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BITTEREBIJPRODUCTEN VAN DE ISRAELISCHE BEZETTING:
ISRAELISCHE NEDERZETTINGEN IN BEZET PALESTIJNS GEBIED
MAIL ASTRID ESSED AAN NOS TELETEKST/”UW BERICHTGEVING DD 4 JULI 2024/”GROOTSTE ANNEXATIE OP WESTOEVER”
Uw berichtgeving dd 4 juli 2024 ”Grootste annexatie op Westoever”
Astrid Essed
To:reacties@nos.nl,nosbinnenland@nos.nl,publieksreacties@nos.nl,communicatie@nos.nl
Fri, Jul 5 at 1:59 PM
De walrus sprak:
De tijd is daar
Om over allerlei te praten”
Een schoen, een schip, een kandelaar,
Of koningen ook liegen
En of de zee soms koken kan
En een biggetje kan vliegen.
Uit het Engels vertaald uit:
THE WALRUS AND THE CARPENTERLEWIS CARROLL: ALICE IN WONDERLAND
AAN
NOS Teletekstredactie,
Uw berichtgeving dd 4 juli 2024 ”Grootste annexatie op Westoever”
Geachte Redactie,
U hebt het in de Loop der Tijden kunnen constateren [1].
Van mij komt u niet gemakkelijk af!
Ik volg uw berichtgeving en wanneer het mij goeddunkt,
lever ik daar commentaar op.
Zoals ook nu.
Deze keer richt ik mijn Pijlen op uw berichtgeving dd 4 juli 2024
” ”Grootste annexatie op Westoever” [Zie geheel onderin, boven het notenapparaat] en
ik moet zeggen:
Ontevreden ben ik niet.
Eindelijk-want zo vaak komt het niet voor, hoewel u recentelijk
wel veel meer uw best doet -[2] eens een bericht, waarbij het
Israelische onrecht jegens de bezette Palestijnse bevolking duidelijk
wordt belicht en dat waardeer ik.
Het behelst uw berichtgeving, gebaseerd op een statement van de
Israelische organisatie Peace Now over de kolonisering
van de Westelijke Jordaanoever, getiteld ”Approval of 5,295 units
and the establishment of 3 new settlements” [3]
In uw berichtgeving vermeldt u [waarbij u zich baseert op informatie
van de Israelische organisatie Peace Now [4], dat Israel de laatste maanden steeds grotere percelen aan de kolonisten toewijst, waarop nederzettingen
worden gebouwd.
Verder vermeldt u in uw berichtgeving:
”Op de toegeeeigende stukken land worden nederzettingen
gebouwd door Israelische kolonisten.
Palestijnen mogen daar niets bezitten.
Op de Westelijke Jordaanoever zijn nu ruim 100 nederzettingen,
waar in totaal ruim 500 000 kolonisten wonen”
TOEEIGENING/VAN WIE?
INTERNATIONAALRECHTELIJKE POSITIE NEDERZETTINGEN
Een Opsteker voor u dus, dat u ten langen leste de moeite neemt,
explicieter het aan de bezette Palestijnen gedane onrecht aan de kaak
te stellen.
Maar wanneer u dat doet, moet u ook wel duidelijk zijn in uw
Berichtgeving:
Zo refereert u aan [ik citeer u]
”Op de toegeeeigende stukken land worden nederzettingen
gebouwd door Israelische kolonisten”
Prima
Maar toegeeigend VAN WIE?
Dat vermeldt u niet en uw lezers kunnen dat moeilijk raden
Antwoord:
Toegeeigend van de Palestijnen
Of beter gezegd:
ONTeigend,AFgepakt
Zie de Informatie van de Israelische mensenrechtenorganisatie
Btselem onder noot 5!
Erger nog vind ik, dat u-voor de zoveelste keer- niet duidelijk
maakt dat deze nederzettingen illegaal zijn volgens het Internationaal
Recht, wat echt cruciaal is!
Zie noot 6
Die illegaliteit van de nederzettingen is [kort gezegd] gebaseerd op
artikel 49, 4e Conventie van Geneve en artikel 55, Haags Verdrag
Staat in noot 6, maar voor uw gemak herhaald in noot 7
Vermeldt u dat dan ook de volgende keer, zoals u het wel
al eerder gedaan hebt! [8]
U weet het dus WEL!
Dit, Waarde Redactie, waren een Paar Belangrijke Punten op de
i!
Hou daarmee een volgende keer rekening
I’ll be watching you!
Vriendelijke groeten
Astrid Essed
Amsterdam
NOS TELETEKST
”GROOTSTE ANNEXATIE OP WESTOEVER”
Israel heeft de kolonisatie van het grootste stuk land op
de Westelijke Jordaanoever tot nu toe goedgekeurd.
Dat meldt de Israelische organisatie Peace Now.
Het zou gaan om een stuk grond van bijna dertien
vierkante kilometer.
De laatste maanden wijst Israel steeds grotere percelen toe aan
kolonisten.
