Settlement Report: June 23, 2017

Welcome to FMEP’s Weekly Settlement Report, covering everything you need to know about Israeli settlement activity this week.

To receive this report via email, please click here.

June 23, 2017

Coordination? Test #1: Kushner & Greenblatt Arrive as Construction Begins on New Settlement of “Amichai”
Coordination? Test #2: Bibi Reportedly Ok’s 5,000 East Jerusalem Units After Blocking Them for Years
Coordination? Test #3: 70% Rise in Settlement Construction Starts Over Past Year
Ariel University – Located in the settlement of Ariel – Set to Double in Size
Cleared from Baladim Outpost, “Hilltop Youth” Radicals Stir More Trouble in Yitzhar
Bonus Reads

For questions and comments please contact FMEP’s Director of Policy & Operations, Kristin McCarthy (kmccarthy@fmep.org).

Coordination? Test #1: Kushner & Greenblatt Arrive as Construction Begins on New Settlement of Amichai

Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman raised eyebrows late last week with a wide-ranging English language interview with the Times of Israel. When asked if Israel is “coordinating its [settlement] building starts with the United States,” Liberman casually responded, “of course.” Though headlines ran with his confirmation of coordination, it should be noted that when Liberman was pushed to give a more concrete picture of what that coordination entails, he said that Israel and the U.S. do not coordinate on “every 10 houses” but that the U.S. generally respects Israel’s approach and vision for “Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria.”

That respect was put to the test this week as President Trump’s chief Middle East envoys – Jared Kushner and Jason Greenblatt – visited Israel and Palestine to “to continue the discussion about the possibility of peace.” Kushner’s arrival coincided with the commencement of construction of the first official new settlement in 25 years; the coincidence maintained a long tradition of greeting U.S. envoys with new settlement construction, dating back to the early 1990s and the era of Secretary of State James Baker, whose every visit to Israel was seemingly marked by the establishment of expansion of new settlements.

The Trump administration indicated it won’t object to this new settlement, sometimes referred to as the “Amona exception” (i.e., the rule is still that Israel doesn’t establish new settlements, but Amichai is a one-time exception, as a pay-off to settlers who illegally established the Amona outpost on privately owned Palestinian land and were forcibly evacuated earlier this year). But the timing, which may be entirely coincidental, is nonetheless politically provocative. While Kushner was en route, the State Department reiterated the only policy it has communicated publicly on the issue, saying “unrestrained settlement activity is not helpful to the peace process.” The Palestinian Authority also issued a statement on the timing of the new settlement’s ground-breaking, saying that it shows “Israel is not interested in the U.S. efforts, and is serious about thwarting them as it has with previous U.S. administrations.”

On June 22nd, the Israeli NGO Yesh Din filed a petition, together with residents of the Palestinian village of Jalud, to Israel’s High Court of Justice (equivalent to the U.S. Supreme Court) challenging the establishment of the new settlement of Amichai and demanding transparency in the process of demarcating land for settlement. According to the petition, the jurisdiction granted to the new settlement includes enclaves of privately-owned Palestinian land.

But Amichai isn’t the only construction happening near Jalud. Palestinian officials have reported that construction work has also begun on Shvut Rachel East, a new “neighborhood” of the Shilo settlement (in fact, not a neighborhood but rather a new settlement, as explained by Peace Now). Shvut Rachel East was the original Amona pay-off plan, but Amona evacuees held out for a different plan on a different hilltop – and they got it with the approval of Amichai, to be built literally adjacent to Shvut Rachel East. But what the world might have assumed would be a choice of “this site or that site” became, instead, a jackpot for settlers of “this site AND that site,” and the Shvut Rachel East neighborhood plan was also approved. Meaning that rather than paying a price for breaking the law (and then resisting evacuation), the government rewarded Amona settlers with not one but two new settlements – both located deep inside the West Bank, in an area that Israel could not possibly retain in any land swap agreement, and, both at the expense of Palestinians residing in the area around the settlement of Shilo. And meaning that the government of Israel is, through this policy, continuing to actively incite and incentivize settler law-breaking.

Coordination? Test #2: Bibi Reportedly Ok’s 5,000 East Jerusalem Units After Blocking Them for Years

On June 21st – the very day Trump envoy Jared Kushner arrived in Israel and was meeting with Netanyahu – news broke that Netanyahu was lifting his alleged hold on plans for the construction of 5,000 of new settlement units in East Jerusalem. This news comes on the heels of a June 19th report by Israel’s Army Radio that it had seen secret government documents showing that Prime Minister Netanyahu had imposed a building freeze in East Jerusalem settlements over the past few years. The documents – which were not released by Army Radio – allegedly identify specific projects totalling 6,000 units in Gilo, Pisgat Zeev, and Har Homa, that Netanyahu reportedly froze under intense pressure from the Obama administration. The 5,000 units for which Netanyahu has now reportedly given a green light are part of these 6,000 units, although there are few additional details thus far. Jerusalem Online suggests that some of the units are part of plans that were previously but have expired and need re-approval, and that the Jerusalem local planning committee will convene in short order to re-approve these plans.

It’s worth revisiting the dangerous East Jerusalem construction roller coaster ride of 2017. In January, Netanyahu announced, “I’ve decided to remove the political limitations on construction in East Jerusalem.” The worst was feared, including implementation of Givat Hamatos and/or E1, either of which would have devastating impact on the viability of the two-state solution. Nothing happened until April when rumors frantically swirled suggesting Netanyahu was planning a 15,000-unit construction surge in East Jerusalem. The formal announcement was expected to coincide with Jerusalem Day – and President Trump’s first visit – in May, but nothing was announced. A short time later, on June 6th, the Civil Administration’s High Planning Council advanced 603 units for the massive settlement of Maale Adumim, located just across the Green Line on the northeast border of East Jerusalem.

