Illegal settlements means settlements within an occupied territory in which civilians of the occupying power live and whose presence is being, or has been, facilitated directly or indirectly, by the occupying power, and whose illegality has been confirmed or designated in one or more of the following: Sample 1 Sample 2 Based on 2 documents
Are settlements illegal under international law?
In 2004, an advisory opinion by the primary judicial organ of the UN, the International Court of Justice, also found the settlements to be illegal under international law.
Are Israel’s illegal settlements legal?
The answer to the last two questions is yes, but the so-called illegal settlement outposts are illegal even under Israeli law. They were built without explicit government or military approval, and many sit on land privately owned by Palestinians — without the landowners’ permission.
Why does the EU trade with illegal settlements?
The EU opposes annexation and considers illegal settlements in occupied territories as an obstacle to international peace and stability. But even though illegal settlements constitute a war crime, the EU allows trade with them. That trade allows for profits from annexation and contributes to the expansion of illegal settlements across the world.
Are West Bank settlements illegal?
Are West Bank Settlements Illegal? Who Decides? The United States declared that Israeli settlements on the West Bank are “not inconsistent with” international law, despite decisions by world bodies like the International Court of Justice. Givat Zeev, an Israeli settlement near the Palestinian city of Ramallah in the West Bank.
Where are Israeli illegal settlements?
The consensus view in the international community is that the existence of Israeli settlements in the West Bank including East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights is in violation of international law.
Why does Israel have settlements?
Ideological settlers, seeking to maximize Jewish possession of biblical lands, set up settlements such as Kiryat Arba near Hebron. Settlements continued to expand in the decades that followed, and by 1993 there were more than 280,000 people living in settlements (130,000 if East Jerusalem is excluded).
How many illegal settlements are there in the West Bank?
Between 600,000 and 750,000 Israeli settlers live in at least 250 illegal settlements in the West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem.
What land has Israel taken from Palestine?
More than 50 years ago, the state of Israel shocked the world when it seized the remaining Palestinian territories of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, Gaza Strip, as well as the Syrian Golan Heights and the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula, in a matter of six days.
When did Israel take Palestine?
Since the occupation first began in June 1967, Israel's ruthless policies of land confiscation, illegal settlement and dispossession, coupled with rampant discrimination, have inflicted immense suffering on Palestinians, depriving them of their basic rights.
What human rights has Israel violated?
Israel's continued policies and practices had resulted in flagrant human rights violations and abuses, including brutalisation of children, torture, forcible transfers, and colonisation of land.
Why did Israel occupy Palestine?
Israel says the occupation is necessary for security given its tiny size: to protect Israelis from Palestinian attacks and to provide a buffer from foreign invasions.
How many UN rules has Israel violated?
SECURITY COUNCIL RESOLUTIONS: Laws Violated: Israel has violated 28 resolutions of the United Nations Security Council (which are legally binding on member-nations U.N.
How many settlements does Israel have?
Today they total around 400,000 and live in about 130 separate settlements (this doesn't include East Jerusalem, which we'll address in a moment). They have grown under every Israeli government over the past half-century despite consistent international opposition.
Why are there checkpoints in Israel?
The checkpoints are, according to Israel, intended to enhance security of Israel and Israeli settlements. Israeli checkpoints may be staffed by the Israeli Military Police, the Israel Border Police, or other soldiers.
Are there Israeli settlements in Gaza?
According to the report of the Security Council Commission established under resolution 446 (1979): "Between 1967 and May 1979, Israel has established altogether 133 settlements in the occupied territories, consisting of 79 in the West Bank, 29 in the Golan Heights, 7 in the Gaza Strip and 18 in the Sinai.
Who were the first settlers in Israel?
3,000 to 2,500 B.C. — The city on the hills separating the fertile Mediterranean coastline of present-day Israel from the arid deserts of Arabia was first settled by pagan tribes in what was later known as the land of Canaan. The Bible says the last Canaanites to rule the city were the Jebusites.
How many illegal outposts are there in the West Bank?
The Israeli government is working tirelessly to retroactively legalize over 100 illegal West Bank outposts. They’ll probably get away with it. Is that such a bad thing?
What happened to the settlements in Amona?
That’s what happened in Amona. The settlement was built on privately owned Palestinian land, and the landowners went to an Israeli court to get their land back — and won.
What is the formalization law?
That effort has primarily manifested as a proposed law called the “formalization law,” sometimes translated as the “normalization law.” In reality, it is a piece of legislation that would retroactively legalize the theft of privately owned Palestinian land. Netanyahu’s own attorney general has said he cannot defend such a law in court, but for political reasons the prime minister is letting his coalition partners run wild.
Is Beit El a consensus settlement?
