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Palestine Liberation Organization Negotiations Affairs
Department Negotiations Support Unit
REPORT
Israeli Settlement Activity and Land Confiscation
in the West Bank and Gaza Strip
July 1999 - Present
April 18, 2000
Introduction
At their first public meeting on July 11, 1999, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak
assured Palestinian President Yasser Arafat that no new settlements would be built during
his administration.
In the ten months since the Barak government came to power, however, settlement
construction in the West Bank and Gaza Strip has proceeded on an unprecedented scale,
outpacing not only the Netanyahu government, but also the hard-line Shamir government of
the 1980s. According to Israeli sources, between October 15 and December 13, the Barak
Government approved building plans for 2,757 new dwellings in West Bank settlements,
approved the “deposit” of plans for an additional 2,139 units, and approved the
placement of 85 mobile homes in outpost settlements. The Barak government also issued
tenders for the construction of 3,196 new settlement units in the West Bank, excluding
East Jerusalem, and Gaza Strip. By the end of February 2000, 7,120 new Israeli housing
units were in various stages of construction in the West Bank, excluding East Jerusalem,
and the Gaza Strip – enough to increase the settler population by 30,000. And
thousands more have already been approved and await only a decision by contractors for
construction to begin.
The Palestine Liberation Organization has called repeatedly for a total freeze on the
construction and expansion of settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, emphasizing
that settlement activity is plainly illegal under international law, violates prior
agreements between the parties, and calls into question whether Israel has entered into
these negotiations in good faith. Since the resumption of permanent status negotiations on
November 8, 1999, Israeli settlement activity – and the land confiscation required to
fuel it – has continued uninterrupted. This settlement activity has included:
- The establishment of new settlement outposts;
- New construction at existing settlements;
- The confiscation and clearing of land for settlement expansion;
- The confiscation and clearing of land for new bypass roads;and
- The uprooting of olive trees for settlement expansion and bypass roads.
This report reviews Israeli settlement activity and land confiscation in the West Bank
and Gaza Strip from July 1999, when the Barak government came to power, to the present.
Sources of the information in this report include the Applied Research Institute of
Jerusalem (ARIJ), Peace Now, and the Special Technical Unit of the Palestinian Ministry of
Planning and International Cooperation.
April & March 2000 |
Date |
Activity |
Description |
April 13 |
Three weeks after Barak orders construction
freeze, Civil Administration allows the construction of 230 housing units in Har Gilo to
continue. |
Settlement construction |
April 11 |
Efrat settlers begin leveling ground on hill
adjacent to the settlement in preparation for the construction of tens of new housing
units. |
Settlement construction |
April 10 |
Land clearing continues to the west of the Teqoa settlement in the Bethlehem District
in preparation for new construction. |
Settlement construction |
| April 10 |
New mobile homes are sighted at outpost east of the Teqoa settlement in the Bethlehem
District. |
Settlement construction |
April 10 |
Land clearing continues adjacent to Betar Illit settlement in the Bethlehem District
for an expansion that will virtually double the settlement’s size. |
Settlement construction |
April 10 |
Construction continues at Abu Ghneim Mountain
(Har Homa settlement). 1600 housing units have been placed for sale, and at least 700 have
been sold already. Plans call for the construction of 6500 housing units. 
|
Settlement construction |
April 5 |
Settlers from Ma’ale Amos settlement erect
ten additional mobile homes on privately-owned land belonging to residents of the villages
of Kisan and Ta’amre, southeast of Bethlehem. Settlers also confiscate approximately
50 dunums of hill land to build road linking the new homes to Ma’ale Amos. |
Settlement construction |
March 22 |
The Civil Administration’s Higher Council for Zoning announces plans to confiscate
1080 dunums of privately-owned land in the villages of Dura al-Qare’, Jifna, Silwad,
and Ein Yabroad, as well as in the town of al-Bireh, in order to build a by-pass road
linking Road 605 with Road 60. The area includes 2000 trees, seven springs, and eight
irrigation pools. |
Land confiscation for by-pass road |
March 9 |
Construction continues north of the Maon settlement in Hebron District South. |
Settlement construction. |
March 1 |
Construction of an eight-story building continues
in the Qiryat Sefer (Ovadya) settlement in the Ramallah district. 