In maart meldde Peace Now al de toewijzing van stukken grond
van twee en acht vierkante kilometer aan kolonisten
Op de toegeeeigende stukken land worden nederzettingen
gebouwd door Israelische kolonisten.
Palestijnen mogen daar niets bezitten.
Op de Westelijke Jordaanoever zijn nu ruim 100 nederzettingen,
waar in totaal ruim 500 000 kolonisten wonen
EINDE TELETEKST BERICHT
ORIGINELE BERICHT NOS TELETEKST
NOS TELETEKST
GROOTSTE ANNEXATIE OP WESTOEVER
"Grootste annexatie op Westoever"
Israël heeft de kolonisatie van het
grootste stuk land op de Westelijke
Jordaanoever tot nu toe goedgekeurd.Dat
meldt de Israëlische organisatie Peace
Now.Het zou gaan om een stuk grond van
bijna dertien vierkante kilometer.
De laatste maanden wijst Israël steeds
grotere percelen toe aan kolonisten.In
maart meldde Peace Now al de toewijzing
van stukken grond van twee en acht
vierkante kilometer aan kolonisten.
Op de toegeëigende stukken land worden
nederzettingen gebouwd door Israëlische
kolonisten.Palestijnen mogen daar niets
bezitten.Op de Westelijke Jordaanoever
zijn nu ruim 100 nederzettingen,waar in
totaal ruim 500.000 kolonisten wonen.
nieuws buitenland binnenland sport
NOTEN
NOTEN 1 T/M 8
NOTEN 1 T/M 3
[1]
WEBSITE ASTRID ESSED
NOS TELETEKST
[2]
MAIL ASTRID ESSED AAN NOS TELETEKST/”UW BERICHTGEVING DD
4 MAART 2024: ”ISRAEL BOUWT MEER HUIZEN WESTOEVER]/DEZE
KEER EEN COMPLIMENT!
ASTRID ESSED
7 MAART 2024
[3]
PEACE NOW
APPROVAL OF 5,295 UNITS AND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF
3 NEW SETTLEMENTS
04.7.24
The Higher Planning Council (HPC) approved today and yesterday (3-4/7/24) the advancement of 5,295 housing units in dozens of settlements throughout the West Bank. The building plans include the expansion of settlements deep within the West Bank and the legalization of three outposts (without connection to the 5 outposts approved by the Cabinet last week): Mahane Gadi, Givat Hanan (Susya East), and Kedem Arava as “neighborhoods” of existing settlements.
For the first time since the establishment of the Settlement Administration by Minister Smotrich, the legal advisor to the HPC was a civilian and not an officer as in the past. Additionally, present in the audience were members of the Settlement Administration; Hillel Roth, the Civilian Deputy appointed by Minister Smotrich and one of the legal advisors of the administration.
The council’s agenda included plans for more than 6,000 housing units. Ultimately, the number of units approved stands at 5,295 because only the initial planning stage was approved for some of the plans. For example, in the plan for the Gva’ot settlement, where 1,006 housing units are planned, only 250 units were brought for approval.
Peace Now: “Netanyahu and Smotrich’s agenda became evident through the decisions of the Planning Council: approval for thousands of housing units, the establishment of three new settlements, and strategic appointments of Smotrich’s allies in key roles instead of military personnel underscore the annexation occurring in the West Bank. Our government continues to change the rules of the game in the occupied West Bank, leading to irreversible harm. While the north is neglected and citizens across the country are abandoned, with 120 hostages still in Gaza, the process of annexation and land theft continues to expand, contrary to Israeli interests. This annexationist government severely undermines the security and future of both Israelis and Palestinians, and the cost of this recklessness will be paid for generations to come. We must bring down the government before it’s too late.”
For the full list of approved plans, see below.
Among the plans that were approved:
Machane Gadi (Plan 312/6/1) – An outpost established in 2018 as an educational complex and pre-military academy, located north of the Masu’a settlement in structures previously used as a military camp. The plan for 260 housing units was approved for deposit and effectively established a new settlement by legalizing the outpost as a “neighborhood” of the Masu’a settlement.
Kedem Arava (Plan 612) – The agenda included a plan formally belonging to the new settlement “Beit Hogla,” which was approved by the cabinet in February 2023 as the legalization of an illegal outpost. It has now become clear that the new settlement approved by the cabinet includes not only the “Beit Hogla” outpost but also the “Kedem Arava” outpost, located approximately 1.5 km south of it. The plan approved for deposit is for the construction of 316 housing units in Kedem Arava.
Givat Hanan (Susya East) (Plan 513/5) – The approval of the plan for the deposit of 107 housing units in the Susya settlement is actually intended to legalize the Givat Hanan outpost, which was illegally established in 2019. The outpost is located across an intercity road, disconnected from the Susya settlement. However, to avoid the need to declare a new settlement, it was decided to consider it a “neighborhood” of Susya and plan the construction of a bridge over intercity Road 317 to connect the two settlements.