Directly abutting the de facto Palestinian capital of Ramallah and far from the Green Line, Beit El is considered a ‘consensus settlement.’ (Ohad Zwigenberg/POOL)
Is there a case to be made for engaging with the Israeli government's game of semantics over legal and?
Yet there is still a case to be made for engaging with the Israeli government’s game of semantics over legal and illegal settlements . The reason is practicality: save what you can. The case for fighting to keep the “illegal” settlements illegal under Israeli law is a limited effort, albeit likely in vain, by the traditional pro-two-state, peace camp movement to stave off the settlement movement’s unchecked expansion and ultimate goal: undermining any chance of Palestinian statehood in the occupied territories.
Why do settlements matter in the West Bank?
Why the locations of settlements matter. Settlements are scattered across the West Bank in a way that makes a contiguous Palestinian state impossible, while in Jerusalem the Israeli government has built settlements around the city to consolidate control over it.
Why are they illegal under international law?
In a series of agreements known as the Geneva Conventions, formulated in the aftermath of World War II, the international community established a set of accepted rules and standards for the protection of civilians, prisoners and injured people in times of war.
How many Israeli colonies are there in the occupied Palestinian territories?
There are three main types of Israeli colonies in the occupied Palestinian territories, all of which involve seizing Palestinian land and are all illegal under international law.
Why does Israel have a policy of demolition?
While building homes for settlers, Israel employs a policy of home demolitions to restrict the expansion of Palestinian communities on the pretext that homes were built without necessary permits, while refusing to issue them.
What was the Jewish settlement in the 1880s?
In the 1880s, the community of Palestinian Jews, known as the Yishuv , amounted to three percent of the total population. They were apolitical and did not aspire to build a modern Jewish state.
When did Israel start a law to confiscate Palestinian property?
In 1950, Israel introduced the Absentee Property Law to confiscate the property of the 800,000 Palestinians who were forced to flee their homes between 1947 and 1949, due to the Nakba. The law encompassed those Palestinians who were displaced to the West Bank, East Jerusalem, Gaza, or to neighbouring countries.
Does Israel have jurisdiction in the West Bank?
Since Israel has not annexed the occupied West Bank and does not have jurisdiction there, it uses military orders as well as its own interpretations of Ottoman, British and Jordanian laws to seize Palestinian property.
Stopping Trade With Illegal Israeli Settlements
Our initiative demands a law that prohibits trade with all illegal settlements, present and future. This general rule would of course also apply to trade with illegal Israeli settlements.
As a result of these breaches
As a result of these breaches, all states and the United Nations have continuously emphasized that settlements are illegal. Because of the seriousness of their illegality, international law mandates other states to not recognize or assist these violations.
Stopping trade with settlements should not be considered as a sanction
Importantly, stopping trade with settlements should not be considered as a sanction. Sanctions are ‘positive’ obligations that explicitly target a specific country and are withdrawn when a violation is stopped. They are optional or obligatory in response to a UN Security Council resolution.
Academic post by Tom Moerenhout
This peer-reviewed academic post in the European Journal of International Law (2017) explains international law and how the consequence of UN Security Council Resolution 2334 on Settlements is that states have to stop trade with settleme...
Apartheid report by UNESCWA
This report by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia confirms that Israel has established an apartheid regime that oppresses and dominates the Palestinian people as a whole. This official UN report was eventu...
Academic Article by John Dugard and John Reynolds
This peer-reviewed academic article in the European Journal of International Law presents legal evidence that the situation in the West Bank, including Israel’s settlement enterprise, constitutes Apartheid.
Open letter calling for an end of EU trade with illegal settlements
This open letter by over 40 legal experts confirms that trading with Israeli settlements is illegal and calls on legislators in both the European Union and individual Member States to withhold from trading with them.
SIGN THE INITIATIVE HERE
We seek to regulate commercial transactions with Occupant’s entities based or operating in occupied territories by withholding products originating from there from entering the EU market.
What you are signing?
This petition text is the legal text under which the European Commission has recognized that it can pass a law to stop trade with illegal settlements, once and for all. Supporting this specific text will thus pave the way to stopping business with illegal settlements.
Supporting Coalition
We are a wide alliance of NGOs, grassroots movements, trade unions and politicians who unite against profits from annexation and occupation to protect human rights, fair trade, social and environmental justice, and international peace and stability. See all organizations within the civil society coalition here.
When did the International Court of Justice reject the settlements?
The International Court of Justice rejected that argument in an advisory opinion in 2004, ruling that the settlements violated international law.
How many settlements have been built in Israel?
Israel has built about 130 formal settlements in the West Bank since 1967. A similar number of smaller, informal settlement outposts have gone up since the 1990s, without government authorization but usually with some government support.
Is it illegal to build a settlement in Israel?
