15 NEW SETTLEMENT SITES SINCE THE ELECTIONS
Af Didi Remez (20/5 2001)
———————————————-
An aerial survey conducted by Peace Now shows that at least 15 new settlement sites have been established in the West Bank since the prime ministerial elections in February 2001
All of the new sites are located at least 200 meters away from an existing settlement, with many of them found 700 meters or more away and some of them even 2km kilometers or more from an existing settlement. The survey did not include sites that have a military or semi-military nature, such as the Asaf Hershkowitz outpost. Two of the new settlement sites – Neve Erez and Mizpe Kramim – were established under the Netanyahu government, completely dismantled under the Barak government and recently rebuilt.
Political Ramifications
1. The Sharon-Peres government has already violated its commitment, which appears in the coalition guidelines, “to establish no new settlements.” The new settlement set up just before Independence Day at Yakir is a clear example of such a violation.
2. Foreign Minister Shimon Peres is misleading both the Israeli public and the world when he speaks of “natural growth” and in his pledge of “no territorial expansion.”
Professor Amiram Goldblum, head of Peace Now’s Settlement Watch Team, says: “Construction in the settlements has always been an act of provocation, which contributes to the growth of violence and the use of force in the territories. There are thousands of housing units in the territories now standing empty, which could easily fill the settlers’ demographic needs for the coming years. The Israeli government must relinquish its baseless demand for ‘natural growth’ and adopt the Mitchell Commission report in its entirety, without exception.”
The findings of the survey are not surprising, since Sharon is the patron saint of such expansionism. In the fall of 1998, after the signing of the Wye Plantation agreement, in which prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu committed himself to “natural growth,” his foreign minister Ariel Sharon met with settlement leaders and urged them to “grab the hilltops.” This resulted in the establishment of 42 new settlement sites, of which fewer than 10 were dismantled on the instructions of Ehud Barak. The remaining ones are currently in various stages of development on their way to becoming permanent settlements.
It should be noted that Peace Now’s last comprehensive visual survey of settlement activity was conducted in August 2000. Therefore, the dates of the establishment of the new settlement sites cannot be pinpointed with absolute certainty (aside from two sites, whose exact date of establishment is known). Despite this, Peace Now attributes high credibility to the new findings for the following reasons:
1. The Barak government imposed a total ban on the establishment of any new settlement sites. Enforcement of this ban on the ground was effective.
2. On election night, IDF and Police sources reported that several new settlement sites had been set up. Since the change in government, the sources said, they have been awaiting instructions from the political echelon regarding these settlement sites and none had been recieved.