Gvaot (Plan 418/2/1/A) – The Gvaot settlement is also formally considered a “neighborhood” of the Alon Shvut settlement, even though it is 3 km away. The original plan is to build 1,006 housing units, but the HPC only approved Phase 1 of the plan, which includes 250 housing units. The Ministry of Housing is working on plans to establish a city there with tens of thousands of housing units.
Yakir (Plan 118/1/A) – Another significant plan is the establishment of a new neighborhood with 168 housing units for the Yakir settlement. The planned neighborhood is located beyond the access road to the settlement and involves the evacuation of a military base. The plan also connects to the Havat Yair outpost, which is also in the process of legalization as a “neighborhood” of Yakir.
Neria (Plan 235/13/1) – A plan for the construction of 436 housing units in the Neria settlement (officially considered a “neighborhood” of the Talmon settlement) west of Ramallah. This represents a significant expansion of the settlement deep in the West Bank in an area known as “Gush Talmonim,” where thousands of housing units have been approved in recent years and outposts have been legalized (such as Horesh Yaron, Haresha, Kerem Re’im, and Zayit Ra’anan). Recently, Minister Smotrich announced the advancement of a new bypass road intended to facilitate the planned growth in these settlements.
Overall, it was decided to advance 3,080 housing units for deposit and 2,215 housing units for validation.
List of the plans approved by the HPC on 3-4/7/24:
| Settlement | Plan Number | Stage Approved | Housing Units |
| Immanuel | 120/4/1 | Validation | 170 |
| Immanuel | 120/13 | Validation | 96 |
| Negohot | 521/ב/1 | Validation | 158 |
| Hagai | 517/2 | Depositing | 135 |
| Susya (Givat Hanan) | 513/5 | Depositing | 107 |
| Modiin Illit | 210/4/2/6 | Depositing | 300 |
| Elkana | 125/2/9 | Depositing | 8 |
| Kiryat Arba | 510/3/14 | Validation | 140 |
| Kiryat Arba | 510/22/3 | Validation | 25 |
| Givat Zeev | 220/1/ג | Depositing | 5 |
| Givat Zeev | 220/1/ג | Depositing | 5 |
| Givat Zeev | 220/21/10 | Depositing | 3 |
| Givat Zeev | 220/10/31 | Depositing | 12 |
| Givat Zeev | 220/30/10 | Depositing | 4 |
| Givat Zeev | 220/32/10 | Depositing | 195 |
| Givat Zeev | 220/28 | Validation | 228 |
| Etz Efraim | 126/16 | Validation | 12 |
| Etz Efraim | 126/8/2 | Depositing | 24 |
| Shaarei Tikva | 122/7 | Validation | 6 |
| Masu’a (Machane Gadi) | 312/1/6 | Depositing | 260 |
| Shilo | 205/25 | Depositing | 90 |
| Almon (Anatot) | 226/2/ע | Validation | 91 |
| Mitzpe Yericho | 228/5 | Validation | 365 |
| Neria | 235/1/13 | Depositing | 436 |
| Eli | 237/8 | Validation | 24 |
| Ganei Modiin | 208/1/13/8 | Validation | 46 |
| Heit Hogla (Kedem Arava) | 612 | Depositing | 316 |
| Maale Shomron (Elamatan) | 116/3/5 | Depositing | 120 |
| Elon Moreh | 107/1/8 | Validation | 186 |
| Tzofim | 149/14 | Validation | 74 |
| Pduel | 160/12 | Depositing | 25 |
| Pduel | 160/11 | Depositing | 12 |
| Revava | 170/10/4 | Depositing | 16 |
| Kiryat Netafim | 129/6 | Depositing | 136 |
| Yakir | 118/א/1 | Depositing | 168 |
| Gva’ot | 418/2/1/א | Depositing | 250 |
| Nokdim | 411/12 | Validation | 290 |
| Mitzad (Asfar) | 414/2/5 | Validation | 6 |
| Beitar Illit | 426/7/19/ב | Depositing | 98 |
| Beitar Illit | 426/7/2/3/א | Depositing | 28 |
| Beitar Illit | 426/7/4/א | Depositing | 184 |
| Beitar Illit | 426/7/2/2/א | Depositing | 143 |
| Beitar Illit | 426/21/3/1/ב | Validation | 184 |
| Beitar Illit | 426/7/16/ב | Validation | 46 |
| Beitar Illit | 426/7/17/ב | Validation | 68 |
| Toal | 5,295 |
NOTEN 4 EN 5
[4]
PEACE NOW
SETTLEMENT WATCH
[5]
”The settlements are the single most important factor in shaping life in the West Bank. Their destructive impact on the human rights of Palestinians extends far beyond the hundreds of thousands of dunams [1 dunam = 1,000 sq. meters], including farmland and grazing areas, that Israel appropriated from Palestinians in order to build them. More land has been expropriated to pave hundreds of kilometers of roads for settler use only;”
SETTLEMENTS
From 1967 to the end of 2017, more than 200 Israeli settlements were established in the West Bank. They include:
- 131 settlements officially recognized by the Israeli Ministry of the Interior;
- About 110 settlements built without official authorization but with governmental support and assistance (known as “illegal outposts”);
- Several settlement enclaves inside the city of Hebron;
- 11 neighborhoods in the areas of the West Bank that Israel annexed to the municipal jurisdiction of Jerusalem in 1967, and several settlement enclaves within Palestinian neighborhoods in East Jerusalem.