|
Settlement construction |
February 2000 |
Date |
Activity |
Description |
| February 29 |
Shavei Shomron settlers seize 40 dunums of
privately owned land in Sabastiya village in the Nablus district. |
Land confiscation |
| February 27 |
Israeli authorities announce the seizure of 3,000
dunums of agricultural land from Az Zawiya village, in Nabus District, to expand Bayon
stone quarry. |
Land confiscation for settlement construction |
| February 23 |
Gush Etzion settlers confiscate 30 dunums of
land, in addition to 60 dunums previously confiscated, belonging to Palestinian citizens
from Beit Ummar, in Hebron District. |
Land confiscation |
| February 18 |
Israeli Committee for Zoning endorses plans to
construct four large hotels ranging from 7 to 22 stories on confiscated private
Palestinian land in the vicinity of the former British High Commissioner’s residence,
in east Jerusalem. |
Settlement construction |
February 15 |
IDF erects military checkpoint at the entrance of
the Susya settlement, in Hebron District. |
New checkpoint |
| February 14 |
Alfei Menashe settlers, accompanied by Israeli
military forces, bulldoze 500 dunums for a by-pass road to the settlement. |
Land confiscation for by-pass roads |
February 11 |
In the fourth incident of its kind, Maon settlers
uproot 100 fully-grown olive trees in lands adjacent to the settlement at the Palestinian
village of Khallet Ribei’. |
Uprooting trees for settlement construction. |
| February 8 |
Israeli authorities confiscate land from Al Tur
and Az Za’ayyem villages, east of Jerusalem, to open a by-pass road linking the
settlement of Maale Adumim with the Hebrew University. |
Land confiscation for by-pass road |
February 5 |
IDF erects checkpoints outside the villages of
Kafer Sur and Kafer Jammal, south of Tulkarm, and prohibits inhabitants from reaching
their lands. |
Erection of new checkpoints |
| February 3 |
IDF bulldozes land from Kafr Qaddum village in
the Qalqiliya District, near the Kedumim Settement. |
Land confiscation |
|
January 2000 |
|
| Date |
Activity |
Description |
| January 29 |
IDF checkpoint is moved to the Mevo Horon
settlement, in the West Bank. The checkpoint had been located about a mile north of the
Latrun exchange. |
Moving checkpoints |
| January 26 |
IDF closes off 3,000 dunums of agricultural land
close to the Qana settlement in the village of Az Zawiya, near Nablus. |
Land confiscation |
| January 26 |
Expansion of Mode’in settlements, west of
Ramallah, continues. 
|
Settlement expansion |
| January 24 |
Israeli military authorities issue order
confiscating 30 dunums of land cultivated with fully-grown olive trees in Izbat Noufel
hamlet in the Qalqilya District; the lands are to be used as military training fields. |
Land confiscation for military training fields |
| January 22 |
Israeli bulldozers uproot 50 fully-grown olive
trees from Palestinian land in the village of Kafr Kaddum, west of Nablus, in preparation
for the establishment of an Israeli industrial zone. |
Uprooting trees for industrial zone |
| January 16 |
Military order signed by Gen. Moshe Ya’alon
authorizes the confiscation of Al ‘Arba’een Mosque and surrounding areas in Tel
Rumeida in Hebron “for military purposes.” |
Confiscation of mosque “for military
purposes” |
| January 15 |
Settlers set up new mobile homes at outpost near
Nablus. |
Settlement construction |
| January 13 |
Alei Zahav settlers cut down hundreds of olive
trees belonging to Deir Ballut village near Nablus. |
Trees uprooted by settlers |
| January 12 |
Israeli bulldozers uproot 30 fully-grown olive
trees owned by Palestinians from ‘Abud village northwest of Ramallah, in order to
establish an Israeli military zone. |
Uprooting trees & land confiscation for
military zone |
| January 12 |
IDF seizes and bulldozes 100 dunums of land
belonging to Palestinian citizens from Yasuf village in Nablus District in order to build
a by-pass road. |
Land confiscation for by-pass roads |
December 1999
Date |
Activity |
Description |
| December 26 |
Israeli authorities plan to seize an estimated
five thousand dunums of privately owned Palestinian land in several places around Hebron.
The areas to be seized are adjacent to the Jewish settlements of Qiryat Arba and Kharsina
and along the newly opened by-pass roads circumventing the town of Halhul. 
|
Land confiscation for by-pass roads |
|
|
|
| December 21 |
Shvut Rachel settlers uproot 200 fully-grown
olive trees in the vicinity of the settlement, at the village of El Mugheir near Ramallah. |
Trees uprooted for settlement construction |
| December 14 |
New outpost is erected atop Abu Hanun mountain,
south of Nablus, a few kilometers from the Eli settlement and overlooking the villages of
Huwara and Burin. 
