Now, however, public support of the settlements is declining.
As Hagit Ofran points out in her essay below, "by invoking Zionism in support of the settlements and the occupation, the right wing is joining the biggest opponents of Israel, who argue that if, as they believe, Israel's occupation of the Palestinian people in the territories is illegitimate, then, by logical extension, so is the entire Zionist enterprise".
Speaking in support of the settlement, Lateef Mtima, director of the Institute of Intellectual Property and Social Justice at Howard University, said the settlement would aid in the "development of a thriving, vibrant culture".
A memorandum filed by plaintiffs in support of the settlement says Caterpillar would detail specific fees charged to participants.
Though redacted in later court documents filed by plaintiffs in support of the settlement, an expert hired by the plaintiff quoted that the changes have the estimated implicit value to the plaintiffs of $103.2 million.
He found extensive economic dependence and increasing cultural assimilation, and as a result, SIL ended its support of the settlement in 1976, leading to its disintegration and the dispersion of the Huaorani into the surrounding area.
He noted progress on the number of units being built and a mixed record on overall compliance, but said Mr. Astorino's public comments were "not evidence of a program of support for the settlement, or fair housing, or integration".
Several settler leaders, in fact, believe that there has been a surge of support for the settlement movement because, they say, it has become clear that the settlers are on the front line of a battle to drive all Israelis from their homes.
With the active support of the life-settlement industry, which wants to establish its legitimacy, settlements are now regulated in all but five American states, and most of the new laws explicitly ban Stoli.
All authors hope for that," wrote Le Guin in her petition, having previously resigned from the Authors Guild over its support of the Google settlement, calling it a "deal with the devil".
Moreover, support for many of the settlements remains relatively strong in Israel.