Coordination? Test #3: 70% Rise in Settlement Construction Starts Over Past Year

Netanyahu has recently declared, “There hasn’t been and won’t be a government that’s better for settlements than our government.” He isn’t kidding. Data released by the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics (ICBS), and analyzed by Peace Now, documents a huge surge in settlement construction over the past year. Specifically, the official data shows that the number of construction starts in settlements from April 2016 to March 2017 was 70% higher than the previous 12-month period. And these numbers may still not tell the whole story: Peace Now warns that the ICBS is still counting starts for January-March 2017 (as currently reported in the ICBS data, the number for that period is actually lower than the same period for 2016). In addition, Peace Now has documented an 85% increase in the number of plans promoted so far in 2017. If these plans continue to advance, an additional surge in construction starts is likely.

Ariel University – Located in the settlement of Ariel – Set to Double in Size

Israeli Education Minister Naftali Bennett presented a plan to the Knesset that will double the size of “Ariel University,” an Israeli institution of higher education located in the settlement of Ariel settlement. The centerpiece of Bennett’s plan, which will be implemented over the next five years, is a medical center to be named for Sheldon Adelson, who is a major American settlement financier. Adelson is said to be contributing $20 million to the medical school, making good on a commitment made in 2014. The plans still need to secure addition approvals before proceeding.

Ariel is located in the heart of the northern West Bank, reaching literally to the midpoint between the Green Line and the Jordan border. The future of Ariel has long been one of the greatest challenges to any possible peace agreement, since any plan to attach Ariel to Israel will cut the northern West Bank into pieces. Ariel University became an accredited Israeli university in 2012, following significant controversy and opposition, including from Israeli academics. It has since been the focus of additional controversy, linked to what is a clear Israeli-government-backed agenda of exploiting academia to normalize settlements.

Cleared from Baladim Outpost, “Hilltop Youth” Radicals Stir More Trouble in Yitzhar

Earlier this month, the IDF evacuated dozens of radical Israeli settlers from the illegal “Baladim” outpost in the Jordan Valley. Baladim was the most notorious and established outpost in the region, a frequent source of terror for Palestinians and the Israeli army alike. The radical “Hilltop Youth” that camp-out in Baladim have been evacuated dozens of times before, but each time the they return to live illegally in the area.

According to a Haartez report, this time the IDF approached the leaders of the radical settlement of Yitzhar – from which many of Baladim radicals hail – before the outpost’s evacuation. The IDF reportedly warn them about the likely influx of Hilltop Youth to Yitzhar following the evacuation.

The interplay between Yitzhar and the Hilltop Youth is one to watch, particularly after an attack this week on Israeli Army vehicles at Yitzhar’s gate. The settlement’s leaders are claiming that the Hilltop Youth are responsible for perpetrating the attack. Haaretz writes, “Yitzhar is considered an ideological focal point of the radical settler right, yet a large number of residents who spoke to Haaretz condemned the recent stone throwing and the extremist ideology of the Baladim settlers.” Shin Bet officials reportedly met with Yitzhar leaders this week to push them to do more to “calm” the young, violent, and extremely problematic radicals. Yitzhar settlers might be trying to distance themselves from the Baladim (which is problematic given that the Hilltop Youth who have fought for Baladim are from Yitzhar), as the Shin Bet has been more aggressively moving against members of the “Hilltop Youth”, which we covered in last week’s settlement report.

Bonus Reads

“Who Are You Calling a Settler? Meet the young Israelis living in the West Bank” (Haaretz)
“Settlement tours: a new frontline in Israel’s ideological conflict” (Reuters)
“Americans disproportionately leading the charge in settling the West Bank” (Haaretz)

FMEP has long been a trusted resource on settlement-related issues, reflecting both the excellent work of our grantees on the ground and our own in-house expertise. FMEP’s focus on settlements derives from our commitment to achieving lasting Israeli-Palestinian peace, and our recognition of the fact that Israeli settlements – established for the explicit purpose of dispossessing Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem of land and resources, and depriving them of the very possibility of self-determination in their own state with borders based on the 1967 lines – are antithetical to that goal.

Welcome to FMEP’s Weekly Settlement Report, covering everything you need to know about Israeli settlement activity this week.

To receive this report via email, please subscribe here.

June 16, 2017

1. Netanyahu’s Trump-Era Settlement Policy

2. Abbas & Netanyahu Harden Positions on the Future of Settlers

3. Must-Read: “How Many Settlers Really Live in the West Bank?”

4. Shin Bet Moves Against Radical Settler Activists

For questions and comments please contact FMEP’s Director of Policy & Operations, Kristin McCarthy (kmccarthy@fmep.org).

Netanyahu’s Trump-Era Settlement Policy

There is war of words about what Netanyahu’s Trump-era settlement policy actually is. According to settler leaders, Netanyahu is implementing a freeze; according to Netanyahu’s cabinet, he has given settlement construction a green light; and according to the U.S., he is expected to follow a policy of “restraint.” Notably, there has been no official statement by the Trump administration following the last week’s major settlement announcement.

Who is right? Here are the important facts and developments so far with respect to 2017 settlement growth:

Large #s of Settlement Units Advanced: So far in 2017, plans for 4,909 new settlement housing units have been advanced through the planning process, according to Israel’s Peace Now. Of these, 3,178 were advanced at the June 6-7 meeting of the High Planning Council. And also according to Peace Now, tenders for 2,942 new settlement housing units been issued for imminent construction (meaning there are 2,942 new units actually being built, or about to be). Peace Now, which has tracked settlement growth for decades, based on the Government of Israel’s own officials numbers, notes that these 2017 numbers are “85% more than the housing units promoted during all of 2016 and in half the time.”
A brand new settlement approved: Earlier this month, Netanyahu’s government has advanced the construction of the first entirely new settlement in 25 years, “Amichai” (a gift to “compensate” settlers who had built/taken up residence illegally in the outpost of Amona, and who were forced to move after the Netanyahu government exhausted all possible means to legalize their illegal acts).
Illegal outpost legalized: Also earlier this month, the Netanyahu government moved to retroactively “legalize” the illegally-built outpost of “Kerem Reim,” west of Ramallah.
Jerusalem plans looming but not moving (yet): Despite high profile reports that the government is close to issuing tenders for construction of Givat Hamatos in addition to advancing plans for Ramat Shlomo and Atarot, none of these actions have happened yet. These plans are particularly alarming for the future of Jerusalem and would preclude the contiguity of a future state of Palestine. Likewise, despite similarly high profile reports that the government is going to expedite the advancement of a visitor’s center abutting the Jewish Cemetery on the Mt. of Olives, the government has not yet advanced plans for its approval.

