BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee

18
Survey of Palestinian Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons (2006-2007)
Child playing in rubbles of a home demolished by the Israeli army, ’Anata village, occupied West Bank,
January 2007. © Anne Paq/Activestills.
punitive actions since 1967. 102 This
does not include the estimated 10,000
refugee shelters destroyed in the 1970s
and 1980s in several refugee camps in
the Gaza Strip, affecting more than
62,000 refugees. 103 The demolition
campaigns, carried out under the
guise of security operations, aimed
to “thin out” the large refugee camps
and facilitate forced resettlement of
the refugees. Some of these refugees
were transferred to the occupied West
Bank. Also not included are the 400
families displaced after the April 2002
assault on and siege of the Jenin refugee
camp, and the 24,151 persons rendered
homeless and displaced as a result of the
demolition of 2,521 refugee shelters in
the occupied Gaza Strip between 2000
and 2005. 104 Demolition of refugee
homes continued in 2006, particularly
in the Gaza Strip, where over 294 families have had their homes destroyed as of November 2006 and over 5,100 persons
were displaced during Israel’s military operation in June and July 2006. 105
Since the Oslo Accords, home demolitions in the occupied West Bank have concentrated in area C and in eastern
Jerusalem. In eastern Jerusalem alone, close to 700 homes were demolished between 1994 and 2006 as part of Israel’s
“policy of judaization of the eastern part of the city.” 106
1.6.4 Land confiscation
Israel has continued to expropriate Palestinian land as “abandoned” land, “state property” and for military use and public
purpose. 107 Expropriated property held by Israel in the OPT under military orders for Jewish colonization (also termed
“settlement”) suggests de facto permanent confiscation and possibly annexation. Property confiscated by the Jewish National
Fund (JNF) in the 1967-OPT is considered the inalienable property of the Jewish people. Israel has retained overall control
of immovable property under the Oslo process.
Israel occupies the entire surface of the West Bank (some 5,860 km²) and has confiscated or de facto annexed more than 3,350
km 2 for the exclusive benefit of its Jewish population. 108
1.6.5 Colonization and apartheid
Israel has planned and established Jewish colonies in the occupied West Bank since 1967. In 2006, there were over
120 official colonies and 100 outposts, with a population of over 440,000 Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank. 109
During 2006, new colonies have been established, while others have expanded. 110 Israel is also building a highway network
throughout the occupied West Bank, linking almost all of its colonies to one other. 111 During the 1990s, the growth rate
of the Jewish settler population reached an annual rate of 7–9%. More recently (2001–2005), the population growth of
Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank has decreased to an annual average of approximately 5.5%. This is nevertheless
a very high rate compared to the annual growth rate in Israel, which stands at approximately 1.8%. 112
A discriminatory legal regime applies in the occupied West Bank, with two separate legal systems for Jewish settlers and
Palestinian residents respectively. For instance, any Jewish person is able to immigrate and live in the occupied West