6.

L AND
 &
S ETTLEMENTS

 


 
Background


Since 1967, all Israeli governments have pursued an expansionist settlement policy. The first settlement, Kfar Etzion, was
established near Bethlehem in late 1967; by the end of 1968 there were some 30 settlements, housing about 5,000 settlers,
mostly in the eastern West Bank. In the 1970s, the official policy followed the plan of Yigal Allon, head of the Ministerial
Committee for Settlements, and in 1977, when Likud came to power, the focus shifted to the western areas in the West Bank.

With the signing of the Oslo Accords the Palestinians agreed to defer all difficult issues, incl. settlements, to a later stage in
exchange for an Israeli commitment to disengage from the OPT and preserve the territorial integrity of the WBGS. This,
although the Oslo Accords include a broad range of protective measures for the settlements and settlers – such as their
exclusion from Palestinian jurisdiction, blanket limitations on Palestinian land use near settlements as well as Israeli control
over land registration, zoning and security. Israel has continued to take unilateral actions, all of which are aimed at creating
more irreversible facts on the ground in violation of international law.

Settlements, under the protection of the Israeli army, take up land for housing, roads, infrastructure and cultivation, as well
as water. Settlements breach international law (e.g., Art. 49(6) of the Fourth Geneva Convention states: “The
Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies”) and various
UNSC resolutions (e.g., Res. 465 of 1 March 1980 calling on Israel “to dismantle the existing settlements and in particular
to cease, on an urgent basis, the establishment, construction and planning of settlements in the Arab territories occupied
since 1967, including Jerusalem”). Likewise, the Road Map of 30 April 2003 called for the “freezing” of all settlement
expansion, including natural growth of settlements. However, fact is that despite the commitments under the Road Map and
at Annapolis, Israeli settlements continue to expand and very few outposts have been removed.

The Palestinian position remains that Israeli settlements are illegal, threaten the viability of a two-state solution and
therefore must be evacuated, incl. those in East Jerusalem.

 
Settler
Population


• The Israeli CBS records 282,500 “Israelis” in ”Jewish localities” in the West Bank (in the first half of 2008, excl.
Jerusalem), the PCBS counts a total of 475,760 settlers (2007), and OCHA 450,000.
• According to the Israeli CBS, the settlers’ annual growth rate was 5.8% in 2007 (as opposed to the general Israeli
growth rate of only 1.8%) and 4.6% in the first half of 2008.
• The settler population is equivalent to 3.85% of Israel’s total population, or 5.1% of Israel’s Jewish population.
• 3% of immigrants to Israel settle in the West Bank and 19% settle in Jerusalem (East & West) (Ha’aretz, 25 Feb. 2008).
• The separation barrier effectively incorporates over 414,000 illegal settlers i.e., keeps them west of the wall. (PLO-NAD,
Barrier to Peace: Assessment of Israel’s Wall Route, July 2008).

Growth of Israel's Settler Population (excl. East Jerusalem)

282,500
300,000
250,000 Oslo 203,000
200,000 32,600 66,300 114,900

150,000
100,000
50,000
0
2008
1972
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007

(Source: Israeli Ministry of Interior, and Israeli

CBS.)

• The PCBS put the total settler population in 2006 at 475,760, 259,712 of which in the Jerusalem Governorate (and
201,239 of those within Israel’s municipal boundaries). Accordingly, settlers make up 16.1% of the total population living
in the West Bank. (PCBS, Statistical Report about Israeli Settlements, 2007).

353
 
Settlements
&
Outposts


• As of Nov. 2008, Peace Now counted 120 official settlements (267,500 settlers) and 100 unauthorized outposts
(~3,000 settlers) in the West Bank, excl. East Jerusalem, where another 180,000 settlers live. At least 50 of the outposts
were built after March 2001 (as part of the Road Map, and later in a letter of commitment to US Pres. Bush, Israel committed
to remove all outposts that were established during the Sharon govt.). 80.25% of the settlements and outposts are located
(fully or partially) on private Palestinian land (http://www.peacenow.org.il).
• The Israeli CBS records 119 settlements, PCBS figures put their number at 144 (incl. 26 in East Jerusalem), while OCHA
counts 149 settlements. (PCBS, Statistical Report about Israeli Settlements, 2007, Statistical Abstract of Israel, 2006).
• By March 2008, there was construction or development in 58 outposts, at least 16 new permanent structures were
constructed in seven outposts, at least 38 new mobile structures has been added, and 53 structures were expanded. In
addition, at least 184 new caravans were placed in settlements, 82% of them in settlements located east of the
separation barrier. (Peace Now, The Death of the Settlement Freeze - 4 Months Since Annapolis, March 2008).

