Beginning immediately after Israel’s victory in the Six Day War of 1967, settler groups began constructing illegal outposts in the occupied Palestinian territories (oPt) of East Jerusalem, West Bank, and Gaza. Many of these outposts have grown into the settlements of today. While all attempts to change the demography of occupied territories is illegal under international law, settlements receive Israeli state resources and have recognized municipal governments. Outposts, on the other hand, are established by private individuals without Israeli government approval. Though Israel withdrew 8,000 settlers from Gaza in 2005, the settler population has doubled since 1993. As of 2015, 386,000 settlers are living in the West Bank and 208,000 are living in East Jerusalem. It has been the historic policy of every U.S. administration since 1967 to oppose the existence of settlements and their expansion. Affirming the position taken by the United Nations Human Rights Council, CMEP considers both state-approved settlements and renegade outposts to be illegal under international law in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention and maintains that their existence and continued expansion impede efforts to establish a comprehensive peace agreement between the state of Israel and the Palestinians (see CMEP Policy Position 4).
Map of Settlements and Settlement Blocs in the West Bank
(Sources: Settlement Data–B’tselem (2015); Demolition Data–ICAHD (2017))
Israeli Settlements: 142
West Bank: 127
East Jerusalem: 15
Israeli Settlers: 594,000
West Bank: 386,000
East Jerusalem: 208,000
Demolition Orders Issued: 16,085 (since 1988)
Homes Demolished: 48,743 (since 1967)
Population growth within both Israeli settlements and Palestinian villages exacerbates tensions over the allocation of land and resources in the West Bank. Palestinian villages located in Area C of the West Bank (the areas of the West Bank that are still under full Israeli administrative and security control according to the Oslo Peace Accords) must apply to Israeli authorities for building permits. About 60 percent of all West Bank land falls under this category. Within the last decade, only 1.5 percent of these applications were approved. Consequently, almost all Palestinian new construction occurs without the required permits. Structures built without permits can be demolished by the Israeli military. The construction of the Separation Barrier and the restrictions on movement that it creates, prevents Palestinians in the West Bank from maintaining their land on the Israeli-controlled side of the wall. After laying uncultivated for three years, these lands can become Israeli state land under the Absentee Property Law of 1950.
The government of Israel officially annexed East Jerusalem in 1980, a little of over a decade after the municipal governments merged in 1967. Since 1967, Israelis have established a dozen major settlements (referred to as ‘neighborhoods’ by Israeli media) within the portion of Jerusalem falling east of the 1948 Green Line. Zoning maps of East Jerusalem designate 40 percent of the city as green space, limiting the ability of Palestinian neighborhoods to expand. Today, Palestinians in East Jerusalem, who make up 60 percent of the city’s population, live in neighborhoods accounting for only 13 percent of land. The housing density in these neighborhoods is almost double that of Israeli areas. An estimated one in three Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem are built without a legal permit placing 90,000 people at risk of displacement.
Khan al-Ahmar is one of a dozen Bedouin communities that lie between Jerusalem and the Israeli settlement of Kfar Adumim. Khan al-Ahmar sits at a crossroads in the E1 area between Kfar Adumim and the jobs in the Jerusalem area where most of its settlers work, and for more than a decade, Israel has been trying to evict its residents. Between 2006 and 2018, the Israel Defense Force’s Civil Administration has demolished 26 homes in Khan al-Ahmar, leaving 132 people homeless.
Since March 5, 2017, the village has been fighting a prolonged legal battle with the IDF Civil Administration, which issued demolition orders for the entire village, including a mosque and school. In May 2018, Israel’s High Court rejected the Khan al-Ahmar residents’ petition against the demolition orders, and it approved state plans to demolish the village and relocate residents to al-Eizariya on the opposite side of Maale Adumim. The Court heard a new petition from residents in August 2018 and asked both sides to settle, but ultimately determined the May ruling to be conclusive.
