BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee

From the Nakba to the Present Day – Ongoing Displacement
Bank based on the Law of Return and is subject to Israel’s Basic Law, while Palestinians are subject to the Entry into Israel
Law and Israeli military orders, as well as the remnants of Jordanian, British and Ottoman law. 113
1.6.6 Harassment from Jewish settlers
Harassment and attacks by Jewish settlers prevent Palestinians from accessing their land, lead to the destruction of Palestinian
property, and forcibly displace Palestinian communities. In 2006, over 275 incidents of settler violence were recorded, ranging from
uprooting trees to seizing land and shooting children. 114 In the southern Hebron hills in the occupied West Bank, for instance, close
to 1,000 Palestinians live in caves in an area called Masafer Yatta. The residents of these caves have been subject to Israeli expulsion
orders since 1999. Jewish settlers residing in nearby colonies and outposts attack and abuse the residents, including children on
their way to school. Already in 1985 the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People had sent a
letter informing the General Assembly and Security Council of the demolition of homes and displacement of 200 families in the
village of Yatta, stating that “houses have been demolished, grain storage and water wells destroyed, and villagers have been forced
off their lands.” 115 A recent survey has found that settler violence has affected 88% of the residents of the caves since 2003. 116 It
can be concluded that the intention is to expel these residents in order to annex the area and expand colonies. 117
From the roof of their school, children of Shu’fat refugee camp looking at the Wall and the Jewish colony of Pisgat Ze’ev, occupied West Bank, August
2006. © Badil.
The Israeli authorities have failed to protect Palestinian residents and enforce the law against the settlers. The Attorney
General of Israel admitted that the failure to prevent attacks on Palestinians is an “element of a broader phenomenon of lack
of appropriate law enforcement against Israelis” in the occupied West Bank. 118 According to the World Bank, “lacking legal
remedy and physical protection, Palestinians last recourse is often to leave the land, further shrinking the agricultural sector
and disrupting the economic and social fabric of Palestinian towns and villages.” 119
1.6.7 Israel’s Wall and its Associated Regime in the Occupied West Bank
The Wall under construction by Israel in the OPT since 2002 gravely infringes upon the fundamental rights of
the Palestinian people and violates international law. 120 (See also Chapter Four).
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