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Chapter OnePolicy, Processes and Institutions: Basic Concepts
This chapter aims to present a number of basic concepts that must be understood to continue the discussion of our subject. The first part of this chapter briefly reviews a number of key approaches and plans delineating the activities of Israeli governments with regard to the settlements in the West Bank. The second part discusses the principal institutions and processes involved in the establishment of a settlement. The last part of this chapter presents a typology of settlements according to various forms of settlement (kibbutz, communal settlement, urban settlement, etc.) Throughout the chapter, a number of quantitative indicators will also be presented that relate to the settlements and settlers.
1st. Settlement Policy
Israeli policy toward the settlements in the West Bank has undergone various changes over the years, reflecting the divergent political views of decision makers, the relative weight of various interest groups active in this field, and developments in the international arena. While these divergent approaches have been manifested, inter alia, in changes in the scope of resources allocated to this issue, and in the areas in which it was decided to establish settlements, all Israeli governments have contributed to the strengthening, development and expansion of the settlement enterprise.
The government of national unity headed by Levi Eshkol was established shortly before the outbreak of war in June 1967. During the months immediately following the war, this government did not have any clear policy regarding Israeli settlement in the West Bank. The initial inclination of most of the members of the government was to hold the territory as a bargaining chip for future negotiations. Accordingly, they opposed plans to establish civilian settlements in this area. However, these inclinations were rapidly eroded, due both to the pressures exerted by various interest groups and as the result of initiatives from within the government. As early as September 1967, Kfar Etzion became the first settlement to be established in the West Bank. It was established due to the pressure of a group of settlers, some of whom were relatives of the residents of the original community of Kfar Etzion, which was abandoned and destroyed during the 1948 war.[4]
The unity government’s policy on “East Jerusalem” was different. Immediately after the war, the government applied Israeli law to extensive areas to the north, east and south of West Jerusalem, which were annexed to the Municipality of Jerusalem. The government began a rapid process to build settlements in these areas. Its goal was to prevent any challenge to Israel’s sovereignty over them and to impede initiatives leading to an Israeli withdrawal from these areas.[5]
In addition, Israel also annexed to its territory a strip of land parallel to the Green Line along a few kilometers north and south of the Latrun area (see the map attached to this report). This strip of land had been known as “no man’s land,” because in 1948-1967 it was not subject to the control of either the Israeli or the Jordanian side. Over the years, Israel established four communities in this area (Shilat, Lapid, Kfar Ruth and Maccabim). We shall not relate to these settlements in this report, since under international law this area is not considered occupied territory.
The Ma’arach Governments: The Alon Plan
As early as the end of 1967, Yigal Alon − who served at the time as the head of the Ministerial Committee on Settlements − began to prepare a strategic plan for the establishment of settlements in certain parts of the West Bank. This plan was reformulated several times over the coming years. Although never formally approved by the Israeli government, the plan provided the basis for the layout of the settlements established in the West Bank on the initiative of the governments led by the Ma’arach (the precursor of the modern Labor Party) through 1977, and as the foundation for the “territorial compromise” advocated by the Ma’arach in its platform through the 1988 elections.
The initial objective of the Alon Plan was to redraw the borders of the State of Israel to include the Jordan Valley and the Judean Desert within the territory of the state, which the plan’s proponents argued was necessary to ensure state security. Within these areas, the plan advocated the establishment of a string of Israeli settlements ensuring a “Jewish presence” and constituting a preliminary step leading to formal annexation. The Alon Plan also recommended that, as far as possible, the annexation of areas densely populated by Palestinians should be avoided.[6]
Despite this recommendation, the last draft of the plan from 1970 proposes to annex to Israel areas that far exceed those required by the original approach. These areas include: a strip along the River Jordan with a width of approximately twenty kilometers (extending to the starting point of the dense Palestinian communities); various areas around Greater Jerusalem; the Etzion bloc; most of the Judean Desert; and a strip of territory in the south of the Hebron mountains. Together, these areas comprise approximately half the area of the West Bank. According to the Alon Plan, the remaining half of the West Bank, comprising two unconnected areas to the north and south, was supposed to become part of a Jordanian-Palestinian state.[7]
By the time the Likud came to power in 1977, almost thirty settlements inhabited by some 4,500 Israelis had been established in the West Bank (excluding East Jerusalem) at the government’s initiative.[8] Most of these settlements were established in areas earmarked for annexation to Israel according to the Alon Plan, while a minority were established by Gush Emunim (see below) outside these areas. In addition, by 1977 some 50,000 Israelis lived in settlements established in East Jerusalem.[9] The Alon Plan was abandoned during the period of Likud-led governments (1977-1984), when efforts were concentrated in other parts of the West Bank. Under the government of national unity headed by Shimon Peres and Yitzhak Shamir (1984-1988), the Alon Plan once again formed part of official policy, leading to the direction of resources to settlements established within the areas covered by the plan in the 1970s (see The Hundred Thousand Plan, below).