|
Settlement construction |
| December 7 |
IDF starts leveling approximately 200 dunums of
privately owned land east of El Walajeh village, near Bethlehem and the Har Gilo
settlement. |
Land confiscation |
| December 6 |
Israeli authorities issue an order to confiscate
14 dunums of land cultivated with olive trees and owned by Palestinians from Kafr Laqif
village near Tulkarm to open a by-pass road separating Karne Shomron settlement from the
Qalqiliya-Nablus main road. |
Land confiscation for by-pass roads |
| December 6 |
IDF uproots 300 olive trees in Deir Ballut village west of Salfit to open by-pass road
linking the Peduel and Eli Zahav settlements with the Hari Zahav settlement, established
during the Netanyahu government. |
Trees uprooted for by-pass road |
November 1999 |
Date |
Activity |
Description |
| November 26 |
Israeli authorities give the order for the
construction of 1,026 new housing units on 26,000 square meters of land confiscated from
the El Khader and Artas villages near Bethlehem for the purpose of expanding Efrat
settlement. Settlers erect 30 mobile homes on the site, in addition to a religious school. |
Settlement construction |
| November 21 |
Israeli authorities issue orders to expropriate
500 dunums of land from ‘Isla village in Qalqilya for the benefit of the Alfei
Meneshe settlement. |
Land confiscation for settlement |
| November 15 |
Israeli authorities publish tenders to build
2,703 new housing units in the West Bank, among them 54 housing units to be built in Ariel
settlement near Nablus. |
Settlement construction |
| November 12 |
Israeli government expands Givat Ze’ev
settlement north of Jerusalem by 594 housing units, expropriating land from Biddu and El
Jib villages. |
Settlement construction |
| November 7 |
Decision is reached to expand Itamar settlement
near Nablus, at the expense of Awarta and Kafr Qallil villages. According to the agreement
between P.M. Barak and the West Bank and Gaza Settlement Council, Itamar settlement will
have its zoning plan approved, giving it some 7,000 dunums in which to grow. This tiny
settlement could therefore grow to be as big as a mid-sized city in Israel. |
Settlement construction |
October 1999
|
Date |
Activity |
Description |
October 29 |
IDF moves army roadblocks into the lands of
Ya’bad and ‘Anin villages, in Jenin District, and confiscates ten thousand
dunums of the villages’ lands. |
Moving checkpoints and land confiscation |
October 26 |
Israeli authorities announce a plan to establish
a new outpost near the settlement of Eli Zahav, to the south of Nablus. |
Settlement construction |
October 25 |
Israeli authorities announce a tender for the
construction of 10 units in the Gaza settlement of Rafiah Yam. |
Settlement construction |
October 20 |
Settlers erect a mobile synagogue in an outpost,
Havat Maon, south of Hebron. |
Settlement construction |
October 17 |
Settlers of Elon Moreh chop down more than 400
olive trees owned by Nader Abed El Rahman, in the Palestinian village of Deir El Hatab,
east of Nablus. |
Uprooting trees for settlement construction |
October 16 |
Settlers at the Elon Moreh settlement continue to
install caravan houses to the east of the settlement. |
Settlement expansion |
| October 13 |
A group of El Kana settlers, accompanied by a
large number of Israeli military forces, uproot more than 300 olive trees belonging to
Palestinians from Zawiya village, southwest of Nablus. |
Uprooted trees for settlement expansion |
October 12 |
Israeli Housing Ministry continues building an
additional 3,000 housing units in the settlement of Kokhav Yaacov, southeast of Ramallah.
The new area, known as Tel Zion, will be only a few kilometers away from Jerusalem’s
northern suburb, Neve Yaacov. 
|
Settlement expansion |
October 12 |
P.M. Barak announces that, of 42 settlement
outposts whose status was unclear, only 11 will be evacuated. Of the remaining 31, 8 will
be allowed to remain in place, 3 will be permitted to continue the authorization process,
4 will be moved a short distance to become new neighborhoods of existing settlements, and
16 will be frozen. |
Settlement construction |
October 9 |
Israeli contractors bid successfully on the
construction of 727 new dwelling units in the East Jerusalem settlement of Pisgat Ze'ev. |
Settlement expansion |
October 7 |
In Tulkarm District, Israeli authorities continue
construction work in Avnei Heifets settlement, east of Shoufa village, on additional
housing units. |
Settlement construction |
October 6 |
Israeli bulldozers start groundwork without
prior notification on a large swath of land for the construction of the East Ring Road. 
|
Land confiscation for by-pass roads |
October 6 |
Settlers erect two mobile homes at the Hosha
site, near Talmon settlement, west of Beit El settlement. The site was ordered dismantled
in April 1999. |
Settlement construction |
October 6 |
Near the Susya settlement in the Hebron
District, settlers install two mobile homes only a few meters away from a caravan that was
previously ordered dismantled. 
|
Settlement construction |
October 4 |
IDF announces that it has sealed thousands of
agricultural plots of land in the West Bank belonging to 79 Palestinian villages, most
near Hebron for use as army training fields (Military Order No. (99/6/S)). One of these
orders seals close to 80, 000 dunums belonging to the towns of Sa’ir, Bani Na’im
and Yatta in the Hebron District. 
