User:Factomancer/Israeli settlement timeline

This is a timeline of the development of and controversy over Israeli settlements.

1967

 * The cease-fire agreement following the 1967 Six-Day War leaves Israel in control of a number of areas captured during hostilities.
 * From Jordan, Israel gains control of the entire western bank of the Jordan River, including parts of Jerusalem previously controlled by Jordan - East Jerusalem, and the West Bank.
 * From Egypt, Israel gains control of the entire Sinai peninsula up to the Suez Canal, and the Gaza strip.
 * From Syria, Israel gains control of most of the Golan Heights, since 1981, administered under the Golan Heights Law.


 * Original Israeli policy at that time was to deny any Jewish settlement of these areas or even Jewish resettlement of specific locations where Jews had resided up until the 1948 Arab-Israeli War (see: List of villages depopulated during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war). Many attempts were made by Gush Emunim to establish outposts or resettle former Jewish areas, and initially the Israeli government forcibly disbanded these settlements. However, in the absence of peace talks to determine the future of these and other occupied territories, Israel ceased the enforcement of the original ban on settlement.


 * The municipal borders of Jerusalem are extended to include all of the Old City as well as other areas. Residents within the new municipal borders are offered the choice between citizenship (subject to a few restrictions) and permanent residency (if they wished to retain their Jordanian passports). This annexation has never been recognized by any other country.


 * The Sinai, Gaza Strip, and West Bank are put under Israeli military occupation. Residents are not offered citizenship or residency, though they typically have de facto work permits within Israel and freedom of travel there.

1978

 * Israel forcibly evacuates its citizens from the Sinai and demolishes their homes as the area is returned to Egypt pursuant to the Camp David Accords. The last Israeli community in the area, Yamit, is evacuated by early 1982.

1980

 * The Knesset asserted Jerusalem's status as the nation's "eternal and indivisible capital" by passing the Jerusalem Law.


 * The UN declared the Jerusalem Law "null and void", and the Security Council in resolution 465 ordered Israel to dismantle the settlements.

1981
December
 * Israel extends its law to the Golan Heights, passing the Golan Heights Law, which grants permanent residency, ID cards, and Israeli citizenship to the residents, but does not formally annex the territory.

2003
April


 * Israel and the Palestinians agree to the Road map for peace plan, in which Israel undertakes to freeze settlement building to accompany unconditional cessation of violence by the Palestinians.

2004

 * The Israeli Government and Parliament approve the evacuation of the Israeli settlements from the Gaza Strip and four settlements from northern Samaria." Nurit Kliot, "Resettlement of Refugees in Finland and Cyprus: A Comparative Analysis and Possible Lessons for Israel", in Arie Marcelo Kacowicz, Pawel Lutomski. Population Resettlement in International Conflicts: A Comparative Study, Lexington Books, 2007, p. 57.

2005
March


 * The Sasson report finds that that Israeli state bodies have been discreetly diverting millions of shekels to build West Bank settlements and outposts that were illegal under Israeli law.

August


 * All settlements in the Gaza Strip and four in the northern West Bank
 * (or northern Samaria)
 * (or northern Samaria)
 * (or northern Samaria)
 * (or northern Samaria)

