Israeli colony

The Israeli colonies or Jewish colonies indicate communities of settlement established by the State of Israel in the West Bank and to Gaza, territories of the Palestine British agent but which did not form part of the territory under Israeli control at the conclusion of the Israeli-Arab Accords of armistice of 1949.

For the international law, it is a violation of the IVe Geneva Convention. The Israeli government, as for him, refuses the term of “ colonies ” and generally speaks about “ establishments ”. He points out that the Judaea is the cradle of the Judaïsme and that the multi-millenium presence of Jewish communities with Hebron, Jerusalem or in Samarie is attested by the biblical and ancient texts.

These “Israeli” colonies are exclusively populated Jews or people having benefitted from the Loi of the return (whereas in Israel, there is 20% citizens of not-Jewish origin, mainly Arab) and their inhabitants profit from the Israeli citizenship, and certain special fiscal or social advantages.

History

The movement Zionist (see History of the Zionism) asserted, near the power British agent and the international community, a “national hearth Jewish” in Palestine since the congress Zionist of 1905, then more precisely a State on the whole of the Palestine agent since the congress Zionist of Baltimore, in 1942.

In 1947, the movement Zionist however mainly accepts a division in two States: one for the Arabs of Palestine and the other for the Jews of Palestine (47% of Palestine agent for this last, divided into three distinct areas), the zone of Jerusalem obtaining a special international statute. The Arab leaders refuse the creation of these two States and continue an armed struggle on the ground.

In May 1948, with the Declaration of Independence of the State of Israel on the portion of the Palestine agent indicated for a Jewish State by the Plane of division of Palestine of 1947, the Arab armies tackle the young State with an aim of destroying it. At the conclusion of this first armed conflict Israeli-Arab, the Israeli-Arab Accords of armistice of 1949 solidifies the faces of the conflict (leaving 73% of Palestine agent to the Israelis) and do not bring to any peace treaty on final borders recognized by the countries of the area.

In 1956, the international pressures bring back the belligerents of the Crise of Suez Canal to this same green line and does not lead either to agreements on final borders.

After the War the six day old of 1967, Israel preserves the territories conquered on its Arab neighbors:

The period 1967 - 1977

The Israeli government Labor considers the Annexation some of these territories, to constitute buffer zones and to ensure the safety of the Hebrew State. Other zones are intended to be used as currency of exchange within the framework of a future peace with the close Arab States.

The left with the government creates Jewish establishments (still indicated under the name of colonies ) in the occupied territories as of 1968. It targets zones with weak Palestinian populations, which are intended to be annexed according to the Allon plan. These establishments remain however very few.

One also sees appearing, as of first half of the Années 1970, of the illegal colonies (from the Israeli point of view), often organized by the religious nationalist current (but not inevitably by the Parti National Monk itself). This policy of illegal establishments will remain very widespread until in 2005 at the militants of Large Israel, vis-a-vis often passive authorities.

Some of the colonies (wanted by the religious members of the Labor Party or nationalists) were established on sites of old Jewish communities destroyed in 1929 (Hebron) and in 1948 (Gush Etzion).

The period 1977 - 2004

In 1977, the Israeli line (the Likoud) arrives for the first time at the capacity, in alliance with the religious nationalists. She wishes to annex all in the long term the the West Bank and all the Gaza Strip, in the name of the unit of Eretz Israel (ground of Israel in its biblical borders).

The line thus launches out in a program much more ambitious: 50.000 colonists in 1987, before the the First Intifada, 100.000 colonists in 1993, before the Agreements of Oslo, 200.000 colonists in 2000 before the the Second Intifada, 230.000 in 2005. The strongly populated zones of Palestinians are also aimed, not only the empty zones. The Palestinian grounds are largely confiscated, to build military colonies, roads, stations, or simply to avoid Arab constructions.

Two great types of colonies appear:

  • large blocks of colony: strongly populated, generally enough close to the borders of 1949 (renamed “borders of 1967” or “green line”). They are populated commuters of Tel-Aviv or Jerusalem, generally rather on the right, but seldom extremists. It is the case of the laic establishments of Ariel and Ma' ale Adummim or of the ultra-orthodoxe establishments of Betar Illit and Modiin Illit. These colonies are small towns, with populations from 20.000 to 30.000 inhabitants.

  • small ideological colonies, in the depth of the Palestinian territories. They are generally populated very ideological colonists, often of the religious nationalist current, increasingly radical. Some are composed only of some caravans on a top, with populations about ten inhabitants.

For these colonies, it is necessary to add the Jewish districts of Jerusalem-is. After 1967, Israel indeed reunified Jerusalem, against the liking of the inhabitants of the Arab part. The annexed part passes of more than 6 km ² (within its Jordanian limits), to 72 km ², by the annexation of Arab villages and not built zones. Jewish districts are built in the not-populated zones. They count in 2005 approximately 200.000 Jewish inhabitants. A colony like Gilo thus forms part of the municipality of Jerusalem.

