International Law in the case of the Israeli-Palestinian dispute (Part I)

Palestine. This is a country that since its Nakba (1948) is suffering from chronic internal dispositions. At the time, when a new Jewish State was to be established, the fact that the aspirated territory had its already existing Arab population did not mean a thing to the ambitious Zionists. Their history and aspirations mattered even less. As such, even at the time of the British mandate, the British largely condoned and supported the large import of Israeli settlers into the territory of historic Palestine[1]. This continues to this day, with the necessary international law violations from Israeli side in order to establish a strong Jewish State.

As such, international humanitarian law, under article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, prohibits the transfer of civilians of the Occupying Power to the occupied territories, when stating that ‘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. […]The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies’[2]. Israel, then, obviously seems to neglect such notion and any adherence to it, when it continues to build and expand its settlements in the occupied territories. For example, in 1987 Israel has been said to have 128 existing settlements, which were covered by 4,127 hectares of land. Some 18 years later, in 2005, the number of settlements has risen to 149, while the land it covers increased to 16,375 hectares[3]. So, while the existing settlements increased with an additional 20 settlements, the confiscated hectares of land quadrupled! Furthermore, the settler population in those settlements increased with an annual rate of 5.5% per year between 1987 and 2004. More obstructing is the fact that, for example, between 2003 and 2004, the population increase was higher than in Israel itself, whereby the settler population increased with 4.6% and the Israeli population with 1.8%[4]. As such, the settler population in the West Bank and East-Jerusalem rose from 169,200 in 1987 to 421,669 in 2005[5], which is an un-going and persistent reality today. This especially since Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, declared, in November 2011, the building of another 2,000 housing units for Israeli settlers in East-Jerusalem, whereby this territory should be considered as a part of Israel in the so-called future peace plan, forging the obvious displacement of Palestinians from their future capital[6]. Furthermore, Israel prohibits the Palestinians from using three-quarters of the Jordan Valley and northern Dead Sea area, whereby, in consequence, Palestinian building and the sustainable development of Palestinian communities is being limited[7]. As such, Israel breaches the Hague Convention on the Law and Customs of War on Land, of 1907[8], especially when considering that article 55 states the following: ‘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’[9]. However, over the years, Israel has taken control over long territories of land in the Jordan Valley and northern Dead Sea, whereby it seized private Palestinian land (from Palestinians who have fled the territory) and declared them to be closed military areas, nature reserves, and state land! Even, small Bedouin communities have been removed from the area since the start of these Israeli activities[10]. Statistically, 15.4% of the prohibited territory of the West Bank for Palestinian use is declared state land, 13.1% is closed due to proclaimed military purposes, and 5.6% of the prohibited area are said to be nature reserves[11].

There is no doubt that there are no international law violations from the Palestinian side, however, this section deals with the expansionist aspirations of the Jewish State, whereby the Palestinians are not nearly in power to undo or to fight such activities. All in all, the settlement-building is illegal under international law, however, Israel continues with it undisturbed. Its expansionist politics and policies penetrate deep into the West Bank and East-Jerusalem with some condemnation of the Western powers, but without any necessary steps to compel an end to such activities. Even to this day.

Helena Uzelac