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Wednesday, April 20, 2005
B'Tselem calls for evacuation of Jewish Quarter, Ramat Eshkol and French Hill

B'Tselem calls for evacuation of Jewish Quarter, Ramat Eshkol and French
Hill

20 April 2005 Dr. Aaron Lerner

Sarit Michaeli, Press Officer for B'Tselem, confirmed today to IMRA that
when "B'Tselem demands that Israel evacuate the settlements" in their
report, "Land Expropriation and Settlements" (complete text follows), that
this also applies to Jewish neighborhoods beyond the Green Line in
Jerusalem - including the Jewish Quarter in the Old City, Ramat Eshkol and
French Hill. "There is no difference between these neighborhood in east
Jerusalem and the Jewish community in Hebron", Michaeli explained.

Michaeli noted that while B'Tsellem believes all Jewish communities beyond
the Green Line are illegal and demands their evacuation she expects their
disposition ultimately to be handled via negotiations.

B'Tsellem is funded by: British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Christian
Aid (UK), Commission of the European Communities, DanChurchAid (Denmark),
Diakonia (Sweden), Development Coorporation Ireland (DCI), EED (Germany),
Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland, Ford Foundation (USA),
Foundation for Middle East Peace, ICCO (Netherlands), International
Commission of Jurists-Swedish Section, Naomi and Nehemiah Cohen Foundation,
New Israel Fund (Israel), Norwegian Foreign Ministry, Shefa Fund, SIVMO
(Netherlands), Stichting Het Solidaritetsfonds (Netherlands), Trocaire
(Ireland)
www.btselem.org/english/About_BTselem/Donors.asp
====

Land Expropriation and Settlements
www.btselem.org/English/Settlements/Index.asp

Since 1967, Israel has established in the West Bank (including East
Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip 152 settlements that have been recognized by
the Interior Ministry. In addition, dozens of outposts of varying size have
been established. Some of these outposts are settlements for all intents and
purposes, but the Interior Ministry has not recognized them as such.

Israel has established in the Occupied Territories a separation cum
discrimination regime, in which it maintains two systems of laws, and a
person's rights are based on his or her national origin. This regime is the
only of its kind in the world, and brings to mind dark regimes of the past,
such as the Apartheid regime in South Africa.

As part of the regime, Israel has stolen thousands of dunams of land from
the Palestinians, on which it established dozens of settlements in which
hundreds of thousands of Israeli civilians now live. Israel forbids
Palestinian to enter and use these lands, and use the settlements to justify
numerous violations of Palestinian rights, such as the right to housing, to
gain a living, and freedom of movement. The sharp change changes Israel made
to the map of the West Bank makes a viable Palestinian state
impossible as part of the right of the Palestinian people to
self-determination.

The settlers, on the other hand, benefit from all rights given to citizens
of Israel who live inside the Green Line, and in some instances, ever
additional rights. The great effort Israel has expended in the settlement
enterprise - financially, legally, and bureaucratically - has turned the
settlements into civilian enclaves within an area under military rule, and
has given the settlers a preferred status. to perpetuate this unlawful
situation, Israel has continuously violated the Palestinians' human rights.

Especially conspicuous is the Israel's manipulative use of the law to create
a semblance of legality for the settlement enterprise. So long as the
Jordanian law assisted Israel in advancing its goals, it seized the argument
that international law requires that an occupying state apply the law in
effect in the territory prior to occupation, construing international law in
a cynical and
tendentious way. When Jordanian law was unfavorable for Israel, it did not
hesitate to revoke it though military legislation and develop new rules ti
meet its ends. In doing so, Israel tramples on international agreements to
which it is party that are intended to reduce human rights violations and
protect people under occupation.

In that the very establishment of the settlements is illegal, and in light
of the human rights violations resulting from the existence of the
settlements, B'Tselem demands that Israel evacuate the settlements. The
action must be done in a way that respects the settlers' human rights,
including the payment of compensation.

Clearly, evacuation of the settlements will be complex, and will take time.
However, there are intermediate steps that can be taken immediately so as to
reduce, as far as possible, human rights violations and breach of
international law. For example, the government should cease new construction
in the settlements, whether to build new settlements or to expand existing
settlements. It must also freeze the planning and building of new bypass
roads, and must cease expropriating and seizing land intended for the bypass
roads. He government must return to Palestinian villages all the
non-built-up land that was placed within the municipal jurisdiction of the
settlements and the regional councils, eliminate the planning boards in the
settlements, and, as a result thereof, revoke the power of the local
authorities to draw up outline plans and grant building permits. Also, the
government must cease the granting of incentives to encourage Israeli
citizens to move to settlements, and to make resources available to
encourage settlers to move inside Israel's borders.

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