Settlements Fight for Survival

settlement in israel fight for survive
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A first hand description of bypass roads and the important role they play in maintaing settlements.

More Poetry from the Settlements

From Poem of the Mountain Village

a. 

my life is here

in my house which I dug

in the mountain

b.

I would walk

my face against the wind

one of the hallowed winds

of Gush Etzion

all the stone houses are like

boulders growing out of the earth

raising rock fetuses

children of stone.

I am not of stone, in me

all is recorded

c. 

when the column of smoke becomes too black

I escape to

the study hall

rub my eyes

with two thin webs of silver

d.

I came to the study hall

there

two flames

webs of thin silver are billowing

everyone is bound on the altar here, on the mountain

the flames of silver whisper

Shalom Karneil enters

approaches, sits next to me

wants us to write a poem jointly

and his hand hovers over min

almost coercing it to write

optimistic things

it's impossible to write poems jointly

I tell him

and he dissipates

e.

in the dining room

at evening

I see a smiling mustache

say the blessing over the warm bread

"Blessed art Thou, O Lord,

who brings forth bread from the rock"

and the again winds whistle after him:

amen selah, amen rock

-Eliaz Cohen

Settlement Types

The settlement character is typically divided into three subsets. The urban type of settlement has more of a cosmopolitan character to its makeup with large commercial and residential areas in a densely populated fashion. There are privately owned businesses as well and a vibrant service sector. Another type of settlement is the agricultural type in which farming and a pastoral existence was the norm. Both of these types of settlements had a large labor force consisting of Palestinians. The last type had no real definite infrastructural components unlike the other settlement types. These were the classic example of the "frontier" settlements that were instrumental in the push of such radical settlement organizations as Gush Eminum for expansion into the territories. One could say they are offshoots of nearby urban areas for they are entirely dependent on them.

A Boy, A Wall and a Donkey

About the wall....

Israeli Security Fence: Pros and Cons

A concept for Israeli security that has had some controversy surrounding it has been the security fence being constructed in the West-Bank; consisting of a network of fences with vehicle-barrier trenches surrounded by an on average 60 meters wide exclusion area and up to 8 meters high concrete walls. It is located mainly within the West Bank, partly along the 1949 Armistice line, or what is commonly considered the "Green Line." However, often times the security fence has succeeded past the “green line” under the pretense of including large settlements, this allows the Israeli government to thus annex land. The idea of creating a physical barrier between the Israeli and Palestinian populations was first proposed by Yitzhak Rabin in 1992, following the murder of an Israeli teenage girl in Jerusalem. Rabin said that Israel must “take Gaza out of Tel Aviv,” in order to minimize friction between the peoples; and supported a separation priniciple between Israel and the Palestinian territories

The barrier is a highly controversial project. Supporters argue that the barrier is a necessary tool protecting Israeli civilians from Palestinian terrorism. Opponents argue that the barrier is an illegal attempt to annex Palestinian land under the guise of security, violates international law, has the intent or effect to pre-empt final status negotiations, and severely restricts Palestinians who live nearby, particularly their ability to travel freely within the West Bank and to access work in Israel. Settler opponents, by contrast, condemn the wall for appearing to renounce the Jewish claim to the whole of Eretz Israel.

Overall, I can understand the stances of both sides of the argument. At first, I felt that the wall was a complete violation of Palestinian rights because it limits their movements, and illegally annexes their land. However, I can understand that perhaps a physical separation of the two, can lead to the creation of a two state solution if the Palestinians government can learn to work together and become self-sufficient without Israel.

History of Israeli Settlements in West Banks

Interesting news story about Isreali settlements in the West Bank and their history.

Israeli Settlement at Hebron

Here is an interesting video about Hebron and the Jewish settlement located there.

The Hebrew word "Hebron" is derived from the Hebrew word for "friend," a description for the Patriarch Abraham, who was considered to be the friend of God. At the time of Abraham, the Canaanite town in this place was known as Kiryat Arba. The name was later changed to Hebron. Today, Kiryat Arba is the name of a suburb of Hebron, five minutes from the Cave of Machpelah and the heart of the city. Established in 1971, Kiryat Arba was the first renewed Jewish community in Judea and Samaria. Today, Kiryat Arba is home to more than 6,000 Jews who have a reputation for being among the most zealous defenders of the idea that Jews have a right to live in all area of the Land of Israel .

