This article is the first of three pieces going over the Nakba. It begins with a basic introduction to International Humanitarian Legal analysis.
In the rugged valleys of Palestine, just six kilometers south of the Palestinian town Nablus, lies the infamous Israeli settlement Yitzhar. In claiming to protect its settlers, Yitzhar has been setting up roadblocks and organizing groups of armed settlers with the explicit goals of forcing Palestinians off of “their land.” Yitzhar has even become the target of US sanctions, acting so viciously against innocent Palestinians that even America sees its actions as bad optics. So, what are settlements? According to a Vox article originally published November 20, 2018, settlements are Jewish communities set up or heavily supported by the Israeli government. As an Al Jazeera article published November of last year further explains, “about 40 percent of the occupied West Bank land is now controlled by settlements. These settlements — along with a vast network of checkpoints for Palestinians — effectively separate the Palestinian parts of the West Bank from each other, making the prospect of a future contiguous state almost impossible, according to critics.”
What’s worse about settlements is that on top of the flagrant theft of land as previously mentioned, the creation of settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories should be illegal under international law. Three specific principles are constant in international humanitarian law, rendering these settlements illegal. These principles forbid the forced deportations of occupied peoples, the transplantation of an Occupying Power’s population onto the occupied territories, and the destruction of Palestinian homes and villages.
The issue of forced deportations by an Occupying Power is an issue that has been heavily researched and codified into international law by several treaties and conventions, an issue which is crucial to address in order to prevent Genocide. According to Article 49 of the 4th Geneva Convention, "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." [1] Article 49 then goes on to say, "The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies." [1] International Humanitarian Law explicitly prohibits the mass deportations of Palestinians by the Israeli Occupying Forces, as it is a grave breach of the acts outlined by the article.
According to the Amnesty International 2019 report Destination: Occupation, "Transferring the occupying power’s civilians into the occupied territory is prohibited without exception. Furthermore, as explained earlier, the settlements ... are not temporary, [and they] do not benefit Palestinians ..." [2] The report goes further, citing the Rome Statute of the International Court of Justice as a basis as to why the creation of settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are war crimes. The Rome Statute outlines explicitly what constitutes a War Crime in Article 8, Section B, Subsection 8: "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." [3]
The creation of Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories could not have been possible without the forced expulsion of thousands of Palestinians and the methodical destruction of homes, villages, and towns. According to Israeli Historian and Political Scientist Ilan Pappe's 2006 book The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine, the planned removal of Palestinians from their villages and land had been an ideological necessity, and even before the establishment of the state of Israel, a chief policy of the colonists. [4]
Since the 30s, The Zionist colonists in Palestine, with the assistance of British Colonial Authorities, had been systematically and meticulously mapping out Palestinian Villages with excruciating levels of detail. To quote Ilan Pappe, "By the late 1930s, this 'archive' was almost complete. Precise details were recorded about the topographic location of each village, its access roads, quality of land, water springs, main sources of income, its sociopolitical composition, religious affiliations, names of its mukhtars, its relationship with other villages, the age of individual men (sixteen to fifty) and many more." [4] This immense collection of information was used to facilitate the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people. Not only had there been an intensive collection of information on Palestinian villages, but with that information there had been several plans of extermination drawn up and created with the intention of being enacted as soon as Israel gained independence. "[Plan C Called for] Killing the Palestinian political leadership. Killing Palestinian inciters and their financial supporters. Killing Palestinians who acted against Jews. Killing senior Palestinian officers and officials [in the Mandatory system]. Damaging Palestinian transportation. Damaging the sources of Palestinian livelihoods: water wells, mills, etc. Attacking nearby Palestinian villages likely to assist in future attacks. Attacking Palestinian clubs, coffee houses, meeting places, etc." [4]
The establishment and expansion of Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories represents a profound violation of international law, and originates from a rich history of colonial ethnic cleansing. The systematic forced deportation of Palestinians, coupled with the intentional destruction of their homes and communities, underscores the grave humanitarian crisis caused by these actions. Yet despite clear legal frameworks prohibiting such practices, the ongoing expansion of settlements continues to exacerbate tensions between Palestinians and settlers, and undermines the possibility of a viable, contiguous Palestinian state. As the international community grapples with the consequences of these settlements, it is crucial to acknowledge their bloody history and to recognize the urgent need for accountability and justice for the Palestinian people, who are being victimized by violent colonizers. By not addressing these foundational injustices, any efforts towards making a lasting resolution will be made in vain - and perpetuate a cycle of violence and displacement that has lasted decades.
Comments
Post a Comment