Establishment of Settlements (excl. East Jerusalem) since 1967

(Source: Israeli Ministry of Interior, Israeli
CBS.)

• In mid-July 2008, the Israeli Defense Minister approved a plan, frozen in early 2007 after strong local and international
criticism, to turn the Maskiyot military outpost in the Jordan Valley (established in the 1980s but long-deserted) into a
new permanent civilian settlement. Currently, there are 9 illegal outposts in the Jordan Valley and according to CBS
numbers some 9,358 settlers house in 27 settlements, 15 of which have a population of less than 200. In comparison,
there are over 53,000 Palestinians in the region (incl. 35,000 in the Jericho area). Besides Palestinian built-up areas, of all
the Jordan Valley land is placed under the jurisdiction of the settlement regional councils and thus off-limits to the
Palestinians. In addition, in the first quarter of 2008, 86% of the demolitions in Area C due to lack of permit took place
were in the Jordan Valley. (Peace Now. A New Jordan Valley Settlement – Facts, Background, and Analysis, Oct. 2008).
• At the beginning of March the Interior Minister approved the turning of the Modi’in Illit Local Council into a city.
•

 
Housing
Starts
&
Ongoing

Construction


• As of July 2008, construction was ongoing in 604 buildings in West Bank
settlements, tenders for 2,481 housing units had been issued, and 184 mobile homes
had been erected (FMEP, Report on Israeli Settlement, July-August 2008).
• In 2007, the Israeli Housing and Construction Ministry began work on 478 new housing
units in the West Bank and completed 1,429. New housing sales in Israel increased
nationally by 1.6% in 2007, while sales in the West Bank decreased by 8.1%. A total of
13,576 new apartments built by the private construction sector were sold in 2007, 2.7%
of which in West Bank settlements. (FMEP, Report on Israeli Settlement in the Occupied
Territories, March-April 2008)
• Since the Nov. 2007 Annapolis Conference and June 2008 alone, Israel has announced
new tenders and plans in settlements, which amounted to a total of 29,353 housing
units (ARIJ, 1,300 New Israeli Housing Units to be built in Jerusalem, 2 July 2008).

354
• According to Peace Now over 2,600 housing units are under construction in West Bank settlements in the first half of 2008,
55% of which in settlements east of the separation fence. in The number of tenders for construction in settlements
increased by 550% from 65 in 2007 to 417 housing units in addition to 125 new buildings at outposts.
• CBS data shows that between Jan.-May 2008 there was construction on 433 housing units in settlements (compared to
240 during the same period last year). Housing and Construction Ministry projects account for 64% of all building
starts cataloged. (Ha’aretz, Peace Now: West Bank settlement construction nearly doubled this year, 26 Aug. 2008)
• Figures from the Israeli Civil Admin. show that between 2000 and Sept. 2007, only 5.5% of Palestinian requests for
building permits in Area C were approved (or 105 out of 1,890 applications). Forced to build without license,
Palestinian construction became subject to house demolition: in the same period, 4,820 demolition orders were issues,
1,626 of which were executed. While Palestinians were denied building permits in Area C, Israeli settlements were
granted them at an annual rate of 1,000 or a total of 6,945 between 2000-2006 (as compared to 95 permits for
Palestinians in the same period!). (ARIJ. Israeli Policies in Area C: Silent Transfer of the Palestinian People, Oct. 2008.)
• In May 2008, Ma’ariv reported that housing sales in West Bank settlements dropped by 57% in the last year.
• In recent years the trend has accelerated to eliminate the Green Line through intensive construction intended to
create a territorial connection between the blocks of settlements and isolated settlements in the heart of the West Bank.

