Israel’s National Planning and Building Council approved on Wednesday the establishment of a new Jewish settlement in the periphery of the occupied Gaza
Gaza Strip
The Gaza Strip, or simply Gaza, is a self-governing Palestinian territory on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, that borders Egypt on the southwest for 11 kilometers and Israel on the east and north along a 51 km border. Gaza and the West Bank are claimed by the State of Palestine.
Full Answer
Does Egypt have settlements in the Gaza Strip?
Following the 1967 war, Israeli settlements also existed within Egyptian territory in the Sinai Peninsula, and within the Palestinian territory of the Gaza Strip; however, Israel evacuated the Sinai settlements following the 1979 Egypt–Israel peace agreement and from the Gaza Strip in 2005 under Israel's unilateral disengagement plan.
What is considered a settlement in Israel?
Israeli settlement, any of the communities of Israeli Jews built after 1967 in the territories occupied by Israel after the Six-Day War —the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, the Golan Heights, and the Sinai Peninsula. Most, but not all, were authorized and supported by the Israeli government.
Where are the Israeli settlements in the West Bank?
[12] [13] [14] [15] Israeli settlements currently exist in the West Bank (including East Jerusalem), claimed by the State of Palestine as its sovereign territory, and in the Golan Heights, widely viewed as Syrian territory.
Are the Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian territory legal?
ISBN 978-90-04-15027-0. the establishment of the Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory has been considered illegal by the international community and by the majority of legal scholars. Barak-Erez, Daphne (2006). "Israel: The security barrier—between international law, constitutional law, and domestic judicial review".
Does Israel have settlements in Gaza?
Until 2005, more than 9,000 Israeli settlers were illegally residing in Gaza. In recent months, Israel has accelerated settlement expansion. The government has announced plans for thousands of new homes in existing settlements, as well as the establishment of two new settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Where are Israeli settlements being built?
As of 2022, there are 140 Israeli settlements in the West Bank, including 12 in East Jerusalem. In addition, there are over 100 Israeli illegal outposts in the West Bank.
What happened to Israeli settlements in Gaza?
The Israeli disengagement from Gaza (Hebrew: תוכנית ההתנתקות, Tokhnit HaHitnatkut) was the unilateral dismantling in 2005 of the 21 Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip and the evacuation of Israeli settlers and army from inside the Gaza Strip.
Is Israel building settlements on West Bank?
Israel has continued to support settlement initiatives through financial incentives and security support by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Today, there are upwards of 450,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank, excluding East Jerusalem.
Why is Israel entitled to the land?
Jewish religious belief defines the land as where Jewish religious law prevailed and excludes territory where it was not applied. It holds that the area is a God-given inheritance of the Jewish people based on the Torah, particularly the books of Genesis and Exodus, as well as on the later Prophets.
Are Israeli settlements against international law?
The UN has repeatedly stated Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territory are a flagrant violation under international law, the rights experts recalled.
Is Israel occupying Palestine land?
BACKGROUND: Palestinian territory – encompassing the Gaza Strip and West Bank, including East Jerusalem – has been illegally occupied by Israel since 1967.
Why is Gaza not part of Israel?
Gaza was part of the Ottoman Empire, before it was occupied by the United Kingdom (1918–1948), Egypt (1948–1967), and then Israel, which in 1993 granted the Palestinian Authority in Gaza limited self-governance through the Oslo Accords.
How much land has Palestine lost to Israel?
During and immediately following the state's creation in 1948, Israel expropriated approximately 4,244,776 acres of Palestinian land. In the process, more than 400 Palestinian cities and towns were systematically destroyed by Israeli forces or repopulated with Jews.
Why is Israel settling the West Bank?
Israel has cited several reasons for retaining the West Bank within its ambit: a claim based on the notion of historic rights to this as a homeland as affirmed in the Balfour Declaration of 1917; security grounds, both internal and external; and the deep symbolic value for Jews of the area occupied.
Why did Israel build settlements in the West Bank?
If it's so controversial, why does Israel want to do it? Israel claims historical and religious rights to the West Bank as the ancestral land of the Jewish people. It also says its presence there - especially in the Jordan Valley - is strategically vital for its self-defence.
