Photo Gallery A Ban Won't Stop Them
Construction work in the Jewish settlement of Maaleh Adumim near Jerusalem. Officially there is a building freeze in force until September 26th. However many settlers are not complying with the ban.
A sign advertises a new development in the Jewish settlement of Maaleh Adumim near Jerusalem. Thousands of new houses could stand in the way of a peace settlement between Israelis and Palestinians.
Construction workers in Maaleh Adumim take a break. Palestinians also work in the Jewish settlements, attracted by high salaries.
The Israeli government rarely cracks down hard on settlers. But this settler was caught. His house in the West Bank was demolished by officials because it was built in contravention of the building freeze.
Idyll in a Jewish settlement in the West Bank. Construction work in the West Bank is massively subsidized for Israelis. The land costs next to nothing as it is "state land." The state pays for new dwellings to be linked to utilities and the inhabitants get cheap credit.
Everyday life in the settlement: An Israeli settler in the West Bank on the way to milk a goat.
Settlers building on the West Bank in August. Despite a construction freeze Israel has granted 490 "legal exceptions."
The Israeli flag is a clear signal: An army commander told the newspaper Maariv that settlers could flood the West Bank "with thousands of homes." He fears they will advance at night with dozens of concrete mixers and begin pouring walls. The army would not be able to do anything about it, said the Israeli commander.
Experts believe that even houses built illegally in settlements could be subsequently legalized. For the Palestinians the time of the building ban was not a good time. According to Human Rights Watch the Israeli civil administration of the West Bank demolished more Palestinian homes in recent months than ever before -- a total of 267. These are houses which were built without permission. This can be said of almost all Palestinian dwellings, as they are very rarely issued with permits.