Housing Completions initiated by the Israeli Ministry of Housing in Settlements,

excl. Jerusalem
4237
4500
4000
3500
2785
3000
2330
2500
2000 1433 1495 1429 1511
1139 1259 1147 1161 1180
1500 1082
801 858 763
1000 564 491
324
500
0
1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Labor-Likud Shamir Rabin (Labor) Netanyahu Barak (Labor) Sharon Olmert
(Unity) Govt. (Likud) Govt. (Likud) Govt. Govt. (Unity) Govt. (Unity) Govt.
Govt.

 
Land
&
Land
Confiscation


 1 dunum = ¼ acre or 1000

m2
• Before the War of 1948, Palestinians owned about 87.5% of the total area of Palestine (26,323,000 dunums or 26,323
km2), while Jews owned 6.6% of the total lands. The remaining 5.9% was ‘state land’ as classified by the British Mandate.
(British Government, A Survey of Palestine, 1945-1946).
• Since June 1967, the Israeli occupation authorities have expropriated some 79% of the WBGS territory. Of these areas,
some 44% were taken for ‘military purposes’, 20% for ‘security’ reasons, 12% for ‘public use’ (e.g., ‘Green Areas’), and
12% because the owners were ‘absent’.
• The status of settlement lands is complicated. In the West Bank, only about 30% of the land is registered (since land
registration ceased completely following Israel’s occupation in 1967) and Israel declared all unregistered and non-
cultivated land as “State land” in the 1980 – subsequently using it to create Israeli settlements. (The World Bank, Palestinian
Economic Prospects: Aid, Access and Reform. Sept. 2008.)
• In mid-2007, Peace Now reported that West Bank settlements use only 12% of the huge amounts of land allocated to
them, of which only 9% is built on. Despite those huge unused land reserves, 90% of the settlements exceeded their
boundaries, and about one-third of the territory they use is adjacent Palestinian lands outside their jurisdiction. While the
Civil Administration prevents Palestinians from building in areas under settler jurisdiction, it takes virtually no legal action
against illegal settler construction. (Ha’aretz, 7 July 2007)
• The built-up area of the West Bank settlements covers only 52,000 dunums (1.5% of Area C), but their jurisdictions
cover over half a million dunums (5.1% of the entire West Bank). Another 23% of the West Bank is restricted to
Palestinians by order of the Military Commander of the West Bank comprising: closed military areas and bases, and
Israeli declared natural reserves (with some overlap between the two). A further 10.2% of the West Bank, including 42
Palestinian villages, will be enveloped by the most recent route of the separation barrier. The enclosed areas include
valuable agricultural land and substantial water resources. (The World Bank. Palestinian Economic Prospects: Aid, Access and
Reform. Sept. 2008.)

