West Bank Settlements, Israeli Lies, American Rice-Throwing

Illegal settlements: Between Dec. 2007 and July 2008 alone, Over 1000 new buildings totaling 2,600 housing units were built in the settlements, an increased by a factor of 1.8 in comparison with the same period the previous year, according to Peace Now. (Map by Peace Now.)

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was in Israel yesterday, trying one more time to salvage what little there was to start with of the Bush administration's push for some kind of breakthrough between Israel and the Palestinians. She got nowhere, paying lip-service to chronic concerns aside: "I think it's no secret, and I've said it to my Israeli counterparts, that I don't think the settlement activity is helpful to the process, that in fact, what we need now are steps that enhance confidence between the parties. And anything that undermines confidence between the parties ought to be avoided."

But it's never been enough to say to the Israelis that they should quit building settlements. It has to be a condition of any discussion or future aid to mean anything. Israelis, for their part, simply say that they have indeed quit building illegal settlements and lived up to the pledges they made in 2001 and renewed again at the Annapolis summit last year.

Yesterday, standing side by side with Rice, Israeli foreign minister Tizip Livni reveled in lip-service of her own: "At the end of the day, the Israeli government policy is not to expand settlements, it's not to build new settlements, not to confiscate land from Palestinians. And, according to my knowledge, settlement activities reduced in the most dramatic way, especially in parts which are on the other side of the fence. There were some small activities that are not going to influence (inaudible) nor the future borders of the Palestinian state."

Livni was simply being dishonest.

There are 120 illegal settlements, sanctioned by the Israeli government, in the West Bank and 102 "outposts," most of them built since 2001, that the Israeli government doesn't officially recognize as settlements but protects, funds and grants exclusive rights to nonetheless. The settlement population has doubled since 1996, and increased 38% just during the eight years of the Bush administration--to 261,879. The figure is as of the end of 2006. It has continued to increase since, and it doesn't include another 182,460 in 12 settlements in East Jerusalem. Nor does it include the population of the illegal "outposts."

The very day that Rice stood by, not once challenging Livni as she lied, the Israeli human rights group Peace Now released a fresh report pointing out to what extent the foreign minister was erecting a new kind of West Bank wall---around evidence itself. Peace Now's main findings:

• Over 1,000 new buildings containing some 2,600 housing units were built in the settlements since the Annapolis summit last December. Approximately 55% of the new structures are located to the east of the constructed Separation Barrier.
• According to figures from Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics, construction in the settlements has increased by a factor of 1.8 in comparison with the same period last year. The Housing Ministry initiated 433 new housing units between January and May 2008, compared with just 240 housing units during the same period in 2007 (construction initiated by the Housing Ministry accounted for 64% of all the construction counted in the West Bank by the CBS in recent months).
• 125 new structures have been added to the outposts, including 30 permanent houses.
• The number of tenders, or sales, in the settlements has increased by 550%--417 housing units, compared to just 65 in 2007. The number of tenders in East Jerusalem has increased by a factor of 38 (1,761 housing units compared to 46 in 2007).

Israel's response, through Housing Ministry Spokesman Eran Sidis: “There’s nothing to prevent strengthening settlement blocs that in the end of the day, in a peace agreement, will clearly be in Israel’s hands.”

Following Annapolis, Israelis and Palestinians were supposed to conclude a final framework leading to a two-state solution. The framework was to be signed before the end of the Bush administration. It didn't look like a realistic goal even when Bush floated it last December, especially since, as with previous Bush initiatives, he intended to spend none of his time or political capital on the issue. He would delegate. Achieving a framework, whatever that means at this point, looks even less likely now.

• Briefing: Israeli Settlements and Outposts in the West Bank