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“[The] formula for the parameters of unilateral solution are: To
maximize the number of Jews; minimize the number of Palestinians; not to
withdraw to the 1967 border and not to divide Jerusalem.”
– Ehud Olmert, Israel’s Deputy Prime Minister
Frequently Asked Questions:
What is the Israeli "Disengagement" Plan?
The
Israeli "disengagement plan" (unveiled by Israeli PM Sharon in December
2003) is a unilateral two-part plan: (1) the evacuation of all Israeli
colonies from the Occupied Gaza Strip (with a total settler population
of 7,300) and four small colonies in the northern Occupied West Bank
(with a total settler population of 475); (2) the ongoing colonization
of the West Bank and its ancillary construction of the Wall, designed to
fragment Palestinian communities.
The
term "disengagement" is a misnomer: it implies that Israel will no
longer control the Palestinians. Yet, under the terms of Israel’s plan,
Israel will retain complete control over the Occupied Gaza Strip as it
will control all borders and crossing points (thereby controlling the
movement of goods and people), Palestinian airspace and water space.
Israel has also reserved itself the right to reinvade the Occupied Gaza
Strip at will thereby ensuring its military control over the area. In
effect, what Israel aims to isolate the Occupied Gaza Strip and cut it
off from the rest of the world.
Why is Israel carrying out this Plan?
The
Plan is part of Israel’s long-term strategy to rid itself of as many
Palestinians as possible while retaining as much Palestinian land as
possible. By evacuating Israel’s colonies in the Occupied Gaza Strip,
Israel can divert attention away from its ongoing colonization in the
Occupied West Bank. In exchange for evacuating colonies in the Gaza
Strip (a mere 4.8 percent of Occupied Palestinian Territory), Israel
will continue to build its colonies and Wall in the Occupied West Bank,
taking more than 45 percent of Occupied Palestinian Territory.
What will happen to the Israeli colonies?
The
Israeli government has taken a unilateral decision to demolish the
structures in the colonies, including houses.
But can’t the houses be used to resettle Palestinians?
Not
really. The Occupied Gaza Strip is 365 km2, and has an
estimated Palestinian population of 1.3 million, living on 55 km2
of built-up land, making the Occupied Gaza Strip the most densely
populated place on earth. In twenty years, the population of the Gaza
Strip is expected to reach 2 million Palestinians.
Israel’s colonization of the Gaza Strip was carried out in a horizontal
fashion: Israel’s colonies take up approximately 20 percent of the land
of the Gaza Strip and house a mere 7,300 settlers in 2,800 houses.
These 2,800 houses will not be able to meet the housing demands of the
burgeoning Palestinian population. Instead, the land upon which the
colonies sit can be used to build high-rise apartments to house more
people while simultaneously freeing land for investment purposes to
rehabilitate the Palestinian economy.
Where will the rubble be taken?
For
environmental reasons, the rubble (approximately 80,000 tonnes) cannot
be reused and therefore it must be disposed of in a manner that is not
hazardous. The PA insists that the rubble cannot be stored in Gaza (for
environmental, health and space reasons) and therefore it must be
transported out of the Gaza Strip.
Will the land evacuated by Israel return to its rightful owners?
Yes. Ninety-five percent of the land upon which Israel’s colonies and
military installations are built is "state land" and accordingly will
revert to the public domain upon evacuation. The remaining five percent
of the land belongs to private Palestinian owners who will have their
land returned to them in accordance with Palestinian law.
What about the rest of the land?
Given that the land will revert to the public domain, projects for the
public will be developed there. The Ministry of Planning is currently
revising its regional plan for the evacuated areas and aims to build
hospitals, schools and housing projects as well as tourist locations in
the areas evacuated by Israel.
What will happen to the Gaza Strip following the evacuation?
The
Palestinian Authority aims to revitalize the Palestinian economy of the
Gaza Strip by encouraging investment and hence creating jobs. However,
in order to revitalize the economy Israel’s cooperation (and
international support) is necessary. While the colonization of the Gaza
Strip will end, Israel’s occupation of it will not. Currently, Israel
strictly controls all access in and out of the Occupied Gaza Strip, both
for people and goods. If the current levels of absolute control
continue, the Gaza Strip will be cut off from the Occupied West Bank and
the rest of the world, thereby turning the Gaza Strip into a large
prison. For the Gazan economy to improve and for the evacuation of the
Gaza Strip to be a model of success, Israel will have to ensure that
Palestinians and their goods are provided free movement and that the
Palestinians are allowed to live without Israeli control over their
lives and economy.
