by EA Sara – 15 min read

According to Article 42 of The Hague Regulations, “territory is considered occupied when it is actually placed under the authority of a hostile army.” Occupation itself is not illegal under international law, as it is considered that it may be a temporary necessity to restore order in times for conflict and instability. Now in its 53rd year however, Israel’s occupation of Palestine has not been a temporal measure and has created a situation of sustained conflict and injustice.

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Israeli West Bank barrier and Grafitti, Palestine and Israel.

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Israel have used their military control to instil a two-tier legal system, where the law operates in the interests of Israeli citizens and not Palestinians. It is illegal for an occupying army to move its own citizens into the territory it occupies, yet Israeli settlements continue to be built, whilst Palestinians are forcibly displaced to make way. Our eyewitness stories help to testify that human rights violations against Palestinians have become normalised, with little or no recourse to justice.

“Since the occupation first began in June 1967, Israel’s ruthless policies of land confiscation, illegal settlement and dispossession, coupled with rampant discrimination, have inflicted immense suffering on Palestinians, depriving them of their basic rights.”
(Amnesty International)

“Israel’s military rule disrupts every aspect of daily life in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. It continues to affect whether, when and how Palestinians can travel to work or school, go abroad, visit their relatives, earn a living, attend a protest, access their farmland, or even access electricity or a clean water supply. It means daily humiliation, fear and oppression. People’s entire lives are effectively held hostage by Israel.” (Amnesty International)

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