355
356
 Settlements in the West Bank, 2006
Name Pop. * Establ. Area Name Pop. * Establ. Area
Adora 220 1983 Hebron Mevo Dotan 311 1978 Jenin
Alei Zahav 723 1982 Tulkarem Mevo Horon 1,037 1970 Ramallah
Alfei Menashe 5,826 1983 Tulkarem Mezadot Yehuda 462 1980 Hebron
Allon Shevut 3,330 1970 Bethlehem Migdal Oz 345 1977 Bethlehem
Almog 192 1977 Jericho Migdalim 142 1984 Nablus
Almon 808 1982 Ramallah Mitzpe Shalem 169 1971 Jericho
Argaman 166 1968 Jericho Mitzpe Yericho 1,641 1978 Jericho
Ariel 16,432 1978 Tulkarem Modi'in Illit 34,482 1981 Ramallah
Asfar (Metzad) 257 1984 Hebron Na'aleh 655 1988 Ramallah
Ateret 406 1981 Ramallah Na’ameh 129 1982 Jericho
Avnei Hefetz 1,247 N/A Tulkarem Nahaliel 278 1984 Ramallah
Barkan 1,257 1981 Tulkarem Negohot 172 1982 Hebron
Bat Ayin 866 1989 Bethlehem Netiv HaGedud 125 1976 Jericho
Bet Arye 3,502 1981 Ramallah Neve Daniel 1,609 1982 Bethlehem
Bet El 5,163 1977 Ramallah Nili 886 1981 Ramallah
Bet Ha'Arava 87 1980 Jericho Niran 52 1977 Jericho
Bet Horon 900 1977 Ramallah Nofim 409 1987 Tulkarem
Betar 'Illit 29,126 1985 Bethlehem Nokdim 782 1982 Bethlehem
Beqa'ot 171 1972 Jericho Ofarim Joined together with Bet Arye in 2004
Bracha 1,182 1982 Nablus Ofra 2,531 1975 Ramallah
Carmel 357 1981 Hebron Oranit 5,782 1984 Tulkarem
Chemdat 147 1997 Jericho Otni'el 752 1983 Hebron
Dolev 1,100 1983 Ramallah Pedu'el 1,116 1984 Tulkarem
Efrat 7,714 1980 Bethlehem Peza'el 214 1975 Jericho
El'azar 1,314 1975 Bethlehem Pnei Hever 392 1982 Hebron
Eli 2,530 1984 Nablus Psagot 1,489 1981 Ramallah
Elkana 2,968 1977 Tulkarem Rehan 153 1977 Jenin
Elon Moreh 1,314 1979 Nablus Revava 909 1991 Nablus
Emmanuel 2,678 1982 Tulkarem Rimonim 565 1977 Ramallah
Enav 571 1981 Tulkarem Ro'i 128 1976 Jericho
Eshkolot 225 1982 Hebron Rosh Zurim 422 1969 Bethlehem
Etz Efrayim 679 1985 Tulkarem Rotem 18 2001 Jericho
Geva Binyamin (Adam) 3,183 1983 Ramallah Sal'it 429 1977 Tulkarem
Gilgal 162 1970 Jericho Sha'arei Tikva 3,773 1982 Tulkarem
Gittit 214 1973 Jericho Shadmot Mehola 536 1978 Jericho
Giv'at Ze'ev 10,796 1982 Ramallah Shaked 536 1981 Jenin
Giv'on HaHadasha 1,181 1980 Ramallah Shani (Livne) 416 1989 Hebron
Haggai (Bet Haggai) 477 1984 Hebron Shavei Shomron 631 1977 Nablus
Hallamish 975 1977 Ramallah Shilo 2,068 1979 Ramallah
Hamra 132 1971 Jericho Shim'a 368 1985 Hebron
Har Adar 2,438 1986 Ramallah Susiya 737 1983 Hebron
Har Gilo 415 1972 Bethlehem Talmon 2,135 1989 Ramallah
Hashmona'im 2,359 1985 Ramallah Tekoa 1,343 1977 Bethlehem
Hebron Old City 400 1968 Hebron Telem 167 1981 Hebron
Hemdat (Nahal) 120 1980 Jericho Tene (Ma’ale Omarim) 650 1983 Hebron
Hermesh 202 1982 Jenin Tomer 282 1978 Jericho
Hinnanit 779 1981 Jenin Tzofim 1,082 1989 Tulkarem
Itamar 698 1984 Nablus Vered Yericho 180 1980 Jericho
Kalya 266 1968 Jericho Yafit 104 1980 Jericho
Karmei Zur 696 1984 Hebron Yakir 1,025 1981 Tulkarem
Karnei Shomron 6,333 1978 Tulkarem Yitav 175 1970 Jericho
Kedar 782 1984 Bethlehem Yizhar 673 1983 Nablus
Kedumim 3,208 1975 Tulkarem
Kfar Adumim 2,312 1979 Ramallah Total:
Kfar Etzion 448 1967 Bethlehem 123 settlements 263,837
Kfar Ha’Oranim (Menora) 1,917 1998 Ramallah
Kfar Tapuah 721 1978 Tulkarem In addition there are: Families Establ. Area
Kiryat Arba' 6,958 1972 Hebron
Kiryat Netafim 472 1982 Tulkarem Alon (officially part
120 1990 Ramallah
Kokhav Ha’Shahar 1,530 1977 Ramallah of Kfar Adumim)
Kokhav Ya'acov 5,268 1984 Ramallah Geva’ot (officially part
11 1997 Bethlehem
Ma'ale Adumim 31,754 1975 Bethlehem of Allon Shevut)
Ma'ale Amos 344 1981 Bethlehem Nofei Prat (officially
150 1992 Ramallah
Ma'ale Efrayim 1,384 1970 Jericho part of Kfar Adumim)
Ma’ale Levona 556 1983 Ramallah Rehelim (has no official
37 1991 Tulkarem
Ma'ale Mikhmas 1,184 1981 Ramallah status; nr. Ariel)
Ma'ale Shomron 570 1980 Tulkarem Shvut Rahel ((officially
60 1991 Ramallah
Ma'on 370 1981 Hebron part of Shilo)
Massu'a 142 1970 Jericho No.
Mattityahu 1,355 1981 Ramallah Outposts 100
Mehola 351 1968 Jericho
Mekhora 114 1973 Jericho Source: Peace Now, Settlement List:, 2008