Don’t you feel sorry for the settlers?
Israeli citizens were given large incentives to move into Occupied
Palestinian Territory, including large housing subsidies, lower income
tax rates and subsidies for their factories located in Occupied
Palestinian Territory. Israeli settlers are now also being compensated
for evacuating from the Occupied Gaza Strip and are being resettled at
Israel’s expense in Israel.
The
settlers have been the cause of Israel’s ongoing military occupation of
Palestinian Territory. Their presence has led to: (1) greater Israeli
military presence in Occupied Palestinian Territory; (2) the
confiscation of Palestinian land for the construction of Israeli-only
colonies and roads, often in the name of "security"; (3) the destruction
and demolition of Palestinian homes and historic locales and (4) led to
a dual system of laws imposed in Occupied Palestinian Territory:
Israeli settlers, who number 430,000, live under Israeli civilian law,
granted superior rights to 3.5 million Palestinians who are subject to
Israeli military law, thereby denied their freedom. Israelis are
granted complete freedom of movement in Occupied Palestinian Territory
and Israel while Palestinians are relegated to Palestinian-only roads
(that lead only to Palestinian areas), live behind hundreds of
checkpoints and road barriers (situated in Occupied Palestinian
Territory) and require Israeli permission to cross these checkpoints.
Israeli settlers have been involved in a number of crimes against
Palestinians and their property that have largely gone unprosecuted.
Human rights organizations, including Israeli, have maintained reports
on such incidents
What can be done to revitalize the Gaza Strip?
Currently, Israel exercises complete control over the Palestinian
economy by controlling the movement of Palestinians and their goods. In
the Occupied West Bank, for example, Israel maintains hundreds of
checkpoints and barriers designed to fragment Palestinian communities.
Palestinian goods are subject to a "back-to-back" system of movement,
wherein Palestinian goods are unloaded and reloaded onto different
trucks several times before reaching their final destination. For
example, goods originating from Hebron (in the Occupied West Bank)
destined for Nablus (also in the Occupied West Bank) must be unloaded
and reloaded an estimated seven times. Obviously this increases
transportation costs and the time for which goods reach their
destination.
Furthermore, Israel does not maintain systematized rules or procedures
for the movement of Palestinian goods, thereby increasing risk and
uncertainty among investors. In the Karni terminal (the sole terminal
for the movement of Palestinian goods from the Occupied Gaza Strip),
rules for the movement of goods are frequently changed by the Israelis.
Today, a mere 50 trucks per day of Palestinian goods are allowed to
leave the terminal, owing to the onerous and unpredictable searches.
Israeli goods, which do not have to go through any security procedures
are shipped in daily on more than 300 trucks. Accordingly, Israeli
goods are often less expensive to Palestinians and Palestinian reliance
upon such goods is increased.
Israel can easily improve the economy by simply removing its barriers
and checkpoints and by allowing Palestinian goods to move based on
international principles of "door-to-door" wherein Palestinian goods are
freely allowed to move without onerous security searches that are not
imposed on Israeli goods.
By
creating certainty among investors, the economy of the Gaza Strip can be
revitalized and improved. The World Bank is in agreement with this
conclusion: "Palestinian economic recovery depends on a radical easing
of internal closures throughout the West Bank [and Gaza] the opening of
Palestinian external borders to commodity trade, and sustaining a
reasonable flow of Palestinian labor into Israel." See
Disengagement, The Palestinian Economy and the Settlements",
the World Bank, June 15, 2004.
Will Palestinians remain subject to the same movement restrictions?
Currently, Palestinians require Israeli permits to travel: (1) within
the Occupied West Bank; (2) between the Occupied West Bank and the
Occupied Gaza Strip and (3) to Israel. Palestinians in the Gaza Strip
also require Israeli permission to cross international boundaries to
visit other countries. Such permits are granted rarely (less than 30
percent of the Palestinian population receives such permits) and in the
Occupied Gaza Strip, approximately 90 percent of the Palestinian
population
Under the Oslo Agreements, Israel was supposed to have instituted a
"safe passage" between the Occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip to ensure
freedom of movement for Palestinians within Occupied Palestinian
Territory. Passage through the "safe passage" remained subject to
strict Israeli control and in 2000 Israel closed the safe passage route
thereby isolating the Occupied Gaza Strip from the rest of Occupied
Palestinian Territory.