Is Israel still in the West Bank?
Alongside the self-governing Gaza Strip, the Israeli-occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem are claimed by the State of Palestine as its sovereign territory, and thus remain a flashpoint of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict....West Bank.Countries/territoriesState of Palestine, IsraelISO 3166 codePS, IL8 more rows
How many Israeli settlements are there?
Today they total around 400,000 and live in about 130 separate settlements (this doesn't include East Jerusalem, which we'll address in a moment). They have grown under every Israeli government over the past half-century despite consistent international opposition.
What land has Israel taken from Palestine?
More than 50 years ago, the state of Israel shocked the world when it seized the remaining Palestinian territories of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, Gaza Strip, as well as the Syrian Golan Heights and the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula, in a matter of six days.
Why did Israel build settlements in the West Bank?
If it's so controversial, why does Israel want to do it? Israel claims historical and religious rights to the West Bank as the ancestral land of the Jewish people. It also says its presence there - especially in the Jordan Valley - is strategically vital for its self-defence.
Is Israel still in the West Bank?
Alongside the self-governing Gaza Strip, the Israeli-occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem are claimed by the State of Palestine as its sovereign territory, and thus remain a flashpoint of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict....West Bank.Countries/territoriesState of Palestine, IsraelISO 3166 codePS, IL8 more rows
What is an Israeli settlement?
Israeli settlement. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... Israeli settlement, any of the communities of Israeli Jews built after 1967 in the disputed territories captured by Israel in ...
What was the purpose of the settlements in the Jordan Valley?
Israel’s political and defense establishments, meanwhile—inspired in part by the peace plan of Yigal Allon, the deputy prime minister (1967–77)—spurred the development of settlements in strategic locations such as the Jordan Valley that would bolster Israel’s security and strengthen its hand in negotiations .
How many people lived in settlements in 1993?
Settlements continued to expand in the decades that followed, and by 1993 there were more than 280,000 people living in settlements (130,000 if East Jerusalem is excluded).
When were the settlements in the Sinai Peninsula evacuated?
Settlements in the Sinai Peninsula were either dismantled or evacuated in 1982, and settlements in the Gaza Strip were dismantled in 2005. It is disputed, moreover, whether communities in the formally annexed territories of East Jerusalem (part of the West Bank territory under Jordanian rule from 1949 to 1967) and the Golan Heights constitute ...
What is the West Bank?
West Bank, area of the former British-mandated (1920–47) territory of Palestine west of the Jordan River, claimed from 1949 to 1988 as part of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan but occupied from 1967 by Israel. The territory, excluding East Jerusalem, is also known within…
Where is Gilo in the West Bank?
Since 2005 these communities have existed almost exclusively in the West Bank, with a handful located in the Golan Heights.
Where is Israel located?
Israel, country in the Middle East, located at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea. It is bounded to the north by Lebanon, to the northeast by Syria, to the east and southeast by Jordan, to the southwest by Egypt,…
How many settlements were there in the Gaza Strip?
Description of the plan. The Gaza Strip contained 21 civilian Israeli settlements and the area evacuated in the West Bank contained four, as follows: In the Gaza Strip (21 settlements): Bedolah.
Why did Israel leave Gaza?
A widespread opinion has it that Israel left Gazans with a generous endowment consisting of a rich infrastructure of greenhouses to assist their economic regrowth, and that this was immediately destroyed by the Palestinians. Two months prior to the withdrawal, half of the 21 settlements' greenhouses, spread over 1,000 acres, had been dismantled by their owners, leaving the remainder on 500 acres, placing its business viability on a weak footing. International bodies, and pressure from James Wolfensohn, Middle East envoy of the Quartet, who gave $500,000 of his own money, offered incentives for the rest to be left to the Palestinians of Gaza. An agreement was reached with Israel under international law to destroy the settlers' houses and shift the rubble to Egypt. The disposal of asbestos presented a particular problem: some 60,000 truckloads of rubble required passage to Egypt.
What was the Palestinian control of after the Israeli withdrawal?
