ESCWA report – Palestine under occupation and the Fourth Geneva Convention, June 2015

27 May 2015

Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA)

Executive Committee
First meeting
Amman, 8-9 June 2015
Item 5 (a) of the provisional agenda

Summary

While the Israeli occupation of Palestine is neither the first nor the only military occupation in the world, it is among the longest, if not the longest, in recent history. What makes it unique is not only its duration, but also the strategies and policies employed by the occupying power and the regime that it has established in Palestine. Resolution 316 (XXVIII) of the Economic and Social Council for Western Asia (ESCWA) on support for the Palestinian people requests the ESCWA secretariat of to submit periodic reports to the ministerial sessions of the Commission on the practices of the Israeli occupation that violate the economic and social rights of the Palestinian people and other rights guaranteed by international law, charters and conventions; and to monitor the social and economic repercussions of the Israeli occupation.

The present report examines Israeli policies and practices and highlights aspects of international humanitarian law that have been violated by Israel, namely articles of the Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War. The violations committed during the 2014 summer offensive on Gaza are not fully covered since an independent investigation into such violations is currently underway.