What is Israels position with regard to the Jewish settlements in the territories?
Jews have been living in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) and Gaza throughout recorded history. Excluding the period of the Jordanian occupation (1948-1967), Jewish settlements have existed in the area for centuries. The most prominent among them was the Jewish community in Hebron. During the British Mandate (1917-1948), Jewish settlements were established in the Etzion Bloc, in the areas north of Jerusalem (Atarot and Neve Yaakov), north of the Dead Sea (Kalia, Beit Ha-arava) and in the Gaza area (Kfar Darom). The establishment of these communities was consistent with the mandate that the British received from the League of Nations promoting the establishment of a national home for the Jewish people in the area. Although these settlements were evacuated during the War of Independence (1948), the Jewish presence in the West Bank and Gaza was reestablished following the Six Day War (1967), and today numbers more than 200,000 individuals. Regarding the legal status of the areas, Israel
