Peace Now’s Settlement Watch team has compiled precise information regarding the legal status of the land on which Israeli settlements have been constructed in the West Bank over the last four decades. The data, which is compiled and made public here for the first time, has enormous significance. It indicates the direct violation of Israeli law carried out by the State itself, driven by the architects and leaders of the settlement movement.
Israel never annexed the territories in the West Bank conquered in the war of June 1967, leaving the status of this land as "spoils of war". During the past forty years of occupation, Israel has ruled the territories through military orders and the laws of the State. In so doing, Israel has ignored international laws and agreements, such as the 4th Geneva Accords and the Hague Agreement, which define and limit changes the occupier may make in occupied territory during the period of occupation.
This report demonstrates that, in addition to ignoring international laws and agreements, Israel has violated even its own norms and laws in the West Bank, through the confiscation of private Palestinian property and the building of settlements upon them.
Data which its source is the Civil Administration, applied to each and every settlement by the Peace Now Settlement Watch team, indicate that a large proportion of the settlements built on the West Bank are built on privately owned Palestinian land. This, despite the fact that Israeli law guarantees the protection of the private property of the civil population resident on the West Bank.
The data presented in this report demonstrate that the property rights of many Palestinians have been systematically violated in the course of settlement building. The government's own information confirms this contravention of Israeli law - law, defined precisely in the landmark Elon More decision of the Israeli High Court of Justice in 1979 (discussed in detail, below). Peace Now condemns the violation of Israeli law carried out over the past forty years by the State of Israel. We condemn the efforts of politicians and bureaucrats to launder the land grab, which deprived thousands of Palestinians of the basic human right of possession, on the individual and collective levels. We demand that the present Israeli Government rectify the situation, which means returning the private land to its owners. Key findings include:
> Palestinians privately own nearly 40% of the land on which
the settlements have been built;
> Palestinians privately own over 40% of the land in
settlements located in "settlement blocs," west of the fence
being constructed by Israel, including 86.4% of Ma’ale
Adumim, 44.3% of Giv'at Ze'ev, 47.7% of Kedumim, and
35.1% of Ariel;
> More than 3,400 buildings in settlements are constructed on
land that is privately owned by Palestinians;
> “Survey lands” are areas whose ownership has yet to be
determined and on which development is not legal, yet 5.7%
of settlement territory is “survey land” and 2.5% of the
“settlement blocs” are on “survey lands;”
> Only a small percentage of settlement land was purchased by
Jews; and
> Over 50% of the land on which settlements have been
constructed has been declared “State land,” often through
controversial means and mostl for the benefit of settlements.