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Jewish
settlements in West Bank and Gaza Strip Jewish settlements on occupied land in the West Bank and Gaza Strip are at the heart of the Middle East conflict and the nearly two-month-old uprising by Palestinians bent on their removal. A roadside bomb that killed two settlers on an Israeli schoolbus in the Gaza Strip on Monday underlined the depth of Palestinian opposition to settlements, which under interim peace deals are to remain in place pending a final treaty. Here are some facts about settlements: + Some 200,000 Israelis live in 145 settlements among three million Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The vast majority of the settlers are in the West Bank, with some 7,000 in three main settlements in the Gaza Strip. + Settlers, many of whom are armed by the Israeli military, live on land captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war on which Palestinians want to establish a state. The international community regards settlements as illegal and obstacles to peace. + Settlements make up 1.8 percent of the land in the West Bank and Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak has proposed a peace deal to Palestinian President Yasser Arafat that would keep about 80 percent of the settlers where they are. Palestinians say such a permanent presence would make their future state hopelessly cantonised. + Israel has already turned over some 40 percent of the contested land to full or partial Palestinian control in peace deals signed since 1993. + The settlers regard the West Bank as biblical land bequeathed to Jews by God. Israeli governments left and right over the years have defended the occupation as necessary for the country"s security. Palestinians see settlers as land thieves and many regard them as legitimate targets. + Palestinian gunmen have killed five Jewish settlers in nearly eight weeks of clashes. Israel"s army says there have been a number of roadside bomb attacks in Gaza but until Monday none had killed settlers there. Reuters |