The Influence of Gush Emunim
Among certain religious right-wing circles, Israel’s victory in the 1967 war was interpreted in theological terms, constituting the “beginning of Redemption” and offering an opportunity “to realize the vision of the Whole Land of Israel.” In 1974, these circles formed the basis for the establishment of Gush Emunim (the Block of the Faithful), under the spiritual leadership of Rabbi Zvi Yehuda Kook.[10] The immediate goal of the movement was to force the Ma’arach government to establish as many settlements as possible throughout the “Land of Israel.” Gush Emunim aimed to disperse the settlements it established over as wide an area as possible: “Our control of a region is a function not only of the size of the population resident there, but also of the size of the area in which this population exercises its impression and influence.”[11]
Since the Jordan Valley, Gush Etzion and areas of the Hebron mountains region formed part of the Labor government’s settlement strategy, Gush Emunim prioritized settlement activities in the central mountain range of the West Bank – the area containing most of the Palestinian population.[12] The principal method adopted by the movement was to settle a given site without government permission − and sometimes contrary to its policy − in an effort to force the government later to recognize the settlement as an accomplished fact. Between July 1974 and December 1975, members of Gush Emunim made seven unsuccessful attempts to establish a settlement at various sites in the Nablus area without government permission. The eighth attempt led to a compromise between the activists and then Minister of Defense Shimon Peres. The settlers were allowed to stay at an IDF base called Qadum to the west of Nablus; two years later, the base was officially transformed into the settlement of Qedumim.[13]
In other cases, the Gush Emunim settlers group received permission from the authorities to establish a settlement site on false pretenses. In one instance, members of Gush Emunim secured permission to establish a “work camp” close to the village of Ein Yabrud. The “camp” later became the settlement Ofra. In another case, the settlement of Shilo was established under the guise of an archeological excavation. [14]
The clashes between Gush Emunim and the government continued during most of the period of the first Likud government headed by Menachem Begin, but ended shortly before the 1981 elections after the Democratic Movement for Change resigned from the government. At this point, the government began to work to realize all the settlement plans of Gush Emunim, providing extensive material assistance for its activities.[15]
Likud Policy: The Drobless Plan and the Sharon Plan
After the Likud came to power in 1977, Matitiyahu Drobless, head of the World Zionist Organization’s Settlement Division, prepared a comprehensive plan for the establishment of settlements throughout the West Bank.[16] This plan, which was published in 1978 and updated several times in the following years, was also known as the “Drobless Plan” and constituted a guiding document for government and WZO policy regarding the settlements. According to the plan:
The civilian presence of Jewish communities is vital for the security of the state […] There must not be the slightest doubt regarding our intention to hold the areas of Judea and Samaria for ever […] The best and most effective way to remove any shred of doubt regarding our intention to hold Judea and Samaria for ever is a rapid settlement drive in these areas.[17]
The Drobless plan was completely in line with the plans of Gush Emunim, providing the foundation for close cooperation between the two bodies. This cooperation led to the establishment of dozens of “community settlements” (see below), most of which were situated on the central mountain ridge close to Palestinian population centers.
Another key figure who made a significant contribution to promoting the settlements enterprise was the Minister of Agriculture in the first Likud government (1977-1981), Ariel Sharon. Sharon prepared a plan bearing his name that included a map delineating areas he believed were vital for Israel’s security, and should therefore be annexed. According to Sharon’s map, only a small number of enclaves densely populated by Palestinians were not to come under Israeli sovereignty in the future.[18] Like Alon and Drobless, Sharon recommended the establishment of settlements in these areas as a means of promoting annexation. While this plan was not officially adopted by the government, it provided the basis for the activities of the Ministry of Agriculture. The ministry’s power over the establishment of settlements resulted from its control of the Israel Lands Administration, which was responsible for the management of “state land” (see Chapter 3) and for financing the activities of the WZO Settlement Division (see below).
Following the preparation of this plan, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Housing and Construction concentrated their efforts on establishing settlements on the western slopes of the central mountain ridge in the West Bank, north of Jerusalem (Western Samaria). These efforts reflected Sharon’s belief that it was important to prevent the creation of a contiguous area populated by Arabs on either side of the Green Line, leading to the connection of the area west of Jenin and Nablus, and north of Ramallah, to the Palestinian communities within Israel adjacent to the Green Line, such a Um el-Fahm and Kafr Qasem.[19] While the settlements initiated by the WZO in the central mountain ridge area were populated mainly by members and supporters of Gush Emunim, the above-mentioned government ministries made great efforts to attract the general, non-ideological public to the settlements in Western Samaria by guaranteeing an improved standard of living within a short distance from the urban centers on the coastal plain.[20]
At the beginning of 1983, the Ministry of Agriculture and the WZO published a “master plan” for settlements in the West Bank through the year 2010, including an operative development plan for the period 1983-1986.[21] This plan was also known as the “hundred thousand plan,” due to its aspiration to attract 80,000 new Israeli citizens by 1986, so that the Jewish population (excluding East Jerusalem) would number 100,000. According to the plan, twenty-three new communal and rural communities were to be established, as well as twenty NAHAL army settlement sites. In addition, 300-450 kilometers of new roads were to be paved.[22] While the original emphasis of the plan called for settlements in the central mountain ridge and on the western slopes of the ridge, the establishment of the government of national unity in 1984 meant that a considerable part of the resources was actually diverted to promote settlements in the Jordan Valley, constituting a compromise between supporters of the Drobless-Sharon approach and exponents of the Alon Plan.[23] During the period of the plan, the government achieved the objective in terms of the number of new settlements, but failed to meet the population forecast; the actual population by the end of 1986 was just 51,000. |
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