An Analysis of Israel's Settlement Policy in the Occupied West Bank after the Six-Day War and its Impact on the Peace-Process (1967-2002)

Abstract

Prior to 1967, the West Bank, known by the Israelis as Judea and Samaria, was under the control of the Jordanian administration. After the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, Arabs for a long time were expecting the return of these territories for the sake of peace with its neighbors. This expectation never took place. On the contrary Israel was in the process of building facts on the ground and ensuring its people that these territories are an essential part of historical Israel. After a twenty years period of patience and hope for the Arab leaders to commit to the Palestinian Question, the oppressed Palestinian civilians in the occupied territories finally decided to take matters into their own hand. This would be known as the first Palestinian Uprising in 1987. The outcome of this turmoil was the Madrid Peace conference followed by the Oslo peace-process which finally collapsed due to both sides having a different understanding of peace. The breakdown of the Oslo Accords led to another uprising, known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada in the year 2000. To end this disastrous clash, Ariel Sharon led a military action known as ‗Operation Defensive Shield‖ in 2002, where Israel reoccupied the areas which were offered during the Oslo process to the Palestinians. The purpose of this study is to identify the Israeli government‘s main purpose in occupying the West Bank in 1967 and building settlement in these territories which are considered illegal by the international community.