one of the Palestinians allegedly involved. (Arutz 7) 

July 12

A settler from Yitzhar is arrested for launching a Qassam-like missile at Palestinians in the West Bank village of Burin. (Ma’an News)

July 16

Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert rejects a request by Housing Minister Ze’ev Boim to build 800 additional housing units in the West Bank settlement of Beitar Illit, instead agreeing to 286. (Ha’aretz)

Hundreds of settlers gather at the Yad Yair outpost in anticipation of the Israeli army’s evacuation of the outpost. (Ha’aretz)

July 20

Ha’aretz reports an Israeli High Court of Justice decision to uphold a ruling for the eviction of the al-Kurd family from a building in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in East Jerusalem. The court ruled that the property is owned by religious Jews. 

July 21

Settlers from the Havat Gilad outpost attack three Palestinians working on their land near the village of Immatin. (OCHA)

July 24

Settlers clash with Israeli soldiers at the Havat Gilad outpost. (Yediot Aharonot)

The Defense Ministry announces its intension to build 20 new housing units in Maskiyot, an abandoned military base in the Jordan Valley, for families evacuated from Gaza settlements in 2005. The plan had been shelved in 2006 after it provoked international condemnation. (Yediot Aharonot)

July 27

Ha’aretz reports that the United States has filed a protest with Israel opposing the eviction of the al-Kurd family from their home in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah.

Settlers stab and injure two Palestinian workers in the industrial zone of the Mishor Adumim settlement. (OCHA)

Settlers from Yitzhar set fire to a Palestinian house in the village of Burin. (Ma’an News)

The U.K.-based Palestinian Solidarity Campaign calls on the British government to ban the import of products made in West Bank settlements. (Ma’an News)

July 28

Ha’aretz reports that the Defense Ministry has agreed to dismantle a 2.4-kilometer stretch of the separation barrier north of Qalqilya, returning 2,600 dunams of agricultural land to Palestinian owners. The dismantled section will be replaced by 4.9 kilometers of fencing closer to the Green Line, at a cost of more than $13.6 million. 

A group of Israeli settlers from an outpost near Kafr Qaddum throw stones at Palestinian vehicles passing on Road 55. (OCHA)

July 29

Israeli security forces blow up a Palestinian four-storey apartment building near East Jerusalem for being built without a permit. (Reuters)

July 30

Israeli soldiers shoot and kill a Palestinian boy during a demonstration against the separation barrier in the West Bank village of Ni’lin. (OCHA)

Five settlers arrive at the Shuafat refugee camp with a mobile home, claiming to own a parcel of land. Israeli police order their evacuation. (Army Radio News)

July 31

The Marker reports that of the 6,000 new Israeli home sales from January through June 2008, 2.2 percent, or 132, were in the West Bank. 

August 1

Yediot Yerushalaim reports the publication of tenders for 668 additional housing units in the East Jerusalem settlement of Pisgat Ze’ev. 

August 3

Settlers from Yitzhar throw stones at the car of a pregnant Palestinian woman and her 7-year-old daughter. (Ha’aretz)

Israel’s High Court of Justice criticizes the government for not carrying out its commitments based on the court’s 2007 ruling on the route of the separation barrier on land belonging to Palestinians from Bil’in. The government was originally given 45 days to propose a new route. (Ha’aretz)

The Marker reports that Israel’s Housing and Construction Ministry plans to return $9.2 million to four construction companies for a project adjacent to the West Bank settlement of Giv’at Ze’ev that was canceled because the second intifada discouraged prospective buyers.

August 4

Ha’aretz reports the Jerusalem Municipality’s refusal to execute a court order for the evacuation of settlers illegally squatting in a house in the Palestinian neighborhood of Silwan. 

August 6

The Israel Land Authority issues tenders for the construction of 130 housing units in the East Jerusalem settlement of Har Homa. (Ir Amim)

August 11

The YESHA Council unanimously approves a compromise offer by the Defense Ministry to voluntarily abandon the Migron outpost in return for the establishment of a new settlement to be built near Jerusalem. The High Court of Justice had ordered the removal of the outpost, which will remain inhabited until the new settlement is constructed. (Ma’ariv)

August 12

Forty settler activists try to take possession of a building near the Shuafat refugee camp in East Jerusalem. Jerusalem police remove them and arrest ten following a scuffle. (Ma’ariv)

August 13

A settler from the outpost of Zayit Ra’anan ties a 17-year-old Palestinian boy to his all-terrain vehicle and drags him through an olive grove. (Yediot Aharonot)

August 15

Ha’aretz reports a steep increase in violence by settlers against Palestinians and against Israeli security forces compared to attacks during the first half of 2008. There had been 429 incidents to date in 2008, compared with 587 in 2006 and 551 in 2007.

August 19

Settlers from al-Rajabai House and Kiryat Arba attack and injure two Palestinian women from the Wadi al-Hussein neighborhood of Hebron. (OCHA)

August 24

In separate incidents, settlers attack and injure an 18-year-old Palestinian man and a 45-year-old Palestinian man in the Wadi al-Hussein neighborhood of Hebron. (OCHA)