Another 16 settlements that had been established in the Gaza Strip, and four in the northern West Bank, were dismantled in 2005 as part of the Disengagement Plan.
More than 620,000 Israeli citizens currently reside in settlements. Of these, about 209,270 live in the parts of the West Bank that Israel annexed to the municipal jurisdiction of Jerusalem (according to Jerusalem Institute for Policy Research figures from late 2016), and 413,400 live throughout the rest of the West Bank (according to Central Bureau of Statistics figures from late 2017).
The settlements are the single most important factor in shaping life in the West Bank. Their destructive impact on the human rights of Palestinians extends far beyond the hundreds of thousands of dunams [1 dunam = 1,000 sq. meters], including farmland and grazing areas, that Israel appropriated from Palestinians in order to build them. More land has been expropriated to pave hundreds of kilometers of roads for settler use only; roadblocks, checkpoints, and other measures that limit Palestinian movement only have been erected based on the location of settlements; Palestinian landowners have been effectively denied access to much of their farmland, both within settlements and outside them; and the winding route of the Separation Barrier, which severely violates the rights of Palestinians living near it, was established inside the West Bank in order to leave as many settlements as possible – and large tracts of land for expanding them – on the western side of the barrier.
All the settlement practices in the West Bank share the same objective, although those employed in the urban areas of Hebron and East Jerusalem – where Palestinians have also been dispossessed of their homes and of other structures – take a different form.
In the early years of the occupation, the main ploy that Israel used to take over land for building settlements was to seize the land “for military purposes”. Military seizure orders were issued for some 31,000 dunams, most of which were earmarked for building settlements. In June 1979, the military issued a seizure order for privately-owned land near Nablus, which was slated for establishing the settlement of Elon Moreh. Several Palestinians petitioned Israel’s High Court of Justice (HCJ), arguing that the seizure violated international law, since it served a civilian purpose of building a settlement rather than true military needs. The court had rejected this argument in previous petitions, accepting the state’s claim that settlements contribute to security.
In this case, however, top security officials stated that building a settlement at that location would serve no military purpose. Also, some of the settlers joined the proceedings as respondents, explaining to the court that it was their intention to settle in the area permanently, for religious and political reasons, rather than to promote security. Given these unique circumstances, the court could not rule that the establishment of the settlement would serve military needs – although it did not rule out such a possibility in general. The justices restricted their decision to the specific case of Elon Moreh, ruling that the land seizure was meant to serve a civilian rather than military purpose and therefore breached international law. The court did not completely deny the possibility of seizing private land for building settlements, but held that when the dominant reason for issuing a seizure order is the establishment of a civilian settlement rather than military considerations, the order is unlawful.
This ruling made it difficult for Israel to continue seizing Palestinian land as it had done until that point. Instead, it required the state to obtain agreement between top security officials on the military advantage of every planned settlement, and to ensure that the settlers kept their intentions to themselves. To circumvent this, the government announced that it would thereafter build settlements only on land that had been declared state land.
However, when the state sought such land, it discovered that only some 687,000 dunams were considered state land at the time, mostly in the Jordan Valley and in the Judean Desert. This frustrated the governmental plan to build settlements along the central mountain ridge of the West Bank. Therefore, the state came up with a new system for declaring state land.
This system was founded on rewriting legal provisions and applying a completely different approach to the Ottoman Land Code, which governs land ownership in the West Bank, than the standard interpretation applied until then. The new approach made it much easier to declare state land, even when the land in question was considered private or collective Palestinian property under British and later Jordanian rule. One method for achieving this was requiring Palestinians to regularly cultivate farmland as a prerequisite to acquiring ownership rights; another was to disregard the provisions of local law, which grants Palestinian communities collective rights to use grazing areas and other public land. By employing these new tactics, from 1979 to 2002 Israel declared more than 900,000 dunams as state land. There are now some 1,200,000 dunams of state land in Area C, constituting 36.5% of Area C and 22% of the entire West Bank. An additional 200,000 dunams of state land are located in areas A and B, where planning is in the hands of the Palestinian Authority.
A comparative survey carried out by B’Tselem in the area of Ramallah revealed massive differences between the amount of land that Jordan defined as government property in areas registered before the occupation, and the amount that Israel declared state land in areas that the Jordanians had not managed to register prior to 1967. The results of the survey indicate that a significant proportion of the land that Israel declared as state land is actually private Palestinian property that was taken from its lawful owners through legal maneuvering, in breach of both local and international law.
