Facts on Settlements

Numbers of settlements
• There are 121 official settlements in the West Bank
• The built up area of the settlements is less than 3% of the area of the West Bank but the area they control (municipal area) is more than 40%
• There are 101 unauthorised outposts in the West Bank.
• There are 240,000 settlers in the West Bank, not including East Jerusalem
• 60% of the West Bank is under Israeli control
• The separation barrier Israel is building annexes 10 per cent of the West Bank

 International law
The establishment of settlements on the West Bank violates international humanitarian law, which establishes the principles applying during war and occupation.
The Fourth Geneva Convention prohibits the occupying power from transferring citizens from its own territory to the occupied territory (Article 49).
The Hague Regulations prohibit the occupying power to undertake permanent changes in the occupied area, unless these are due to military needs in the narrow sense of the term, or unless they are undertaken for the benefit of the local population.
The establishment of the settlements leads to the violation of the rights of the Palestinians as enshrined in international human rights law.
The settlements infringe the right to Palestinian self-determination, equality, property, an adequate standard of living, and freedom of movement.

Settlements Of Israel

Alfei Menashe is an Israeli settlement of 5,400 people in Samaria, 2.5 miles south of Qalqilyah.
Palestinian villagers that live in the Alfei Menashe enclave have protested over Israel's security fence in the area. In September 2005 Israel's Supreme Court ruled that the government must consider re-routing the barrier in this area.

Efrat (31°36’N 35°08’E) or Efrata  is an Israeli settlement in Judea (southern West Bank), located south of Jerusalem, between the Biblical cities of Bethlehem and Hebron. Efrat was established in 1980, and contained 7,300 residents at the end of 2004 according to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. Although it is geographically located within Gush Etzion (the Etzion Bloc of Jewish settlements), Efrat is a local council independent from the Gush Etzion Regional Council.
Efrat's population is mostly religious Zionist, and includes many Modern Orthodox Jews who have emigrated (have made aliyah) from the United States. The Chief Rabbi of Efrat is Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, an alumnus of Yeshiva University and a disciple of the late Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik. Rabbi Riskin was formerly the founding rabbi of the prestigious Lincoln Square Synagogue in Manhattan. In Israel, he has also founded a network of high schools and colleges that combine modern secular studies with intense study of Orthodox Judaism.

 
Ariel settlement was established in 1978 following the Camp David Accords between Egypt and Israel. The settlement expanded over the years from the east and south on lands confiscated from Marda, Kafl Haris and Iskaka in Salfit governorate. Ariel settlement is the second largest Israeli settlement (after Ma'ale Adumim) in the West Bank. In the vicinity of the mother settlement there are 26 other settlements comprising the Ariel settlement bloc which encompasses a big industrial zone, hotel and a university. The settlement of Ariel is located 22 Km east of the Armistice line (Green line) and it is connected to Israel by the Trans Samaria Highway.  The settlement has a total area of 5.18 Kmq and houses a population of 18,000 Israeli settlers. The settlement bloc has a total area of 120 Kmq and houses a population of more than 38,000 settlers.

 
Betar Illit (unofficially also spelled Beitar Illit) is an Israeli settlement  in the West Bank  An area between Israel and Jordan on the west bank of the Jordan river; populated largely by Palestinians . According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), at the end of 2003 the city had a total population of 22,900, predominantly Haredi (Haredi Judaism, or Charedi Judaism, also called ultra-Orthodox Judaism, is the most theologically conservative form of Orthodox Judaism).

Geva Binyamin, a settlement with 2,000 residents about six miles north of Jerusalem.

Givat Ze'ev is a large Israeli settlement in the southern Samaria region of the West Bank, just to the northwest of Jerusalem, with a population of 10,635 (as of 2004).
Givat Ze'ev was founded in 1982, and was declared a Local council in 1984. It has six elementary schools and one junior high school.

Ma'ale Adummim unofficially also spelled ( Maale Adumim) is an urban Israeli settlement in the Judea region of the West Bank, east of Jerusalem. Founded in 1976, it is now sometimes considered to be a suburb of Jerusalem, mainly because most of its population works in Jerusalem.

Prior to the city's establishment on barren hilltops outside Jerusalem, the land upon which the city was built was unoccupied land declared "State Land" by both the Ottoman Empire and then the Kingdom of Jordan. It was conquered by Israel during the 1967 war, after Jordan refused a request by Israel not to attack following Israel's pre-emptive strikes against Syria and Egypt.

Once the city was established on "State Land", it was declared a city in 1991. The municipal borders are about 50 square kilometres (19 square miles) in size. According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), in 2005 the city had a total population of 29,800 (28,700 in 2004 ).
Ma'ale Adummim is one of the largest Jewish communities in the West Bank. The city's planning scheme, which was finalized in 1983, sets Ma'ale Adummim borders to an area of approximately 35 square kilometers. Of these, only 3.7 square kilometers have been built so far, representing the settlements of Ma'ale Adummim, Mishor Adumim, Kfar Adumim, and Allon.    
As of 2005, the estimated population of Ma'ale Adummim is 32,000.
According to the CBS, in 2001 the ethnic makeup of the city was 99.8% Jewish.
According to the CBS, in 2001 there were 12,700 males and 13,000 females. The population of the city was spread out with 44.1% 19 years of age or younger, 14.2% between 20 and 29, 23.1% between 30 and 44, 12.6% from 45 to 59, 2.1% from 60 to 64, and 3.9% 65 years of age or older. The population growth rate in 2001 was 3.3%. With the opening of a new neighborhood (07), which will add approximately 15,000 more residents, the population is anticipated to reach 45,000 in the next few years.

              
Kami Shomron

Jerusalem