Concealed Intentions- JLAC-.pdf

Executive Summary
Territorial dispute lies at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Forty-four years of Israeli occupation has resulted
in the continuous usurpation of Palestinian land through illegal settlement building and discriminatory land zoning
and planning policies. For Palestinians, these policies have meant the perpetual loss of their land through exclusion
from the planning process, building and land access restrictions, and home demolitions or forced evictions. Israel’s
discriminatory zoning and planning policies illustrate its intent to manufacture “facts on the ground” in order to
maintain permanent control over the Occupied Palestinian Territory (“oPt”).
The Oslo Agreements and Establishment of “Area C”
Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip in 1967 resulted in its full control and occupation
of the 22% that remained of historic Palestine after the establishment of Israel, resulting in control of land zoning and
planning therein. The 1995 Oslo II Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip provided a temporary
solution in the interim of the negotiating process, by dividing the West Bank into three classifications – Areas A, B,
and C. 2 The Palestinian Authority (“PA”) has full civil control over “Area A”, comprising enclaves of Palestinian cities,
and only administrative control over “Area B” (subject to Israeli security control), encompassing most Palestinian rural
areas and villages. ”Area C,” the only contiguous land mass holding the majority of West Bank land (approximately
59%), is under full Israeli civil and security control. 3
“Area C” Planning Challenges
Although the original intent of the Interim Agreement was the eventual transfer of control over the entire West
Bank to the PA, the failure of the peace process left responsibility for land zoning and planning in “Area C” in the
hands of the Israeli Civil Administration (“ICA”). The ICA implements an outdated policy (dating back to the British
Mandate in the 1940s) that neglects the current needs of the Palestinian communities located in the areas under its
organizational control. Palestinians, in turn, face insurmountable difficulties because they are forced to obtain ICA
approval for all private or public construction in “Area C,” yet due to the ICA’s intentionally restrictive and outdated
policies, Palestinians have been forced to build outside the allotted areas and risk the threat of house demolition.
In the meantime, the ICA maintains policies aimed at expanding and facilitating the development of illegal Jewish
settlements in the area.
“Area C” is vital for Palestinian growth and development because it is the only naturally rich, sizeable, and contiguous
area that provides a large percentage of water and food needs, in addition to allowing for the natural development
and growth of Palestinian communities by providing land for building public infrastructures, enterprises and private
institutions. As the responsible administering body, the ICA is obligated to respect and fulfill the fundamental rights
to housing adequacy and water for Palestinian communities in “Area C.” 4
2 The Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement on the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Washington, D.C. (September 28, 1995), Article XI.
3 World Bank, The Economic Effects of Restricted Access to Land in the West Bank, 23 October 2008, p. iv.
4 Both rights derive from the Right to an Adequate Standard of Living, ICESCR, Article 11: “1. The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of
everyone to an adequate standard of living for himself and his family, including adequate food, clothing and housing, and to the continuous improvement
of living conditions. The States Parties will take appropriate steps to ensure the realization of this right, recognizing to this effect the essential importance of
international co-operation based on free consent. 2. The States Parties to the present Covenant, recognizing the fundamental right of everyone to be free
from hunger, shall take, individually and through international co-operation, the measures, including specific program, which are needed: (a) To improve
methods of production, conservation and distribution of food by making full use of technical and scientific knowledge, by disseminating knowledge of the
principles of nutrition and by developing or reforming agrarian systems in such a way as to achieve the most efficient development and utilization of natural
resources; (b) Taking into account the problems of both food-importing and food-exporting countries, to ensure an equitable distribution of world food
supplies in relation to need.”
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