1996 Settlement Timeline
December 31, 1996
Israeli Finance Minister Dan Meridor announces that tens of millions of shekels are to be allocated for settlement expansion in the Golan Heights and Jordan Valley, including construction of 300 units in the Golan.
December 26, 1996
Arafat tells legislators that former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin assured him that the Hebron redeployment would lead eventually to the transfer of Hebron settlers to the nearby settlement of Kiryat Arba.
Settlers from Netzarim lay a cornerstone of Netzarim B adjacent to the existing settlement, where they plan to construct 160 units. No new construction had been approved by the government, however.
December 25, 1996
Netanyahu decides not to support the approval of construction of 6,500 planned units at Har Homa in East Jerusalem.
Netanyahu cabinet holds its first meeting on final status issues.
December 24, 1996
Netanyahu promises to present any agreement on the army redeployment in Hebron to the cabinet before signing.
December 18, 1996
Settlers from Beit El lay symbolic claim to a location east of their existing West Bank settlement on Artis Hill. The proposed new settlement--Maoz Tzur--is named after settlers killed on December 11.
December 13, 1996
The Netanyahu cabinet approves the restoration of unspecified levels of benefits and subsidies to settlers and to manufacturing, industrial, and commercial enterprises locating in settlements, which will now enjoy "A"-level national priority area status. The Rabin government had earlier canceled or reduced some of these incentives.
December 11, 1996
Two Israeli residents of the West Bank settlement of Beit El are killed in a drive-by shooting near the settlement.
December 8, 1996
The Jerusalem District Planning Commission approves the construction of 132 units on 14 dunams in East Jerusalem's Ras al-Amud neighborhood. Ministerial approval is required for construction to begin.
December 5, 1996
Israeli government spokesman David Bar Ilan says that permits have been given to occupy 100 empty units at the West Bank settlement of Kedumim. He denies other reports that approval had been given to construct 700 new units, but explains that licenses had been requested for 100 new units.
December 2, 1996
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approves construction of 350 units and occupation of 100 previously "frozen" units in Jordan Valley settlements during a meeting with their settlers.
November 26, 1996
Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Yasser Arafat meets for 90 minutes with a delegation of ten settlers. Discussion focuses on joint business development opportunities and Hebron. Yesha (Council of Jewish Communities in Judea, Samaria, and the Gaza Strip) denounces the meeting.
November 25, 1996
Israeli forces move additional troops and tanks to the Nahal Oz area, just outside the Gaza Strip.
November 24, 1996
Traffic jams are caused at Gaza's Netzarim junction by Palestinian vehicles to force a change in an Israeli decision of November 1994 to close the road to Palestinian vehicles. Settlers are confined to Netzarim during the action.
November 17, 1996
Defense Minister Yitzhak Mordechai approves a $37 million project that includes the construction of 1,200 units at the settlement of Emanuel, southwest of Nablus. One hundred fifty units are unfrozen immediately. The second stage will see 500 units constructed, followed by a third stage of 700 units.
November 7, 1996
Settlers leave meetings with Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Mordechai with guidelines outlining "compensation" (in the form of additional settlement development) for the expected redeployment in Hebron.
November 6, 1996
A new settlement site 1.5 km from the Bet Yatir settlement is established with four mobile homes.
November 3, 1996
The yet-to-be-approved plan includes additions to the following settlements: Or Samach (700), Matityahu G (3,500), Dolev (500), Talmon (1000), and a new neighborhood of 2,000 units at the settlement of Nachliel, 5 km east of the Green Line.
The Ministry of National Infrastructure describes plan for the expansion of two settlement areas--at Kiryat Sefer near the Green Line (10,000-11,000 new units) and in the region of the settlement of Dolev further east (12,000 units)--to accommodate 100,000 new settlers. The area's current settler population is 14,000.
October 30, 1996
A senior Housing Ministry official remarks, "The building starts approved so far are only the beginning."