In spite of this will of territorial expansion, Israel however signed a peace treaty with Egypt in 1979 (the colonies of the the Sinai were dismantled - to see Yamit), and a peace treaty with Jordan in 1994 (some territories on Eastern bank of the the Jordan returned to Jordanian sovereignty). The borders with these two countries thus are not disputed any more. In the same way, although there is no peace treaty signed with the Lebanon, Israel recognizes the Lebanese border (dispute on the small zone known as of the “ Fermes of Chebaa ”).

The period 2005-2006

Since the war of 1967, the left Zionist (which created the first colonies) indicated that it estimated that the colonies were to remain of number limited, and placed close of the old border to before the war to 1967. Their fear is that colonies too deeply established within the Palestinian zones:

  • makes impossible any peace, and condemns Israel to the permanent war;
  • insulates more and more Israel on the international scene;
  • obliges to annex the whole of the Palestinian territories in the name of the unit of Eretz Israel, and condemns the Jewish majority in Israel (the Arabs would have become majority in Israel + the Palestinian territories in 2005).
The objective of the left is not to give up all the colonies or all the annexations, but to annex the largest colonies of the border zones, where live only little or not Palestinian Arabs.

During years, the line condemned these positions, and wished to annex all the occupied Palestinian territories after the war of 1967. In 2002-2003, in a spectacular reversal, Ariel Sharon, Israeli the Prime Minister and chief of the Likoud (nationalist right) joined in fact to the analysis of the left and announced that the population growth and Arab violence made in practice unfeasible “Large Israel” (including the Palestinian territories). Israel was to thus give up “certain colonies”, to disengage zones of Arab populations.

In 2003, Ariel Sharon announced an integral withdrawal of the Gaza Strip, withdrawal carried out at the summer 2005. Twenty-five colonies were dismantled (including 4 in the West Bank), and 8 to 9.000 colonists had to leave them. The traumatism in the colonists, often resulting from the current religious Zionist was very extremely. But relatively little violence was noted. Likoud burst between partisans (Kadima) and opponents (Likoud) of the withdrawal.

In 2006, the successor of Ariel Sharon, Ehud Olmert (old directing of Likoud passed with Kadima), decided to dismantle certain illegal colonies (built without governmental authorization although for UNO, all the colonies are illegal). The 2006, the colony of Amona was thus evacuated then destroyed, with considerable clashes (250 slightly injureds, 2 low registers). The tension in the colonists (especially religious Zionists) is very large. Thus, the Council of the rabbis of the West Bank published an official statement on February 1st, 2006: “The government issued a war without mercy against Eretz Israel and those which are faithful for him. We must stop by all the means this persecution aiming of the Jews in Judaea - Samarie (the West Bank) or there will be a war”, it informed.

The government did not hide its wish of a continuation of the withdrawals of certain colonies, without defining them in an exact way. In same time, the reinforcement of the large blocks is announced.

An in-depth redefinition (but not an abandonment) of the project of the colonies is thus with work.

At the end of 2006 Olmert Prime Minister of Israel announced in a discussion with journalists, to have given up all unilateral disengagements after the fiasco of Gaza (terrorism largely increased thus giving reason to the extreme right-hand side and the opposite Israeli right-hand side as of the beginning with this starting form. )

According to a thorough study of the organization Peace Now carried out in November 2006, 38,8% of the colonies of the West Bank were established on Palestinian private grounds. These figures are disputed by the leaders of the colonies and the military administration.

Jewish colonies of settlement - political debate

Certain numbers of topics are evoked on both sides:

  • the Palestinians allege that the policy of the colonies constitutes an effort to adapt territories or to even sabotage a peace treaty which would include the Palestinian sovereignty, and which the colonies themselves are a ground flight which belongs to the Palestinians.
  • UNO, the various European governments, an Israeli minority, and much of ONG look at colonies in order to little close similar, alleging that they violate the international law while making the life difficult for Palestinians in the sectors concerned.
  • the religious Zionists affirm that the whole of Eretz Israel belongs of right to the Jews, for historical and religious reasons (" Grounds given by God "). To build colonies, it is to obey the orders of God, to dismantle them is thus a revolt against God.
  • Certain laic Zionists, especially on the right, consider that Eretz Israel belongs of right to the Jews, but more for historical reasons that religious.
  • Beaucoup of Israelis alleges that the colonies have an strategic importance and tactic, disturbing the activities of Arab terrorism. In addition, they make it possible to offer space necessary to accommodate the new Jews immigrant.
  • the surveys show into 2005 that many Israelis consider that the small in-depth colonies established within the Arab populations pose too many sedentary problems (difficulty them of defending and permanent provocation against the Palestinians). They also consider that to preserve the territories where these colonies are implies to preserve territories where several million Arabs is, who endanger the Jewish majority in Israel. For these two reasons (sedentary and demographic), this trend of public opinion shows rather favorable to dismantling small colonies. But the attachment with the large blocks of colony remains also majority.

