The United Nations has ordered Israel to cease the creation of Jewish settlements in Palestine, particularly in the West Bank area. This decision comes after decades of Israel forces occupying Palestinian land, establishing about 250 settlements with a population greater than 500,000 people. A panel of three judges from the Human Right’s Council completed a six-month inquiry into the conflict, drawing on input from government officials, academics, civilian representatives, and diplomats, before presenting their findings to the UN in Geneva. In their report, it was determined that the Israeli activities are a violation of the Geneva Conventions and can be considered war crimes by the International Criminal Court (ICC). The transference of a country’s civilians into occupied land is prohibited by international law. Accordingly, the UN has decided that Israeli settling activities must end immediately and all settlers must leave Palestine territory. Their presence is stated to have violated human rights by inhibiting the establishment of Palestinian infrastructure and communities, and disrupting civilian access to water, resources, housing, and education. For these crimes, Israel may have to face the ICC.
Predictably, the findings have been praised by Palestinian officials and anti-settlement advocates, but dismissed by Israeli government officials who state that the Human Right’s Council has always been biased and eager to paint a harsh picture of the country and its practices. It may be noted that Israel has already abandoned several settlements in the Gaza strip and some in the northern West Bank, an event that the council did not allegedly bring much attention to. Also, Palestinian groups have committed their own share of attacks on Israel. Many argue that the atrocities committed by other countries have been overlooked in order to attack Israel in particular. Israel has recently refused cooperation with a human rights review, the first nation to do so. Although most nations recognize the area as belonging to Palestine, it had previously been a part of Jordan, and its relinquishment from Jordanian rule had left some ambiguity to its current ownership. It is the belief of many that the two-state solution (the identification of Palestine and Israel as two separate states, with the West Bank being a part of Palestine) is the most practical and favourable solution to the conflict, but thus far Israel’s actions have not helped in coming to any agreement. Israeli officials believe that, instead, direct negotiations should occur to decide the issue. They reason that if the ownership of the land is still up for debate, then the classification of Israeli presence in the area as ‘occupation’ is also up for debate. The HRC’s findings, however, are based on the stance that the rest of the members of the UN have taken: that the West Bank is indeed a part of Palestine and the encroachment of the land by Israeli groups is prohibited.
No matter the ownership of the land, the Israeli settlements are still an effective and unfair way to annex the land and impede Palestinian development and way of life. The UN decision comes as a way to hold the Israeli forces accountable for what they’ve been doing for far too long. However, without their cooperation, there may still be no end in sight to this decades-long conflict.
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