Israeli Settlers' Attitudes

Here are some viewpoints from Israeli Settlers

Israeli Building of Settlements

This is a video of clip from Al-Jazeera that talks about the houses that are being built at Ariel and El Kana in the northern West Bank, despite international calls for a freeze on settlement activity. Israel argues its requirement to freeze settlements under the 2003 peace roadmap does not apply here.

Israeli Settlement Building in the West Bank

This is an interesting video clip from AlJazeera about Israeli settlement building in the West Bank

Israeli Occupation Through the Use of Bypass Roads

I feel that the key object used by the Israeli military to control the settlements is the construction of bypass roads. These roads clearly show the occupation force of the Israeli government. According to the Monitoring Israeli Colonization Activities in Palestinian Territories at the Applied Research Institute of Jerusalem, the objective of bypass roads is to encircle existing Arab towns is to impede their future growth, while protecting settlements and boosting the Jewish population in settlement areas. According to the report “The Discriminatory West Bank Road Regime Act,” issued on October 2004, the bypass Roads fall within three categories, the first of which is ‘Completely prohibited roads’ where Israel fully forbids Palestinian vehicles from using these roads; the second is ‘Partially prohibited roads’ which Palestinians are only allowed to travel if they have valid movement permits issued from the nearest District Coordination Office; and the third is ‘Restricted use roads’ and such roads can only be reached and accessed through an intersection at which the Israeli Occupation Forces retain control through a checkpoint. The Israeli Government had classified the bypass roads to more meet the needs of settlers inhabiting the Israeli settlements.

ARIJ records a total of 794.79 km of Israeli bypass roads inside the West Bank. The construction of which required the confiscation and destruction of more than 80 km of Palestinian land, most of which was agricultural. The network of checkpoints and crossing borders also allows Israel to control and monitor Palestinian movement and access to the network of bypass roads. Additionally, these roads contribute to the fragmentation of the West Bank by carving up Palestinian areas into isolated ghettos and often depriving the Palestinians of the vital agricultural land.

These roads severely limit the movement of Palestinian citizens and are thus in violation of basic human rights that should be guaranteed to the Palestinians; such as the right to work, the right to health, the right to an adequate standard of living, the right to protection of family life and the right to education, all set in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

Poetry from the Settlements

Hear O Lord

Hear O Lord, Thy people Israel is one, 

and Thou hast loved Thy people Israel

with all thine heart

and will all thy soul

and with all thy might

and these sons that die on your account all day

shall be in thine heart

and thou shalt remember them diligently in thy heavens

and shalt talk of them:

and when thou walkest by the way

and when thou liest down and when tho risest up 

and thou shalt bind them for a sign upon

thine arm (incandescent blue numbers) and they shall be as

frontlets between

thine eyes (like a sniper's shot)

and tho shalt write them (in blood) upon the posts of thy house

and on thy gates.

The author, Eliaz Cohen, has become an important voice in a greater renaissance of contemporary religious poetry. In recent years, poetry has become one of the key methods of expressions among the religious public. It has become an especially important way for those living in settlements outside the Green Line.  Cohen describes the revival: "Israeli poetry has made space for a different language - for poetry that is at peace with our Jewish roots, with the use of Jewish symbols, Jewish context. Above all it has made space for poetry written by young people who live and create in the settlements, whose environment are the hills of Judaea, who today, like me, like in Gush Etzion. Today, these voices are heard." 

Israeli Settlement Activity

A Hidden Perk

“The Israeli state has twenty-six labor laws on the books. The PNA only has one. Isreali labor law sets a minimum wage, while there is no minimum wage in PNA law. Similarly, Israeli legislation sets out no limit for severance pay. In Israeli law, there is accident insurance if an employee is injured on the way to work. Insurance will pay for long-term care and compensate for suffering. Israeli military orders have made a minimum wage and injury insurance compulsory in the settlements, these remained unenforced” ( p. 59). “Jurisdictional Politics” in the Occupied Territories Law & Social Inquiry.