Since 1967, the problem took a new form with the Palestinian claims on the Israeli territories managed since 1967 of the Gaza Strip, of the the West Bank and of Jerusalem-Is. These claims took the form of Palestinian political violences then of negotiations with the State of Israel during the israélo-Palestinian Peace process since 1991. Jordan withdrew all its claims on the West Bank and Jerusalem-Is.

Jewish colonies of settlement - situation legal

In right, the colonies of settlement are illegal. The International Court of Justice confirmed the illegality of these colonies, which violate Article 49,6 of IVe Geneva Convention: “ the occupying Power will not be able to carry out the deportation or the transfer of part of its own civil population on the occupied territory by it . ”

Moreover, Article 8,2, B, viii of the Statute of Rome of the International penal court défine “ the transfer, direct or indirect, by an occupying power of part of its civil population, in the territory which it occupies ” like a War crime. Israel did not ratify the Statute.

Without distinguishing those which were new or restored (Hebron or Gush Etzion), the Safety advice of the United Nations and the General meeting condemned several Israel times for the construction and the enlarging of these colonies.

In spite of that and certain internal judgments of these colonies, Israel affirms that construction would be legal under the terms of the International law, because Israel denies that there is Occupation. One must however note that the Supreme court of Israel judged in June 2005 that neither the the West Bank nor Gaza belonged to the national territory.

Point of view of the international community

The Résolution 242 (1967) of the United Nations requires of Israel to withdraw “occupied territories” (French official version) or “from occupied territories” (English official version). Moreover, article 35 of the charter of the United Nations prohibits any modification of the borders by the force. According to this Resolution, the occupation itself is illegal; colonization is in all the cases, whatever the nature of the occupation.

Even if the fixing of the borders were not made by UNO in 1949, but by the lines of cease-fire born of the war, UNO thus regards these lines as constitutive of the borders in fact, subject to modifying agreements between the parts.

Concerning the colonies themselves, the fourth Geneva Convention 1949 prohibits the establishment of new populations in a territory conquered following a conflict (Article 49: “ the occupying Power will not be able to carry out the transfer of part of its civil population in the occupied territory by it ”). What founds the judgment of the Israeli colonies by UNO. See occupied Palestinian Territories - IVe Geneva Convention.

The president George W. Bush incited in 2005 the Palestinians to accept certain modifications of the borders, to allow the large blocks of colony Jewish to remain in Israel.

Israeli point of view

Palestine agent was intended as a whole by a mandate of SDN of 1922 to constitute a “Jewish national hearth”.

The Plan of division of Palestine of 1947 was made null and void by its Arab refusal. There are thus no internal borders fixed inside old Palestine agent.

As there is no peace treaty governing the borders of Israel relating to the West Bank, Gaza, and Golan, Israel thus proclaims that the lines of armistice (known under the name of the Green line) of 1949 do not have any constraining legal status.

The conclusion of these three points (heritage of the mandate, Arab refusal of the division, absence of international treaty defining the borders) is that Israel can annex whole or part (according to the governments) territories occupied in 1967.

Although all the sectors in question were captured by Israel during the war of 1967, Israel precise which they are included in three different categories:

  • Jerusalem in the beginning was considered like international sector under the administration of UNO in the plan of 1947. Its annexation by Israel and its incorporation within the municipal limits of Jerusalem reflect the unilateral abandonment of the plan by the Arab part.
  • the Golan would have been yielded illegally by the the United Kingdom to the mandate French of the Syria and is thus annexed by Israel, without damage of a future peace treaty with Syria.
  • As long as the Egypt and the Jordan occupied Gaza and the the West Bank , it had no project there to create a Palestinian State. It is the proof of the abandonment by all, including the Arab part, of the plan of division of 1947. Taking into account the abandonment of the plan of division, these territories can be legitimately asserted by Israel.

It should be noted that these arguments are as well advanced by the partisans of restricted annexations as of integral annexations.

Point of view of the Arab countries and the Palestinian Authority

In the beginning, the point of view of the Arab countries is rather similar to the Israeli point of view: it there does not have a legal border and legitimates intern in old Palestine agent, in his borders of 1922. This refusal is on the other hand interpreted in a direction aiming to the destruction of the State of Israel.

As from 1977, Egypt adopts the position of UNO, followed by the majority of the Arab countries and the Palestinian Autorité in the Années 1990. This acceptance of the borders of 1949 inevitably does not mean the end of the state of war, taking into account the Israeli Occupation of the the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

See too

Israel

Israeli-Arab and “israélo-Palestinian” Conflict

Palestine (area, terminology, general history)

Palestine (Arab)

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