After Israel's withdrawal, the Palestinians were given control over the Gaza Strip, except for the borders, the airspace and the territorial waters. The area of the dismantled West Bank settlements remained part of Area C (area under full Israeli civil and military control). On September 23, hours after rockets were shot into Israel, a Hamas pickup truck in the Jabaliya refugee camp was struck by a missile, killing at least 19 people (both militants and civilians) and injuring 85 people. On September 26, Israel killed Palestinian Islamic Jihad commander Mohammad Khalil and his bodyguard with a missile strike; on September 29 Israel closed all Hamas charities on the West Bank, and as part of a five-day offensive fired artillery into the Gaza Strip.
Why did the Palestinians leave the Gaza Strip?
In December 2006, news reports indicated that a number of Palestinians were leaving the Gaza Strip, due to political disorder and "economic pressure" there. In January 2007, fighting continued between Hamas and Fatah, without any progress towards resolution or reconciliation. Fighting spread to several points in the Gaza Strip with both factions attacking each other. In response to constant attacks by rocket fire from the Gaza Strip, Israel launched an airstrike which destroyed a building used by Hamas. In June 2007 the Fatah–Hamas conflict reached its height and Hamas took control over the Gaza Strip.
How many settlers were there in the West Bank in 2004?
According to Peace Now, the number of settlers increased by 6,100 compared with 2004, to reach 250,000 in the West Bank. In an October 6, 2004, interview with Haaretz, Dov Weissglass, Sharon's chief of staff, declared: "The significance of the disengagement plan is the freezing of the peace process....
What was Sharon's plan to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?
Sharon said that his plan was designed to improve Israel's security and international status in the absence of political negotiations to end the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. About nine thousand Israeli residents within Gaza were instructed to leave the area or face eviction by the night of Tuesday August 16, 2005.
How many Jewish settlements were relocated in the West Bank?
The eviction and dismantlement of the four settlements in the northern West Bank was completed ten days later. 8,000 Jewish settlers from the 21 settlements in the Gaza Strip were relocated. The settlers received an average of more than US$200,000 in compensation per family.
What is the resolution condemning Israel for its settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank?
However, the resolution was nothing but a formal statement of what most nations in the world already believed about the settlements.
Why did Israel occupy the West Bank?
Israel suffered an unprovoked attack and occupied those territories in order to better defend itself from future attacks. Biblically speaking, Israel has every right to possess, occupy, and build homes in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, the Golan Heights, Gaza, and far more.
What war did Israel fight in 1948?
This conflict became known as the Arab-Israeli War of 1948, and Israel defeated the armies of Egypt, Syria, Jordan, and Iraq. After fighting ended, the nation of Israel stayed within the borders designated for it by the United Nations in 1948. Nineteen years later, in 1967, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Iraq attacked again, ...
Which territories did Israel control?
After this conflict, however, Israel seized control of the West Bank and East Jerusalem (from Jordan), the Sinai Peninsula and Gaza (from Egypt), and the Golan Heights (from Syria). Ever since, Israel’s occupation of those territories has been a matter of international debate. Israel gave the Sinai Peninsula back to Egypt in 1979 as part ...
What happens when a nation seizes territory from the nations that attacked it?
When a nation seizes territory from the nations that attacked it, the action is normally seen as a justifiable way for that nation to solidify its defense. In any situation not involving Israel, there would be universal recognition of the nation’s right to control the seized territories.
When did Israel give Egypt the Sinai Peninsula back?
Israel gave the Sinai Peninsula back to Egypt in 1979 as part of the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty, but it still retains control of the West Bank, Gaza, and the Golan Heights. Israel has been building settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank since 1972, although the building of settlements has been greatly expanded in recent years.
When did Israel become a sovereign nation?
Israel and its relationship to its neighbors and the West Bank (and Gaza) is a complicated issue. Here is a brief history: Israel became a sovereign nation in 1948 when the United Nations officially recognized its existence.
How many homes were destroyed in the Gaza attacks?
The Israeli attacks also destroyed 1,148 housing and commercial units in Gaza and partially damaged 15,000 others, leaving more than 100,000 civilians displaced in UN-run schools and other hosting communities.