This process of land takeover also contravenes basic tenets of due process and natural justice. In many cases, the Palestinian residents were not aware that their land had been registered as state property and when they found out, it was too late to appeal. The burden of proof always lies with Palestinians claiming ownership; even if landowners did manage to prove their ownership over the land, in some cases it was registered state land based on the claim that it had been handed over to a settlement “in good faith”.
Even if all the declarations of state land were lawful, public land – including the land declared as government property prior to 1967 – is meant to serve the population of the occupied territory, i.e. the Palestinian public, not the State of Israel or its citizens. However, Israel prohibits Palestinian use of this land almost entirely and considers it Israeli property. In keeping with this policy, Israel has allocated to settlement vast tracts of this “state land”, stretching far beyond their built-up sections. The lands allocated to settlements have been declared closed military zones and are off limits to Palestinians, except by special permit. In contrast, Israeli citizens, Jews from around the world and tourists can enter them freely.
At present, settlements cover 538,130 dunams – almost 10% of the West Bank. Their regional councils control another 1,650,370 dunams, including vast open areas that have not been attached to any particular settlement. This brings the total area under the direct control of settlements to 40% of the West Bank, and 63% of Area C.
Along with this governmental land grab, settlers have exploited the forced separation between Palestinians and their land to build houses, outposts and roads, sow fields and groves, graze livestock and take over natural water sources – all outside the vast areas already allocated to the settlements. This is attended by routine violence against Palestinians. These actions play a major role in the implementation of Israel’s policy in the West Bank by complementing official measures. The settlers’ apparently independent actions serve as a privatized system for taking over land, allowing Israel to establish and expand entire settlement blocs through an unofficial sidetrack while formally disavowing these actions.
Unlike the restrictive planning policy enforced upon Palestinian communities, Israeli settlements are fully represented in the planning process, enjoying detailed outline plans and advanced infrastructure. Although the state uses the same professional and legal terms to refer to both Israeli and Palestinian construction in the West Bank with– such as building and planning laws, urban master plans, planning procedures and illegal construction – it applies them very differently in practice. When it comes to Israeli settlements, the state turns a blind eye and offers support and retroactive approval, all as part of an overarching policy to de facto annex parts of the West Bank to Israel’s sovereign territory. Palestinian communities, on the other hand, are subjected to painstaking bureaucracy, stalled plans and widespread demolitions, in keeping with Israel’s policy to prevent Palestinian development in the West Bank and continue dispossessing Palestinians of their land.
The establishment of the settlements contravenes international humanitarian law (IHL), which states that an occupying power may not relocate its own citizens to the occupied territory or make permanent changes to that territory, unless these are needed for imperative military needs, in the narrow sense of the term, or undertaken for the benefit of the local population.
The existence of settlements also leads to the violation of many human rights of Palestinians, including the rights to property, equality, an adequate standard of living and freedom of movement. In addition, the radical changes that Israel has made to the map of the West Bank preclude any real possibility of establishing an independent, viable Palestinian state in fulfilment of the right to self-determination. Although the West Bank is not part of Israel’s sovereign territory, Israeli has applied most of its domestic laws to the settlements and their residents. As a result, the settlers enjoy almost all the same privileges as citizens living within Israel. Meanwhile, Palestinians continue to live under martial law and are thereby systematically deprived of their rights and denied the ability to have any real impact on policymaking with respect to the territory in which they live. In creating this reality, Israel has formed a regime in which a person’s rights depend on his or her national identity.
Israel has refrained from formally annexing the West Bank (except in East Jerusalem). In practice, however, it treats the settlements established throughout Area C as extensions of its sovereign territory and has virtually eliminated the distinction for Israeli citizens – while concentrating the Palestinian population in 165 disconnected “islands” (Areas A and B). This double movement, of Israeli settlers taking over more and more West Bank land and Palestinians being pushed aside, has been a consistent mainstay of Israeli policy in the West Bank since 1967, with all Israeli legislative, legal, planning, funding and defense bodies working towards that end.
EINDE
GEDATEERD:
11 November 2017
Updated: 16 January 2019
NOOT 6
[6]
De in bezet gebied gestichte Israelische nederzettingen zijn
illegaal volgens het Internationaal Recht, gebaseerd op artikel 49, 4e Conventie van Geneve en het Haags Verdrag uit 1907
Zie hieronder
A
WAT ZEGT HET INTERNATIONALE RODE KRUIS
HET INTERNATIONALE RODE KRUIS
SETTLEMENTS
The international humanitarian law of occupation contains a prohibition against deporting or transferring parts of the civilian population of the Occupying Power into Occupied Territory, even if they volunteer to be so transferred. Such transfers are often carried out in order to alter the demographic composition of the population of the occupied territory, and constitute a grave breach of Additional Protocol I, as well as being listed as a war crime under the Statute of the International Criminal Court.
As the establishment of settlements also involves population transfers into Occupied Territory, these are prohibited under IHL. Any measure designed to expand or consolidate settlements is also illegal. Appropriation of land to build or expand settlements is similarly prohibited.
