Billions Spent on Settlement Expansion
From: March-April 2004 Settlement Report| Settlement Costs (excluding East Jerusalem) in U.S. Dollars | |
|---|---|
| Settlement expenditures since 19671 | $10 billion |
| Average annual incremental cost2 | $560 million |
| Government investment in construction (1999)3 | $145.5 million |
| Extraordinary subsidies for Jordan Valley settlements4 | $89.5 million |
| Income tax benefits for settlers (2001)5 | $29.1 million |
| Income tax benefits (13%) in 60 settlements (2003)6 | $22 million |
| Civilian spending per settler (annually) | $2,240 |
| Road construction (2001) | $89.6 million |
| Education (annually) | $22 million |
| Healthcare (annually)7 | $16.8 million |
| Electricity infrastructure (annually) | $18 million |
| Water infrastructure (annually)8 | $11.2 million |
| Industry development (annually) | $9 million |
| National lottery (annually)9 | $6.7 million |
| Tourism development10 | $2.8 million |
| Housing (annually)11 | $98 million |
| Military Spending Estimates in U.S. Dollars | |
| National defense budget (2003) | $9.7 billion |
| Separation barrier construction budget (2004)12 | $1.3-2.6 billion |
| IDF deployment in the occupied territories13 | $900 million |
| Direct/Indirect military expenditures on settlements14 | $340-560 million |
| Settlement-based security activities (annually)15 | $22-44 million |
| Perimeter defenses around West Bank settlements | $11.2-16.8 million |
Notes:
- Refers to total marginal cost of settlements since 1967. In the 1980s, for example, the incremental amount spent annually on the settlements reached $223 million. In the 1970s, the annual expenditure was $112 million.
- Refers to the annual additional cost for the building of settlements, employment and education of settlers.
- Throughout the 1990s, there were 32,560 housing starts, with a total investment of $2.6 billion.
- Refers to non-military government investments in these settlements.
- This benefit was canceled in 2003 but was extended and increased for 60 settlements and outposts.
- Settlements are selected by the Defense Ministry.
- This item includes spending by the Health Ministry, the four health maintenance organizations (HMOs), Magen David Adom emergency medical services, and the Israel Defense Forces medical corps (which also treats many injured civilians). Other costs include expenditures on bulletproofing vehicles, transportation in bulletproof medical vehicles, laboratory equipment and tests, guarding the HMO clinics, and higher wages in some cases for physicians working in the occupied territories.
- The water infrastructures in the occupied territories are more expensive than those in Israel, based on meter of pipeline per capita. The primary explanation is that for security reasons, all of the pipelines conveying water to settlements are buried, which translates into a higher cost per meter.
- The lottery transfers funds to local settlement authorities.
- Includes projects approved in 2002 by the Tourism Ministry for implementation during 2003.
- Over the course of 2002, some 1,000 housing units were sold in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The average grant per apartment was $15,600, which translates into $15.6 million for the year.
- Includes the barrier, surrounding ditches, surveillance, electronic devises, and passages. If the barrier followed the Green Line, it would cost approximately $780 million.
- This figure refers to the annual cost of maintaining approximately 10,000 troops in the occupied territories during the al-Aqsa Intifada. It is an increase from $450 million before the Intifada.
- These expenditures are by the Defense Ministry. This calculation does not include the considerable non-military expenditures that are funded through the defense budget and which do not appear in the information above. It also does not include the considerable expenditures for combating the al-Aqsa Intifada that are not directly related to defending the settlements.
- These costs include the salary and vehicle expenses for the security coordinator on each settlement. There are about 200 of these positions, paying salaries of $1,300-1,500 per month. Other security-related expenses incurred by the settlements and funded by the ministry include bulletproofing vehicles, personal protection (weapons and bulletproof vests), building fences, lighting systems, and paving emergency roads and alternative routes to each settlement.
Sources: Ha'aretz, New Year Supplement: "The price of the settlements," 26 September 2003; Mideast Mirror, "Paying for the Golden Calf." 11 May 2003.
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