Once again the disputes emerged on Israeli settlements.

My dear friends,

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aarana.

Dear friend aarana,
Thanks for the coment.
yours sincereely,
sonalbenanilkumarrana.

I'm sorry, what exactly are Israeli settlements? And what exactly are the job creation schemes? And just to clarify, Israel opposes Israeli settlements, and Washington disapproves of Israel's disapproval? I'm confused! Sorry, can you explain this article a little more please?

Settlements are exactly what they sound like. They are residential and housing/farming schemes that are built on land that is in the West Bank. There used to be settlements in Gaza but they were removed by Ariel Sharon in 2007.

Many of the settlements are built on land that used to be owned by Palestinians, but since they cannot show legal deed for the land it is occupied and turned into settlements. The West Bank is supposed to be under the PA, but effectively the Israeli Army controls it.

The settlements are a sticking point between Palestinians and Israelis, the latter saying some at least must remain (which is reasonable given their longevity) while the former say new building must stop (which is reasonable given the new ones are illegal).

The idea is that for a viable Palestinian state, the land of the west Bank needs to be as large as it is, or it will never be large enough for the population o sustain itself. Also any new settlements violate the terms of the 1993 Oslo accords.

According to the Annapolis road-map set out by Bush, halting settlement activity is a condition for the Israeli side.

There are, however, people in Israel who believe all the land till the Jordan river belongs to Israel and want to occupy it. They constitute much of the support for the current government.

The settlements are usually filled with hardcore Zionists. The Israeli Supreme Court often rules that certain settlements are illegal, but the government tends to overturn that. In order for their to be a two state solution, the settlements need to stop to leave enough land for a Palestinian state alongside Israel.

Hope that helps.

Very very very helpful, thank you!

So basically there is a contradiction in the expanding of these settlements -- the need to make the land on the west bank as large as possible to sustain the population, but the illegality and violation of political terms in having these settlements to begin with. How are these settlements illegal and how do they violate the Oslo Accords?

Also, the land used to be owned by Palestinians, but now it has been turned into settlements and which peopel occupy it now? Though the Israeli Army controls it, who actually owns it? Palestinians and that's why Israelis are upset because they believe all land up until the Jordan River should belong to Israel?

And lastly, when the settlements stop multiplying, how will this leave enough land for a Palestinian state? Because I thought the land of the west bank needs to be increased "for a viable Palestinian state"?

Thanks again! I really appreciate you explaining this controversy more in depth for me and others to understand more.

My dear friend Changez,
Thanks for your comment.You are ossesing very good knowledge.As I have proud of you.

Yours,
sonalbenanilkumarrana.

My dear friend aquamarina217,
Settlements mean residantal small homes and to provide the job to them by job creation schemes.
Thanks.
Yours,
aarana.

I'm sorry but this statement is quite inaccurate - the settlements are fair from being 'residential small homes,' but are actually towns which in some cases (such as Ariel and Ma'ale Adumim) house tens of thousands of people. There are now hundreds of thousands of Israelis living in settlements on illegally confiscated Palestinian land in the West Bank, and there are also large industrial and agricultural settlements - industrial examples include Barkan and Mishor Adumim, and agricultural settlements are largely spread along the Jordan Valley. In both examples thousands of Palestinian labourers have their workers' rights abused by being paid less than the legal minimum wage and being subjected to unsafe and sometimes abusive conditions. For more information see http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10492.shtml, http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article9347.shtml and http://www.kavlaoved.org.il/section_eng.asp?pid=195

Quick clarifying queston --
So both Israelis and Palestinians live on this land, on these settlements, but the Palestinians are imposed as laborers who are kept under the cruel, watchful eyes of who exactly -- the ones that pay them less than the legal minimum wage are who? And is the reason that they want the Palestinians out of this land even though it is, as you say, Palestinian land that was illegally confiscated?

My dear friend aquamarima217 and aarana,
Thanks for your comments.
Yours,
sonalbenanilkumarrana.

My dear friend sonalbenanilkumarrana,
Your Israeli news are always very interesting and sticky.
Please just keep it up.
Yours,
aarana.

My dear friend aarana,
Please,keep yourself attached, with my next coming Political news.
Have a good day.
Yours,
sonalbenanilkumarrana.

Im sorry but I'm also confused! The Israeli government doesn't want to move Israelis to settlement?

There are two separate areas of territory.One is the state of Israel, formed in 1948.The second is the West Bank, land largely lived on by Palestinians, either those whose familes have been there for generations or Palestinians whose families were forced out of the land that it now Israel in 1948, who live in refugee camps.In 1967 Israel also occupied the West Bank after the Six Day War. If a Palestinian state is ever to be allowed by the international community, this would be the main piece of land it would be on.The Israeli Settlements are towns being built illegally (according to international law) in the West Bank, ie they are not in Israel. They are used as an effort by Israel to expropriate land which would be part of a Palestinian state to make this unworkable and as a way of taking further control over Palestinian land and water.The current US government is trying, not very hard, to stop Israel building more settlements, as building more settlements is a clear indication that Israel has no interest in any just peace in Palestine, as it is a way of taking more and more land which it will then refuse to leave.There are two main types of people in the settlements: some are religious zealots who want to make all of the area part of Israel, and some are people who are attracted by the good houses, schools, jobs and tax breaks offered by the Israeli government if they move into the more institional settlements.

This is the clearest explanation I've read yet, thanks!!

I think it is very sad that Israel is slowly trying to take land away from the Palestinians and render them landless. But if it is already illegal for Israelis to build these settlements, I think Palestinians have an advantage to garner the support of larger, more stable countries. It is interesting that current US government is not putting as much effort in stopping this injustice, and I remember something about US and Israel relations being rickety and delicate and about how US doesn't want to make the wrong move and have Israel misunderstand the US's allegiance. Is that why?

I also don't think we can much blame the Israelis who are inhabiting the West Bank because they are only trying to survive -- at least, the people who are eager to accept good housing, schools and jobs. The "religious zealots", however, are showing the stubborn side of many uncompromising Israelis. It's depressing to see that after all these efforts at peace reconciliations, the debate is still raging as strong as ever.