WHAT DOES THE LAW SAY ABOUT THE
RESONSIBILITIES OF AN OCCUPYING POWER
IN THE OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY?
SETTLEMENTS AND SETTLEMENT EXPANSION
The ICRC’s official position is that the West Bank has been occupied by Israel since 1967. Consequently, the ICRC has repeatedly stated that Israel settlements’ policy goes against key provisions of International Humanitarian Law (IHL), specifically the law of occupation, and is contrary to its intent and spirit. The 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention (GCIV) prohibits an Occupying Power from transferring its own population into the territories under its occupation. Therefore, Israel’s settlements policy in the West Bank contradicts the Fourth Geneva Convention. Settlement expansion – be it through formal expansion of existing settlements or through the largely unchecked spread of unauthorized outposts – is the key source of legal and humanitarian concerns in the West Bank. With its decades-long presence in the occupied Palestinian territory, the ICRC has been a witness to settlements’ impact. They restrict Palestinians’ freedom of movement and affect the social and economic fabric of entire communities. They can limit Palestinians’ access to their agricultural lands, natural resources or medical services. They also contribute to violence between Israeli settlers and Palestinian communities.
WAT ZEGT DE ISRAELISCHE MENSENRECHTENORGANISATIE BTSELEM
”The establishment of the settlements contravenes international humanitarian law (IHL), which states that an occupying power may not relocate its own citizens to the occupied territory or make permanent changes to that territory, unless these are needed for imperative military needs, in the narrow sense of the term, or undertaken for the benefit of the local population.”
SETTLEMENTS
ZIE VOOR GEHELE TEKST, NOOT 5
De Illegaliteit van de nederzettingen is gebaseerd op artikelen
uit de 4e Conventie van Geneve en het Haags Verdrag van 1907
DE VIERDE CONVENTIE VAN GENEVE
ARTIKEL 49, 4E CONVENTIE VAN GENEVE
”Individual or mass forcible transfers, as well as deportations of protected persons from occupied territory to the territory of the Occupying Power or to that of any other country, occupied or not, are prohibited, regardless of their motive.”
ARTICLE 49, FOURTH GENEVA CONVENTION
HET HAAGS VERDRAG VAN 1907
De Staat, die een gebied bezet heeft, mag zich slechts beschouwen als beheerder en vruchtgebruiker der openbare gebouwen, onroerende eigendommen, bosschen en landbouwondernemingen, welke aan den vijandelijken Staat behooren en zich in de bezette landstreek bevinden. Hij moet het grondkapitaal dier eigendommen in zijn geheel laten en die overeenkomstig de regelen van het vruchtgebruik beheeren.”
ARTIKEL 55, HAAGS VERDRAG 1907
IN HET ENGELS
Art. 55. The occupying State shall be regarded only as administrator and usufructuary of public buildings, real estate, forests, and agricultural estates belonging to the hostile State, and situated in the occupied country. It must safeguard the capital of these properties, and administer them in accordance with the rules of usufruct.
CONVENTION RESPECTING THE LAWS AND CUSTOMS OF WARON LAND AND ITS ANNEX: REGULATIONS CONCERNINGTHE LAWS AND CUSTOMS OF WAR ON LAND
THE HAGUE 18 OCTOBER 1907
WAT ZEGT AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
Israel’s policy of settling its civilians in occupied Palestinian territory and displacing the local population contravenes fundamental rules of international humanitarian law.
Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention states: “The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies.” It also prohibits the “individual or mass forcible transfers, as well as deportations of protected persons from occupied territory”.
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
CHAPTER 3
ISRAELI SETTLEMENTS AND INTERNATIONAL LAW
The situation in the OPT is primarily governed by two international legal regimes: international humanitarian law (including the rules of the law of occupation) and international human rights law. International criminal law is also relevant as some serious violations may constitute war crimes.
STATUS OF SETTLEMENTS UNDER INTERNATIONAL LAW
Israel’s policy of settling its civilians in occupied Palestinian territory and displacing the local population contravenes fundamental rules of international humanitarian law.
Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention states: “The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies.” It also prohibits the “individual or mass forcible transfers, as well as deportations of protected persons from occupied territory”.
The extensive appropriation of land and the appropriation and destruction of property required to build and expand settlements also breach other rules of international humanitarian law. Under the Hague Regulations of 1907, the public property of the occupied population (such as lands, forests and agricultural estates) is subject to the laws of usufruct. This means that an occupying state is only allowed a very limited use of this property. This limitation is derived from the notion that occupation is temporary, the core idea of the law of occupation. In the words of the International Committee of the Red Cross, the occupying power “has a duty to ensure the protection, security, and welfare of the people living under occupation and to guarantee that they can live as normal a life as possible, in accordance with their own laws, culture, and traditions.”
The Hague Regulations prohibit the confiscation of private property. The Fourth Geneva Convention prohibits the destruction of private or state property, “except where such destruction is rendered absolutely necessary by military operations”.
