APN Research Center
Student Advocacy Resources
Israeli Settlements
Israel began establishing civilian communities in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Golan Heights, and Sinai Peninsula after capturing these territories in the 1967 war. Israel withdrew from Sinai in 1982 as part of its obligations under the 1979 Israel-Egypt peace agreement. Israel unilaterally withdrew from the Gaza Strip in 2005. The issue of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and their continued expansion remains central to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
APN Resources
Israel’s Settlement “Legalization Bill”: What It Is and What It Means
Summary of the “Legalization Bill," which retroactively legalizes Israeli civilian construction in the West Bank built on privately-owned Palestinian land. Read More >
Statement by Lara Friedman Delivered at the United Nations Security Council
Lara Friedman's address on settlements delivered to the United Nations Security Council on October 14, 2016. Read More >
Briefing Call with the World’s Leading Experts on the West Bank and East Jerusalem Settlements, Daniel Seidemann and Hagit Ofran
Americans for Peace Now / (August 25, 2016)
Briefing call with Daniel Seidemann and Hagit Ofran to discuss the latest settlements-related developments in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Read More >
Settlements 101
Comprehensive introduction to the issue of Israeli settlements and how they relate to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Read More >
Articles
How Many Settlers Really Live in the West Bank?
Yotam Berger / Haaretz (June 15, 2017)
Haaretz investigation reveals that 8 official settlements havee been built in the West Bank in the last 30 years, the Jewish population in the West Bank has increased by more than 330,000 people, and over 40% of the more than 380,000 settlers living in the West Bank are outside the settlement blocs. Read More >
How much do the settlements really cost?
Yanig Magal / Globes (January 10, 2017)
This article estimates what Israel spends on the settlements each year given that there is no separate budget for expenditure beyond the Green Line. The estimate includes the figures Israel reports to the U.S. - it was agreed between the two countries that the amount invested in settlements would be deducted from annual aid - as well as unreported costs related to transportation, infrastructure, and public sector employment. Read More >
Security Council Resolution 2334: The Legal Significance
Pnina Sharvit Baruch / INSS (December 30, 2016)
The resolution adopted to firmly condemn Israeli policy on settlement activity, as well as efforts by the Israeli government that would impede a two-state solution, could cause legal damage to Israel in the global arena. It was passed after the United States abstained on the vote and the other 14 members of the Security Council voted in its favor. Read More >
Israel Quietly Legalizes Pirate Outposts in the West Bank
Isabel Kershner / The New York Times (August 30, 2016)
This article describes how the Israeli government retroactively legalizes unauthorized settlements in the West Bank and how this plays an important strategic role in settlement expansion. Read More >
Audio and Video
Danny Seidemann: Why E-1 Matters
Americans for Peace Now (February 2013)
Jerusalem expert Danny Seidemann explains why settlement construction in E-1 makes a viable two-state solution virtually impossible. (4:45) Watch >
West Bank Construction Obstructs a Two-State Solution
PBS Newshour (December 2012)
American Task Force on Palestine's Ghaith al-Omari and Washington Institute for Near East Policy's David Makovsky are interviewed about Israeli settlements and whether a two-state solution is possible when both sides assume the worst of the other's actions. (8:02) Watch >
Israeli Settlements in the West Bank
The New York Times (September 2011)
A look at Ariel, a large settlement deep in the West Bank that is emblematic of the conflict's flash points. Part of the New York Times video series "Challenges in Defining an Israeli-Palestinian Border." (7:31) Watch >
Settlements 101
Americans for Peace Now (February 2011)
APN's Ori Nir recounts the history of Israeli settlements and explains why they present a major obstacle to a two-state solution and a threat to Israel's future as a Jewish and Democratic state. (12:42) Watch >
Books
The Settlers: And the Struggle over the Meaning of Zionism
Gadi Taub | Yale University Press (2011)
Book Review (Tablet) | CampusBooks
The Lords of the Land: The War Over Israel's Settlements in the Occupied Territories, 1967-2007
Akiva Eldar and Idith Zertal | Nation Books (2009)
Book Review (The New York Times) | CampusBooks
The Accidental Empire: Israel and the Birth of the Settlements, 1967-1977