The European Parliament, International Criminal Court, Jewish community and religious leaders in the US, and various human rights organizations responded with statements against the demolition, deeming it a violation of international law. In October 2018, the Israeli government announced the village’s demolition would be delayed until the 2019 elections concluded, and a new government was put into place. There were ultimately three elections, the third took place in March 2020, and ultraright parties in Israel made an election issue of promising to finish the demolition that PM Netanyahu put off under European and ICC pressure.
While the Civil Administration has been rigorously demolishing any new structures in the area since September 2019, it has left Khan al-Ahmar alone so long as new structures are not built there. As of July 2020, the full-village demolition ordered by the court in 2018 has yet to take place, and the future of the village remains uncertain.
Khan al-Ahmar is home to the Jahalin Bedouin tribe. Although originally from the Negev Desert, the Jahalin were forcibly relocated to the then Jordanian-controlled West Bank by the Israeli military in 1951. The Jahalin leased Khan al Ahmar’s land from a Palestinian living in Anata. Israel took over the West Bank in the 1967 war, and in 1975 expropriated the land where Khan al-Ahmar sits, making it Israeli state land zoned for an industrial zone of the Maale Adumim settlement. The Israeli authorities have always denied the village permits for building and basic utilities, including water, electricity, and sewage, forcing the residents to live in squalid conditions. Israeli courts have ruled that the residents must leave because the village was constructed without permits, although the Fourth Geneva Convention states that the destruction of civilian homes in territory occupied through war constitutes a war crime “unless the security of the civilians involved or imperative military reasons so demand.”
Israel Postpones Eviction of West Bank Bedouin Village of Khan Al-Amar until December, Haaretz, June 2019
The Demolition of Khan Al-Amar would have Disastrous Consequences, Delegation of France, September 2018
Khan Al-Ahmar: Israel Court approves demolition of Bedouin Village, BBC, September 2018
Israel delays Palestinian Village Khan al Ahmar Demolition Order, Al Jazeera, October 2018
Khan Al-Ahmar: School is Out, DCI Palestine, February 2014
Located southwest of Bethlehem, the village of Wadi Foquin was reestablished in 1972 after being deserted for 18 years. During the first Arab-Israeli War of 1948, Israeli soldiers ordered the evacuation of Palestinians from Wadi Foquin. The village was completely demolished in 1954 and remained vacant until Israel permitted the displaced villagers to return in 1972. Since then, the growing Israeli settlement of Betar Illit has competed with Wadi Foquin for resources. Cut off by checkpoints and settler-only roads, Wadi Foquin’s land has steadily shrunk since 1987. It is estimated that since 1948 the village has lost 75 percent of its farmland. Untreated wastewater from the nearby settlement discharges directly into the villagers’ farmland, creating a public health and environmental nightmare. Currently Betar Illit is home to 50,000 Israeli settlers, and development plans indicate that the settlement is anticipated to grow to 100,000 by 2020. This expansion would further reduce the land available for development in Wadi Foquin.