Abbas & Netanyahu Harden Positions on the Future of Settlers

Haaretz is reporting that Netanyahu is now demanding any peace agreement must allow all Israeli settlers to stay where they are, under Israeli rule. This represents a sharp departure from the past Netanyahu demands, as revealed by negotiation documents from the 2014 Kerry effort.

Abbas, on the other hand, is now signaling that he cannot accept a peace deal that leaves even a single settler in the future state of Palestine – also a new position since 2014.

Previously, both Netanyahu and Abbas posited that – at least in principle – some Israeli settlers could be allowed to remain in Palestine under Palestinian jurisdiction – meaning they would become citizens of Palestine (and that their settlements would not remain exclusively Jewish communities). The 2014 policy iterations were (and still are) untenable for both sides, but so too are their new positions.

3. Must-Read: “How Many Settlers Really Live in the West Bank?”

Haaretz has an investigative report out this week delving deep into the demographics of Israelis living east of the 1967 Green Line, in violation of international law (and in some cases, in violation of Israeli law as well). Highlights from the report:

There are 380,000 settlers in the West Bank, not including East Jerusalem settlements.
178,000 settlers in the West Bank live outside of the major settlement blocs (44% of total); notably, the Haaretz report does not make clear how it defined settlement “blocs” (the term has no formal or legal definition).
These figures do not include outposts. According to Peace Now, there are 97 outposts with thousands of settlers populating them.

Shin Bet Moves Against Radical Settler Activists

The Israeli Shin Bet appears to be more actively moving to stop the pattern of violence emanating from the Yitzhar settlement, located deep inside the northern West Bank, in connection to the “Hilltop Youth” movement. This week the extremist rabbi and Yitzhar settler Yosef Elitzur was indicted on incitement charges. Elitzur is a prolific writer and teacher known for his religious justification for Jews killing non-Jews. Elitzur is the third Yitzhar settler to be prosecuted in recent weeks for incitement to violence; two others were also convicted because of violent content in articles they published online.

Additionally, nine Israeli teenagers were arrested in Jerusalem this week. There is a gag order in place over the case, but we do know the teenage settlers were arrested while at the house of Yitzhar settler and “Hilltop Youth” movement leader Elkana Pikar. Pikar himself was recently, issued a restraining order requiring him to stay away from the West Bank for four months and banning him from meeting with a list of identified activists for six months. He must also report weekly to Israeli police in the Maale Adumim settlement. Pikar is believed to have been directly involved in a string of recent violent acts perpetrated by Yitzhar extremists in the Nablus area. Notably, the Deputy Speaker of the Knesset rushed to Pikar’s defense following a previous ruling against him, saying that Elitzur is “the only one [who] has managed to get through to the Hilltop Youth and keep them in check a little.”

Welcome to FMEP’s Weekly Settlement Report, covering everything you need to know about Israeli settlement activity this week.

To receive this report via email, please subscribe here.

June 9, 2017

A New Settlement and Thousands of New Units Approved
Bibi Abandons Talk of ‘Restraint’, Abbas Abandons Demand for ‘Freeze’
No Statement [or Outreach] from U.S. State Department
New Settlement Plans in the Works
The New Norm: Blatant Walk Towards Annexation

For questions and comments please contact FMEP’s Director of Policy & Operations, Kristin McCarthy (kmccarthy@fmep.org).

A New Settlement and Thousands of New Units Approved

During the highly anticipated meeting this week, Israel’s High Planning Council approved the advancement of plans for nearly 3,000 new settlement units. The Jerusalem Post, Reuters, and Times of Israel reported the following details:

The brand-new settlement of “Amichai”: The Council approved for deposit for public review (one of the last steps before final approval/implementation) plans for 102 homes in “Amichai,” which will be the first entirely new Israeli settlement established in the occupied West Bank in the past two decades. This new settlement, it should be recalled, is a pay-off for settlers who previously broke Israel law and built illegally elsewhere in the West Bank (Amona). When the government could find no possible way to legalize that illegal construction it removed the settlers but promised to (more than) compensate them with new “legal” homes elsewhere in the West Bank.
Kerem Reim: The Council granted retroactive approval (by advancing for validation) to 255 units built illegally in the West Bank outpost of “Kerem Reim.” In effect, this maneuver legalizes the illegal outpost in the eyes of Israel law (it remains illegal under international law).
Ariel: The Council approved plans for 839 new units.
Ma’aleh Adumim: The Council advanced plans for 603 new units.
Beit El: The Council approved the advancement of plans for 200 new units.

Bibi Abandons Talk of ‘Restraint’, Abbas Abandons Demand for ‘Freeze’

In addition to the approvals issued by the High Planning Council, several political statements made this week suggest that that status quo on settlements has changed for Israel and for the Palestinian Authority. On the Israeli side, these statements come amidst enormous pressure and disappointment (real or pretended) with the number of settlement plans Netanyahu allowed the High Planning Council to consider earlier in the week.

On June 5th, the Jerusalem Post quoted an anonymous source close to Prime Minister Netanyahu declaring the PM is not restricting settlement to the so-called “settlement blocs,” which was a policy position that was reportedly agreed upon by Bibi and President Trump in March.

On June 6th, Netanyahu, in a speech he delivered at celebration of the 50^th anniversary of the 1967 Six Day War (when Israeli began its military occupation of Gaza and the West Bank), said, “No one will be uprooted from their home, I’m doing everything to protect the settlement enterprise…We decided to build in all parts of Judea and Samaria and we are building both inside and outside the settlements.”

