Map of Israeli settlements (magenta) in the West Bank in 2012.

CIA remote sensing map of Greater Jerusalem, showing Israeli settlements, Palestinian refugee camps, fences, walls, etc. in May 2006.

Map of the Golan Heights with Israeli settlements in 1992.

Israeli settlements in the occupied territories^[1] (commonly referred to as simply Israeli settlements^[2]) are the Israeli civilian communities^[i] built on lands occupied by Israel during the 1967 Six-Day War. Such settlements currently exist in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and in the Golan Heights. Settlements also existed in the Sinai and Gaza Strip until Israel evacuated the Sinai settlements following the 1979 Israel-Egypt peace agreement and from the Gaza Strip in 2005 under Israel’s unilateral disengagement plan. Israel dismantled 18 settlements in the Sinai Peninsula in 1982, and all 21 in the Gaza Strip and 4 in the West Bank in 2005,^[3] but continues to both expand its settlements and settle new areas in the West Bank,^{[4][5][6][7][8]} despite being condemned by 158 out of 166 nations in one vote, and 160 nations out of 171 nations in a different vote, in the UN.^[9]

The international community considers the settlements in occupied territory to be illegal,^[10] and the United Nations has repeatedly upheld the view that Israel’s construction of settlements constitutes a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention.^[11][12] Israeli neighborhoods in East Jerusalem and communities in the Golan Heights, areas which have been annexed by Israel, are also considered settlements by the international community, which does not recognise Israel’s annexations of these territories.^[13] The International Court of Justice also says these settlements are illegal in a 2004 advisory opinion.^[14][15][16] In April 2012, UN secretary general Ban Ki-Moon, in response to moves by Israel to legalise Israeli outposts, reiterated that all settlement activity is illegal, and “runs contrary to Israel’s obligations under the Road Map and repeated Quartet calls for the parties to refrain from provocations.”^[17] Similar criticism was advanced by the EU and the US.^[18][19] Israel disputes the position of the international community and the legal arguments that were used to declare the settlements illegal.^[20]

The presence and ongoing expansion of existing settlements by Israel and the construction of settlement outposts is frequently criticized as an obstacle to the peace process by the Palestinians^[21] and third parties, including the United Nations,^[22] Russia,^[23] the United Kingdom,^[24] France,^[25] the European Union,^[26] and the United States.^[22]

In July 2012, according to the Israeli interior ministry, 350,150 Jewish settlers lived in the 121 officially recognised settlements in the West Bank, 300,000 Israelis lived in settlements in East Jerusalem and over 20,000 lived in settlements in the Golan Heights.^[27][28] Settlements range in character from farming communities and frontier villages to urban suburbs and neighborhoods. The four largest settlements, Modi’in Illit, Ma’ale Adumim, Beitar Illit and Ariel, have achieved city status. Ariel has 18,000 residents while the rest have around 37,000 to 55,500 each.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli_settlements