Repercussions of the Israeli Occupation of the Palestinian
Territory: An Overview
Prepared by the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia
Presented By Tarik Alami, Chief, Emerging and Conflict related Issues
Outline
1. The Israeli Occupation: Practices, Policies and Impact
a. Excessive Use of Force and Arbitrary Detentions
b. Home Demolitions, Property Confiscation and Population
Displacement
c. Israeli Settlements and Settler Violence
d. The Wall
e. Mobility Restrictions and Closure Policies
f. Impact on Natural Resources and the Environment
2. Towards an Independent State and Sustainable
Development
a. The Approach
b. Civil Society and Private Sector Partnerships
c. Previous Efforts and Way Forward
General Remarks
• The main cause of socio-economic and humanitarian plight
of the Palestinian people is the Israeli occupation
• Israel has established a regime of occupation, which has
manifested itself in a series of unlawful and internationally
prohibited measures
a. Excessive Use of Force and Arbitrary Detentions
OPT: Excessive Use of Force and Arbitrary Detentions
• 125 Palestinians killed and 2,144 injured by Israeli security forces and
settlers in 2011:
– Including 16 children killed and 441 injured
– More than 2 thirds of the casualties were linked to settlement activity
• Between 2000 and 2011 at least 1,351 Palestinian children killed by Israeli
soldiers/settlers
• Administrative Detention: detaining an individual without any charge or
trial.
• Between 1967 and 2010, more than 760,000 Palestinians were detained by
Israeli forces including 15,000 children
• 192 (average) Palestinian children were in Israeli prisons throughout 2011
• At least 63 cases of torture/ill-treatment of detained children were
documented in 2011
• An estimated 500-700 Palestinian children are prosecuted in Israeli military
courts each year
b. Home Demolitions, Property Confiscation and
Population Displacement
OPT: Home Demolitions, Property Confiscation and Population Displacement
Demolitions of structures and homes, as well as
population displacement has been systematic and
constitutes an alarming trend:
• Demolitions peaked in 2011 increased by 80% from 2010:
–
–
–
–
higher than any year since 2005
620 Palestinian residential structures were demolished
1094 people displaced
4164 others directly affected
•
At least 21,200 Palestinians have been left homeless as a
result of home demolitions since 2004
•
23,500 people are still homeless in the Gaza Strip, due to
inability to reconstruct 15,000 homes damaged or destroyed
during “Operation Cast Lead”
OPT: Home Demolitions, Property Confiscation and Population Displacement
East Jerusalem: Policy of systematic
displacement and land grab
• Expropriation of at least 23,378,000 m2
of land in East Jerusalem since 1968
• 390 Palestinian homes in East
Jerusalem demolished since 2004
•Limitations on Palestinians’ ability to
construct in East Jerusalem
– 60,000 Palestinians in East Jerusalem
under the threat of becoming homeless
• Revocation of 13,115 residency permits for Palestinian between 1967 and
November 2009 (46 additional permits in the first half of 2010)
The Occupied Palestinian Territory
c. Israeli Settlements and Settler Violence
OPT: Israeli Settlements and Settler Violence
Israeli settlements in the OPT are considered illegal according the UN Security
Council Resolution 446 (1979), and outposts are even illegal under Israeli law
•517,774 Israeli Settlers in 144 settlements and 100 outposts in the OPT (mid2010)
•Israeli settler population growth rate in the OPT has been more than double
the rate within Israel:
•Number of Israeli settlers has more than doubled since 1992
Year
1992
1997
2002
2007
2010
Israeli Settlers
241,500 308,689 383,275 461,169 517,774
•In 2011, the rate of construction in Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian
land was double that of construction within Israel
•Settlers use roads in the OPT marked for Israeli access only
OPT: Israeli Settlements and Settler Violence
• Settler attacks more than doubled compared in 2010 to 2009:
– 304 settler-related incidents against Palestinians and their properties (February 2010 and
February 2011)
– Settlers took over at least ten Palestinian housing units in occupied East Jerusalem
– Israeli settlers burned down Palestinian churches and Mosques
– Attacks against four medical facilities and crews and educational institutions
– Destruction of roughly 4,000 olive trees – many of them ancient
• No indictments following 97 investigations into the destruction of
Palestinian trees by Israeli settlers between 2005 and 2010.
Israeli Settlers “Price Tag Policy”:
Respond to any action by Israeli authorities limiting settlement expansion by attacking
Palestinians and their property
The Occupied Palestinian Territory
d. The Wall
Total Length: 707 km
Within the West Bank 85%
Constructed
61.4% (434 km)
Under Construction
8.4% (60 km)
Planned
WEST BANK
30.2% (213 km)
Green Line
(OCHA-OPT)
• De facto annexation of 13%of the West Bank
• 33,000 Palestinians stranded between the
Wall and the Green Line
• 855,000 Palestinians affected
• East Jerusalem severed from the remainder
of the West Bank
• Palestinians have to obtain ‘visitor’ permits
for their farming land and water resources
The Occupied Palestinian Territory
e. Mobility Restrictions and Closure Policies
Mobility Restrictions in the West Bank:
557 Obstacles (checkpoints, ditches,
sand mounds…) hinder the movement
of Palestinians in the West Bank (Dec 2011)
Areas A and B (Oslo Accords)
Areas C
149 Israeli settlements,
100 outposts and land cultivated by Israelis
Israeli military closed areas (Fire Zones) and 48 military bases
Nature Reserves
West Bank Barrier and Areas between the Barrier and the Green
Line
Restricted Roads
Closures and Checkpoints
The effect of the closures and the road system
Fragmentation of the West Bank
Tunnels
(As of September 2008)
Map Courtesy of OCHA-OPT (2008)
The Gaza Strip: Blockade and Access Restrictions
• Blockade imposed by Israel on the
Gaza Strip since June 2007:
• collective punishment imposed on an entire
civilian population in direct violation of
article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention.