357
 
Roads
&
Bypass
Roads


• Bypass roads circumvent Palestinian towns and villages and link the various Israeli
settlements to one another as well as to Israel proper. The main rationale
behind these roads is the ‘security’ of the settlers, but they also serve the
purpose of dividing the West Bank into isolated ‘bantustans’ and blocking
Palestinian development. Bypass roads are under Israeli control and entail a 50-
75-m buffer zone on each side of the road in which no construction is allowed.
• To date, Israel has constructed some 794.79 km of bypass roads in the West
Bank. Palestinians are denied access to most of them (often enforced with
cement blocks, trenches, earth-mounds, barbwires and iron gates) under the
pretext of military and/or security purposes. The largest bypass road networks
are in the Ramallah (183 km) and Hebron (132) areas (ARIJ, The Israeli Bypass
Road System in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Aug. 2008)

Bypass Roads in Palestinian

Governorates

15 8 10
7 5 6 7 6
10 4 2 1
5
0

(Source: ARIJ, GIS database, 2007.)

 
Israeli
Government
Spending


• Govt. expenditure includes - besides high security costs - low purchase prices, mortgage grants (up to 95% of the
cost), Priority ‘A’ categorization (for state-subsidized benefits and incentives such as 7%-tax breaks, free schooling and
school busing, and business grants), lost tax revenues.
• According to experts' estimates, the total economic cost of the occupation has by now reached more than $50
billion, including security and civilian expenses (the construction and maintenance of the settlements), as well as the
potential loss of GDP. The annual average of military expenses on maintaining control over the territory stands at
about NIS 2.5 billion. (Avi Shauli, Cost of Occupation, Sept. 2007 http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3410537,00.html).
• The civilian cost of the settlements is valued at about NIS 2.5 billion per year. The value of property built in the
territories is estimated at over US$14 billion, and the losses in GDP for the Israeli economy due to the recession that
followed the second Intifada are estimated at NIS 50 billion. (Ibid.)
• The evacuation of some 8,000 settlers from Gaza cost the State of Israel some NIS 8 billion, an average of NIS 1
million per person. The evacuation of the 250,000 West Bank settlers is expected to exceed NIS 250 billion since some of
them belong to a higher socioeconomic stratum as was the case with Gaza’s settlers.
• According to the Israeli Defense Ministry, the separation barrier will approx. cost a total of NIS 10 billion, whereby
each km of costs NIS 15 million and each km of fence NIS 12 million.

 
Israel’s
Separation
Barrier
&
“Seam
Zone”