On June 7^th, Netanyahu met privately with several disgruntled settlement leaders about the state of settlement construction. Following the meeting, the settlers indicated no three are no immediate, concrete outcomes resulting form the “positive” meeting, but they expressed hope there would be soon.

On June 8th, Bloomberg News reported that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is no longer demanding a settlement freeze as a precondition for resuming peace negotiations. A top Abbas advisor told Bloomberg, “we have not made the settlements an up-front issue this time.” This came after Netanyahu’s speech promising permanent settlement construction across all of the occupied territories, and after the High Planning Committee’s approval of the new Amichai on occupied territory (among other things).

No Statement [or Outreach] from U.S. State Department

Yesterday, U.S. Department of State Spokeswoman Heather Nauert made the following statement regarding the new settlement announcements:

We are aware of the announcement that the [Israeli] government made about 2,500 units in the West Bank. President Trump has talked about this consistently, and he has said, in his opinion, unrestrained settlement activity does not help advance the peace process. He’s been pretty clear about that. It doesn’t help the prospect for peace. That is something that the Israeli-Palestinian peace process is important to this administration, and they will keep promoting that.

Ms. Nauert said she is “not sure” if the administration will be releasing an official statement on the settlements (as has been customary following past settlement announcements) and she is “not aware of any diplomatic conversations” between the U.S. and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas regarding the report that he is willing to drop a total settlement freeze as a precondition for resuming talks.

New Settlement Plans in the Works

The settlers’ leadership body, known as the Yesha Council, presented plans for 67,000 more settlement units to the Knesset’s Interior Committee. A report commissioned by the Yesha Council found that there is “vacant” land between the Karnei Shomron and Ariel settlements able to hold 67,000 units for 340,000 settlers, which is what was subsequently proposed to the Knesset. Settlement construction in the area would fortify the territorial linkage between Ariel – a settlement that extends so deep into the West Bank that in no circumstance could it be annexed by Israel if Palestinians are to have a contiguous state – and settlements located closer to the separation barrier and 1967 Green Line. It would further sever Palestinian communities from their land, resources, and important transportation routes to Nablus, Ramallah, and beyond.

The New Norm: Blatant Walk Towards Annexation

Israeli Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked issued a directive this week requiring all new Israeli laws to explicitly state whether or not they apply to Israeli settlements – and requiring those that do not apply to settlements to explain why. In effect, Shaked’s directive makes it a default position to apply Israel law inside the settlements, in contrast to the past 50 years of practice. (Israeli settlers enjoy the full rights and protections of Israeli law; the settlements, which are located in areas over which Israel has not formally extended its sovereignty, operate under Israeli military law). This is a significant move towards outright annexation of the settlements; and some of Shaked’s supporters are not shy about saying so. The Times of Israel quotes Jewish Home MK Shuli Moallem-Refaeli saying she “had ‘no desire to conceal’ the government’s intention to annex the West Bank. She added that the process must not be done in a ‘backdoor’ fashion, but rather openly.”

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley is reportedly pushing to annul the anti-settlement UN Security Council Resolution 2334, which passed last December, with the Obama administration abstaining. The resolution condemns Israeli settlements, stating that they have no legal validity. The resolution was an important reiteration of the imperative to differentiate between Israel and settlements. Haley is in Israel this week, on the heels of a stern warning she gave the UN Human Rights Council that the U.S. would leave if “Agenda item 7” (which censures Israel for its human rights abuses in the occupied territories) is not removed from their upcoming schedule.

Welcome to FMEP’s Weekly Settlement Report, covering everything you need to know about Israeli settlement activity this week.

To receive this report via email, please subscribe here.

June 2, 2017

High Planning Council Announces Agenda for June 7th Meeting
Plans Advance (Again) for New Settlement for Amona Families
This Week in Settlement-Related Violence
Bonus Reads: Archives, Fragments, and a Biography

Contact Kristin McCarthy (kmccarthy@fmep.org) with questions and comments.

High Planning Council Announces June 7th Meeting

This morning (June 2), the Israeli High Planning Council announced the highly anticipated agenda for its June 7^th meeting. According to the agenda, the committee will consider plans to advance thousands of new housing units in the West Bank (Note: Haaretz is reporting 2,100 new units, Times of Israel is reporting as many as 2,600 new units, and the settler media outlet Arutz Sheva is reporting 2,600). This does not mean imminent construction of all of these new units. The majority of the plans before the council, though significant, have more procedural steps to take before building begins. Only 400 are up for final approval according to the Times of Israel.

Reportedly, 1,500 of the 2,100 units are in settlements located inside “settlement blocs”: Maaleh Adumim (on Jerusalem’s northeast flank) and Ariel (located in the heart of the northern part of the West Bank, between Nablus to the north, Ramallah to the south, and at almost exactly the midpoint between the Green Line and the Jordan border – for background on Ariel and the Ariel “bloc” see here). Plans for new units in the South Hebron Hills and the now infamous Beit El settlement, north of Ramallah, will also be considered. Haaretz also reports that the Council will move to retroactively legalize the Kerem Reim outpost, which is currently under a stop-work order thanks to a Peace Now Israel petition before the High Court of Justice.

The announcement of this agenda – and the approvals that will likely come out of the meeting – is significant, as it is the first indication of what Netanyahu’s policy of “restrained settlement growth” will mean, post-Trump’s visit. Ahead of the announcement, Netanyahu tried to temper expectations amongst his right wing coalition members who are heavily pressuring him for rapid settlement expansion. Netanyahu reportedly told Knesset members earlier in the week that Israel does not “have a blank check” from the U.S. to build in the West Bank. Following that, Haaretz reported that the Prime Minister’s Office stepped in on Thursday night to remove “thousands” of units from the meeting agenda. Predictably, settler leaders are disappointed with the total number of units up for discussion. As things stand, it appears that Trump will make the case that approving thousands of units is, in fact, an example of “restraint,” and that, as a result, this move should earn him credit rather than criticism from the Trump Administration and the world.

