Lords of the Land: The War for Israel's Settlements in the Occupied Territories, 1967-2007

Deeply researched and well presented examination of post-1967 Israeli settlement in the West Bank and Gaza--the religious settlers' views and government policies--and the effects on Israel as well as Palestinians.

(This review is of the Hebrew edition of the book). This is a very well written and extremely well investigated book looking into one of the great tragedies of modern times. Rather than try and use the territories captured in 1967 to help solve the Palestinian refugee problem created with its establishment in 1948, Israel decided to colonize them in a way that would make it very hard ever to disengage from them. This book looks at the process through which this occurred, as well as the effects subjugating another people for the last 40 years has had on Israeli society.

'Lords of the Land' is unquestionably the definitive account of the settler movement written so far. It sets out in rich detail how successive Israeli governments, including Labour ones supported this disastrous enterprise. It chronicles how Sharon and others on the Israeli right were instrumental in the enterprise. Further then that - it details how intertwined the IDF and government ministries have been with the settlers. Particularly interesting are the sections regarding the legal mechanisms that have been used over the years for the purpose of settlers aquiring land such as the earlier attempt in the Beth El case to cloke settlements as a "security" consideration to the more sophistacted attempts to turn land in the West Bank into "state land" and ultimately then land for the settlers. Anyone who cares about peace between Israelis and Palestinian and a two-state solution ought to read this book. Anyone who may naively have thought the settlers were brave Zionist pioneers are likely to be disappointed - if anything, the settlers represent the very opposite - a distortion of Zionism.

A previous reviewer made the shocking (but incorrect) assertion that the legality of the settlements is somehow in question. She is absolutely incorrect. See Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which explicitly stipulates: "The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies." Perhaps she should have read the footnotes of this excellent book, or just searched for the terms "prohibition on settlement of occupied territory" to see a comprehensive discussion of this question from a legal perspective. Obviously many other people (not only the previous reviewer) may somehow fail to understand that the prohibition on settlement on occupied territory was designed specifically to prevent projects like the Nazi plans for Poland, in which large numbers of civilians were transferred to establish agricultural colonies in various areas. The prohibition is absolute and non-derogable (which means that a country can't opt out of it under certain conditions). As such, the (il)legality of the settlements under international law is almost universally accepted, with the exception of a VERY small number of scholars seeking to justify this blatant breach of international humanitarian law (the law of war). This excellent book shows how the settlement movement has not only violated international humanitarian law, but also Israeli domestic law (see, for example, the Israeli Supreme Court decision ruling that settlements built on the land of the Palestinian village of Belin were illegal since they were built on land stolen from private owners, yet still allowing the Israeli settlers who broke into the unfinished buildings to remain in the homes). An excellent, well-researched, and highly relevant book.

Outside of the United States, it is generally accepted that the Palestinian people are being treated unfairly and unjustly by Israel. Even many Israelis acknowledge it. This book helps people who want to understand how things got to be the way they are. It adds color and background to one's understanding of the situation. The only reason someone would give this book a one-star review is because it doesn't support or strengthen their world view.