News from Peace Now:

With an expected vote on the regulation bill at the Knesset tomorrow (November 30), Peace Now exposes the scope of construction on private Palestinian lands and the implication of the bill on the two state solution in a new report.





Peace Now views the regulation law as a grand land robbery, which will lead not only to the expropriation of 8,000 dunams of private Palestinian lands but might also rob Israelis and Palestinians of the possibility of arriving at a two state solution.



To read the full report click here.



Key findings:



1. If passed, the regulation law will legalize 3,921 housing units by expropriating 8,183 dunams of private Palestinian lands in settlements and outposts. According to a Peace Now count the regulation law will result in the retroactive legalization of 55 illegal outposts and of approximately 4,000 housing units in settlements and illegal outposts.Peace Now views the regulation law as a grand land robbery, which will lead not only to the expropriation of 8,000 dunams of private Palestinian lands but might also rob Israelis and Palestinians of the possibility of arriving at a two state solution.1. If passed, the regulation law will legalize 3,921 housing units by expropriating 8,183 dunams of private Palestinian lands in settlements and outposts.

2. Fifty five illegal outposts, which are located deep in the West Bank and include 797 housing units built on 3,067 dumans of private Palestinian lands, will become official settlements with official plans which will most likely also be expanded. Thus, the possibility to reach a two state solution will be severely hindered.



3. In addition to outpost legalization, the regulation law will allow the legalization of 3,125 housing units inside existing settlements, by expropriating 5,014 dunams of private Palestinian lands.



4. The regulation law will allow for the future expropriation of another 3,043 housing units on 3,173 dunams of private Palestinian lands, on which settlements were established during the 1970s through military seizure orders. The law will deem these seizure orders unnecessary while ignoring the Alone More High Court verdict from 1979.



5. The data presented in this report is an underestimation, as it does not include private lands in settlements and illegal outposts on which infrastructure was constructed. It also does not include areas of private Palestinian lands inside settlements on which no structures were built.