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Illegal Settlements in the west bank

Israeli War Crimes

State of the West Bank

A consequence of the Oslo Accords, which is a failed attempt to bring peace between Israel and Palestine, is that the West Bank which was originally a part of Palestine but was occupied in 1967 by Israel, is divided into three main areas A, B and C. Area C includes a contiguous territory on 60% of the West Bank where Israel exercises full civil and security control. Meanwhile, area B is 22% of the bank and where the Palestinian authority has civil but no security control and area A is 40% of the bank where the Palestinian authority has both complete civil and security control. Among the reasons that potentially caused the Oslo Accords to fail were that the settlements (area C) are illegal by international law and that Israel still continues to expand these illegal settlements in the West Bank.

Illegailty of Settlements

As stated in article 49 of the Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War Article which is ratified by Israel, “The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies.” In other words, the rights of Israel after occupying the West Bank from Jordan in 1967 are restricted to using the land for security purposes or similar or using it for the benefit of the local population. Israel’s use of the land by allowing its own citizens to settle there (hence, the name settlers) is a violation of international law (namely, the article shown above).

The international community including the United States, the United Nations and the European Union recognize the illegality of the settlements in the West Bank. According to a 2022 report from the European Union “The EU has repeatedly called on Israel not to proceed with such plans and to halt all settlement activities. It remains the EU’s firm position that settlements are illegal under international law. Israel's decision to advance plans for the approval and construction of new settlement units in 2022, i.a. for E1 and Har Gilo West, further undermines the prospects of a viable two-state solution.”

Violations and Reports

Moreover, Amnesty International reports a long list of violations by Israel in the West Bank which could be summarized as in following list. Many instances of such violations are present in the crimes page of Stand-With-Palestine.org.

Violations of the right to life:

Unlawful killings and injuries of Palestinian civilians by Israeli forces and settlers. There is a myriad of instances for this, such as At Least 4 Palestinians Were Killed By Settlers' Bullets As IDF Watches, Child's Skin Burning off After A Molotov Cocktail Was Thrown into His House By Israeli Settlers, Large Group of Israeli Settlers Lynching A Palestinian Man And Destroying His Car, Palestinian Shop Owner Shot in The Head By An Israeli Settler., Mosque in Jerusalem Torched By Israeli Settlers, Vandalised With Racist Graffiti.

Violations of the rights to liberty, security of the person and equal treatment before the law: Arbitrary detention, unfair trials and discrimination against Palestinians in the legal system.

In fact, over 7270 Palestinians have been detained from the West Bank since the 7th of October. Compare this to the number of hostages held by Hamas.

Violations of the right to access an effective remedy:

Lack of accountability and justice for acts of violence against Palestinians. In other words, this refers to how settlers aren’t usually held accountable for their violence against Palestinians.

Violations of the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly:

Suppression of protests and criminalization of dissent in the West Bank.

Violations of the right to adequate housing:

Forced evictions, demolitions and confiscations of Palestinian homes and property. In the process of expanding the settlements, Israelis destroy existing Palestinian homes. The following video shows two Palestinians watching the demolition of their own home in l-Isawiya, East Jerusalem.

Violations of the right to freedom of movement:

Restrictions on movement due to checkpoints, roads and walls.

Violations of the rights of the child:

Ill-treatment, prosecution and killing of Palestinian children. For instance, 4-year-old Child Dies Four Days After Being Shot By The IDF While Protesting, Palestinian Boy On The Way To School Shot in The Head By Israeli Police, Palestinian Boy Killed After Being Run Over By An Israeli Settler Who Fled The Scene

Violations of the right to health:

Impediments to access to health care and mental health problems due to violence and abuse.

Violations of the right to water:

Denial of sufficient and safe water supply for Palestinians.

Violations of the right to education:

Obstacles to access to education due to displacement, demolitions, movement restrictions and settler attacks.

Violations of the right to work:

Damage to the livelihoods of Palestinian farmers and workers due to land confiscation, settler violence and business restrictions. Posterior to the 7th of October attack, Israel also revoked the work permits of nearly 160,000 Palestinians who work in Israel and in Israeli settlements inside the West Bank.

In summary, it wasn’t enough for Israel to allow illegal settlements in the West Bank. They also illegally decided to make life hell for Palestinians living there by killing them, injuring them, arbitrarily detaining them and depriving them from the most basic human rights.