How many Israeli settlers are there in the occupied Palestinian territories?
Settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories are regarded as illegal under international law and by much of the international community. Between 600,000 and 750,000 Israeli settlers live in more than 250 illegal settlements (130 official, 120 unofficial) in the occupied Palestinian territories.
What did Guterres and Wennesland call on Israeli authorities to do?
Both Guterres and Wennesland also called on Israeli authorities to end the demolition of Palestinian homes and other property and the displacement of Palestinians – another flashpoint – “and to approve plans that would enable these communities to build legally and address their development needs”.
What did the UN accuse Israel of?
The United Nations on Thursday accused Israel of flagrantly violating international law by expanding settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, urging the country’s new government to halt their enlargement immediately. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and UN Mideast envoy Tor Wennesland reported on the implementation ...
How many Palestinians were killed in the Gaza war?
The Israeli military offensive on Gaza – the worst escalation of hostilities since 2014 – killed at least 256 Palestinians, including 66 children. Thirteen people were killed in Israel, including two children.
How many housing units did Guterres add to Har Homa?
Wennesland said in a briefing to the council on Guterres’ 12-page report that he was “deeply troubled” by Israel’s approval of a plan to add 540 housing units to the Har Homa settlement in East Jerusalem as well as the establishment of settlement outposts. He said that is “illegal also under Israeli law”.
What was the name of the mosque that Israel attacked?
Hamas, which governs the besieged Gaza Strip, fired rockets in Israel against the displacement of Palestinians and the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque – Islam’s third holiest site – by Israeli forces after Israel ignored a deadline to remove its forces from the mosque compound. Israel then launched an 11-day war on the enclave of two million people which has been under a 14-year-old land, air and sea blockade.
Why does Israel promote settlement growth?
Finally, we can consider why Israel continues to promote settlement growth. Though there may be specific political reasons for specific settlement projects, the overarching reason Israel promotes settlement growth is security. Under the armistices lines, Israel was cut off by the West Bank, and enemy borders were close to population centers. For example, the distance between the West Bank city of Qalqilya and the Mediterranean sea is only about 9 miles.
When did Israel take over the Golan Heights?
Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria, and annexed the Golan Heights in 1981 via the Golan Heights Law. Though the armistice agreement with Syria stressed the mutability of the armistice lines, and though Syria refused Israel's offer, to return the Golan Heights in exchange for peace, that annexation is not internationally recognized.
How did Israel respond to the Egyptian invasion?
Israel responded by destroying the Egyptian airforce. Faced with an Egyptian, Syrian, and Jordanian invasion, Israel defeated the three Arab armies in six days. Israel captured the Sinai and the Gaza Strip from Egypt.
Is Israel willing to transfer land to Palestine?
Given that Israel is willing to transfer to Palestine as much land as it wishes to keep, the settlements cannot sensibly be framed as a land grab: they grant Israel no additional land. In terms of danger: the settlements experienced a good deal of violence during the Second Intifada: hundreds of Israeli civilians died.
Did the Palestinians have sovereignty over the West Bank?
Many of these settlements were established on land you'd be hard pressed to call Palestinian. The Palestinians never held sovereignty over the West Bank, and rejected all promises of sovereignty over those areas (including in 1936-1937, 1938, and 1947 ), and some of the areas on which settlements were established, like Gush Etzion and Hevron, had Jewish communities that had existed sometimes for thousands of years before they were depopulated in Arab riots and by Arab armies in Israel's war for independence.
Is the Israeli settlement a land grab?
It is commonly claimed that the establishment of Israeli settlements constitutes a land grab, however this claim does not stand up to scrutiny. The settlement blocs Israel wishes to keep in an agreement with Palestine comprise only a few percent of the West Bank, and Israel is willing to transfer an equal amount of land in exchange for those settlements.
Was there such a thing as a Palestinian?
There were no such thing as Palestinians. When was there an independent Palestinian people with a Palestinian state? It was either southern Syria before the First World War, and then it was a Palestine including Jordan. It was not as though there was a Palestinian people in Palestine considering itself as a Palestinian people and we came and threw them out and took their country away from them. They did not exist.