Friends of Wadi Foquin
“The United Methodist Church, through its General Board of Global Ministries (GBGM), supports a community development project in the Palestinian village of Wadi Foquin. The church’s involvement began in 2009 with modest fundraising for beehives to help offset damage inflicted on agricultural life by the nearby Israeli settlement of Betar Illit. The project was initiated by Buena Vista United Methodist Church in Alameda, Calif., with help from Janet Lahr Lewis, then UMC Liaison to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Trinity United Methodist Church, Berkeley Methodist United Church, other San Francisco Bay Area churches, and community members have joined the partnership since then, and a new project has been added every year. Operating under the name Friends of Wadi Foquin, the organization has worked to provide financial assistance for projects supporting the economic survival of the village, made annual visits to Wadi Foquin, and—as the village has come under increasing threat from settlement expansion—advocated for its survival on Capitol Hill. The Cal-Nevada Israel-Palestine Task Force of the United Methodist Church has also provided support for the partnership.” Learn More
Susya was a quiet, out-of-the-way Palestinian village of 350 residents in the South Hebron hills prior to the discovery of a historic Jewish synagogue nearby. Since 1983 the archaeological site has drawn Israeli settlers who wished to be near this historic place of worship. To accommodate the expansion of this settlement, the Ministry of Defense has demolished Susya three times. After each demolition the villagers have requested permits to rebuild their community, but they have always been denied. Not wanting to abandon their homes, the residents of Susya have rebuilt their community anyway. But the village lacks basic utilities and access to healthcare and education. Once again in 2016, the Israeli Ministry of Defense issued demolition orders for Susya. International intervention stalled the process, beginning a prolonged legal battle which continues to this day. Members of the United States Congress have taken an active role, asking the State Department to intervene in order to halt the impending demolition. Between July and December of 2017, eleven members of congress and ten senators sent a total of five letters of petition to the State Department and government of Israel. In November 2017, the Israeli High Court issued its final ruling against Susya. The demolition of seven of the village’s twenty structures began on February 1, 2018. The future of the remainder of the village is uncertain.
CMEP letter to President Obama on Settlements
“Your administration insists that the only acceptable resolution to this conflict is a two-state solution. Yet, negotiations about territory cannot continue with integrity while one party continues absorbing the territory of the other. We urge your administration, therefore, to make clear that the U.S. views Israeli settlements in occupied Palestine not merely as “illegitimate” and “foolish,” as it has already said, but also “illegal.” Read More
Israeli Demolition Orders Against Palestinian Structures in Area C (1987-2016) [OCHA, 2016]
Interactive graphic showing demolition orders by year in each Area C West Bank municipality. Detailed information is available on the status of demolition orders in each community. View
Israeli Settlements in West Bank by Population Size
An interactive map of the West Bank showing Israeli settlements and their respective populations. View
Israeli Settlements in the West Bank by Religiosity
An interactive map of the West Bank classifying Israeli settlements according to their religiosity (Haredi, National Religious, Secular, or mixed) View
Israeli settlements grew on Obama’s watch. They may be poised for a boom on Trump’s [Washington Post, 2017]
“As the parched beige hilltops fill with red-tiled homes, decades of international efforts to achieve a two-state solution are unraveling. And global condemnations notwithstanding, the trend is poised to accelerate.” Read More
How Many Settlers Really Live the West Bank? [Haaretz, 2017]
“The Jewish population in the West Bank has increased by more than 330,000 people and eight settlements have been built in the West Bank over the past three decades. More than 380,000 settlers currently live in the West Bank, over 40 percent of them outside the settlement blocs, Haaretz has found.” Read More
Weekly Settlement Reports [Foundation for Middle East Peace]
Week-by-week updates on settlement construction and the activities of settlers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Read More
Changes in Israel: Background and U.S. Relations in Brief [Every CRS Report, 2018]
This page shows textual changes in the Congressional Research Service’s report on U.S.-Israeli relations between the two versions published in December 2017 and February 2018. Significantly, the 2018 report does not include a section on the impact of Israeli settlements on relations with the United States as the 2017 report does. Read More
The Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions, Mar. 2018] “February has seen widespread demolitions and confiscations in the occupied West Bank (including East Jerusalem) with Israeli authorities demolishing 37 structures, displacing 44 people, including 24 children, and affecting a further 211 people…In the Naqab desert, South Israel, the unrecognized Bedouin village Al Araqib was demolished for the 125th time, and in Lod, central Israel a house was demolished displacing a family. All the incidents occurred on the grounds of lack of an Israeli-issued building permit.” Read More
Acting the Landlord: Israel’s Policy in Area C, West Bank [B’tselem, 2013]
A report on Israeli administrative policies in Area C of the West Bank with a specific focus on settlement expansion, housing demolitions, and Palestinian displacement in the South Hebron Hills, Jordan Valley, and in the vicinity of Ma’ale Adumin. Read More
Fourth Geneva Convention
“Individual or mass forcible transfers, as well as deportations of protected persons from occupied territory to the territory of the Occupying Power or to that of any other country, occupied or not, are prohibited, regardless of their motive…The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies.” Read More
UNSCR 446 (March 22, 1979)
“Calls once more upon Israel, as the occupying power, to scrupulously abide by the Fourth Geneva Convention…And in particular not to transfer parts of its own population into the occupied Arab territories.” Read More
UNSCR 452 (July 20, 1979)
“Calls upon the government and people of Israel to cease, on an urgent basis, the establishment, construction, and planning of settlements in Arab territories occupied since 1967, including Jerusalem.” Read More
UNSCR 465 (March 1, 1980)
“Calls upon all States not to provide Israel with any assistance to be used specifically in connection with settlements in occupied territories.” Read More
UNSCR 471 (June 5, 1980)
“Calls again upon Israel to respect and comply with the provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention…as well as the relevant resolutions of the Security Council. Calls again upon States not to provide Israel with any assistance to be used specifically in connection with settlements in occupied territories.” Read More
UNSCR 476 (June 30, 1980)
“Reaffirms that all legislative and administrative actions taken by Israel, the occupying power, which purport to alter the status of the Holy City of Jerusalem have no legal validity and constitute a flagrant violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention…” Read More
Statements from U.S. Government Officials
Every U.S. president since Jimmy Carter has expressed varying degrees of opposition to Israeli settlement expansion, but in practice, none has taken concrete measures to ensure a cessation of building in West Bank and East Jerusalem. Read More
Every U.S. president since Jimmy Carter has expressed varying degrees of opposition to Israeli settlement expansion, but in practice, none have taken concrete measures to ensure a cessation of building in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Every U.S. president since Jimmy Carter has expressed varying degrees of opposition to Israeli settlement expansion, but in practice, none have taken concrete measures to ensure a cessation of building in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The following timeline shows how U.S. policy on settlements has developed since the Carter Administration, focusing on international diplomacy, congressional actions, and official presidential statements.
Carter Administration (1977-1981)
Number of Settlements in 1977: 20
Settler Population: 4,400*
Sept. 1978-Mar. 1979: At the Camp David Accords, Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, Egyptian President Anwar al-Sadat, and U.S. President Jimmy Carter agree to a “Framework for Peace in the Middle East,” which calls for a freeze on Israeli settlement construction
Jun. 1980: At a question-and-answer session with the American Jewish Press Association, President Carter calls Israeli settlements illegal and “contrary to the Geneva Convention, that occupied territories should not be changed by the establishment of permanent settlements by the occupying power.”
Reagan Administration (1981-1989)
Number of Settlements in 1981: 68
Settler Population: 16,200*
Sept. 1982: Addressing the nation on U.S. Policy for Peace in the Middle East, President Reagan calls for a settlement freeze to jump-start the peace negotiation process following Israel’s invasion of Lebanon. He stresses that “settlement activity is in no way necessary for the security of Israel and only diminishes the confidence of the Arabs that a final outcome can be freely and fairly negotiated.”
Aug. 1983: President Reagan backpedals away from usage of the term “illegal” to describe settlements, but nevertheless still asserts that they are an “obstacle to peace” in his Radio Address to the Nation on the Situation in the Middle East.
Dec. 1987: U.S. abstains from U.N. Security Council vote, allowing passage of UNSCR 605 which reaffirms that Israeli settlements are in violation of Fourth Geneva Convention.
George Bush Sr. Administration (1989-1993)
Number of Settlements in 1989: 115
Settler Population: 187,900
Jun. 1990: President Bush in a press conference with Mikhail Gorbachev reaffirms that U.S. policy on settlements has not changed under his administration, “We oppose new settlements in territories beyond the 1967 lines—settlements [are] contrary to the United States policy.”
