Report on Israeli Settlement in the Occupied Territories

What is Israel's vision of the "final status" of the West Bank and Gaza Strip?

Israeli and Palestinian negotiators, under the direction of Yossi Beilin, Israel's deputy foreign minister, and Palestinian Minister Nabil Shaath, are now engaged in secret talks...

Israel has embarked on a multimillion dollar expansion of roads throughout the West Bank. The expansion has three purposes: it will tie the emerging system of modern roads built by Israel in the area to Israel's advanced transportation network; it will facilitate the movement of settlers between settlements and to and from Israel; and it will further restrict Palestinians living in the territories to an antiquated road network that has hardly been improved since 1967.

Senator Jesse Helms, chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, has asserted that Israel's settlements in the occupied territories are permitted by the Fourth Geneva Convention. This novel contention contradicts both the U.S. and the international consensus on the meaning of the Fourth Geneva Convention...

On February 28, 1995, the United Nations Security Council discussed Israel's settlement expansion policies in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem. The meeting was held in response to a request by the 21-member Arab Group, spearheaded by the Palestine Liberation Organization, which demanded "the immediate and total cessation of any settlement activity." The Security Council adjourned without taking any action.

At his death, one year ago, Baruch Goldstein bequeathed to the settlers in Hebron a small Jewish canton in the heart of the city. For the Arabs in the city, except for the 29 whom he murdered, he created a continuous and increased state of oppression and suffering to which no one sees the end. . .