Plans Advance (Again) for New Settlement for Amona Families

Map by Peace Now Israel

Over the weekend, Israeli authorities approved a jurisdictional outline for the first entirely new Israeli settlement established with government permission since 1992. The settlement is being called Amichai, and it is situated on a hilltop near the highly problematic Shilo settlement, located deep in the northern West Bank heartland. Peace Now Israel covers the important history of how this settlement (and a second settlement) is being built as pay-off to the families who were evacuated from the illegal Amona outpost earlier this year (i.e., it represents a concrete reward for breaking Israeli law and an incentive for further settler law-breaking).

The approval of this new jurisdiction will likely speed up the projected completion date for the Amichai settlement, which was once thought to be on a three-year timetable. Despite the rapid pace the Amichai approval is now taking, the Amona lawbreakers are demanding permission to construct temporary shelters in the jurisdiction that was just created.

This Week in Settlement-Related Violence

An IDF soldier was lightly wounded in an alleged stabbing incident at the entrance gate of the Israeli settlement Mevo Dotan. Reportedly, a 16-year old Palestinian girl approached the main gate of Mevo Dotan and stabbed a soldier who was telling her to leave the area. The girl was shot and transported to a nearby hospital where she later died of her wounds. Mevo Dotan is in the northern tip of the West Bank, fairly close to the separation barrier’s route. Previously a small settlement of ~330 people, last year Mevo Dotan nearly doubled in size.

Bonus Reads: Archives, Fragments, and a Biography

Reuters recently picked up on the impressive archival work of Akevot, an Israeli NGO unearthing and preserving Israeli government documents. The story covers more than just archived documents relating to settlements, but here’s a real money quote:

Theodor Meron, one of the world’s leading jurists who was then legal adviser to the [Israeli] foreign ministry, wrote several memos in late 1967 and early 1968 laying out his position on settlements. In a covering letter to one secret memo sent to the [Israeli] prime minister’s political secretary, Meron said: “My conclusion is that civilian settlement in the administered territories contravenes explicit provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention.”

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs – Occupied Palestinian Territories (OCHA oPt) put out a new report this week titled, “Fragmented Lives: Humanitarian Overview 2016. ” In it, OCHA highlights many important ways the Israeli settlement enterprise impacted Palestinian lives in 2016. These include settler violence, settler takeovers of Palestinian property in East Jerusalem, discriminatory planning practices, the movement and access restrictions in areas near settlements, and more.

Israel’s +972 Magazine ran a feature piece on prominent Israeli activist and settlement expert Dror Etkes. The story includes his work challenging the Amona outpost as well as a great explanation of the Ottoman era law that Israeli settlers are using to massively expand settlement growth.

Welcome to FMEP’s Weekly Settlement Report, covering everything you need to know about what is happening this week related to Israeli settlement activity – news, context, background, and why it matters.

To receive this report via email, please subscribe here.

May 19, 2017

Statements on Israeli Settlements by the Trump Administration
Bibi to ask for Trump’s Approval of Massive Settlement Blueprint During Visit
Plans Actively Moving to Start Construction on Two-State-Ending Settlements
Updates: Amona, More Settler Violence in Nablus, New Jordan Valley Outpost

Comments, questions, or suggestions? Email Kristin McCarthy at kmccarthy@fmep.org.

Statements on Israeli Settlements by the Trump Administration

Ahead of President Donald Trump’s first visit to Israel, there is still some debate about whether the United States has already shifted its policy on Israeli settlements. Here are Trump officials in their own words:

May 16, 2017: U.S. Ambassador David Friedman, ahead of President Trump’s arrival in Israel and anticipated peace push, said, “we have no demand for a settlement freeze.” Also: “If you look at what the president has said since taking office about settlements, his position has been remarkably different than the Obama administration’s. He has not come out and said that settlements are an obstacle to peace; he has not called for a settlement freeze; he has worked for the Israelis to come up with a common understanding about how they might proceed. The president is aware of the Israeli government’s need to replace the Amona community [reference to settler law-breakers evicted from an illegal outpost].”

March 20-23, 2017: In a read out of joint U.S.-Israel consultations on peace negotiations, the White House reported, “The two delegations also discussed Israeli settlement construction, following up on Prime Minister Netanyahu’s visit to Washington and Mr. Greenblatt’s recent visit to Israel. The United States delegation reiterated President Trump’s concerns regarding settlement activity in the context of moving towards a peace agreement. The Israeli delegation made clear that Israel’s intent going forward is to adopt a policy regarding settlement activity that takes those concerns into consideration. The talks were serious and constructive, and they are ongoing.”

February 15, 2017: At a press conference alongside PM Netanyahu at the White House, President Trump said, “As far as settlements, I’d like to see you hold back on settlements for a little bit. We’ll work something out.” On the same day, the White House released a read-out of Netanyahu & Trump’s private meeting, relaying “The two leaders discussed the issue of Israeli settlement construction, and agreed to continue those discussions and to work out an approach that is consistent with the goal of advancing peace and security.”

February 2, 2017: In an official statement issued after Israel announced significant new settlement plans in the West Bank, the White House said “While we don’t believe the existence of settlements is an impediment to peace, the construction of new settlements or the expansion of existing settlements beyond their current borders may not be helpful in achieving that goal.”

Bibi to ask for Trump’s Approval of Massive Settlement Blueprint During Visit

PM Netanyahu will reportedly ask for President Trump’s approval of a massive blueprint for future settlement construction that includes highly sensitive areas beyond the 1967 Green Line – including construction of Givat Hamatos and Atarot in Jerusalem (see below).

If Netanyahu in fact presents a map detailing plans for new construction, it will be a major test of President Trump’s still-unconfirmed policy shift on settlements, which is speculated to include an American “ok” for construction in East Jerusalem, settlement blocs and “bloc-adjacent” areas. As detailed previously, this shift – if it has in fact taken place – should be understood as a green light for massive settlement growth across the West Bank. The U.S. may not be the only party considering giving this green light to settlement growth; the Wall Street Journal reported this week that some Arab gulf countries are also considering accepting the parameter (the world is awaiting confirmation of this report).