• In June 2002 Israel decided to build the separation barrier to prevent the uncontrolled entry of Palestinians from the West
Bank into Israel. In fact, the separation barrier is part of a strategy that aims to annex large parts of WBGS land while
encircling Palestinian population centers. It is a combination of an 8-m high concrete wall (mainly around East
Jerusalem areas), trenches, fences, razor wire and military-only roads. There is also a 30-100-m wide “buffer zone” east
of the Wall with electrified fences, trenches, sensors and military patrol roads and some sections have armed sniper
towers. The barrier runs through some of the most fertile parts of the West Bank and has severely harmed agricultural
activity, which is one of the main sources of income many villages.
• On 9 July 2004, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel's construction of the barrier was “contrary to
international law” as it involves destruction/confiscation of Palestinian property and imposes severe restrictions on Palestinian
movement, and that that Israel must “cease forthwith the works of construction of the wall being built in the Occupied
Palestinian Territory, including in and around East Jerusalem”, return seized property and compensate Palestinian landowners
whose interests have been damaged by its construction. The Court's decision emphatically challenges the Israeli rationale for
locating most of the barrier in the West Bank instead of in its own territory. The ICJ’s Advisory Opinion was confirmed by
UNGA Res. A/RES/ES-10/15 of 20 July 2004. In Dec. 2006, UNGA established UNROD, the UN’s Register of Damage Caused
by the Construction of the Wall. Nevertheless, Israel proceeded with the construction.
• In April 2007 the Israeli Defense Ministry approved an updated route for the Separation Barrier (see http://seamzone.
mod.gov.il/Pages/ENG/map_eng.htm), which, upon completion, will effectively annex 12% of the West Bank (previously:

358
 9.0%). At least 80% of the revised route still runs inside the West Bank and East Jerusalem, isolating communities
and separating tens of thousands of people from services, their lands and livelihoods.
• Israel has declared the land in between the route of the barrier itself and the Green Line – now referred to as the "seam
zone" - a "closed area" for an indefinite period of time pursuant to occupation military orders. Palestinians aged 16 and
above who find themselves residents of the "seam zone" are required to apply for a "permanent resident ID" from the
Civil Administration in order to seek permission to remain in their homes and also require permits to access their
property, work or fields west of the wall through designated gates, which tend to be open for only a few hours a day and
can be closed by the army without prior warning. No vehicles are allowed through and heavy restrictions apply with
regard to agricultural equipment and materials. (World Bank. Movement and Access Restrictions in the West Bank: Uncertainty
and Inefficiency in the Palestinian Economy. May 2007; ILO, The Situation of Workers of the Occupied Arab Territories. May 2008).
• Less than 20% of the separation barrier’s route lies on the Green Line, while approx. 9.5% of West Bank land as well
as East Jerusalem fall in the “seam zone” between the Barrier and the Green Line, and will thus be isolated from the rest
of the West Bank. Over 80% of Israeli settlers will be incorporated in the same area and will thus be connected to Israel
(ILO, The Situation of Workers of the Occupied Arab Territories. International Labor Conference, May 2008.)
• Once completed, approx. 35,000 Palestinians will live between the Green Line and the barrier, and another
26,000 in eight communities will be surrounded on four sides by the barrier, with a tunnel or road connection to the
rest of the West Bank. Nearly a quarter of a million residents of East Jerusalem will be cut off from the rest of the West
Bank. (The World Bank, Palestinian Economic Prospects: Aid, Access and Reform. Sept. 2008.)
• With the separation barrier route (de facto annexing 9% of the West Bank), settlements east of the barrier (de facto
annexing an additional 8.0%) and Israel’s de facto annexation of the Jordan Valley (28.5%), Israel controls 45.5% of
the West Bank, leaving Palestinians with only 54% or 12% of historic Palestine (PLO – NAD. Barrier to Peace: Assessment
of Israel’s Wall Route, July 2008).
• Of the 275,200 settlers in the West Bank in 2007, some 65,406 were located east and 209,794 west of the
separation barrier. (Peace Now, 2008)
• The Wall route effectively incorporates over 414,000 settlers (=88% of all settlers), and will de facto annex the
Givon, Adumim, and Etzion settlement blocs. (PLO-NAD. Barrier to Peace: Assessment of Israel’s Wall Route, July 2008).
• As part of its “Special Security Area” (SSA) plan, Israel surrounded 12 settlements east of the separation barrier with
rings of land that are closed to Palestinian entry, although more than half of that land is privately-owned by Palestinians.
By this, the overall area of these settlements increased by 2.4 times from 3,325 to 7,793 dunums. (B’Tselem, Access
Denied: Israeli measures to deny Palestinians access to land around settlements. Sept. 2008.)
• As of June 2008, the separation barrier passed through 171 West Bank localities (affecting some 712,313 people) and
has so far resulted in the confiscation of 49,291 dunums of land, the isolation of another 274,607 dunums, and the
displacement of some 3,880 households (27,841 people). (PCBS, Survey on the Impact of the Expansion and Annexation
Wall on the Socio-Economic Conditions of Palestinian Localities where the Wall Passes Through, June 2008)
• The number of closure obstacles reported by OCHA rose from 566 in Sept. 2007 to 609 in May 2008 (not incl.
checkpoints placed on the Green Line, flying checkpoints and the Barrier.)