Oct. 1991: Following the First Intifada negotiations between Palestinians and Israel begin in Madrid. President Bush negotiates an end of the Arab boycott of Israel in exchange for a freeze on Israeli settlement construction.
Nov. 1991: After evidence that Israeli settlement construction continued unabated, President Bush pressures Congress to withhold $10 billion in loan guarantees.
Jul. 1992: Bowing to domestic political pressure, Bush allows $ 10 billion loan to Israel to continue with annual deductions taken for the amount Israel sent in new settlement construction (roughly $250 million a year).
Clinton Administration (1993-2001)
Number of Settlements in 1993: 120
Settler Population: 257,700
Sept. 1993-Sept. 1995: Oslo Accords between Israel and Palestine make settlements a “final status issue” to be resolved at a later date. In the meantime, the status quo is to be preserved.
Nov. 1993: State Department authorizes additional $500 million in NATO military aid for Israel to offset annual deductions in US aid for settlement construction.
Jul. 1996: At a press conference with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, President Clinton urges Israel to await the outcome of the Oslo Peace Process before taking unilateral action on settlements, “The settlement issue under the Oslo Accords is a matter for determination between the parties as we move to the end of the negotiations. And we have encouraged everyone not to do anything which would weaken the chances of peace.”
Mar. 1997: U.S. vetoes UN Security Council Resolution 199 declaring Israeli settlements in violation of Fourth Geneva Convention.
Jul. 2000: At Camp David II, Israel insists on retaining 69 of its West Bank settlements. The peace process initiated at Oslo breaks down.
Jan. 2001: President Clinton calls continued settlement construction “inconsistent with the Oslo commitment” made by Israel.
George W. Bush Administration (2001-2009)
Number of Settlements in 2001: 123
Settler Population: c. 370,000**
Jun. 2002: President Bush lays out a “Roadmap to Peace” setting out a series of steps for establishing a Palestinian state that includes a cessation of settlement construction.
Nov. 2003: U.S. votes in favor of UNSCR 1515, which endorses a complete settlement freeze as part of the Roadmap to Peace.
Apr. 2004: In a private letter to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, President Bush assures him that major settlements close to the Green Line will become part of Israel and that new construction to accommodate natural growth in these settlements is permissible.
Jan. 2008: President Bush on his visit to Israel tells Prime Minister Ehud Olmert “Outposts, yeah, they ought to go.”
Obama Administration (2009-2017)
Number of Settlements in 2009: 121
Settler Population: c. 485,000**
May 2009: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stresses that a “settlement freeze” must be defined in the broadest sense, “We want to see a stop to settlement construction, additions, natural growth — any kind of settlement activity.”
Jun. 2009: President Obama in Cairo reiterates that, “the United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements” and calls for a freeze in settlement construction.
Nov. 2013: During attempt to revive the Palestinian-Israeli peace process, Secretary of State John Kerry refers to Israeli settlements as “illegitimate. ”
Number of Settlements in 2015: 127
Settler Population: 588,100
Dec. 2016: U.S. abstains from vote on UNSCR 2334 declaring that Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem and West Bank “have no legal validity.”
Jan. 2017: President Obama warns that Israeli settlements are making a two-state solution impossible, “Increasingly what you are seeing is that the facts on the ground are making it almost impossible, at least very difficult, and if this trendline continues – impossible, to create a contiguous, functioning Palestinian state”
Trump Administration (2017-present)
Feb. 2017: In a press statement, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer rejects view that settlements are an obstacle to peace but notes that they “may not be helpful in achieving that goal.”
Feb. 2017: President Trump cautions Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the prudence of settlement construction, “I’d like to see you hold back on settlements for a little bit.”
*Data on settlers in East Jerusalem unavailable for these years.
**Data for East Jerusalem settler population approximate for these years.
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