Hoping for Trump’s approval of this blueprint, PM Netanyahu’s office reportedly intervened to delay a meeting of the High Planning Committee (which oversees all construction in the Occupied Territories) until after President Trump’s visit.

Plans Actively Moving to Start Construction on Two-State-Ending Settlements

New details have emerged on two alarming settlement developments that could imminently affect the future of Jerusalem, and thus any hopes of a two state solution.

Givat Hamatos

Final tenders for the construction of Givat Hamatos are could to be published soon, at which point construction will soon start on the ground. This settlement, will completely sever Palestinian communities in Jerusalem from the West Bank, and will prevent a future division of Jerusalem that leaves Palestinian areas under Palestinian sovereignty and Israeli areas under Israeli sovereignty (map). Publishing tenders for 2,000 units in Givat Hamatos – which is, again, imminently expected – will spell the end to the future possibility of a contiguous Palestinian state. For more on Givat Hamatos – history, maps, state of play, and consequences – see the expert analysis of Terrestrial Jerusalem and Peace Now Israel.

Atarot

Israel may soon approve a plan for 10,000 units to create an ultra-orthodox settler neighborhood in Atarot, the site of a disused airport in the northern part of East Jerusalem, extending to Ramallah’s southern border. To date, no official planning approvals have been published for public review – which means that the Atarot plan has a potentially long bureaucratic process to navigate. The site was reportedly promised as the airport of a future Palestinian state. The construction of a new settlement at the site will compromise the territorial integrity of a future Palestinian state, as well as preventing a Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem. For more on Atarot, read this analysis from Jerusalem expert Danny Seidemann.

Additionally, in the center of the West Bank, a regional council run by Israeli settlers has begun soliciting construction bids to expand the illegal settlement of Kochav Yaakov. The growth – in the settlement’s ultra orthodox neighborhood called Tel Zion – was technically approved by in 1980 but never constructed. Some 37 years later, the settler council officially opened the bidding process to construct 209 new apartments. Peace Now’s Settlement Watch director Hagit Ofran noted, “There are tens of thousands of units [like these] that could be built under old plans. In practice, there was no [construction] freeze and there is no freeze in the settlements. This is a large project beyond the separation barrier that will continue to undermine the two-state solution.”

Updates: Amona Outpost-ers, More Settler Violence in Nablus, New Jordan Valley Outpost

Here are short, but important, updates on settlement news we covered in previous editions of FMEP’s Weekly Settlement Report:

Already facing planning delays on their new settlement, the law-breaking Amona outpost-ers attempted to get expedited approval on “temporary” construction at their desired Shilo Valley hilltop; that temporary approval is now facing bureaucratic delays of it’s own.
The greater Nablus area is once again becoming a major flashpoint of settler violence in the West Bank. A string of settler attacks on local Palestinians (and their property) escalated when a settler shot and killed a Palestinian stone-thrower in Huwarra. The settler’s gun fire also wounded a photographer with the Associated Press.
In the northern Jordan Valley, Palestinian press is reporting a new illegal outpost being constructed by radical settlers.

Welcome to the 2nd edition of FMEP’s Weekly Settlement Report, covering everything you need to know about what is happening this week related to Israeli settlement activity – news, context/background, and why it matters. FMEP has long been a trusted resource on settlement-related issues, reflecting both the excellent work of our grantees on the ground and our own in-house expertise. FMEP’s focus on settlements derives from our commitment to achieving lasting Israeli-Palestinian peace, and our recognition of the fact that Israeli settlements – established for the explicit purpose of dispossessing Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem of land and resources, and depriving them of the very possibility of self-determination in their own state with borders based on the 1967 lines – are antithetical to that goal.

To receive this report via email, please click here.

April 28, 2017

Playing with Fire: Two New Settlement Announcements in Jerusalem
The Violence of Occupation
Updates: Amona and Adam Outposters

Contact Kristin McCarthy (kmccarthy@fmep.org) for questions and comments.

Playing with Fire: Two Settlement Announcements in Jerusalem

On April 25th, the Jerusalem Municipality posted a “special plan” to confiscate land on the Mount of Olives, linked to plans for a new “visitors center” to be built adjacent to the Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives. The Mount of Olives is an integral part of Jerusalem’s Holy Basin, which is home to major religious, national, and historical sites for Jews, Muslims, and Christians. Israeli construction on the Mount of Olives – especially near the Jewish cemetery, which is only 300 meters from the Temple Mount/Haram Al-Sharif – carries the potential to once again spark violent conflict, as development plans near Jerusalem’s holy sites have in the past.

According to Peace Now, the main beneficiary of the plan is the settler organization known as Elad. Elad is known for its aggressive settlement of Palestinian East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan, where it is attempting to establish a new Jewish “City of David.” As part of its efforts, Elad has for years been working to increase Jewish tourism in Silwan and the Mount of Olives, and has been operating its own visitors center out of a trailer immediately next to the Jewish cemetery. The planned new visitors center will likely become the new base of Elad’s touristic activities. For more on how Elad uses “touristic settlements” to alter the character of East Jerusalem, including on the Mount of Olives, read Hagit Ofran’s 2011 piece: Invisible Settlements in Jerusalem.