The Separation Barrier at a Glance

900 Upon Current

800 Completion Status
700 790 km 40 km wall &
750 km fence
600 474 km
500
400 340 km
300 237 km
200 79 km
100
0
Total Barrier of which on the Completed Under construction Planned
Green Line
(Source: Peace
Now.)

 
The
Occupied
Palestinian
Territories



Total Area of Palestinian Governorates (in km2)

Governorate Total Area Governorate Total Area
Jenin 583 Hebron 997
Tubas 402 Total WB 5,655
Tulkarm 246 North Gaza 61
Qalqilya 166 Gaza 74
Salfit 204 Deir Balah 58
Nablus 605 Khan Younis 108
Ramallah 855 Rafah 64
Jerusalem1 345 Total Gaza 365
Jericho 593

359
 Bethlehem 659 TOTAL WBGS 6,020
1
(Source: PCBS, Land Use Statistics.) excl. the annexed part.
West Bank Areas A, B, C:
The 1995 Oslo II Agreement created, as an interim (5-year) measure, three distinct zones Areas A, B, and C, with different
security and administrative arrangements. The current status is frozen at the levels of the 1999 Sharm El-Sheikh summit:

Oslo II, 1995 Wye River, 1998 Sharm El-Sheikh, 1999

The territorial space of Areas A and B is not contiguous, and consists of some 227 enclaves.

Area 'A': full Palestinian control; mainly urban areas

(cities &towns).

Area 'B': Palestinian civil and Israeli security control;

mainly populated rural areas.

Area ‘C’: full Israeli control; settlements, settlement

access roads, buffer zones (near settlements, roads,
strategic areas and Israel) and almost all of the Jordan
Valley. Area C holds 63% of the West Bank’s agricultural
lands !

Recommended
Research
Sources:

http://www.arij.org, http://www.arij.org/paleye/ http://www.fmep.org/ (Settlement Report)
http://www.stopthewall.org/ (Palestinian campaign against the wall) http://www.ochaopt.org
http://www.peacenow.org/ (American Peace Now) http://www.peacenow.org.il/
http://www.btselem.org/English/Settlements/

Access Denied: Israeli Measures to Deny Palestinians Access to Land around Settlements. Jerusalem: B’Tselem, Sept. 2008.
ARIJ. An Analysis of the Recent Geopolitical Situation in Gaza Strip. Sept. 2003.
Behind The Barrier: Human Rights Violations As a Result of Israel's Separation Barrier. Position Paper. Jerusalem: B’Tselem, April 2003.
B’Tselem, Access Denied: Israeli measures to deny Palestinians access to land around settlements. Sept. 2008.
Ideological Settlement in the West Bank: Areas of Exclusion Enforced Upon the Palestinian Population. Ramallah: PALDIS-LCD, July 2002.
Foundation for Middle East Peace. Report on Israeli Settlement in the Occupied Territories. (online: http://www.fmep.org).
Matar, Ibrahim. Jewish Settlements, Palestinian Rights, and Peace. Washington, DC: Center for Policy Analysis on Palestine, 1996.
PASSIA. Settlements - Special Bulletin. Jerusalem, March 2001. (available at www.passia.org).
PLO Negotiations, Affairs Department. Israeli Settlement Activity since Annapolis. May 2008.
PLO Negotiations, Affairs Department. The Business of Colonization. Background Brief, October 2008.
Shehadeh, Raja. The Law of the Land. Settlement and Land Issues under Israeli Military Occupation. Jerusalem: PASSIA, 1993.
UN Ocha, regular situation reports on access, closure and the separation barrier.
Yesh Din, A Semblance of Law - Law Enforcement upon Israeli Civilians in the West Bank, June 2006.

360