Before turning to the current crisis, this report will summarize ongoing violations resulting from Israeli policies in the OPT.
As a signatory to the Covenant, Israel is obligated to respect, protect and fulfill economic, social and cultural rights for all people within its jurisdiction, including the OPT. Article 1(1) of the Covenant, the foundation for all other human rights, affirms that “all peoples have the right to self-determination.” Numerous Security Council and General Assembly resolutions, beginning with UN General Assembly Resolution 181(II) in 1947, have explicitly recognized the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination. Israel’s continuing occupation of Palestinian land and control over Palestinian resources, in violation of article 1(1), forms the basis for all Israeli violations of Palestinian rights in the OPT, including during the current crisis. Palestinian enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights is dependent upon the right of Palestinians to freely determine their own political and economic future as guaranteed under international law.
The Oslo peace process was explicitly based on implementation of Security Council Resolution 242, which calls for Israeli withdrawal of occupation forces from the OPT. In the past seven years, however, Israel’s confiscation of Palestinian land and construction of settlements and bypass roads for Jewish settlers has accelerated dramatically in breach of Security Council Resolution 242 and of provisions in the Oslo agreements requiring both parties to respect “the territorial integrity and unity of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.” Since 1993 the settler population in the West Bank and Gaza has doubled to 200,000 and increased to 170,000 in East Jerusalem. During this same period, Israeli authorities have demolished over 800 Palestinian homes and diverted water from the West Bank for use in Israeli cities and settlements.
From the outset of the Oslo process in 1993 Israel has imposed a continuous policy of general closure that severely limits the movement of Palestinians and their goods. In addition to general closure, Israel periodically imposes internal closures that restrict all Palestinian movement outside of Palestinian Authority-controlled “A areas” in 18% of the West Bank and approximately 80% of the Gaza Strip. These areas comprise a patchwork of more than 200 non-contiguous enclaves with entry and exit tightly monitored by Israeli military checkpoints from surrounding Israeli-controlled areas in the OPT. The current military blockade of Palestinian population centers in the OPT represents an extreme form of internal closure.
In its Concluding Observations from the 19th session, the Committee noted “with grave concern the severe consequences of closure on the Palestinian population... closures have cut off Palestinians from their own land and resources resulting in widespread violations of their economic, social and cultural rights, including in particular article 1(2) of the Covenant.”
The cumulative impact of Israeli policies of expropriation and fragmentation is to confine Palestinians in isolated enclaves without adequate land, water or infrastructure to foster viable economic development, especially in the industrial and agricultural sectors. As a result, these policies violate the full range of economic, social and cultural rights, including the rights to work (article 6), housing (article 11), health (article 12), education (article 13), and an adequate standard of living (article 11).