Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan – Report of the UNHigh Commissioner for Human Rights to Human Rights Council – Advance edited version and infographics

This post has been updated with the latest version of the report.

01 February 2024

Human Rights Council
Fifty-fifth session
26 February–5 April 2024
Agenda items 2 and 7
Annual report of the United Nations High Commissioner
for Human Rights and reports of the Office of the
High Commissioner and the Secretary-General

Human rights situation in Palestine and other occupied Arab territories Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan

Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights*

Summary:

The present report, submitted pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 52/35, provides an update on the implementation of the provisions of the resolution during the period from 1 November 2022 to 31 October 2023.

…

V. Conclusions

50. The establishment and continuing expansion of settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and the occupied Syrian Golan amount to the transfer by Israel of its own civilian population into the territories that it occupies, which is strictly prohibited under international humanitarian law,^[1] as consistently confirmed by the competent United Nations organs, including the International Court of Justice.^[2] Such transfers amount to a war crime that may engage the individual criminal responsibility of those involved.^[3] On 30 June 1980, the Security Council reaffirmed the overriding necessity for ending the prolonged occupation of Arab territories occupied by Israel since 1967, including Jerusalem.^[4]

51. Entering the fifty-sixth year of Israeli military occupation of Palestinian territory and the Syrian Golan, Israeli settlements in the West Bank, under laws and policies that are inherently discriminatory against Palestinians, continue to become more expansive, deeply entrenched and increasingly difficult to reverse. The ongoing expansion of Israeli settlements involves numerous human rights violations against Palestinians, including their rights to self-determination, equality and non-discrimination. These violations, which have become more serious over the reporting period, create a coercive environment that displaces Palestinians from their homes and their lands and that could amount to forcible transfer.

52. Despite numerous reports on the question of Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan, and the incompatibility of these settlements with international law, the international community has failed, both individually and collectively, to take adequate, feasible and effective measures to ensure the compliance of Israel with its international obligations.^[5]

53. The drastic acceleration, particularly after 7 October 2023, of long-standing trends of discrimination, oppression and violence against Palestinians that accompany Israeli occupation and settlement expansion have taken the West Bank to the brink of catastrophe. To address the current crisis and the wider context of occupation, it is critical for States Members of the United Nations, including the primary duty bearer, Israel, to find a viable political solution that finally addresses the associated and underlying human rights violations of the Palestinian people.

VI. Recommendations

54. On the basis of findings presented in the present and previous reports, the High Commissioner recommends that the Israeli authorities:

(a)       Immediately and completely cease and reverse the establishment and expansion of Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan, and all other related activity, in accordance with relevant United Nations resolutions, including Security Council resolutions 497 (1981) and 2334 (2016);

(b)       Rescind all policies and practices that contribute to a coercive environment and increase the risk of forcible transfer of Palestinians;

(c)       Cease and reverse the transfer of powers from the military administration to the Israeli civilian government over the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and the occupied Syrian Golan, and ensure that all measures taken as occupying Power are fully consistent with international law;

(d)       Fulfil its obligations under international humanitarian law and international human rights law regarding the protection of all Palestinians and their housing, land and property from violence by Israeli settlers, and ensure that all allegations of settler violence are promptly, effectively, impartially and transparently investigated, and that perpetrators are prosecuted in accordance with due process and fair trial guarantees and, if found guilty, punished with penalties commensurate with the gravity of the offences;

(e)       Ensure that all members of Israeli security forces and the Israel Police alleged to have supported, facilitated or participated in acts of settler violence are investigated and held to account in accordance with international standards;

(f)       Ensure that victims of gross violations of international human rights law and serious violations of international humanitarian law have their right to remedy and reparation upheld;

(g)       Reform planning policies, laws and practices that enable discriminatory eviction and demolition orders against Palestinians and that create a coercive environment that forces Palestinians to self-demolish their own properties;

(h)       Repeal laws that discriminate against Palestinian residency in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem;

(i)       Ensure that civil society actors can freely conduct their activities without harassment, including for groups monitoring and reporting on human rights violations caused by Israeli settlements;

(j)       Take immediate steps to dismantle the wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, in line with the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice, as a step towards ensuring Palestinians’ full access to their lands and livelihoods and the enjoyment of their right to self-determination;

(k)       Cease and reverse the establishment of the dual system of justice that has discriminatory effects on Palestinians, as well as other laws and policies resulting in patterns of systematic discrimination against Palestinians;

(l)       End the 56-year military occupation of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and the occupied Syrian Golan, as part of a broader process towards achieving equality, justice, democracy, non-discrimination and the fulfilment of all human rights for all Palestinians.

                   [1] Fourth Geneva Convention, art. 49, sixth paragraph.

                   [2] Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Advisory Opinion, I.C.J. Reports 2004, p. 136; Security Council resolutions 465 (1980) and 2334 (2016); General Assembly resolutions 71/97 and 72/86; and Human Rights Council resolution 31/36.

                   [3] Fourth Geneva Convention, art. 49, sixth paragraph. See also Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, art. 8 (2) (b) (viii).

                   [4] Security Council resolution 476 (1980).

                   [5] International Law Commission, articles on responsibility of States for internationally wrongful acts, art. 41 and part three.