Israeli settlements: Frontline of the occupation

BY ROHAN PEARCE

 The rather prosaic sounding “Jewish settlements” within the Occupied Territories are well-armed virtual fortresses, designed to legitimise Israeli sovereignty over large areas of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The Israeli government provides both financial incentives and access to automatic weapons to encourage non-Arab Israeli citizens to move to the settlements.

• Between December 1987 and April 1, 2000, settlers were responsible for the deaths of 119 Palestinians — yet only six were convicted for murder.

• Settlers have access to 699 times more land than residents of the Palestinian refugee camps.

• The settlements violate Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention: “The occupying power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into territories it occupies.”

• Eighty-eight percent of renewable water resources in the Occupied Territories are reserved for the use of Israelis — primarily the settlers. Palestinians are not allowed to dig agricultural wells, while settlers are allowed to dig at will. Per capita consumption of water by settlers is almost six times higher than that of Palestinians within the Occupied Territories.

One of the most glaring flaws of the Oslo “peace process” agreement was that it left the question of the status of Israeli settlements out of the declaration of principles, deferring it to final negotiations — what many see as a de facto acceptance of their continued existence. Since 1993 the number of settlers has increased by over 70%.

From Green Left Weekly, April 17, 2002.
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