According to Article 42 of The Hague Regulations, ‘territory is considered occupied when it is actually placed under the authority of a hostile army.’ Occupation itself is not illegal under international law, as it is considered that it may be a temporary necessity to restore order in times of conflict and instability. Now in its fifth decade however, Israel’s occupation of Palestine has not been a temporary measure and has created a situation of sustained conflict and injustice.
Israel has used its military occupation to instill a two-tier legal system, with one set of laws operating to benefit Israeli citizens and another to oppress Palestinians. It is illegal for an occupying army to move its own citizens into the territory it occupies, yet Israeli settlements continue to be built, whilst Palestinians are forcibly displaced to make way. Our eyewitness stories help to testify that the human rights violations against Palestinians that accompany the occupation have become normalised, with little or no recourse to justice.
Read more about
‘Israel’s military rule disrupts every aspect of daily life in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. It continues to affect whether, when and how Palestinians can travel to work or school, go abroad, visit their relatives, earn a living, attend a protest, access their farmland, or even access electricity or a clean water supply. It means daily humiliation, fear and oppression.’