• Most of the fundamental parameters
of Israel’s blockade remain in place
• Movement of Gaza’s population in and out
of the Strip remains difficult and largely
banned
• Limited access of humanitarian assistance
• importation of basic construction materials
remains heavily restricted
• Israel imposes a 1-1.5 km ‘buffer zone’
within the Gaza Strip
• Denying Palestinians access to 35% of the
Strip’s agricultural land
• Sea areas beyond 3 nautical miles from
shore are barred for Palestinian access
• 200 Nautical miles is the Exclusive Economic
Zone for UN member states
• 65,000 people affected by restrictions to
maritime areas
Map Courtesy of OCHA-OPT
The Occupied Palestinian Territory
f. Impact on Natural Resources and the Environment
OPT: Impact on Natural Resources and the Environment
• Palestinians have very limited access to water resources:
– Palestinian access to domestic fresh water averages 73 litres/person/day in the West
Bank and 52 in the Gaza Strip. (WHO recommends a minimum of 100 litres/person/day)
– Half of Palestinian wells have been dried up over the last two decades
• On average, an Israeli settler consumes 7 times as much water as a
Palestinian, while Palestinians pay 5 times as much as the settlers for water
• 170,000,000 m2 of fertile land are isolated by the wall in the West Bank
• Israeli settlements dump around 40million m3 of wastewater and solid
waste annually on Palestinian land.
• Due to the blockade on the Gaza Strip, 60 million litres of untreated or
partly treated sewage reaches agricultural lands, the sea, and sources of
drinking water on a daily basis
The Occupied Palestinian Territory
g. Social and Economic Indicators
OPT: Social and Economic Indicators
• GDP per person in 2010 to be 30 per cent less than it was in 2000
• 22% of Palestinian lived in poverty in 2009
• 24% unemployment rate in the OPT In the first half of 2011
(relaxed definition)
• 1,365 establishments operational in the Gaza Strip (June-July
2010), compared to 3,900 prior to the blockade
• Land access restrictions in the Gaza Strip cost the economy a loss
of approximately 75,000 metric tons of potential produce
annually
• Palestinian households dedicate more than half of their total
cash expenditures to food
• The OPT has become one of the most aid-dependent economies
in the world
OPT: Social and Economic Indicators
•
1.43 million Palestinians suffer from food insecurity
•
2 out 3 children in the Gaza Strip report severe and
moderate reaction to trauma. Post-traumatic stress
among families is estimated at 45%.
•
The blockade on the Gaza Strip has forced people “to
make unacceptable tradeoffs, often having to choose
between food or medicine or water for their
families”
•
The blockade on the Gaza Strip has led to severe
shortages in essential drugs and medicines, as well
as in medical equipment
•
Restrictions are placed on the movement of patients
and health staff in the West Bank
•
80% of schools in the Gaza Strip operate on double
shifts to accommodate the number of students
•
40 incidents in which students are prevented from accessing schools, learning is
disrupted, or where the safety of students was compromised were documented in
2010 in the West Bank
Toward an Independent State and
Sustainable Development
The Approach
Reality:
- Israeli occupation: full control mobility, economy and security
- Unstable/untenable status quo
In this light preparing the ground for a future Palestinian State:
- Institution Building – in progress by Palestinian Authority
- Reintegrating Palestine in the Arab region
Reintegrating Palestine in the Arab Region
Arab-Palestinian Partnerships:
• Capitalization on Arab support to the Palestinian People
• Provision of politically-independent support
• Prospects for growth of mutually beneficial partnerships
• Less prone to the occupation and developments on the ground
• Viable partnerships: AS OF TODAY
Types of partnerships:
1. Civil society entities
2. Private sector institutions
Partnerships on the governmental level are also underway.
The Partnerships
1. Civil Society Partnerships:
-
Arab civil society institutions can benefit from their Palestinian
counterparts
-
-
In light of the Arab Awakening and increasing role of civil society
Palestinian long and extensive experience
Palestinian civil society needs Arab partners
-
For funding
For coordinated advocacy
For regional projects and initiatives
The Partnerships
2. Private Sector Partnerships:
-
Arab private sector partnerships with Palestinian counterparts
-
-
Could find lucrative investment opportunities in the OPT in several sectors
including tourism and agriculture
Bypass political obstacles
Palestinian private sector would benefit from such a
partnership
-
Increased opportunities/economic growth
Decrease dependency on the Israeli economy
Outlet to the outer world
Role of the United Nations
-
Provide a platform for fostering partnerships
Providing seed funding/projects or programmes
Advocacy and encouragement
Provide political support
Capitalization and reinforcement of such partnerships
Previous Efforts
In 2003, ESCWA in partnership with UNSCO, UNDP, UNCTAD,
ILO, the Palestinian Authority, the League of Arab States and
many other organizations launched a multi-track process. The
results:
•
•
•
Arab-International Forum in Beirut in 2004
8 partnership agreements and initiatives
The establishment of a series of networks
Way Forward
Political and security developments on the Palestinian and
regional scenes stalled the continuation of this process,
HOWEVER:
1. The need remains, if not grown
2. The Arab Awakening could be a facilitating factor
3. ESCWA and partners are still committed
Conclusion
Thank you