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This report examines the
humanitarian impact on Palestinians from the ongoing construction of
settlements in the West Bank
and other Israeli infrastructure, such as the Barrier and the roads, that
accompany them. The analysis shows that almost 40% of the West Bank is now taken up by Israeli
infrastructure. It also demonstrates how roads linking settlements to Israel,
in conjunction with an extensive system of checkpoints and roadblocks, have
fragmented Palestinian communities from each other.
The deterioration of socio-economic
conditions in the West Bank
has been detailed in regular OCHA and World Bank reports over the last several
years. These have underlined the fact that freedom of movement for Palestinians
is crucial to improving humanitarian conditions and reviving socio-economic
life. The findings are based on extensive fieldwork combined with spatial
analysis derived from satellite imagery.1 As the maps illustrate, the consequences of settlements and
related infrastructure on Palestinian life are severe, and if current trends
continue, socioeconomic conditions in the West Bank are likely to worsen.
Despite the transfer of Israeli
civilians into occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) being illegal under international
law, the Israeli settler population in the West Bank settlements has continued to grow
steadily by around 5.5% each year. In 2007, approximately 450,000 settlers2 live in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, alongside 2.4 million
Palestinians.
More than 38% of the
West Bank now consists of settlements, outposts, military bases and closed
military areas, Israeli declared nature reserves or other related
infrastructure that are off-limits or tightly controlled to Palestinians. The
settlements and other infrastructure are detailed in
Chapter One. The settlements
are linked to each other and to Israel
by an extensive road network. Palestinians for the most part are either
prevented from using these roads or have only restricted access onto them. The
roads and their restrictions on Palestinian movement are outlined in Chapter
Two. The West Bank
has been dissected into dozens of enclaves by the settlements and related
infrastructure. This fragmentation has negatively affected social and economic
life for the vast proportion of Palestinians. Chapters Three and Four examine
the impact of these restrictions in both urban and rural settings.
Palestinians compete with Israeli
settlers for West Bank
resources, notably limited land and water, while their freedom of access and
movement is denied. These issues, which are directly related to Israeli
settlements and infrastructure, are detailed in the concluding chapter.
To read the report, click here.
Endnotes:
1. OCHA has created a geo-database of Israeli presence in
the West Bank
drawing together a variety of primary resources including satellite imagery,
Israeli topographical maps (Survey of Israel), available Israeli Central Bureau
of Statistics data (ICBS) and Palestinian Ministry of Planning data. For more
details related to methodology please refer to Annex 2.
2. According to the Israeli movement Peace Now
(http://www.peacenow.org.il/site/en/peace.asp?pi=57). However, throughout this
report OCHA cites 2004 population data for the number of Israeli settlers
living in the West Bank as this is the most current available data at the time
the research and writing of this present document were conducted. See Annex 2.
for more details about demographic data contained in this report.
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