I've italicized the operative points for emphasis. We stayed in Tawayel to monitor the soldiers movements. An international convention concluded in 1949, following World War II, and ratified by 196 countries, including all UN members as well as the State of Palestine. General Provisions If implemented, the six plans plans will lead to a situation of individual and mass forcible transfers. 75, No. The Israeli army uses the area around Tawayel for military exercises on average once a month. Convention (IV) relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War. danger. soon as the transfer or evacuation had taken place. The international community is faced with ongoing and unceasing attempts by the Palestinian leadership to bypass the negotiating process and to directly lobby the international community, and to seek intervention by the UN Security Council in order to attain a more formalized, institutionalized, and concerted opinion as to the illegality of Israels settlements. Bedouin from Khan al Ahmar who will be displaced by Nuweimah plans. Tawayel is a shepherding community, dependent on electricity to store their milk, cheese and yoghurt products. It is claimed that settlements are a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilians (1949). Statue of Athena in central Athens. The EAPPI team in Yanoun was called to Tawayel at 12:30 pm due to sightings of Israeli soldiers near to the village. There are currently 196 countries party to the 1949 Geneva Conventions, including this and the other three treaties. He lived his childhood under the Ottoman rule of Palestine, his youth under the British Mandate. This thesis discusses the Israeli settlements based on the occupation of the West Bank since the 1967 Six Day War. [9] The Jews who won the war then established Israel by the Declaration of Establishment of the State of Israel (14 May 1948). What was occurring before our eyes was confirmation of the close, collaborative relationship existing between the Israeli army and Israeli settlers. Such transfers worsened the economic situation of the native population and endangered their separate existence as a race. See Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, Article 17 of the Additional Protocol II and ICRC Customary IHL Study, Rule 129. Mahmoud Shawash, head of the affected family tells us that the trees were 40 to 50 years old. See http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/dec/29/palestinians-take-settlement-battle-un/. The Belgian Foreign Minister Reynders stated: We need to have an EU initiative, because this not only concerns Belgian projects, but also projects of several other countries, I believe, and definitely European Commission projects.. Signed at Geneva, 12 August 1949 The undersigned Plenipotentiaries of the Governments represented at the Diplomatic Conference held at Geneva from 21 April to 12 August 1949, for the purpose of establishing a Convention for the Protection of Civilians in Time of War, have agreed as follows: PART I GENERAL PROVISIONS Article 1. In addition, Israel follows the Ottoman Land Code which allows thestate of Israel to confiscate land that has been left uncultivated for a period of three yearsand although by law state land should be allocated for the benefit of the local Palestinian population in the occupied territories, in reality it is usually allocatedtoIsraeli settlements. [7] The UN Partition Plan gave 56 percent of the land to Jews which were still a large minority of 33 per cent and 43 per cent of Palestinian land to the Arabs. One may further ask if this is not a misreading, misunderstanding, or even distortion of that article and its context. Alan Baker, Director of the Institute for Contemporary Affairs at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, is former Legal Adviser to Israels Foreign Ministry and former Ambassador of Israel to Canada. Indeed in the bigger picture, these acts of sabotage, committed by individuals but unpunished by the system, conveniently support an ongoing strategicland grabthat Israel is carrying out in the occupiedPalestinian territories, for the benefit of the Israeli settlers. The language of Article 49 [of the Fourth Geneva Convention] was crafted in the wake of World War II and the Nazi occupation an occupation that led to a war of aggression in which Nazi Germany attacked its neighbors with impunity, committing a host of atrocities against civilian populations, including deportation and displacement of local . The continued reliance by the international community on the Geneva Convention as the basis for determining the illegality of Israels settlements fails to take into account the unique nature of the history, legal framework, and negotiating circumstances regarding the West Bank. The settlement issue is perceived in many quarters as the central and only problem obstructing the peaceful solution of the Middle East conflict, to the total exclusion of all other issues, including terror, incitement, Jerusalem, refugees, the Iranian threat, and the like. Yet there are a number of very relevant factors that inevitably must be considered when making such a serious accusation against Israel. In the Mediterranean region, olive tree symbolises peace and prosperity. *More photos & stats on the Nuweimah plans. The West Bank is part of the territory assigned to the Jewish National Home by the Mandate . This was indicative of the international communitys acknowledgment that the original 1949 Geneva Convention language was simply not relevant to Israels settlements. See the Foreword to the ICRC Commentary, at note 5 above. 