The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) condemns Israel’s plans to annex and expand illegal settlements in the West Bank, actions that constitute war crimes under the Fourth Geneva Convention. Third countries must uphold international law for the Palestinian people, or it will eventually cease to exist. FIDH call on all states to deploy all the necessary efforts in order to end Israel’s settler-colonialism and apartheid, and work towards the realisation of the Palestinian people’s rights to self-determination.
Paris, Ramallah, Gaza, 5 July 2024. Israel is accelerating its illegal policy of annexation of Palestinian land, boosted by the impunity for all the crimes it commits across the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). The June annexation alone puts 2024 as the year with the biggest loss of Palestinian territory for over three decades.
“ World leaders need to wake up now, because Israel has a clear intent to make Palestine and the Palestinian people disappear . Their passivity has grown from worrisome to completely unacceptable. The two states solution is hardly relevant with the settlement expansions and continued land grabs, there is no ongoing process for justice, it’s the total opposite that’s happening“, declared Issam Younis, General director of Al-Mezan.
FIDH and its Palestinian member organisations view these latest acts of annexations and land grabs as war crimes. 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 also prohibits the “individual or mass forcible transfers, as well as deportations of protected persons from occupied territory“.
In March 2024, the United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for Human Rights said creating and expanding settlements amounts to the transfer by Israel of its own civilian population into occupied territories. “Such transfers amount to a war crime that may engage the individual criminal responsibility of those involved“, Turk said in a report to the UN Human Rights Council.
“ For too long politicians have turned a blind eye to the war crimes and crimes against humanity committed against the Palestinian people as a whole, including apartheid, forcible transfer, demographic engineering, pillage, killing amongst other crimes. The Israeli settlements violate international law, but the States Parties have done nothing to stop them and put an end to Israel’s crimes and violations“, said Diana Alzeer, FIDH’s Vice President and Al-Haq representative.
While all eyes are focused on Gaza, the annexation plan just unveiled gives further details of Israel’s strategy to transfer administrative powers from the Israeli army in the West Bank to the civilian authorities of the Israeli government. This confirms yet again Israel’s contempt for international law.
FIDH and its Palestinian member organisations call on all states to deploy all the necessary efforts in order to end Israel’s settler-colonialism and apartheid, and work towards the realisation of the Palestinian people’s rights to self-determination. FIDH and its Palestinian member organisations also call on the International Criminal Court prosecutor to issue arrest warrants for those responsible for the settlements and forced displacement of the Palestinian people.
Israel must be held accountable for its crimes and the international community must uphold the law without prejudice or discrimination when it comes to the Palestinian people. Third states must proactively stop all trade agreements and deals with Israel’s illegal settlement enterprise and apply sanctions. The European Union-Israel Association Agreement must be suspended.
In the context of atrocity crimes in Gaza, including genocide, all states must suspend all arms transfers to Israel in order to avoid complicity in genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. FIDH reminds that nine months into Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, close to two millions Palestinians have been internally displaced one or several times, with more than 37,900 Palestinians killed, including more than 14,500 children and 9,500 women and with over 10,000 dead under the rubble or missing.
International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)
Al-Haq
Al-Mezan
Palestinian Center for Human Rights