Illegal West Bank homes for US Jews

There are 260,000 Jewish settlers living in the West Bank

February 28, 2007

Al Jazeera's David Chater reports on how the Israeli-Palestinian conflict came to Teaneck, New Jersey this week.

At an orthodox synagogue they were selling the message "invest in Israel's future - strengthen the settlements".

The project is aimed at getting American Jews to fill the financial gap left after the Israeli government decided to eliminate subsidies for building on the West Bank by encouraging them to purchase second homes in one of the many existing illegal settlements.

Ten settlements deep inside the occupied Palestinian territory are being promoted at the fair.

'Ideological investment'

Investors are assured that according to Israeli law there is no possibility of their ownership rights being violated.

No mention is made of the fact that all of the settlements are illegal under international law.


The settlements breach the Geneva Conventions and Security Council resolutions 446, 465 and 471, which require the dismantlement of settlements.

They also breach UN resolutions which demand that Israel withdraw to the pre-June 1967 borders and give back all of the occupied lands.

The potential investors are being told that hundreds of young families who cannot afford to buy houses are waiting to move into the settlements, providing them with a guaranteed rental market if they decide to purchase.

Aliza Herbst, the project director, describes the purchase of a second home in a settlement as an "ideological investment".

She says: "They could make more on their money by putting money in the bank."

'Facts on the ground'

The fair is part of a wider effort by the Jewish Settlers Council to get Jews from around the world to buy houses in the West Bank.

There are currently 260,000 Jewish settlers living in the West Bank. Although there are an estimated two-and-a-half million Palestinians living there, 60 per cent of the area is under Israeli control.

According to the Washington-based Foundation for Middle East Peace, the number of Jewish settlers in the West Bank increased by almost 6 per cent in 2006.

Chater says: "The creeping annexation of Palestinian land by Israel has continued apace under the watch of the prime minister, Ehud Olmert.

"The settlements are outside the blocs Israel expects to retain in any final status agreement with the Palestinians. More facts on the ground being cemented which will put the prospect of any such agreement further away than ever."

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