The Israeli government is also reportedly reviving plans for a new settlement in East Jerusalem, to be located in the northern part of the city (extending to the southern edge of Ramallah), and to consist of 10,000 units for ultra-orthodox Israelis. Israeli news sources are reporting the final announcement of the units will be made ahead of May 23rd, the Israeli national holiday of “Jerusalem Day,” celebrating the unification of the city in 1967. The location for construction is the abandoned Atarot airport. The plan dates back to 2007; it was pursued by the Israeli government in 2012 but shelved under pressure from the Obama administration. The airport is an important commodity, reportedly promised to the Palestinians for their state’s future international gateway. To develop the airport into a Jewish Israeli settlement would deprive a future Palestinian state of the only airport in the West Bank, will cut through many Palestinian neighborhoods, and will sever East Jerusalem from a Palestinian state on this northern flank of the city (acting like E-1 on Jerusalem’s northeast flank, and like Givat Hamatos on Jerusalem’s southern flank). According to Haaretz, the ultra orthodox Haredi community that this plan is meant to benefit is objecting to the location because of “its distance from the city center and proximity to Palestinian neighborhoods and the separation barrier.”

On April 26th, the Acting Spokesman for the U.S. Department of State was asked about the Atarot plan near Ramallah and replied that Israeli government officials “understand our concerns about this.”

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“The Netanyahu government is deliberately playing with fire in Jerusalem. Plans for the Atarot airport settlement and the visitors center on the Mount of Olives risk inflaming political and religious tensions not only in Israel but across the region.”

– Lara Friedman, President of the Foundation for Middle East Peace

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The Violence of the Settlements

A series of violent settler attacks have ratcheted up tensions between settlers, Palestinians, and the Israeli government. Three of these attacks were allegedly perpetrated by radical settlers from Yitzhar, which is known as the “heartland of settler extremism.”

On Friday, April 21^st, 50 extremists from the Yitzhar settlement attacked Palestinian homes in a village called Urif, near Nablus. When IDF soldiers arrived on the scene, the settlers attacked the soldiers, injuring one. The settlers violence against the ID elicited a strong response from Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman, who failed to note the impetus for the incident; the Yitzhar settlers’ violence against Palestinians.

On April 22^nd, Haaretz reported 100 Yitzhar settlers descended from their hill top settlement to attack Urif again, this time throwing stones at the Palestinian villagers. Clashes with Palestinians ensued and the Israeli Defense Forces shot tear gas and rubber bullets at the Palestinians, injuring four and damaging one home.

On April 26^th, Palestinian press reported that Yitzhar settlers came into the Palestinian village of Huwwara (near Nablus) and torched a Palestinian vehicle.

Separately, in the Jordan Valley, settlers from the radical Baladim illegal outpost attacked and injured Israeli activists who were accompanying Palestinian farmers to their lands. The attack was captured on video. Though this attack was reported by the Israeli press, Israeli government officials stayed appallingly silent. In contrast, the U.S.-based Anti-Defamation League issued a strong condemnation of the settlers, and asked the Israeli government to hold the perpetrators accountable. This is the second noteworthy attack emanating from Baladim in as many weeks.

The Haaretz Editorial Board issued a strong statement on settler violence, titled “Israel’s Weakness Against Lawbreakers.” In the piece, the Board writes: “While the government is investing huge sums of money in an all-out war against anyone who dares to warn about the creation of ‘apartheid systems,’ it continues to create and preserve two separate law enforcement systems in the territories, one for Arabs and one for Jews, which cannot be described by any other terms.”

Updates: Amona and Adam Outpost-ers

Here are short, but important, updates on settlement news we covered at length in last week’s Settlement Report:

The pay-off plan for evicted residents of the illegal outpost of Amona by building a new settlement in the Shilo Valley has hit a snag. Apparently the Palestinian hilltop chosen by the illegal settlers to be their future home is not included in the expanded jurisdiction of the local settlement planning council, exposing the lack of intention by the council to build there. This doesn’t preclude changes in the jurisdiction to permit a new settlement on the site, but it frustrated the Amona settlers this week. Meanwhile, the story of the plight of the temporarily displaced Amona law-breakers got sympathetic coverage in a Washington Post human interest story this week.
Haaretz reports that Israeli police have delivered stop-work orders in the newly established outpost outside of the Adam settlement, near Ramallah. The outpost was first reported last week by Peace Now.

Welcome to the 1^st edition of FMEP’s Weekly Settlement Report, covering everything you need to know about what is happening this week related to Israeli settlement activity – news, context/background, and why it matters. FMEP has long been a trusted resource on settlement-related issues, reflecting both the excellent work of our grantees on the ground and our own in-house expertise. FMEP’s focus on settlements derives from our commitment to achieving lasting Israeli-Palestinian peace, and our recognition of the fact that Israeli settlements – established for the explicit purpose of dispossessing Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem of land and resources, and depriving them of the very possibility of self-determination in their own state with borders based on the 1967 lines – are antithetical to that goal.

In this 1^st edition we’re playing catch up, examining the unprecedented shift in U.S. policy regarding settlements that has already occurred under President Trump and looking at recent developments on the ground.

To receive this report via email, please click here.

April 21, 2017

A New U.S. Policy on Settlement Construction?
Bibi Announces 1^st Official New Settlement in Decades; U.S. Says “Meh”
About Israel’s New Settlement in the Shilo Valley: Details
So Much for “Restraint”: Israel’s Newest Outpost
Recent Court Decisions on Settlement Activities
Settlements as Flashpoints of Violence

For questions, comments, and inquiries email Kristin McCarthy (Director of Policy & Operations @ FMEP).

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A New U.S. Policy on Settlement Construction?

President Trump and the Netanyahu government reportedly reached a private agreement on what it will mean for Israel to “hold back on settlements a little bit,” per President Trump’s February 2017 request. Billed as an agreement to curb Israeli settlement growth, media reports indicate that, in fact, President Trump may have given Israel a license to build in “settlements blocs” as well as in “adjacent” areas – opening the door for massive construction so broadly defined as to potentially include every inch of the West Bank other than existing Palestinian built-up areas. Here’s a few choice explainers that highlight why calling this a “curb” is an utter fallacy:

Peace Now(maps and data): “The New Declared Settlement Policy: Not a Restraint at All”
B’Tselem: “Unbridled Theft Masquerading as ‘Restrained Construction'”
Times of Israel: “Billed as self-restraint, Netanyahu’s ‘settlement curb’ actually allows for massive building”
APN: Settlement Bloc(k)s on the Road to Peace
Mitchell Plitnick: “Netanyahu’s Settlement Scam”
Ori Nir: “Settlement Blocs Block Prospects for Peace”
Terrestrial Jerusalem: “Limiting Settlement Construction to the ‘Blocs’ – Implications for Jerusalem”

“Such a shift in U.S. policy would almost certainly mark the end of the peace effort that began more than two decades ago in Madrid – an effort that sought to make good on the historic promise of trading land for peace.”

