Palestinian Towns and Villages: Between Isolation and Expulsion

On June 3 2002, the Israeli cabinet headed by Ariel Sharon approved the finalproposalsfor the construction of an Apartheid Wall on Palestinian lands. The approval of the Wall facilitated the implementation of the Occupation’s unilateral “disengagement” plan, which began in February 2005. Under this plan, the Bantustans in the West Bank and Gaza were to be completed: a token number of illegal settlements were to be removed from areas including the Gaza Strip, while the Occupation consolidated its grip on the major illegal settlements in the West Bank, linked by Israeli-only roads and military training areas.