As the occupier, Israel is therefore forbidden from using state land and natural resources for purposes other than military or security needs or for the benefit of the local population. The unlawful appropriation of property by an occupying power amounts to “pillage”, which is prohibited by both the Hague Regulations and Fourth Geneva Convention and is a war crime under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and many national laws.
Israel’s building of settlements in the West Bank, including in East Jerusalem, does not respect any of these rules and exceptions. Transferring the occupying power’s civilians into the occupied territory is prohibited without exception. Furthermore, as explained earlier, the settlements and associated infrastructure are not temporary, do not benefit Palestinians and do not serve the legitimate security needs of the occupying power. Settlements entirely depend on the large-scale appropriation and/or destruction of Palestinian private and state property which are not militarily necessary. They are created with the sole purpose of permanently establishing Jewish Israelis on occupied land.
In addition to being violations of international humanitarian law, key acts required for the establishment of settlements amount to war crimes under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Under this body of law, the “extensive destruction and appropriation of property not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly” and the “transfer, directly or indirectly, by the Occupying Power of parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies, or the deportation or transfer of all or parts of the population of the occupied territory within or outside this territory” constitute war crimes. As stated above, “pillage” is also a war crime under the Rome Statute.
Israel’s settlement policy also violates a special category of obligations entitled peremptory norms of international law (jus cogens) from which no derogation is permitted. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) affirmed that the rules of the Geneva Conventions constitute “intransgressible principles of international customary law”. Only a limited number of international norms acquire this status, which is a reflection of the seriousness and importance with which the international community views them. Breaches of these norms give rise to certain obligations on all other states, or “third states”, which are explained below.
SETTLEMENTS, DISCRIMINATION AND HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS
States have a duty to respect, protect and fulfil the human rights of people under their jurisdiction, including people living in territory that is outside national borders but under the effective control of the state. The ICJ confirmed that Israel is obliged to extend the application of the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights, the International Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and other treaties to which it is a state party to people in the OPT. Israel is a state party to numerous international human rights treaties and, as the occupying power, it has well defined obligations to respect, protect and fulfil the human rights of Palestinians.
However, as has been well documented for many years by the UN, Amnesty International and other NGOs, Israel’s settlement policy is one of the main driving forces behind the mass human rights violations resulting from the occupation. These include:
Violations of the right to life: Israeli soldiers, police and security guards have unlawfully killed and injured many Palestinian civilians in the OPT, including during protests against the confiscation of land and the construction of settlements. UN agencies and fact-finding missions have also expressed concern about violence perpetrated by a minority of Israeli settlers aimed at intimidating Palestinian populations.
Violations of the rights to liberty, security of the person and equal treatment before the law: Amnesty International has documented how Palestinians in the OPT are routinely subjected to arbitrary detention, including through administrative detention. Whereas settlers are subject to Israeli civil and criminal law, Palestinians are subject to a military court system which falls short of international standards for the fair conduct of trials and administration of justice.
Violations of the right to access an effective remedy for acts violating fundamental rights: Israel’s failure to adequately investigate and enforce the law for acts of violence against Palestinians, together with the multiple legal, financial and procedural barriers faced by Palestinians in accessing the court system, severely limit Palestinians’ ability to seek legal redress. The Israeli High Court of Justice has failed to rule on the legality of settlements, as it considered the settlements to be a political issue that that it is not competent to hear.
Violations of the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly: Amnesty International has documented Israel’s use of military orders to prohibit peaceful protest and criminalize freedom of expression in the West Bank. Israeli forces have used tear gas, rubber bullets and occasionally live rounds to suppress peaceful protests.
Violations of the rights to equality and non-discrimination: Systematic discrimination against Palestinians is inherent in virtually all aspects of Israel’s administration of the OPT. Palestinians are also specifically targeted for a range of actions that constitute human rights violations. The Israeli government allows settlers to exploit land and natural resources that belong to Palestinians. Israel provides preferential treatment to Israeli businesses operating in the OPT while putting up barriers to, or simply blocking, Palestinian ones. Israeli citizens receive entitlements and Palestinians face restrictions on the grounds of nationality, ethnicity and religion, in contravention of international standards.
The Israeli authorities have created a discriminatory urban planning and zoning system. Within Area C, where most settlement construction is based, Israel has allocated 70% of the land to settlements and only 1% to Palestinians. In East Jerusalem, Israel has expropriated 35% of the city for the construction of settlements, while restricting Palestinians to construct on only 13% of the land. These figures clearly illustrate Israel’s use of regulatory measures to discriminate against Palestinian residents in Area C.
The UN has also pointed to discrimination against Palestinians in the way in which the criminal law is enforced. While prosecution rates for settler attacks against Palestinians are low, suggesting a lack of enforcement, most cases of violence against Israeli settlers are investigated and proceed to court.
