By Nur Aida Poh
The UN still considers Israel as an occupying power in the occupied Palestinian territories (oPt) of West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem.This fact remains even after Israel retreated from Gaza in 2005. The previous article describes the illegality of the Israeli occupation, however, the law of occupation is still enforced regardless of the legality of the occupation. The following paragraphs will assess if the label “occupation” is commensurable to the actions of Israel in Palestine.
Israel Duties vis-a-vis the Law of Occupation and the Oslo Accords
The law of occupation states that an occupying state is endowed with certain responsibilities to ensure that the rights and welfare of the individuals in the occupied areas are protected. In this instance, despite the illegality of the Israeli occupation, the Israel government is still responsible for the rights of Palestinians in the oPt. The Oslo Accords reaffirms this duty, and does not absolve the abidance of the law of occupation, as the Israeli government is still considered an occupying power even after the ratification of the Oslo Accords. The specifics of the provisions are stipulated in the Hague Regulation of 1907, The Fourth Geneva Convention in 1949 and the Additional Protocol of 1977.
Provisions of the Law of Occupation:
Building settlements, and transferring Israeli civilians into the oPt is illegal
Article 49, in the sixth paragraph of the Fourth Geneva Convention states that:
“The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies.”
This is supported by Article (8/2/b/8) under the Rome Statute which criminalizes the act of transferring civilians of the Occupying Power, directly, or indirectly, into the territory it occupies, under these circumstances:
Demolishment, destruction and confiscation of private property is also a war crime
The use of land and natural resources in the occupied territory is considered “pillaging”, and is considered a war crime, even in lands taken by force; as is stated in Article (4/2/g) of the Additional Protocol II of 1977. Article 49 of the Hague Convention 1907 reiterates this act as a war crime:
“Family honour and rights, the lives of persons, and private property, as well as religious convictions and practice, must be respected. Private property cannot be confiscated."
Human rights violations in the oPt goes against the very definition of an Occupying Power.
ICRC states that an 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.”
Israel’s flagrant violations of the law of occupation
The building of Israeli settlements at the expense of Palestinian civilians in occupied territories, the appropriation of natural resources, and the erection of West Bank Wall all point towards several war crimes that no longer qualifies its existence in Palestine as an Occupying Power.
Israeli settlements in Palestinian land, forced evictions, and demolitions
Israel has built approximately 250 settlements for Israel civilians in the oPt, and have demolished 7,726 Palestinian structures for the aforementioned purpose.[7] These structures are mostly actual neighbourhoods - homes Palestinians have lived in for years - schools, healthcare centres, even water containers and utility buildings, and other infrastructure that Palestinians require to live. 11,584 Palestinians have been displaced in the process, most of which are forcefully evicted. It is important to note that these demolishments occur regularly, as a part of the Israeli expansion, and are not the result of conflict. Though some cities and neighbourhoods such as Sheikh Jarrah of East Jerusalem and Ma’ale Adumim of the West Bank Area C have received attention in the media in recent years for its forced evictions and the violence that ensued during its process, other cities and neighbourhoods have been facing uncompensated demolishments and eviction notices since the last five decades; and Israel has been continuously imposing discriminative building and demolition policies with impunity throughout these years. Palestinians have no viable recourse to counter these evictions and policies, and are forced to live in limbo with no clear future. Any attempt to protect their homes and livelihoods is met with unequal and excessive force, with self-defense framed by the Israeli government as “conflict”. Below is a map elucidating the expansion over the years.
Erection of West Bank Wall, and the flying checkpoints
Under the guise of security, Israel has also built the West Bank wall and stationed a total of 700 stationary and “flying checkpoints”[1] - both of which, to say, at the very least, are illegal in the eyes of international law.[2] The previous paragraphs have revealed that building any structures in the oPt is considered a war crime, however, though this wall is a structure, its erection impacts far beyond the Israeli settlements in that its very purpose is to severely restrict the movement of Palestinians to and from Jerusalem.[3] As mentioned earlier, an Occupying Power’s duties are to protect, not further violate civilians in the oPt’s human rights. Specific human rights violations, and race-based segregation in the West Bank wall will be explored in the next chapter, however, it is crucial to note here that the violation to the freedom of movement at the separation barrier leads to other human rights violation, such as right to education, access to healthcare, to work that purposefully prevents Palestinians from leading a productive lifestyle.[4]
Israel’s occupation in Palestine is the longest-continuing occupation in history, beginning from 1967 until today.[5]
One of the most important principles of an occupation is that it is temporary. The Israeli government’s blatant plan to expand its territory into more of the oPt, the violence and armed attacks it is prepared to take, and its long, unremorseful track-record throughout these 54 years is sufficient proof that there is no future where the occupation will end.In 2020, the ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber I led by Judge Fouad Baker decided that the ICC “is competent to try Israeli officials responsible for building settlements located in the occupied Palestinian territories”, and on 5th February this year, the ICC has opened an investigation into the war crimes in the oPt.
These human rights violations, failure to respect international law, and international humanitarian law points towards the incommensurability of the word “occupation” in describing the situation in Palestine. The next article will look into the crime of apartheid in international law and observe parallels in the the treatment of Palestinians in the oPT.
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