Israeli settlement expansion is condemned and illegal under international law

Damascus (ST): The UN Security Council will hold a session today to vote on a draft resolution that condemns the Israeli occupation’s decision to establish 9,409 settlement units in the West Bank,  call for a complete and immediate cessation of settlement activity, and affirm that the settlements in the Palestinian territories occupied in 1967 are illegal and constitute a flagrant violation of international law.

Establishing settlements is a violation of the rights of the Palestinian people, international laws, charters and treaties, the Hague and Geneva conventions, and resolutions of the UN Security Council and General Assembly.

Among the most prominent texts that prohibit settlements and prevent violations of rights and property in occupied countries are:

-The Hague Convention of 1907: Article 46 provides for the preservation of human lives and the impermissibility of confiscating private property, while the occupation violates this article by seizing Palestinian lands and real estate or demolishing them to expand settlements.

-The Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949: Article 49 stipulates that the occupying power may not transfer part of its population to the lands it occupies, bearing in mind that the number of settlers in the West Bank, including Al-Quds (Jerusalem), has reached about one million settlers.

-Article 53: The occupying power is prohibited from destroying any immovable or movable private property related to individuals, groups, the state or organizations, bearing in mind that the occupation seizes the lands of the Palestinians for the expansion of settlements and the apartheid wall.

-UN Security Council Resolutions: The Council, being responsible for maintaining international peace and security, has adopted a set of resolutions confirming the illegality of settlement and annexation, and calling for its abolition and dismantling settlements, including those existing in Al-Quds. Since 1967, several resolutions have been issued in this regard, the most important of which are:

-Resolution 2334 of December 23, 2016 condemns the establishment and expansion of settlements, the confiscation of land, the demolition of homes and the displacement of Palestinians, and affirms the illegality of settlement and demands its immediate and complete cessation, and the non-recognition of any changes to the line of June 4, 1967.

-Resolution 476 of June 30, 1980 confirms that all measures taken by Israel, the “occupying Power” aimed at changing the character and status of the city of Al-Quds, have no legal validity, and constitute a flagrant violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention, and that all these measures are null and must be canceled in accordance with the relevant Council resolutions.

-Resolution 452 of July 20, 1979 stresses that the policy of “Israel” to establish settlements on occupied lands is illegal and constitutes a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention relating to the Protection of Civilians in Time of War, and stresses the need to address the issue of existing settlements.

-Resolution 446 of March 20, 1979: The policy and practices of “Israel” in establishing settlements in the territories occupied in 1967 are illegitimate and illegal that lead to change the legal and demographic status and geographical character in these lands.

-Resolution 252 of May 21, 1968: It considers that all procedures and actions undertaken by “Israel”, including the confiscation of land and property, that would lead to a change in the legal status of Al-Quds, are null and void, and cannot change the status of the city, and calls on “Israel” urgently to invalidate these procedures and refrain from carrying out any similar action.

The United Nations General Assembly has adopted hundreds of resolutions related to the Palestinian issue, a large number of which dealt with the settlements, and all of them emphasized its condemnation, illegality, and the need to dismantle the settlements. Some resolutions considered Israeli practices, especially the annexation of lands, including Jerusalem, and the establishment and expansion of settlements, as a list of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The occupation, with the support of successive US administrations, refused to implement all United Nations resolutions related to the Palestinian cause, including those related to settlements, and continued to establish more settlements to impose a fait accompli that perpetuates the occupation and undermines the chances of establishing an independent Palestinian state on the line of June 4, 1967.

K.Q.