Illegal Israeli settlements expanding rapidly

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/08/20138694140823658.html

Figures show increase of 7,700 settlers in occupied West Bank during first six months of 2013, according to army radio.

6 August 2013        Al Jazeera

Population of illegal settlements in West Bank grew by 2.1 percent in six months of this year [Reuters]

The population in illegal West Bank settlements has grown twice as much as in Israel itself, military radio said, quoting official statistics.

The figures show an increase of 7,700 illegal settlers in the occupied West Bank during the first six month of 2013 for a total settler population of 367,000, according to the radio on Tuesday.

This represents a 2.1 percent increase in six months compared to an annual population growth of two percent registered in Israel.

The figures released by the interior ministry are likely to add to Palestinian misgivings about resuming talks in Washington last week with the Israelis.

The talks broke down three years ago over the settlement issue.

The number of illegal settlers in West Bank outposts that could be dismantled as part of an eventual agreement between Israel and the Palestinians rose by 1.7 percent in the first half of the year, the report added.

Subsidising illegal settlements

The Israeli government on Sunday added 20 more illegal settlements to a list drawn up in 2009 of Jewish communities prioritised for aid.

Some of the illegal settlements on the list are strongholds of Jewish Home, a nationalist party in the government coalition of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has rejected Palestinian calls for a freeze on settlement construction as a condition to resume peace talks.

Settlement building in the West Bank and mostly Arab East Jerusalem, which Israel seized in the 1967 Six-Day War, are considered illegal under international law.

Israeli and Palestinian negotiators agreed at an initial meeting in Washington last week hosted by US Secretary of State John Kerry to aim for a peace deal within nine months.

But analysts say the issue of illegal settlements, which triggered the breakdown of the last round of talks in September 2010, would prove even more of a sticking point this time with hardline pro-settler ministers inside the Israeli government.

Yesha, the main settler organisation, has urged the government to launch new tenders for the construction of homes in the illegal settlements to meet what is says is a "growing demand."

Israeli anti-settlement group Peace Now has accused the government of encouraging people to move into illegal settlements.

"The government is offering land free of charge [to settlers]... and under such conditions it is no surprise that Israelis are moving into settlements," said Peace Now head Yariv Oppenheimer.

Meanwhile, Jewish Home leader and Economy Minister Naftali Bennet was quoted as saying in media reports that the government was preparing to issue tenders for the construction of new settler homes in  East Jerusalem.

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Israel expands West Bank settlement subsidies

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/08/201384153417243957.html

Cabinet approves funding for dozens of illegal settlements just days after resumption of talks with Palestinians.

4 August  2013     Al Jazeera       Agencies

The cabinet will still need to provide additional approval for subsidies to settlements in the West Bank [Reuters]

The Israeli cabinet has voted to expand the list of illegal West Bank settlements eligible for government subsidies, just days after the resumption of talks with the Palestinian Authority in which settlements are a major issue. Ministers on Sunday approved a new "national priority map," a list of poor communities earmarked for housing subsidies and other benefits. Included on the list are 91 settlements in the occupied West Bank, up from 85 on the previous version. Many of them are in areas which would almost certainly be evacuated by Israel in a deal with the Palestinians. Three of the newly-added settlements - Rehelim, Sansana and Bruchin - were until recently considered "illegal outposts," which means they were built without government approval. Their status was normalised last year by a cabinet vote. This is exactly what Israel wants ... a free hand to destroy the objective of the [negotiation] process. Hanan Ashrawi, Palestinian negotiator Israeli settlements are illegal under international law, and the United Nations and much of the world treats them as such. The vote comes just days after Palestinian and Israeli negotiators flew to Washington for their first face-to-face meeting in three years. Hanan Ashrawi, a senior Palestinian official, said the cabinet vote affirmed Palestinian suspicions about Israel's motivations. "This is exactly what Israel wants, have a process for its own sake, and at the same time have a free hand to destroy the objective of the process," she said. "This will have a destructive impact [on the talks]." Mark Regev, spokesman for the Israeli government, said the government would have to grant additional approval for any subsidies to the settlements. Four Israeli ministers abstained from the vote, including Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, who is also the lead negotiator with the Palestinian Authority. "I don't think it is the time diplomatically, or from a socioeconomic point of view,to include new settlements that until recently were illegal," said environment minister Amir Peretz, who also abstained. Some of the newly-listed settlements are political strongholds of the Jewish Home party, a member of the governing coalition which is opposed to the creation of a Palestinian state. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.haaretz.com/polopoly_fs/1.540504.1375957317!/image/4161997521.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_640/4161997521.jpg