Contents

Olmert and Settlements: Lofty Goals Betrayed by Actions on the Ground
Since his election as prime minister, Ehud Olmert, long a stalwart supporter of Greater Israel, has made unprecedented statements declaring an interest in ending Israel’s rule over Palestinians. In stark contrast to Olmert’s rhetoric, however, the settlement machine grinds on. Many Israelis and others are now asking whether Olmert means what he says when he voices a need to end occupation, evacuate settlements, and agree to the creation of a Palestinian state. Or are his comments merely a new twist to Israel’s oft declared interest in “stretching out its hand in peace” to its Arab adversaries even as this objective is betrayed by Israeli actions on the ground?
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Lying to Oneself
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To Our Readers
Israel achieved extraordinary success in its early decades. Today, it is in deep trouble because of its fateful decision after conquering the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza in 1967 to occupy, settle, and control these areas. As Geoffrey Aronson points out in this Report, for more than four decades Israeli governments have pursued this policy, withdrawing only from Gaza settlements, while proclaiming that they seek peace. Given the determination of the Palestinians for sovereignty in a real state of their own, their looming demographic advantage, and their proven capacity to inflict terror in the absence of a credible diplomatic process for an agreed territorial division, a policy of permanent occupation cannot succeed.
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Rice Testifies at FOROPS Subcommittee
On March 12, 2008, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice testified before the House Appropriations Committee’s Foreign Operations Subcommittee regarding the FY09 Foreign Operations budget request.
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Containing Palestinian Neighborhoods in and Around Jerusalem's Old City - 2008
This map illustrates the broader territorial context of Israel’s settlement program in the heart of East Jerusalem where land and land use are the central instruments of containment, control, and margininalization of the Palestinian community. Large scale residential settlement, a key feature employed by Israel elsewhere in East Jerusalem in its effort to divide and contain the Palestinian community, anchors both the targeted small scale settlement and the creation of open areas around and with in areas of Palestinian habitation that are the key features of Israeli policy in this critical and sensitive area.
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Settlement Time Line

Short Takes

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Map: Containing Palestinian Neighborhoods in and Around Jerusalem's Old City - 2008

Statistics: Settlement Construction