1. INFRASTRUCTURE OF THE OCCUPATION
(A) Military control of the West Bank The Israeli military fully controls 61 percent of the West Bank and jointly controls an additional 21 percent of the land in coordination with the Palestinian Authority. The PA only controls 18 percent of the West Bank on its own.
Area A - under full Palestinian Authority control Area B - under Palestinian civil control but joint Israeli-Palestinian security Area C - under full Israeli control Most settlements in the West Bank are in Area C. |
“[the] occupying power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies.”
Since 1967, when Israel began occupying the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, it has transferred over 500,000 of its citizens to settlements on this land in contravention of international law.
In the past year, 17 European Union nations have published warnings against doing business with Israeli settlements:
“Financial transactions, investments, purchases, procurements as well as other economic activities (including services like tourism) in Israeli settlements or benefiting Israeli settlements, entail legal and economic risks stemming from the fact that the Israeli settlements, according to international law, are built on occupied land and are not recognized as a legitimate part of Israel’s territory.”
There is a dual system of law in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem for Israeli settlers and Palestinians. Here are some aspects of this dual system:
Israeli Settlers
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Palestinians
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The Associated Press documented settler youth and Palestinian youth charged of the same crime - stone throwing. 53 settlers were arrested for this crime between 2008 and 2014. 89 percent of those were released without charge, six were indicted and four were found "guilty without conviction." 1,142 Palestinians were arrested in this same time. 528 were indicted and all 528 were convicted. The typical sentence was three-to-eight months in prison.
Palestinians have no democratic mechanism of holding Israel accountable, even though Israeli policies control their lives.
(C) Checkpoints, Segregated Roads and Restrictions of Movement
A complex network of checkpoints imposes control over Palestinian movement and creates daily burden and humiliation. There are 99 permanent checkpoints, of which 59 control movement within West Bank, not along the border between the West Bank and Israel. There are hundreds of additional mobile checkpoints throughout the territory (with an average of 495 of 2011). Palestinians can be held stopped and searched at checkpoints anywhere between a few minutes to a few hours. A system of segregated roads also exists in the West Bank. Cars with Palestinian license plates are not allowed on Israeli roads, regardless of the identification held by the driver. Even on Palestinian roads, cars with Palestinian plates have restricted access, face endless delays at checkpoints and are subject to regular road blocks. Cars with Israeli plates experience none of these difficulties. |
“The construction of the wall being built by Israel... in the occupied Palestinian Territory, including in and around East Jerusalem... [is] contrary to international law. Israel is under obligation... to dismantle forthwith the structure... [and] make reparation for all damage caused...” July 9, 2004
85% of the proposed path for the barrier runs east of the Green Line. This path leads to the de facto annexation of 9.5% of land of West Bank, which is some of the most fertile land of the West Bank. Over 60,000 Palestinians in 42 communities trapped by the barrier. 35,000 are trapped between barrier and Green Line in the “seam zone," which is the space between the Green Line and the barrier. 26,000 people are completely surrounded by the barrier. The barrier destroys homes and businesses and fragments families and communities.
[Source: United Nations]
“The measures taken by the Israeli authorities linked to the construction of the Barrier in occupied territory go far beyond what is permissible for an occupying power under international humanitarian law.”
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The restrictions the occupation places on Palestinian movement have severe repercussions for Palestinian health, education, and the economic development.
Implicated Companies:
- Operate or build facilities on Jewish-only settlements in the West Bank or otherwise contribute to settlement activity
- Are involved in the construction or maintenance of the separation barrier
- Facilitate the imposition of restrictions on the movement of Palestinians in the occupied territories
Motorola Solutions:
Provides electronics and telecommunications systems in the Occupied West Bank for virtual fences for Israeli settlements and radar detector and camera systems around settlements, the separation barrier, military bases, and police headquarters. Veolia:
Veolia Transdev constructs and operates the Jerusalem Light Rail, a tram system that connects illegal Israeli settlements to Jerusalem and cements Israel’s claim on Occupied East Jerusalem. Veolia Environmental operates Tovlan landfill in the Jordan Valley, which receives waste from Israel and Israeli settlements and illegally buries it in the West Bank. Cement Roadstone Holdings
Holds 25% of shares of Mashav Initiating and Development (MID), the sole owner of Nesher Israel Cement Enterprises, which provides cement for the separation barrier, checkpoints, settlements, and Light Rail Project. Elbit Systems
One of the two main providers of the electronic detection fence for the seam zone and wall in the West Bank. Incorporated LORROS surveillance cameras into the wall and developed armed unmanned ground vehicles to patrol the seam zone. |