The Israeli Supreme Court and the government do consider settlement construction on privately owned Palestinian land to be illegal. Under the Oslo Accords, signed by Israel and the Palestinians in the 1990s, both sides agreed that the status of Israeli settlements would be resolved by negotiation.
Can the American policy be used to justify settlement construction?
But in the absence of negotiations, the American policy could be used to justify even more settlement construction.
Are Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal?
The United Nations General Assembly, the United Nations Security Council and the International Court of Justice have all said that Israeli settlements on the West Bank violate the Fourth Geneva Convention.
When did Israel legalize settlements?
During the 1970s, Israel's Supreme Court regularly ruled that the establishment of civilian settlements by military commanders was legal on the basis that they formed part of the territorial defense network and were considered temporary measures needed for military and security purposes.
What article of the Geneva Convention is against the settlements?
Hansell concluded that the settlements are "inconsistent with international law", and against Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. The Hansell Memorandum found that " [w]hile Israel may undertake, in the occupied territories, actions necessary to meet its military needs and to provide for orderly government during the occupation, for the reasons indicated above the establishment of the civilian settlements in those territories is inconsistent with international law."
What was the Israeli law in 1967?
Shortly after independence, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled that the fundamental principles of international law, accepted as binding by all civilized nations , were to be incorporated in the domestic legal system of Israel. In the aftermath of the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel occupied the Sinai Peninsula, the Gaza Strip, West Bank, East Jerusalem and Golan Heights. Theodor Meron, at the time the Israeli government's authority on the topic of international law and legal counsel to the Israeli Foreign Ministry, was asked to provide a memorandum regarding the status in international law of proposed settlement of the territories, which he subsequently addressed to the Foreign Minister Abba Eban on 14 September 1967. He concluded that short-term military settlements would be permissible, but that "civilian settlement in the administered territories contravenes the explicit provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention," adding that the prohibition on any such population transfer was categorical, and that "civilian settlement in the administered territories contravenes the explicit provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention ." It follows from the presence on files of these notes, Gershom Gorenberg argues, that the Prime Minister at the time, Levi Eshkol, knew that Israeli settlements in the territories Israel had just occupied would violate international laws and that by that time Eshkol had been actively engaged in exploring the possibility of settling the newly conquered region. Meron's unequivocal legal opinion was marked top secret and not made public.
What did Ronald Reagan say about the settlements?
Notwithstanding the Hansell opinion, the official US position had been that the settlements are "an obstacle to peace". In February 1981, Ronald Reagan announced that he didn't believe that Israeli settlements in the West Bank were illegal. He added that "the UN resolution leaves the West Bank open to all people, Arab and Israeli alike". Hoping to achieve a peace deal, he nevertheless asked Israel to freeze construction calling the settlements an "obstacle to peace". The permissive attitude taken by America accelerated the pace of Israel's settlement programme. Reagan's view on the settlements legality was not held by the State Department. The George H.W. Bush, Clinton, and George W. Bush administrations did not publicly comment on the legality of Israeli settlements, but spoke publicly against them. Since the Clinton administration, the U.S. has continued to object to the settlements, calling them "obstacles to peace" and prejudicial to the outcome of final status talks. Although President Barack Obama and diplomatic officials in his administration have stated, "the United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements," in February 2011 the U.S. vetoed a Security Council resolution that would have declared the settlements illegal. In December 2016, the U.S. abstained on a Security Council Resolution that declared that Israeli settlements are illegal and deemed their continuing construction a "flagrant violation" of international law. In abstaining, U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power stated, "Today the Security Council reaffirmed its established consensus that the settlements have no legal validity. The United States has been sending a message that settlements must stop privately and publicly for nearly five decades." This position was United States policy and had been stated by Secretary of State John Kerry and by the Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, and Obama administrations. In November 2019, the Trump administration expressly repudiated the Hansell opinion and stated that the United States considered the status of the settlements as being "not inconsistent with" international law. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also said: "The hard truth is that there will never be a judicial resolution to the conflict, and arguments about who is right and who is wrong as a matter of international law will not bring peace." However, Pompeo added that "the United States Government is expressing no view on the legal status of any individual settlement."
When did the Israeli Supreme Court rule on settlements?
In 1978 and 1979 the Israeli Supreme court, prompted by the new government policies, ruled on two important cases that set out the requirements for Israeli settlement legality under international law.
Which countries are violating the Fourth Geneva Convention?
Canada, agreeing with UN Security Council Resolutions 446 and 465, argues that the Fourth Geneva Convention applies to the occupied territories (the Golan Heights, the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip) and that Israeli settlements are a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention.
Which convention applies to Israeli settlements?
The United Nations Security Council, the United Nations General Assembly, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the International Court of Justice and the High Contracting Parties to the Convention have all affirmed that the Fourth Geneva Convention applies to Israeli settlements. Numerous UN resolutions and prevailing international opinion ...