Site work begins for 800 new dwelling units in the following locations: Karmei Tsur (20 units), Bet Ayan (40), Neve Daniel (73), Nokdim (15), Tekoa (33), Kochav HaShahar (17), Kfar Adumim (35), Dolev (30), Halamish (40), Talmon (20), Nili (40), Harmesh (16), Yakir (40), Mevo Dotan (15), Migdalim (20), Ma'ale Shomron (54), Ali Zahav (30), Pedual (30), Kiryat Netefin (20), Kiryat Sefer (200).
October 28, 1996
A new settlement site 1km east of the settlement of Itamar is revealed by Peace Now. Settlers maintain that it is a 2-year-old "neighborhood" of Itamar.
October 27, 1996
Prime Minister Netanyahu announces the sale of apartments located in West Bank settlements whose disposition had been frozen by the previous government. The announcement signals the implementation of a decision announced on August 2. On October 23, the Knesset Finance Committee had made available $20 million to refurbish these apartments. Sale prices for these units suggest a government subsidy approaching $200 million.
October 25, 1996
Approval of a new settlement, Mod'in Ilit, near Kiryat Sefer is reported. The minister of defense has also approved 1,806 units of a planned 4,000 units.
September 26, 1996
As Palestinian police battle Israeli soldiers outside the gates of the Gaza settlements of Netzarim and Kfar Darom, and women and children are evacuated from the nearby settlement of Nisanit, Minister of National Infrastructure Sharon declares that "the Golan Heights will contain 25,000 people [current population 15,000] within a few years. Settlements in Judea and Samaria will be widened and expanded, including those in the northern Gaza Strip."
September 22, 1996
Prime Minister Netanyahu promises to support the construction of an additional 580 units in Kiryat Sefer and 200 units in Betar after leaders of the United Torah Judaism party threaten to leave his coalition government if such support is not forthcoming.
September 18, 1996
Just hours before his first meeting with Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasir Arafat, Defense Minister Mordechai approves the construction of 1,800 units at Matityahu. Mordechai explains that this construction, like others that he had previously approved, is part of the 10,000 units approved by the government of Yitzhak Shamir, but frozen by Yitzhak Rabin in August 1992.
September 8, 1996
The Jerusalem municipality approves $160,000 for a continuing study of the "Eastern Gate" settlement construction plan, due for completion in 1997.
September 7, 1996
Announced state and local council subsidies and financing will decrease the price of 300 planned dwelling units in the Golan Heights settlement of Katzrin by $20,000 per unit. Plans to expand the settlement by an additional 1,000 units are under consideration by the local council.
September 6, 1996
The chairman of the YESHA settlers' council states, "We told the prime minister that we have never experienced such a period of drying out settlements under any government and that we are waiting for action."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with settlement leaders and promises to implement government decisions regarding "thawing" settlement construction.
September 3, 1996
Minister of Transportation Yitzhak Levy calls for a tripling of the settler population in the Jordan Valley. Levy promises valley settlers $4.4 million for improvements on the main north-south road through the valley.
August 29, 1996
Defense Minister Mordechai approves plans for the construction of 3,550 new dwelling units in the settlements of Kiryat Sefer (700), Hashmonaim (1050), a nearby Jewish seminary (900), Matityahu (200), and Betar (700).
August 21, 1996
Defense Minister Yitzhak Mordechai approves the construction of 900 units at the settlement of Kiryat Sefer near the Green Line. The decision is the Netanyahu government's first concrete action to expand settlements.
August 18, 1996
Construction of 300 dwelling units is approved for the Golan Heights settlement of Katzrin.
August 12, 1996
Approval for the placement of 300 mobile homes for non-residential purposes is announced.
August 2, 1996
The Israeli government announces the rental or sale of 1,500 empty and an equal number of inhabited apartments in various settlements. It also changes the approval process for settlement expansion. The minister of defense is empowered to rule on all new residential construction planning, and zoning applications in the settlements.
July 25, 1996
The Israel Lands Administration, now under the direction of Minister of National Infrastructure Ariel Sharon, instructs settlements to use state lands for forestation or industrial areas in order to "reduce as much as possible the amount of state land to be transferred to the Palestinian Authority."
July 7, 1996
The Netanyahu government approves the transfer of $3 million to the Settlement Department of the Jewish Agency, which works principally in the settlements in the occupied territories.