13. Moreover, in a number of cases, Palestinian land owners have suffered losses of land as a result of Israeli authority imposed access restrictions to their fields, such as restricted permits and the separation barrier that in many parts of the West Bank separates farmers from their fields. Article 49(6) uses terminology that is indicative of governmental action in coercing its citizens to move. The Protecting Power shall be informed of any transfers and evacuations as soon as they have taken place. (the texts of all four articles being identical save as stated below)- 8. The series of agreements signed with the Palestinian leadership has in fact placed the entire issue of the status of the territory, as well as Israels settlements, on the negotiating table a factor that proves the lack of any intention to colonize or displace. In various incidents yearly, Palestinian-owned olive trees get damaged, poisoned, uprooted, burnt down or harvested by settlers. No one is making a demolition order for the settlers; [instead] they are building a road for him, said the Mayor of Aqraba at the most recent house demolition in Tawayel on 20August 2014, which left 17 people homeless. Suite 600 Israeli Security, Regional Diplomacy, and International Law, Palestinian representatives at the UN have prepared a draft resolution dated December 21, that will seek to declare that Israeli settlements are illegal and constitute a major obstacle to the achievement of peace.1 The claim is not new. The E1 master plan would allow for Israeli development on 12,000 dunams (12 km2 or 4.63 square miles). The year of 2017 symbolises 120 years of Zionism,[1] one century anniversary of the Balfour-declaration[2] which promised Jews a home in Palestine, 70 years since the 1947 United Nations (UN) Partition Plan[3] and 50 years of the occupation of Palestinian territories. "As regards these settlements, the Court notes that Article 49, paragraph 6, of the Fourth Geneva Convention provides: 'The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own. Where are we supposed to go? he yelled at them. 2) Israeli settlements - Article 49 (1) reads: "The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies." He participated in the negotiation and drafting of the various agreements comprising the Oslo Accords. 3, as well as Article XXXI, para. Selims family has had their homes demolished four times during the past two years. On this day, the olive harvest continued without incidents of settler harassment as has happened in the past. [17] The Disengagement Plan General Outline (18 April 2004) accessed 16 July 2017. Photo EAPPI/J. In the case of Belgium, the electricity network is the first project they have funded to be demolished in the West Bank. These factors include: Immediately after the Second World War, the need arose to draft an international convention to protect civilians in times of armed conflict in light of the massive numbers of civilians forced to leave their homes during the war, and the glaring lack of effective protection for civilians under any of the then valid conventions or treaties.5 In this context, the sixth paragraph of Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention states: The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies.6. They are prohibited by the 4th Geneva Convention, regardless of the motive. Johanna was an EA in Fall 2013 and returned again this year as an EA in Bethlehem. Fourth Geneva Convention, Article 49 (basis for illegality of Israeli settlements) Resource August 12, 1949 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 language of the article, which states that an "occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian . This in itself is indicative of the proponents and the international communitys acknowledgement of the fact that Article 49(6) as drafted in 1949 was simply not relevant to the circumstances of Israels settlements. article 49 of convention (iv) relative to the protection of civilian persons in time of war, reads in part, "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 Who will give us money and take care of our livelihoods when we lose the income we produce from our sheep? he asks. The European Union (EU) is amongst the largest donors in the Palestinian water and agricultural sectors. Villagers in Tawayel are dependent on livestock produce for their income, which requires electricity for refrigeration. Ray. Only since the occupation of 1967 Jews started moving to the occupied Palestinian areas by way of settlements built by the Israeli government which is the subject matter of this thesis. However, the anniversaries as mentioned above, the recent UN Security