Economic Functioning Purposes of Settlements

The research that both the group and I have conducted has uncovered a substantial amount of information related to the economy of the Occupied Territories and the purpose of the settlements in an economic respect. The primary purpose of the settlements in an economic sense was to foster a strong integration of the Occupied Territories into the Israeli economic parameter while at the same time maintaining a sense of dependency on behalf of the subordinated Palestinian government and population. While not going into too much detail regarding the legal aspect behind the settlements being established since that will be covered in our presentation, the aspiration of the state and its institutions to control space and define the people based on a perceived ethnonational heritage certainly influenced the hierarchy separating the populations based upon their "Israeli" or "Palestinian" heritage. Likewise, the desire of the state to reconstruct and reaffirm its sovereignty and prevent a two state solution proved instrumental in its push for settlement in the territories. Thus, economic integration, the political sphere, and territorial space were firmly entwined.

The Israeli government encouraged citizens to move to the settlements through a variety of appealing economic incentives. First off, housing prices were remarkably more affordable in the settlements compared to in Israel where a steady rise in market prices was well documented. The government also offered loans and grants to would be settlers at low interest rates, and offered security protection and allowed for legal leniency among other benefits. Moreover, the large and mostly unskilled Palestinian labor community became firmly dependent upon Israel and the Jewish settlements as a result of economic fragmentation within the territories and the distinction made by the state based upon citizenship and identity that corresponded to certain rights and privileges. Economic integration of Palestinian workers into the Israeli economy was particularly emphasized during the 1970s and 1980s in an attempt to keep the people satisfied and minimize political resistance. Palestinians made up a hefty bulk of the labor force in the agricultural, construction, and service sectors in Israel and the settlements. During the 1990s, as a result of Israeli economic diversification in the high tech sector and in respect to the relationship to outside powers, the demand for Palestinian labor dropped and the people suffered. The emergence of the Second Intifada increased the restrictions on Palestinians through periodic closures at borders and limitations on identity permits. Legal measures for Palestinians also did not include accident insurance and minimum pay that Israelis had. At one point during the Second Intifada, employment numbered at close to 38% amongst Palestinians in the territories. The accessibility to outside partners was severely limited during this time for the Palestinian economy, and while exports from Israel freely entered severe taxes on imports were placed on Palestinian goods. Banks were unwilling to loan credit particularly in the private sector due to such uncertainty and instability, and the high costs of conducting trade with Israel further limited economic expansion. The arrangement of settlemets in finger patterns throughout the territories along with the separation barrier and road construction barred communal unification and cohesion within the Palestinian territories. A two state solution was made increasingly more difficult through the increase in settlements and legal manipulation.

Question of Identity

“The annexation for Jews along has created a dual system under which rule of law is determined based on an individual or a community’s national identity. The “local” population is subject to not only the original law, as amended in thousands of military injunctions. The right to choose is reserved for Jews. When it’s convenient, they are Israeli citizens in every way. When it’s less convenient, like when it comes to matters of higher education, and especially infrastructure planning, they are subject to the local law. The latter lags behind Israeli law and therefore allow for manipulations” (p.165) Settlement Monitor Journal of Palestine Studies

My own thoughts on Why Settlements

One of my major questions after watching the documentary “Unsettled” was why would the government establish settlements if their goal was to eventually turn the land over to the Palestinians. What I have discovered through my research is that the Israeli governments have maintained an ambiguous policy towards the occupied territory. They had to decide between allowing their people to expand into the historical land of Greater Israel, or leave the land unoccupied as a bargaining tool during negotiations with the Arabs. Original Israeli policy at that time was to deny any Jewish settlement of these areas or even Jewish resettlement of specific locations where Jews had resided up until the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Many attempts were made by Gush Emunim to establish outposts or resettle former Jewish areas, and initially the Israeli government forcibly disbanded these settlements. However, an increasing number of settlements were established as it became evident that Arab states would not negotiate with Israel. A decisive turning point was the Khartoum Arab summit, in August and September 1967, which seemed to shut the door on the possibility of negotiations with Israel or recognition of Israel in any form. In the absence of peace talks to determine the future of these and other occupied territories, Israel ceased the enforcement of the original ban on settlement.

I think that the government decided to finally cave into the demands of their citizens that demanded settlements because of the benefits that the Israeli government viewed they would provide. One of these main benefits would be that these settlements could be used as a basis for negotiation of borders. This conviction grew from the historical experience, that the UN Partition plan of 1947 had awarded Israel territories on the basis of those areas that had large concentrations of Jews. As we can see with the separation wall that is currently being constructed, this barrier does not follow the original Green Line boundaries and instead is cutting into Palestinian territory as a way to incorporate large settlements into Israel.