2007 Settlement Timeline November 26 Israel’s High Court of Justice rules in favor of the planned separation barrier route near Bir Nabala north of Jerusalem. (Yediot Aharonot) November 29 Barrier contractors begin leveling land belonging to the village of Artas near the Efrata settlement. (OCHA) Palestinians stone a settler car passing through the village of Deir Istiya, injuring two. (OHCA) December 1 A Hebron settler recently caught on film harassing the Abu Aysha family is charged with the assault of a Palestinian boy in 2005. (Ha’aretz) December 2 A six year old Palestinian boy is shot by settlers while crossing Road 60 near the settlement of Haggai. (OCHA) December 4 Settlers from Haggai settlement in Hebron uproot 100 olive trees belonging to villagers in Qalqas. (OCHA) December 5 Israel’s education minister Yuli Tamir orders that new geography textbook maps include the Green Line (the June 1967 border between the West Bank and Israel). (Ha’aretz) December 11 Arutz 7 reports on a new hi tech personal ID security system for use at West Bank checkpoints. Eligible residents register their cars with the army, and as they arrive at a checkpoint, they dial a toll free number, enter a secret code, and assuming the system recognizes them, drive directly through the checkpoint. December 13 An Israeli security guard is stabbed by a Palestinian at the Qalandiya checkpoint. (Yediot Aharonot) Ha’aretz reports on a letter from Israeli attorney general Meni Mazuz to Defense Minister Amir Peretz criticizing the minister’s inaction on unauthorized, illegal settlements. In it, Mazuz notes that between January and September 2006, 168 illegal buildings were identified in settlements and outposts and that the Civil Administration had demolished 10 times as many illegal Palestinian houses as illegal Israeli dwellings in West Bank settlements. From 1997 to 2006, 1,519 illegal Palestinian buildings were demolished, compared with 150 in settlements. Israel’s High Court of Justice rejects an appeal issued by Palestinian residents of al Ram and Dahiyat al Barid regarding the construction of the security barrier around their north Jerusalem neighborhoods. The disruption caused to the residents by the barrier is deemed “proportionate” to the security afforded Israelis. (Yediot Aharonot) Settlers from Tene level and mark with large stones 13 dunums of agricultural land belonging to Palestinian farmers from al Dahariya. The owners file a complaint with Israeli authorities. (OCHA) December 14 Israeli’s High Court of Justice rules that the IDF must dismantle the concrete road barrier along Roads 317 and 60 in south Hebron within six months. The 82 centimeter high and 41 kilometer long barricade runs from the Tene settlement in the west to the Karmel settlement in the east. (OCHA) Settlers from Susiya attempt to deny access to a Palestinian farmer from Samoa and a group of international volunteers who were planting the trees. (OCHA) December 15 Settlers from Susiya uproot 70 olive trees belonging to a Palestinian farmer from Samoa. (OCHA) December 16 Settlers enter Madama village, Nablus, firing in the air and clashing with Palestinian residents. Israeli soldiers later evacuate the settlers. (OCHA) Armed settlers from the Avigil outpost raid the village of Am Fagarah, Hebron. (OCHA) December 17 Settlers from Pnei Hever burn 200 olive and almond trees belonging to a Palestinian farmer from Bani Na’im. (OCHA) December 18 A dozen settlers who had been evacuated from the Homesh settlement in the northern West Bank in September 2005 return to the site for Hanukkah. The IDF and police take no action to prevent settlers from reaching the area. (Yediot Aharonot) December 20 Israeli settlers from Immanuel begin leveling land belonging to Palestinians from Jinsafut (Qalqilya) for the expansion of the settlement. (OCHA) December 24 Palestinians throw stones at a settler’s car passing through the Huwwara village, Nablus, injuring the settler. (OCHA) December 25 The Israeli Defense Ministry approves building a new settlement in Maskiot in the northern Jordan Valley, where a few settlers already live. It is to house 20 families from the former Gaza settlement of Shirat Hayam and another 10 families from other Gaza settlements. The plans include the construction of 30 dwellings. (Ha’aretz) Ha’aretz reports on a petition to the High Court of Justice in which the IDF offers to “voluntarily transfer” the residents of two villages in the West Bank located within the territorial perimeter claimed by the adjacent settlement of Alfei Menashe in order to avoid disruption over the route of the separation barrier. The offer came after the court (more than a year prior) demanded a change on the existing barrier route. December 26 Orders are given to settlers in Hebron to evacuate four illegally built homes. (Ha’aretz) December 29 Ha’aretz reports that the Civil Administration has identified some 200 mobile homes placed at West Bank outposts and settlements without permits since the war with Hizballah in July. The figure represents a substantial increase over the few dozen trailers set up in the first half of the year. Ma’ariv reports that apartment sales for the period of January to November 2006 dropped by 0.7 percent in West Bank settlements. Of all the apartments sold during this period, 3.6 percent (433 apartments) were sold in the West Bank. December 30 The IDF closes the gate at the entrance of Jamma’in village, Nablus, and at the eastern entrance of Madra village for five