Yukishiro1 posted:

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Israel's unwillingness to do anything about the illegal settlements is its biggest moral failing. It puts the lie to so much well-meaning rhetoric from the less hawkish israelis and israel supporters about a meaningful two-state solution.

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Yukishiro1 posted:

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Israel's unwillingness to do anything about the illegal settlements is its biggest moral failing.

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paulg_68 posted:

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What makes these settlements illegal?

What law are they violating?

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paulg_68 posted:

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What makes these settlements illegal?


What law are they violating?

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Quote:

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posted: An Israeli settlement is a Jewish civilian community built on land that was captured by Israel from Jordan, Egypt or Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War. Such settlements currently exist in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and in the Golan Heights. Settlements also existed in the Sinai and Gaza Strip until Israel evacuated the Sinai settlements following the 1979 Israel-Egypt peace agreement and unilaterally disengaged from the Gaza Strip in 2005. Israel dismantled 18 settlements in the Sinai Peninsula in 1982, and all 21 in the Gaza Strip and 4 in the West Bank in 2005.[1]


The international community considers the settlements in occupied territory to be illegal.[2] Israeli neighborhoods in East Jerusalem and communities in the Golan Heights, areas which have been annexed by Israel, are also considered settlements by the international community, which does not recognise Israel's annexations of these territories.[3] The United Nations has repeatedly upheld the view that Israel's construction of settlements constitutes violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention.[4]


The International Court of Justice[5] also says these settlements are illegal,[6][7] and no foreign government supports Israel's settlements.[8]


However, the Palestinian national leaders Yassir Arafat and Mahmoud Abbas have agreed to a land swap under The Clinton Parameters which will allow approximately 80% of the settlers to stay and up to 3% of the West Bank's land to be given to Israel, so long as the nascent Palestinian state receives 97% of the West Bank as its borders currently exist, plus compensation for this 3% or less of the land.[9][10] Israel disputes the position of the international community and the legal arguments that were used to declare the settlements illegal.[11]


As of December 2010, 327,750 Israelis live in the 121 officially-recognised settlements in the West Bank, 192,000 Israelis live in settlements in East Jerusalem and over 20,000 live in settlements in the Golan Heights.[12][13] Settlements range in character from farming communities and frontier villages to urban suburbs and neighborhoods. The three largest settlements, Modi'in Illit, Maale Adumim and Betar Illit, have achieved city status, with over 30,000 residents each.


Israeli policies toward these settlements have ranged from active promotion to removal by force.[14] Since the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993, no new settlements have been established in the occupied territories.[15] However, the ongoing expansion of existing settlements by Israel and the construction of settlement outposts is frequently criticized as an obstacle to the peace process by the United Nations[16] and third parties, including the United Kingdom,[17] the European Union,[18] and the United States.[16]

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