Peace Now Study Finds 40% of Israeli Settlements Illegally Built on Private Palestinian Lands

WASHINGTON – Nov. 22, 2006 – The Arab American Institute (AAI) joins Peace Now in criticizing the Israeli government’s systematic disregard for the intrinsic and internationally-recognized property rights of the Palestinian people and calls upon the Bush Administration to publicly acknowledge the eroding effect this has on prospects for a long-term Israeli-Palestinian peace.

In its recently published report, Peace Now found that close to 40 percent of Israeli settlements in the West Bank are built on land which the Israeli government recognizes as privately-owned by Palestinians. The study, based on information culled directly from Israeli government sources responsible for overseeing the Jewish state’s occupation of Palestinian land, provides further evidence that Israel’s ongoing settlement activity continues to erode prospects for achieving a peace agreement with the Palestinians.

“No longer can the Israeli government claim that its settlement activity is taking place on what it refers to as ‘state land,’” said AAI Executive Director Nidal Ibrahim. “This definitive study casts a bright and harsh light on Israeli government practices in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, documenting that Israeli leaders – in complete contravention of international law governing occupation – have knowingly sought to confiscate private Palestinian lands for settlement activity.”

“It is time for the Bush Administration to join the world community in condemning Israel’s settlement practices,” Ibrahim continued.  “Further validating what are obviously illegal practices hurts our already low standing in the Middle East and further erodes our ability to acts as a party that can bring about long-lasting Palestinian-Israeli peace.”

About the Arab American Institute
Founded in 1985, the Arab American Institute (AAI) is a nonprofit organization committed to the civic and political empowerment of Americans of Arab descent.  AAI provides policy, research and public affairs services to support a broad range of community activities. For more information on AAI, please visit http://www.aaiusa.org or call 202-429-9210.