Jerusalem – The European Union’s move to label goods produced in Israeli settlements is the latest expression of international disapproval of one of the country’s most controversial policies.
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The Palestinians view Jewish settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem as a major obstacle to reaching any two-state solution, saying they carve up lands expected to form a future Palestinian state. Virtually the entire international community, including the United States, views the settlements as illegal or illegitimate.
Israel has long dismissed the criticism, saying most settlement growth is in areas it expects to keep in any future peace agreement and that the issue should be resolved in peace talks along with other core issues like security and borders. Many Israelis want to keep the West Bank and east Jerusalem — territories captured from Jordan in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war — citing security concerns as well as the deep religious significance of the territories for devout Jews.
The settlements are now home to more than 570,000 Israelis, according to the Israeli anti-settlement watchdog Peace Now. They range from small wildcat outposts on West Bank hilltops to fully developed towns with shopping malls, schools and suburban homes. Many Israelis choose to live in settlements for economic and quality-of-life reasons.
Some 2.2 million Palestinians live in the West Bank, with another 300,000 in east Jerusalem.
The European Union’s decision Wednesday to begin labeling products originating in the settlements has infuriated Israel, which says the move is unfair and discriminatory, and has linked it to a growing international boycott movement.
A look at the growth of Israeli settlements over the years:
— In 1972 there were just over 10,000 Israeli settlers, with 1,500 living in the West Bank and the rest in east Jerusalem.
— Twenty years later, ahead of the Oslo peace accords between Israel and the Palestinians, there were 231,200 Israelis living in the territories, with 105,400 in the West Bank and 125,800 in east Jerusalem.
— At the end of 2000, when the second Palestinian uprising began, over 365,000 Israelis lived in the territories with more than 198,000 in the West Bank and some 167,000 in east Jerusalem.
— In 2008, the year before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took office, over 474,000 Israelis were living in the two territories, with about 281,000 in the West Bank and some 193,000 in east Jerusalem.
— Some 570,700 settlers now live in the territories, according to the latest Peace Now figures from the end of 2014, with 370,700 in the West Bank and 200,000 in east Jerusalem.
Kayn yirbu
I get sick every time I hear about people talking about peace and a two state solution are people dreaming you have people going around stabbing other people and saying clearly they want everyone dead and in the ocean these animals couldn’t have made it more clearly that I has nothing to do about land making a states it’s about killing innocent people yet the world still talks about is if these people are normal human beings to have normal dialogue is the hate so bad towards Israel I guess so.moshiac now
Peace now is a nieve organization, there never will be peace between Jews and the Arabs so whats the point of giving away our land
Yes our land all of Israel belogs to us and no one has any right to give it away! So instead of wasting time and following your fake unrealistic dreams do something useful like solve world hunger ….oh wait that’s also a false hope
Get a real job
וכאשר יענו אתו כן ירבה וכן יפרץ
Baruch HaShem
B’Chasday Hashem, if you look carefully at the population numbers… we are going in the right direction!!!
It is unfortunate that lately “news” has become opinion on this media.
You notice they never talk about Arab growth inside the phony Green Line. The hypocrite anti-semites take no such action against any other country in the world and there are many who are actually doing real illegal actions.
Just because an anti-semitic and fearful world says something is illegal, doesn’t make it so and it is easy to prove them wrong, though truth matters nothing to them.
According to the blatant liars, Peace Now, we Jews are monsters. We should all go back to the gas chambers and quit k’vetching.
Really, this is our land not theirs. The Pals did not live up to any one of the agreements that they made, so tell them to F#
%^ off….
If the Zionists would stop talking and giving the world wouldve forgotten the word “occupied” long ago you dont hear Russia being told to return Kalinigrad nor Turkey Cyprus bec. those two with strong leaders and sure ideaologies (unlike Zionism) say what I won is mine end of story.
Notice they did not include numbers from BEFORE JORDAN INVADED!
Which brings to the second point, that the 1967 “arab-Israeli” war was against Jordan, Syria and Egypt and had nothing to do with Palestine because Palestine never existed!
they can build all the settlements they want but anyone buying a home in these locations should be required to watch a video of the extremists of gush katif being dragged out of their homes by the security forces when Gaza was returned to the Palestinians. Clearly, some of these so-called settlements will have to be abandoned in the future when there is some type of two-state long term agreement as Netanyahu reiterated on Tuesday in Washington after his meeting with Obama. if new residents don’t mind being the fodder for another Gush Katif and knowingly assume the risk, then certainly let them set themselves and their children up for the same miserable ending.