In
order to ensure that Palestinians are not enclosed in a large prison,
freedom of movement must be guaranteed. Yet, while Israel asserts that
it wants to "disengage" from the Occupied Gaza Strip, it wants to retain
control over Palestinians and their economy. Israel has yet to respond
to whether freedom of movement for Palestinians will be guaranteed:
whether Palestinians will be able to travel to the rest of Occupied
Palestinian Territory and whether Palestinians will continue to require
Israeli permission to leave the Gaza Strip and whether Palestinians will
be able to freely travel throughout the Occupied West Bank.
While many discussions have taken place on the mode for transportation
(sunken road, railroad, convoy), these discussions remain inconclusive.
With
respect to the Rafah terminal (movement to Egypt), talks also remain
inconclusive: While the Palestinians continue to insist on no Israeli
presence in the Rafah terminal (and hence allow for the free movement of
Palestinians), Israel has yet to agree.
What will be the international legal status of the evacuated areas
following the evacuation?
The
Gaza Strip and the northern West Bank will remain occupied territory.
Israel will still be subject to international obligations embodied in
the Fourth Geneva Convention and in various human rights agreements.
For
38 years Israel has carried out two projects in the West Bank (including
East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip: (1) colonization of the areas
through the construction of Israeli-only housing and roads and (2)
military occupation of the areas through the imposition of Israeli
military law on the areas and its inhabitants. While the colonization
process may cease in the Occupied Gaza Strip and northern West Bank, the
military occupation will continue.
What will happen to the airport?
The
Palestinian International Airport was opened in 1998 by Presidents
Clinton and Arafat and serviced Palestinians seeking to fly in and out
of the Occupied Gaza Strip. The airport operated under the strict
control of Israel. In 2000, the Israeli Army closed the airport and
several months later destroyed the runway and control tower, with
estimated damages exceeding more than USD $8 million. It has remained
closed.
Following Israel's evacuation, the Palestinian Authority seeks to open
the airport, but, to date, discussions with Israel have been
inconclusive.
Can’t the greenhouses based in the colonies be used as a means of job
creation?
The
greenhouses in the colonies produce "organic" food that is exported to
European markets. The greenhouses are heavily subsidized by the Israeli
government and water is shipped in from Israel owing to the polluted
nature of the Gaza coastal aquifer. The greenhouses currently employ
approximately 4,000 Palestinians. While, on face level, it may seem
like a good idea for these greenhouses to be maintained, unless the free
movement of the goods produced in these greenhouses can be guaranteed
and unless the subsidies can be maintained, the greenhouses will be
worthless.
What will happen to the Erez Industrial Estate?
The
fate of the Erez Industrial Estate ("EIE") remains in the hands of
Israel. Currently, goods produced in the EIE do not undergo any
security or other searches before entering the Israeli markets. After
the evacuation, the EIE will revert to the Palestinian public domain
and, according to Israeli officials, goods produced there will be
subject to Israeli searches as well as the existing "back-to-back"
system for the movement of Palestinian goods. This will undoubtedly
discourage investment and likely kill the prospects of the EIE (or any
industrial area). If the Palestinian economy is to recover, Israel's
control over the Palestinian economy will have to cease: the
back-to-back system will have to be replaced immediately with the
"door-to-door" system of movement that allows goods to reach their
destination without the senseless unload/reload system employed by
Israel.
But isn't the evacuation of colonies a good thing?
The evacuation and dismantlement of Israel's colonies is always
welcomed (owing to the fact that these colonies are one of the reasons
that the Palestinians are denied their freedom). However, there are
two parts to Israel's plan: one entails the evacuation of colonies
(but the maintenance of Israeli military control over the area) and
the second entails the continued colonization of the West Bank. It is
irresponsible to simply focus on one side of the equation while
ignoring the other. So, while the Palestinians may be pleased that
the colonization of the Gaza Strip is coming to an end, it is clear
that the colonization of the West Bank will be intensified. It is
also clear that the military occupation of both areas will remain.
Therefore while there is much fanfare regarding Israel's evacuation,
real applause should be withheld until Israel completely ends its
military occupation of the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and
the Gaza Strip. Until that time, Israel should be punished for its
ongoing violations of international law and human rights – not
rewarded.
*
Diana
Buttu is the Communications Director to the Palestinian Technical Team. |
