It is forbidden to settle colonists in the occupied area

Occupation is a situation whereby a certain territory is subjected de-facto to the rule of a hostile army. Occupation is manifest only over a territory in which such rule has been constituted and is realizable.

Since the Second World War, it is agreed that the situation of occupation must end with the occupier retreating from the territories it has occupied, and their rule must be returned to their former rulers. The retreat of the occupier is usually dependent upon agreements that end the state of war.

Until the Second World War and for a short while afterwards, the right of occupation – a phenomenon wherein a state that occupied territories of another state annexes them as its own – was rampant, and even gained international recognition.

Such a phenomenon is no longer feasible, and its recognition by the international community gives rise to strong international controversy.

The issue of status of occupied territories and their inhabitants – especially those that were occupied to begin-with by the country from which they were siezed in war by another country – is one of the most complex issues of international law at present.

According to Amendment 55 of the 1970 Hague Amendments, to which Israel is signatory, the occupying state functions as a trustee of the occupied territory it holds as a temporary charge only, and is forbidden to carry out long-term changes that are not in favor of the occupied population. Transferring civilian population into the occupied territory in order to preserve a demographic status-quo is absolutely forbidden. Occupation rule is perceived as an outstanding and temporary state of affairs, but no instruction defines the temporariness of occupation.

Indeed, the ruling of the Israel Supreme Court recognizes the fact that the occupation is temporary and that occupied territory is held by the occupier in trusteeship alone. However, Israel claims that it has no partner for a solution of the conflict, and this is why occupation has lasted so long. As far as international law is concerned, this occupation reality which is unlimited in time bears an inherent contradiction of the Hague Convention’s demand from the occupier - namely to apply a temporary trusteeship rule with all its limitations.

While occupation is a legal state of affairs (albeit outstanding and temporary), by definition, apartheid is an international crime. Legal opinion and the 2022 Amnesty Report establish that an apartheid crime against humanity is being perpetrated in the West Bank. The perpetrators are Israelis, the victims - Palestinian. The crime is carried out because Israeli occupation is a rule of control and oppression, exerting inherent discrimination against Palestinians:

• The Israeli occupation backs up the ‘colonization project’ and enables citizens of the occupying power to colonize the occupied territories.
• The settlements-colonies create wide-range of limitations to the human rights of the occupied Palestinian population.
• Israel acts in various ways to perpetuate its rule over the occupied population, preserving the inferiority of Palestinians and inherently discriminating against them.
• A reality of control and oppression of one group – the Palestinians – is exerted by another national group – the colonists – and this is inhuman.
• Israeli rule deprives the occupied group of its rights and resources, and provides resources to the ruling group by physical and legal separation of the national groups living in the same geographic area.
• Israel has created a separate judicial system for each of the two national groups living within the occupied territory, and this is precisely the definition of an apartheid regime.

Israel claims this is a temporary state of affairs and that it has no intention of preserving control, oppression and inferiorization of the Palestinians. However, in contradiction of this, policy and evidence on the ground prove that its intention is to perpetuate this situation. In 2017, Netanyahu in his capacity as Israel’s Prime Minister, declared his intention to annex the occupied territories without providing human and civil rights to the local population.

Israel has been carrying out “gradual annexation” on the ground, whose administrative meaning is the abolition of military rule in the occupied territory, and extending the territorial authority of Israeli civil authorities deep inside the West Bank.