hours after a Molotov cocktail is thrown at a settler’s car on Road 505. (OCHA) January 2 IDF and police forces remove electricity lines laid on private Palestinian lands in Thulth by residents of the Elmatan outpost following a petition to the High Court of Justice. (Ma’ariv) January 3 The Israeli High Court of Justice issues an eviction order for residents of al Hadidiya in the Jordan Valley after ruling that the village’s population of about 80 people constituted a threat to the security of residents of the Roi settlement. (OCHA) January 9 Israel’s Interior Ministry reports that the West Bank settler population grew by 5.8 percent in 2006, more than quadruple the 1.4 percent in 2005. There were 268,379 Israelis living in the West Bank at the end of 2006, compared with 253,748 in 2005. (Ha’aretz) Defense Minister Peretz orders a halt to construction of the separation barrier in the southern West Bank in order to review claims by members of the Knesset that the barrier is harmful to the landscape and to wildlife. (Yediot Aharonot) January 10-16 IDF soldiers and settlers from Beit Hadassah in Hebron prevent Palestinians and internationals on multiple occasions from walking on Shuhada Street, despite a December 25, 2006, declaration confirming the right of Palestinian pedestrian access to it. (OCHA) January 10 A few dozen Peace Now activists protest against new roads being paved and foundations being laid for permanent structures in the Jordan Valley settlement of Maskiot. (Yediot Aharonot) The IDF issues five eviction orders to Palestinians from Khirbet Tana in Nablus, declaring the area state land. The IDF also issues two demolition orders for Palestinian homes built without permits in al Aqaba (Tubas). (OCHA) January 11 Israel’s High Court of Justice fines three construction firms about $23,000 for building a road to the site of unauthorized West Bank settlement construction. (Ha’aretz) January 12 Kol Ha’Ir reports the approval by the Jerusalem municipality commission for planning and construction of a plan to build 983 housing units in the Har Homa settlement in a new area between Tzur Bahir and Bethlehem. January 13 Settlers puncture the tires on more than 20 cars belonging to Palestinian residents of Ras al Amud, Jerusalem. (Ma’an News) Palestinians throw Molotov cocktails at an Israeli bus traveling west of Ramallah. No injuries or damages are reported. (Yediot Aharonot) Settlers from Hebron’s Beit Hadassah settlement beat and injure a 13 year old Palestinian boy. (OCHA) January 14 OCHA reports 540 physical closure obstacles restricting Palestinian movement in the West Bank and East Jerusalem as of August 1, 2006, up from 376 during the same time in 2005. January 15 The Israeli Construction and Housing Ministry publishes tenders for the construction of 44 new housing units in the Ma’ale Adumim settlement. (Ha’aretz) Settlers damage a water pipeline in the village of Duma, Nablus. The IDF evacuates the settlers. (OCHA) IDF soldiers begin leveling eight dunams of land belonging to Palestinians from Burin village near the Huwwara checkpoint to expand the checkpoint. In a separate incident, the IDF imposes a curfew on Huwwara village, Nablus, for 13 hours after settler vehicles are stoned on Road 60. (OCHA) January 16 Yediot Aharonot reports that the IDF has removed 44 gravel barriers in the West Bank in preceding weeks to ease restrictions on the Palestinian population. The IDF and border police demolish a Palestinian home built without a permit in Silwan, Jerusalem. (OCHA) January 17 Yediot Aharonot reports on clashes between Palestinians and settlers near Kedumim after the settlers tried to lay a water pipe connecting the settlement to the nearby Havat Gilad outpost on land belonging to the village of Jit. The Israeli army freezes a November 19 order prohibiting Israelis and foreign nationals from transporting Palestinians in the West Bank in their vehicles without special permission. (Ha’aretz) Israeli authorities demolish a dwelling reportedly being built without a permit in al Tur, Jerusalem. (OCHA) January 18 Defense Minister Peretz freezes all building plans in the Jordan Valley settlement of Maskiot. (Arutz 7) Ma’ariv reports that amid tensions between settlers and IDF West Bank commander Yair Naveh, radical rabbis from the religious court for nation and state affairs cast a death sentence on Naveh. January 19 Approximately 50 settlers set up an encampment in Yad Yair, next to the West Bank settlement of Dolev, on the site of a burnt synagogue trailer to protest of the torching of the structure. (Yediot Aharonot) January 21 The IDF issues an amendment to military orders requisitioning an additional 19 square meters of land from the villages of Azmut and Dayr al Hatab to install observation equipment around the settlement of Elon Moreh. (OCHA) January 22 Israeli authorities and border police demolish an eight unit apartment building in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Sur Bahir. (OCHA) January 23 Two Palestinian dwellings are demolished in Sawahreh Sharqiyya, Jerusalem, for being built without permits. The IDF demolishes five houses in al Jiftlik, Jericho, for reportedly being built without a permit. (OCHA) January 30 Ha’aretz reports that Prime Minister Olmert has approved moving the separation barrier at least five kilometers eastward from the Green Line in the area of Modi’in Ilit to include the settlements of Nili and Na’aleh and create two Palestinian enclaves containing about 20,000 people.