Council (UNSC) resolution 2334[19] and Israels response by retroactively legalising some of the settlements by its national law (the Regularisation Bill)[20] make it necessary to discuss the Israeli settlements in the West Bank (also) from a legal perspective. The convention defines the obligations of parties to a conflict (whether war were declared or not) or forces occupying enemy territory regarding the protection of non . No. 4. the sponsors) of the Fourth Geneva Convention unanimously "reaffirmed the applicability of the Fourth Geneva . This recent development causes anxiety among inhabitants of Husan as well as other Palestinian villages in the area. 9. But both the text of that convention, and the post-World War II circumstances under which it was drafted, clearly indicate that it was never intended to refer to situations like Israels settlements. The Palestinians chose to proceed with this policy in full awareness of the fact that in their agreements, Israel had not obligated itself in any way to refrain from, halt, or freeze construction in the settlements. But especially after the Holocaust more and more Jews sought a safe home in Palestine based on their right[5] in the Balfour Declaration. These areas are meant to be used for military training exercises and usually have signs prohibiting all access, even though often signs are placed directly in front of already existing Palestinian communities. Geneva Conventions, a series of international treaties concluded in Geneva between 1864 and 1949 for the purpose of ameliorating the effects of war on soldiers and civilians. The disregard of these efforts by the Israeli military combined with public pressure following images of the destruction in Belgian media led the government to condemn the destruction. The West Bank remained under Jordanian occupation until 1967. Only rarely do any of these acts of settler violence against Palestinian trees bear consequences to the perpetrators. Video EAPPI/R. [15] Jordan Annexed West Bank after 1948 War accessed 16 July 2017. Date. They have not been deported or transferred to the area by the Government of Israel, and their movement involves none of the atrocious purposes or harmful effects on the existing population it is the goal of the Geneva Convention to prevent.8. Two paragraphs are pertinent here. Nearby to the large village of Aqraba is Tawayel (or, Tell al Khashaba), a small Palestinian herding community located within Area C and within a firing zone. Since 2012, many more projects have been damaged by the Israeli military. Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention states: "The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies.". It is also important for European funders to condemn the human costs of demolitions which affect every day life in villages such as Tawayel. Photo EAPPI/P. The very first sentence of Article 51 reads, "The Occupying Power may not. Forsstroem. Settler violence adds to these challenges. A violation of this nature may be considered a grave breach of Article 49, giving rise to individual criminal liability and codified as a war crime. "As regards these settlements, the Court notes that Article 49, paragraph 6, of the Fourth Geneva Convention provides: 'The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies.' . While we are picking olives right next to the fence of the settlement, there is a cheerful spirit of a family gathering and news exchange between some of the international volunteers that have come for help. Although Gaza is also part of Palestine since the disengagement of the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) from the Gaza Strip in 2005, the Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip are dismantled. Two additional protocols to the 1949 agreement were approved in 1977. Kjllesdal. Persons thus evacuated shall be transferred back to their homes as soon as hostilities in the area in question have ceased. 38 trees were damaged in the village of Husan. An EA, Ghassan, our driver/interpreter and a villager from Tawayel walk away from a water pipe damaged by the Israeli military on 2 November 2014. I remember just too well last year my EAPPI colleagues firefighting alongside with Palestinian farmers in Yalud, where Israeli settlers set fire to hundreds of olive trees. Israeli Violations of the Fourth Geneva Convention. Fourth Geneva Conventions, Article 49 - the Travaux Prparatoires There has been much discussion about the intent of the sixth paragraph of the Fourth Geneva Conventions which many claim proves that Israel has violated by allowing citizens to move, voluntarily, to occupied territory. Largest of them is Nuweima, a Palestinian village located just outside Jericho and surrounded by settlements and Israeli military bases. The Israeli authorities have come up with an answer to Selims question. Aug. 12, 1949 "Article 49 - 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. [8] This plan led to a war between Arabs and Jews which the Arabs lost. The events of World War II showed the disastrous consequences of the absence of a convention for the protection of civilians in wartime.