are forcibly evacuated as part of Israel's unilateral disengagement plan.
 * "Instead, he chose total disengagement from Gaza and the dismantlement of four settlements in northern Samaria." Zvi Shtauber, Yiftah Shapir. The Middle East Strategic Balance 2005-2006, Sussex Academic Press, 2007, p. 123.
 * "Prior to forming his new coalition with the Labor Party, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon strong-armed members of his Likud cabinet to support Labor's idea of unilateral withdrawal from Gaza and four settlements in northern Samaria." Getz, Leonard. "Likudniks Against Sharon: Rebels or Loyalists?", The Jewish Exponent, 01-13-2005.
 * "Understandably so: in the end, the Gaza withdrawal took all of six days while the pullout from four settlements in northern Samaria was accomplished in a single day." Zelnick, Robert. Israel's Unilaterialism: Beyond Gaza, Hoover Press, 2006, p. 157.
 * "The four West Bank settlements that Israel is evacuating are all located in the biblical Land of Israel — territory that observant Jews believe was promised to the Jewish people in the Old Testament. The area of the West Bank, known as northern Samaria, was inhabited by the tribe of Menashe, one of the 10 tribes of Israel that were forced into exile." "Biblical significance of West Bank settlements", International Herald Tribune, August 23, 2005.
 * "Others not only support comprehensive talks but call for abandonment of Israel’s plan to disengage from Gaza and four settlements in northern Samaria." Sofaer, Abraham D. "Disengagement First", Hoover Digest 2005 No. 1, Hoover Institution.
 * "In August 2005, Israel vacated the Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip--mainly in Gush Katif--as well as four settlements in northern Samaria." Inbari, Motti. "Fundamentalism in crisis - the response of the Gush Emunim rabbinical authorities to the theological dilemmas raised by Israel's Disengagement plan", Journal of Church and State, Autumn, 2007.

2007
December


 * Israel decides to build 300 more Israeli homes in the Har Homa neighborhood of East Jerusalem, near Bethlehem. The move was condemned by the United States and the European Union.

2008
March


 * The Jerusalem municipality announces plans to build 600 new housing units in East Jerusalem. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice states in response that settlement expansion should stop and was inconsistent with 'road map' obligations.

2009
June August
 * Us President Barack Obama makes his famous Cairo speech in which he says "The United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements".
 * US President Barack Obama demands a complete freeze on settlement construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The Israeli government agrees to a freeze in the West Bank. Peace Now argues that Israel is attempting to fool the United States. On 25 August 2009 Netanyahu says that he will attempt to gain an agreement with the U.S. to continue building settlements before attempting to talk with the Palestinians. On 28 August 2009 US officials said they would not impose conditions on the parties, but that it would be up to the parties themselves to determine if the threshold for talks had been met.   Education Minister Gideon Sa'ar defended the freeze as an attempt to "protect the vital interests - Jerusalem and the relationship with the United States - and to avoid national isolation, because we won't be able to do the things close to our hearts while under international isolation."

September
 * Hamas leader Khalid Meshaal called Israel's proposal to temporarily halt settlement construction in exchange for improved relations with Arab countries "Dangerous", as he viewed it as an attempt to avoid US demands. The Hamas leader's opposition to the Israeli proposal was supported by Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa.

November
 * The United States government voices their dismay at the approved by the Israel's interior ministry of 900 additional housing units at a Jewish settlement in East Jerusalem. A White House spokesman says the move makes it "more difficult" to revive Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. Settlements on occupied territory are considered illegal under international law, though Israel disputes this and consider Gilo, the planned settlement area "an integral part of Jerusalem".

December
 * The Israeli government orders a 10-month lull in permits for new settlement homes in the West Bank. The restrictions, which Israeli politicians and media have referred to as a "freeze", do not apply to East Jerusalem (whose de facto annexation by Israel is not recognised internationally), municipal buildings, schools, synagogues and other community infrastructure in the settlements. About 3,000 homes already under construction will be allowed to proceed. The Israeli government said the move was aimed at restarting peace talks, but Palestinian officials said it was insufficient. Palestinian officials have refused to rejoin peace talks until a total building halt is imposed, including in East Jerusalem. The announcement followed calls by the US government for a total freeze in settlement building. The US government, the European Union, Russia and the UN have criticized Israel's plans to continue building in East Jerusalem but both the US and the EU have stated that there should be no preconditions for resuming the suspended peace talks.


 * The Gaza war begins.

2010
January March
 * The Gaza war is concluded.
 * Israel announces plans to construct 1600 settler homes in East Jerusalem during United States Vice President Joe Biden's visit to the region. Biden condemns the decision saying "The substance and timing of the announcement, particularly with the launching of proximity talks, is precisely the kind of step that undermines the trust we need . . . and runs counter to the constructive discussions I've had in Israel."