– Lara Friedman

President, Foundation for Middle East Peace.

(more from Lara on this here)

Bibi Announces 1^st Official New Settlement in Decades – Amichai; U.S. Says “Meh”

As part of the new agreement with the Trump administration, Netanyahu appears to have secured U.S. approval for building the first entirely new settlement announced in the past 20 years. The new settlement being is to be located in the Shilo Valley, the heartland of the northern West Bank, an area that cannot conceivably be retained by Israel in any peace agreement.

This new settlement is being called Amichai and is billed by Netanyahu as an exception to the “settlement curb” deal, with Netanyahu arguing that it must be built in order to provide homes for 40 families evacuated earlier this year from the illegal settlement outpost of Amona. Yes, that’s right: this brand-new, “legal” settlement is a reward to settlers for breaking Israeli law. First they built illegally on land recognized even by Israel as privately-owned by Palestinians; then the Israeli government spared no effort in trying to find a way to legalize that crime; and when those efforts failed, Netanyahu decided to give the law-breakers a brand-new settlement as a pay-off for leaving Amona, despite the fact that they still did not leave voluntarily. This pay-off is in addition to the Israeli government’s approval of thousands of new units in existing settlements in tandem with the evacuation of Amona.

A great summary of the Amona saga is here.

President Trump reportedly “understands” why Netanyahu has to build this new settlement. If these reports were accurate, it would be an unprecedented shift in U.S. policy, representing the first U.S. approval of a new settlement in history.

Less than a year ago, the U.S. Department of State strongly condemned Israel’s promotion of a plan for a new settlement in the same Shilo Valley, warning that this plan “would link a string of outposts that effectively divide the West Bank and make the possibility of a viable Palestinian state more remote” and that “Proceeding with this new settlement is another step towards cementing a one-state reality of perpetual occupation that is fundamentally inconsistent with Israel’s future as a Jewish and democratic state.”

To date, the Trump administration has not issued a statement on the historic announcement of the Amichai settlement in the Shilo Valley.

Senator Dianne Feinstein, however, issued a strong statement condemning the new settlement and warning, “if settlement expansion continues, I’m afraid future Israelis will face a choice between democracy and a Jewish state.”

About Israel’s New Settlement in the Shilo Valley: Details

Israel’s new settlement – Amichai – will be built deep in the heart of the West Bank’s Shilo Valley, an especially problematic location.

According to Peace Now, the exact location is a hilltop 2.5 kilometers east of the settlement of Shilo. The area is notorious for aggressive settlers who harass and intimidate Palestinian villagers, often violently.

For more maps, data, and analysis of what’s happening in the Shilo Valley, please read:

“Settlement Blocs that Sever the West Bank: The Shilo Valley as a Case Study” (Yesh Din, November 2016)
“Between Shilo and Duma: The Valley of Wild Outposts” (Peace Now, 2015)

So Much for “Restraint”: Israel’s Newest Outpost

Peace Now has published evidence of construction of a new settlement outpost. This construction is taking place near the settlement of Adam, southeast of Ramallah, without legally required approvals and permits. This is the first new illegal outpost established since PM Netanyahu’s reported promise in February 2017 to restrain settlement growth.

Recent Court Decisions on Settlements & Outpost

There have been two significant favorable decisions on settlement growth in Israeli courts following the Knesset’s passage of the Legalization Law (or “Regulation Law”) in early February. The law opened the door to retroactively legalize settler activity undertaken in violation of Israeli law, including ~4,000 homes in West Bank settlements and outposts. Here are two key uses of the legalization law thus far:

In the Shilo Valley, two illegal outposts – Palgei Mayim and Givat Haroeh – have begun the process of being retroactively legalized after a favorable court ruling. (Haaretz)
The Israeli Civil Administration – the arm of the Israeli army that rules over the West Bank – has interpreted the Regulation Law to protect four illegal structures in the settlement Psagot – east of Ramallah – from demolition. The buildings had been previously slated for demolition because they were built on private Palestinian land. (Jerusalem Post)

The settlement watchdog group Peace Now launched a legal challenge to the Regulation Law. Following Peace Now’s petition, the High Court of Justice issued a stop work order for the illegal outpost Kerem Reim (west of Ramallah). The outpost was a case study for that March 2017 Peace Now report.

The High Court is currently reviewing the legality of the Regulation Law; it’s unclear what that means for cases currently before the courts who continued existence will depend on the law’s retroactive authority.

Settlements as Flash Points for Violence

VIDEO: Club-wielding settlers from the radical Baladim illegal outpost attacked Palestinian shepherds and Jewish Israeli volunteers from the peace NGO “Ta’ayush” (“Coexistence”). Baladim is infamous for the extremist, violent “hilltop youth” who are encamped there. Located on a hilltop in the northern Jordan Valley, Baladim has been evacuated by the IDF and re-occupied by the youth numerous times. It is alleged that settlers from Baladim may have been responsible for the horrific arson attack in the Palestinian village of Duma which killed an infant and both of his parents, and critically wounded his 4-year old brother in July 2015. Background on Jordan Valley settlements and outposts is here.

Attack in Gush Etzion settlement, a Palestinian killed a 70-year old Israeli in car ramming attack. Gush Etzion is a “settlement bloc” located south of Bethlehem inside the West Bank; today it is home to over 75,000 Israeli settlers. In response to the car ramming, the head of the Gush Etzion Regional Council said, “When they shed our blood, every hate monger must know that … the result will be many more houses and settlers throughout the Land of Israel.”