Violations of the right to adequate housing: Since 1967, Israel has constructed tens of thousands of homes on Palestinian land to accommodate settlers while, at the same time, demolishing an estimated 50,000 Palestinian homes and other structures, such as farm buildings and water tanks. Israel also carries out demolitions as a form of collective punishment against the families of individuals accused of attacks on Israelis. In East Jerusalem, about 800 houses have been demolished since 2004 for lack of permits. Israel also confiscates houses inhabited by Palestinians in the city to allocate them to settlers. By forcibly evicting and/or demolishing their homes without providing adequate alternative accommodation, Israel has failed in its duty to respect the right to adequate housing of thousands of Palestinians.
Violations of the right to freedom of movement: Many restrictions on freedom of movement for Palestinian residents are directly linked to the settlements, including restrictions aimed at protecting the settlements and maintaining “buffer zones”. Restrictions include checkpoints, settler-only roads and physical impediments created by walls and gates.
Violations of the rights of the child: Every year, 500-700 Palestinian children from the occupied West Bank are prosecuted in Israeli juvenile military courts under Israeli military orders. They are often arrested in night raids and systematically ill-treated. Some of these children serve their sentences within Israel, in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention. The UN has also documented that many children have been killed or injured in settler attacks.
Violations of the right to enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health: Restrictions on movement limit Palestinians’ access to health care. Specialists working with Palestinian populations have also documented a range of serious mental health conditions that stem from exposure to violence and abuse in the OPT.
Violations of the right to water: Most Palestinian communities in Area C are not connected to the water network and are prevented from repairing or constructing wells or water cisterns that hold rainwater. Water consumption in some Area C communities is reported by the UN to be 20% of the minimum recommended standard. Israel’s failure to ensure Palestinian residents have a sufficient supply of clean, safe water for drinking and other domestic uses constitutes a violation of its obligations to respect and fulfil the right to water.
Violations of the right to education: Palestinian students face numerous obstacles in accessing education, including forced displacement, demolitions, restrictions on movement and a shortage of school places. An independent fact-finding mission in 2012 noted an “upward trend” of cases of settler attacks on Palestinian schools and harassment of Palestinian children on their way to and from school. Such problems can result in children not attending school and in a deterioration in the quality of learning.
Violations of the right to earn a decent living through work: The expansion of settlements has reduced the amount of land available to Palestinians for herding and agriculture, increasing the dependency of rural communities on humanitarian assistance. Settler violence and the destruction of Palestinian-owned crops and olive trees have damaged the livelihoods of farmers. The UN has reported that in Hebron city centre, the Israeli military has forced 512 Palestinian businesses to close, while more than 1,000 others have shut down due to restricted access for customers and suppliers.
SUSTAINED INTERNATIONAL CONDEMNATION
Most states and international bodies have long recognized that Israeli settlements are illegal under international law. The European Union (EU) has clearly stated that: “settlement building anywhere in the occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, is illegal under international law, constitutes an obstacle to peace and threatens to make a two-state solution impossible.”
The settlements have been condemned as illegal in many UN Security Council and other UN resolutions. As early as 1980, UN Security Council Resolution 465 called on Israel “to dismantle the existing settlements and, in particular, to cease, on an urgent basis, the establishment, construction and planning of settlements in the Arab territories occupied since 1967, including Jerusalem.” The International Committee of the Red Cross and the Conference of High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention have reaffirmed that settlements violate international humanitarian law. The illegality of the settlements was recently reaffirmed by UN Security Council Resolution 2334, passed inDecember 2016, which reiterates the Security Council’s call on Israel to cease all settlement activities in the OPT. The serious human rights violations that stem from Israeli settlements have also been repeatedly raised and condemned by international bodies and experts.
EN ZIE OOK
NOTEN 7 EN 8
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ARTIKEL 49, 4E CONVENTIE VAN GENEVE
”Individual or mass forcible transfers, as well as deportations of protected persons from occupied territory to the territory of the Occupying Power or to that of any other country, occupied or not, are prohibited, regardless of their motive.”
ARTICLE 49, FOURTH GENEVA CONVENTION
HET HAAGS VERDRAG VAN 1907
De Staat, die een gebied bezet heeft, mag zich slechts beschouwen als beheerder en vruchtgebruiker der openbare gebouwen, onroerende eigendommen, bosschen en landbouwondernemingen, welke aan den vijandelijken Staat behooren en zich in de bezette landstreek bevinden. Hij moet het grondkapitaal dier eigendommen in zijn geheel laten en die overeenkomstig de regelen van het vruchtgebruik beheeren.”
ARTIKEL 55, HAAGS VERDRAG 1907
IN HET ENGELS
Art. 55. The occupying State shall be regarded only as administrator and usufructuary of public buildings, real estate, forests, and agricultural estates belonging to the hostile State, and situated in the occupied country. It must safeguard the capital of these properties, and administer them in accordance with the rules of usufruct.
CONVENTION RESPECTING THE LAWS AND CUSTOMS OF WARON LAND AND ITS ANNEX: REGULATIONS CONCERNINGTHE LAWS AND CUSTOMS OF WAR ON LAND
THE HAGUE 18 OCTOBER 1907
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