Syllabus:
GS2: Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests, Indian diaspora.
Context:
Recently, Israel approved the controversial West Bank settlement project that had been on hold for two decades amid fierce international opposition.
More on the News
- Israel’s defense ministry committee approved plans for 3,401 homes in E1, a 12 square km area between East Jerusalem and Maale Adumim, effectively splitting the West Bank from East Jerusalem.
- The defense ministry also approved 342 units in Asael, a former unauthorized outpost in the southern West Bank now legalized under Israeli law.
West Bank Settlement Project
- It is a venture to set up additional housing units at the already occupied, yet sensitive, tract in the West Bank: E1 or East One.
- The region lies just at east of Jerusalem, which is considered the capital by both Israelis and Palestinians.
- Currently, the E1 area hosts several Bedouin communities, including the Jahalin tribe, who have lived there since the 1950s after being displaced from the Negev desert in 1948, and some since the 1990s due to prior settlement expansions.
- The plan to develop E1 was first proposed in 1994 by Israel’s then-prime minister. This was subsequently reaffirmed in 1996, as part of proposed territorial swaps in the framework of a permanent peace agreement.
- In 2004, Israel started building a police station and roads on Palestinian land but construction has mostly paused since to appease Western leaders concerned new housing there could block a future Palestinian state.
Demographic Distribution of West Bank
- Israel has built about 160 settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since the 1967 war, housing nearly 700,000 Jews.
- Around 3.3 million Palestinians also live there, alongside aspirations for a future state with Gaza. While Israeli settlers vote in Israel’s elections, Palestinians lack such rights, facing restrictions on movement and frequent military raids.
- While Israeli settlers vote in Israel’s elections, Palestinians lack such rights, facing restrictions on movement and frequent military raids.
Concerns Regarding the Project
- It would effectively hinder the establishment of a Palestinian state, as it would cut off the north of the West Bank from the south.
- This plan will isolate Jerusalem from its Palestinian surroundings, submerge it in massive settlement blocs.
- E1 is part of this broader strategy, particularly among the Israeli far right, to entrench Israeli control and block Palestinian statehood.
- A German government spokesman said settlement construction violated international law and “hinders a negotiated two-state solution and an end to the Israeli occupation of the West Bank”.
- The advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice said Israel’s “continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is unlawful”.