UN condemns, US supports: why is Israel a settlement on the West Bank
The question of the fate of Israeli settlements in the West Bank remains one of the key and most difficult issues in the process of a peaceful settlement between Israel and Palestine. What they are, tells Air force.
Ariel is an Israeli city located in Samaria on the West Bank. Photo: Depositphotos
Most countries at the UN consider settlements illegal under international law, as they are located on lands over which Israel gained control during the 1967 Six Day War.
Israel does not agree, and in November 2019, Donald Trump also announced that the United States considered the settlements legal.
On the subject: US legalizes Israeli settlements on the West Bank
Three million people live in a relatively small area of the West Bank. 86% of them are Palestinians, 14% (427800 people) are Israeli settlers. For the most part, Israelis and Palestinians live in isolation from each other.
Many settlements appeared in the 70s, 80s and 90s. But since the beginning of the 21st century, their population has doubled.
Settlements vary greatly in size: in some, only a few hundred people live. In large numbers, the population reaches tens of thousands.
In 1994, 2400 people lived in the settlement of Modiin Ilit. In 2000, there were 16400, in 2012 - more than 55 thousand.
Today Modiin Ilit is the largest settlement in the West Bank, with 73080 inhabitants.
Shalom Achshav, an NGO that opposes settlements, verified the data.
Trump's plan provides for freezing the construction of new settlements for at least four years.
On the subject: 'This is a historic breakthrough': Trump unveiled a plan to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict
Even if the construction of settlements ceases, existing ones will continue to grow due to the high birth rate.
In Modiin Ilyt, the birth rate is higher than in any city in Israel or in the Palestinian territories. For every woman there are 7,59 children.
Palestinians in the West Bank today have fewer children than ever - an average of 3,2 children per woman.
The consequences of this imbalance will become noticeable not earlier than in one generation.
Settlements are built on lands on which Palestinians are about to create their own state. The Palestinian side claims that this is not possible until all settlements are demolished.
“Two states”: who needs it?
Fewer and fewer people support the idea of two independent states, Jewish and Palestinian, as a way to resolve the Middle East conflict.
In 2006, 71% of Palestinians and 68% of Israelis called themselves proponents of the idea.
In 2018, only 43% of Palestinians and 49% of Israelis spoke in the same spirit.
Among young people, support for the idea of two states is even less. In Israel, they are supported only by 27% of residents aged 18 to 24 years.
Why do Israelis want to live in the West Bank?
Some move to settlements because subsidies from the Israeli government allow them to buy cheaper housing. In settlements, they can afford a higher standard of living.
Others are moving to religious communities. The ultraorthodoxes living in them believe that in the Old Testament God obliged them to inhabit this land. These communities often have large families, and they are usually poorer, so living standards are an important factor in their lives.
But some move for ideological reasons. They believe that they have the right to live in the West Bank, because it is originally Jewish territory.
According to the Shalom Akhshav studies, all three groups of immigrants are approximately equal in number.
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