Where are the settlements in Israel?
What are these settlements? They are Jewish communities built in Gaza, the West Bank and parts of East Jerusalem — areas captured by Israel during the 1967 war with neighboring Egypt, Jordan and Syria.
What is the U.N. resolution condemning Israel for building Jewish settlements on disputed land?
A controversial U.N. Security Council resolution condemning Israel for building Jewish settlements on disputed land has ripped open old wounds. Secretary of State John Kerry warned in his last major Mideast speech Wednesday that Israel was abandoning its chance for a two-state solution if it did not stop its settlement practices in ...
What do Palestinians say about Israel?
Every time a settlement is built, Palestinians say, a little more is taken away from a future Palestinian state. The possibility of peace seems to grow less and less likely, and Palestinians accuse Israel of confiscating lands and taking away resources from the areas that Palestinians want for their statehood.
Why did Israel build a separation barrier?
Israelis say the barrier is to keep them safe. Palestinians say it amounts to nothing but a land grab and that the Israelis are taking water and other resources from Palestinian land.
What are the security measures in the settlements?
The settlements have a lot of security measures including Jewish-only roads and restrictions that split up Palestinian territory, often making it difficult for people to get to work, visit family or even go to the hospital when they are sick.
When did Israel withdraw from Gaza?
In 2005, Israel withdrew from Gaza and later placed a blockade on the Hamas-ruled territory. Israel has since fought two wars there. The West Bank and East Jerusalem are still in Israeli hands, although they are nominally governed by the Palestinian Authority based in Ramallah.
Is settlement activity illegitimate?
Washington, along with most of the world’s governments, continues to consider settlement activity illegitimate.
Overview
Execution of the plan
The disengagement began with Operation "Yad l'Achim" (Hebrew: מבצע יד לאחים, “Giving brothers a hand").
The aim of the operation was to give the Gush Katif settlers the option to leave voluntarily. IDF soldiers helped the settlers who chose to do so by packing their belongings and carrying them. During the operation, soldiers went into settlers…
Rationale and development of the policy
In his book Sharon: The Life of a Leader, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's son Gilad wrote that he gave his father the idea of the disengagement. Sharon had originally dubbed his unilateral disengagement plan, the "separation plan" or Tokhnit HaHafrada before realizing that, "separation sounded bad, particularly in English, because it evoked apartheid."
In a November 2003 interview, Ehud Olmert, Sharon's deputy leader, who had been “dropping unil…
Political approval process
Failing to gain public support from senior ministers, Sharon agreed that the Likud party would hold a referendum on the plan in advance of a vote by the Israeli Cabinet. The referendum was held on May 2, 2004 and ended with 65% of the voters against the disengagement plan, despite some polls showing approximately 55% of Likud members supporting the plan before the referendum. Commentators and the press described the rejection of the plan as a blow to Sharon. Sharon hi…
Description of the plan
The Gaza Strip contained 21 civilian Israeli settlements and the area evacuated in the West Bank contained four, as follows:
Hermesh and Mevo Dotan in the northwestern West Bank were included in the original disengagement plans, but were dropped from the plans in March.
Sharon said that his plan was designed to improve Israel's security and interna…
Aftermath
After Israel's withdrawal, the Palestinians were given control over the Gaza Strip, except for the borders, the airspace and the territorial waters. The area of the dismantled West Bank settlements remained part of Area C (area under full Israeli civil and military control). On September 23, hours after rockets were shot into Israel, a Hamas pickup truck in the Jabaliya refugee camp exploded, killing at least 19 people (both militants and civilians) and injuring 85 people. On September 29, I…
Criticisms and opinions
The unilateral disengagement plan has been criticized from various viewpoints. In Israel, it has been criticized by the settlers themselves, supported by the Israeli right, who saw Ariel Sharon's action as a betrayal of his previous policies of support of settlement. Conversely, the disengagement has been criticized by parts of the Israeli left, who viewed it as nothing more than a mode of stalling negotiations and increasing Israeli presence in the West Bank. The disengage…
See also
• Homesh First
• Jordan's disengagement from the West Bank
• Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel
• Realignment plan