Settlements

Israeli settlements are illegal under international law. They have been built on land stolen from Palestinian families. The produce from these settlements should not be sold in the UK. Produce in supermarkets labeled as ‘Produce of the West Bank’ is highly likely to originate in illegal settlements, and should be boycotted. This misleading labelling leads many consumers to think they are from Palestine, but they are not as Palestinians face immense hardships exporting produce to Europe.

Facts

The first settlement, Kfar Etzion, was constructed just 6 months after the start of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land in 1967. Since then, 235 settlements have been built in the West Bank.

In March 2010, following a visit from US Vice President Joe Biden in which he reaffirmed American support for Israel, Israel announced the building of 1,600 new housing units in Occupied East Jerusalem. Biden condemned the move along with the international community, but the USA has failed to stop Israel’s illegal actions.

The Israeli military is obliged under international law to protect Palestinian land ownership in the Occupied Territories; despite this, settlement construction continued at an alarming rate in 2010. Before the end of the settlement freeze in September 2010, settlers gathered to celebrate and within 10 days, work was underway to construct 350 new housing units in various settlements.

Israel’s illegal settlements are one of the main obstructions to peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians. They infringe on the basic rights of millions of Palestinians in the West Bank and have created a series of no go areas and ‘Jewish settler only’ roads which carve up the land.

Israel has misled the international community on numerous occasions by claiming to halt settlement expansion. In reality, the expansions continue unabated despite international criticism and condemnation, with hundreds of new housing units being announced year after year.