Gershom Gorenberg | Owl Books (2007)
Book Review (The New York Times) | CampusBooks
Zealots for Zion: Inside Israel's West Bank Settlement Movement
Robert I. Friedman / Random House (1994)
Book Review (Kirkus Reviews) | CampusBooks
Official Documents
Disengagement Plan of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon
April 16, 2004
Full text of Sharon's plan to evacuate all Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip and four settlements in the northern West Bank. The plan was implemented in August of 2005. Read More >
Secret 1970 Document Confirms First West Bank Settlements Built on a Lie
Haaretz (July 1970)
The document, a copy of which has been obtained by Haaretz, details a meeting in the office of then-Defense Minister Moshe Dayan, at which government and military leaders spoke explicitly about how to carry out this deception in the building of Kiryat Arba, next to Hebron. Read More >
Israel Used Military Censor to Conceal First Settlements From Public, Document Reveals
Haaretz (June 19, 1969)
Document shows that Israel’s leaders used military censorship to cover up the establishment of the first West Bank settlements by banning the publication of articles by Haaretz and another daily, Hatzofe, on the issue. Read More >
Johnson Administration Alarmed by Israeli Settlement Plans
April 8, 1968
Top secret memorandum sent to Israel's Foreign Ministers in the wake of the 1967 war. It contains the opinion of the Legal Adviser to the Foreign Ministry that settlement in the "administered territories" occupied by Israel after the war is in contravention of Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. Read More >
Public Opinion
What do Israelis think about settlements? Turns out age matters.
Oded Haklai / Washington Post (January 11, 2017)
The survey asks different age groups of Israelis about perceptions of settlement location in or outside the territory of the state of Israel and whether they thought Israel declared sovereignty over Judea and Samaria. Read More >
Israel's Religiously Divided Society: The Peace Process, Settlements, and U.S. Support
Pew Research Center (March 8, 2016)
Pew Research Center poll shows that Israeli society's opinion of the viability of the two-state solution is divided, and that half of Israeli Jews say the U.S. isn't supportive enough of Israel. It also shows that a plurality of Israeli Jews (42%) say settlements help Israel's security, which is an increase from the 31% who reported this opinion in 2013. Read More >
Poll finds some Jordan Valley settlers want to leave
Gil Hoffman / The Jerusalem Post (December 30, 2013)
A poll conducted in one of the regional councils in the Jordan Valley found that residents there are interested in being evacuated in return for proper compensation, and a chance for real peace with the Palestinians. Read More >
Israeli Public's Support for Dismantling Most Settlements Has Risen to a Five-Year High
World Public Opinion / Truman Institute (April 2010)
Analysis of a Trumann Institute poll on topics such as support for dismantling settlements, the motives of settlers, and likely reactions to a potential Israeli government decision to remove settlements. Those polled include the Israeli public and Israeli settlers. Read More >
Reports and Data Sources
The Grand Land Robbery: Another Step toward Annexation
Peace Now (November 2016)
Report detailing key findings and significant implications of Israel's Regulation Law. Read More >
Sleight of Hand: Israel, Settlements, and Unauthorized Outposts
Daniel Kurtzer / Middle East Institute (October 2016)
This report discusses the Israeli government's continued support for settlement expansion and the United States' continued failure to take real action against it. Kurtzer concludes with recommendations for the incoming administration to balance its support for Israel’s security and its opposition to expanding settlements, which continue to obstruct a path to peace. PDF >
Broken Trust: State Involvement in Private Settlement in Batan Al-Hawa, Silwan
Ir Amim and Peace Now (May 2016)
Thorough analysis of Israeli settlement activity in Batan Al-Hawa, a Palestinian neighborhood in the heart of East Jerusalem's Silwan that is being turned into another Jewish settlement. The report shows that Jewish settlement in Betan Al-Hawa advances the Israeli government's efforts to place Jerusalem's Old City under Israeli Jewish control, effectively evicting hundreds of Palestinian residents from their homes. Read More >
2015 in the Settlements: No Settlements Freeze, Especially Not in Isolated Settlements
Settlement Watch / Peace Now (February 2016)
Detailed report of new plans and constructions of Israeli homes in isolated settlements throughout 2015. Read More >