|
Land confiscation for training fields |
October 1 |
Construction begins on 3,500 housing units in
Maaleh Adumim. |
Settlement expansion |
September 1999 |
Date |
Activity |
Description |
September 27 |
Tenders are published for two new roads in the
West Bank – one connecting the settlements of Shaked and Katzir, another connecting
Kiryat Arba and Ramat Mimra. |
By-pass road construction |
September 26 |
In the Jenin District, Qaddim settlers construct
a road through Palestinian land from Qabatiya village and fence it with barbed wire. |
Land confiscation for by-pass roads |
September 20 |
Construction begins on a new checkpoint between
Jerusalem and Bethlehem. |
New checkpoint |
September 18 |
Susya settlers expand the settlement’s
boundaries northwards and eastwards, moving electricity poles outside the
settlement’s former fence, and installing 10 caravans on 4 dunums of land belonging
to a Palestinian family that has lost approximately 150 dunums to the settlement. 
|
Land confiscation for settlement expansion |
September 17 |
Israeli authorities endorse a plan to construct a
tourist center on thousands of dunums of seized land in the Etzion block, south of
Bethlehem. |
Settlement construction |
September 17 |
Israeli authorities begin building ten permanent
housing units in Rachelim settlement near Yatma village, south of Nablus. Nearby, two
settlement roads are opened at the eastern and southern part of Rachelim settlement. 
|
Settlement expansion |
September 16 |
Settlers, accompanied by Israeli bulldozers,
level 20 dunams alongside Malalha, east of Rafah Mawasi in the Gaza Strip. |
Land confiscation for settlements. |
September 13 |
A tender for 12 units is issued in Kiryat Arba. |
Settlement expansion |
September 12 |
In the Hebron District, Karmei Tsur settlers
seize a piece of land owned by the Maddiya family from Halhul in order to open a new road.
|
Land confiscation for by-pass road |
August 1999 |
Date |
Activity |
Description |
| August 28 |
As part of the effort to expand the Avnei Heifetz
enclave, settlers set fire to 500 olive trees belonging to Palestinian families in the
village of Shoufa, near Tulkarm. |
Destruction of olive trees |
| August 26 |
Settlers install eight trailer homes on a hilltop
near the village of Jaba’a and build series of access roads around nearby hills. |
Settlement construction |
| August 18 |
Settlers confiscate approximately 100 dunums of
land belonging to Palestinians in Bani Na’im village, near Hebron. |
Land confiscation |
| August 14 |
Thirteen buildings and nine caravans are added to
the Karme Tzur settlement, north of Hebron. |
Settlement expansion |
| August 14 |
Israeli bulldozers clear land around Haris
village, near the Barqan settlement, in order to construct new Israeli industrial
facilities. |
Settlement construction |
| August 13 |
Settlers begin the construction of 50 housing
units at the Israeli military camp near Qabalan village. |
Settlement construction |
| August 13 |
Israeli authorities announce plans to confiscate
large plots of land from Beit Ummar and Beit Fajjar villages, near Bethlehem, in order to
establish an Israeli industrial zone. |
Land confiscation & settlement construction |
| August 9 |
Shilo and Rachel settlers uproot 50 olive trees
from Jalud village in order to clear land for new settlement outpost. |
Destruction of olive trees |
| August 5 |
As part of efforts to expand the Bracha settlement, settlers destroy a
number of olive trees belonging to Palestinians from Eraq Burin. |
Destruction of olive trees for settlement
expansion |
| August 1 |
Itamar settlers cut down 150 olive trees
belonging to Palestinian family in Beit Furik in effort to seize additional land. |
Destruction of olive trees |
July 1999 |
Date |
Activity |
Description |
| July 30 |
Israeli authorities announce plans to confiscate
1080 dunums from Ya’bad village near Jenin in order to expand Um El Rihan quarries. |
Settlement expansion. |
| July 30 |
Israeli Ministry of Housing issues tender to
build 45 housing units for settlers in Shu’fat, north of Jerusalem. |
Issuance of new tenders |
| July 19 |
Israeli bulldozers uproot 150 olive trees at Kafr
Qaddum village, west of Nablus, in order to build an industrial zone near Kedumim
settlement. |
Destruction of olive trees |
| July 15 |
Settlers from Gaza settlements of Dugit and Eli
Sinai construct “summer homes” without permits on a nearby beach. |
Settlement expansion |
| July 11 |
Elon-Moreh settlers add another three mobile
homes to a military post established two months earlier in Salim village, east of Nablus. |
Settlement construction |
| July 11 |
Bracha settlers install caravans at new hilltop
outpost, in the process damaging a pool, concrete mixer, and other building equipment
owned by a Palestinian family from Eraq Burin village. 
|
Settlement construction |
| July 7 |
IDF bulldozers continue to clear large swaths of
fertile land belonging to Es Samu’ and Dura villages in order to build Road 60. |
By-pass road construction |
| July 6 |
Ehud Barak takes office as Prime Minister of
Israel. |
|
