[{"id":1449,"link":"https:\/\/beccaexplains.com\/its-just-a-real-estate-dispute\/","name":"its-just-a-real-estate-dispute","thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/beccaexplains.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Copy-of-\u05d6\u05d4-\u05e8\u05e7-\u05e1\u05db\u05e1\u05db\u05d5\u05e3-\u05e0\u05d3\u05dc\u05df.png","alt":""},"title":"\u201cIt\u2019s just a real-estate dispute\u201d","excerpt":"","content":"Across East Jerusalem\u2014which Israel occupied and annexed in 1967\u2014hundreds of Palestinian families are at risk of being evicted from their homes.\n\n\n\nOften, these evictions are presented by the authorities, and understood by people, as \u2018real-estate disputes\u2019 between two parties trying to define the property\u2019s rightful owner.\n\n\n\nBut, over time, they have resulted in around 150 Palestinian families losing their homes and are slowly changing the character of some East Jerusalem neighborhoods. \n\n\n\nWhat\u2019s going on?\n\n\n\n Property lost during war and compensation\n\n\n\nIn the war of 1948, both Palestinians and Jews were displaced from parts of Jerusalem, leaving property or land behind them. West Jerusalem came under the control of Israel while East Jerusalem (including the Old City) came under Jordanian control.\n\n\n\nOn both sides, the ruling government nationalized property left behind and managed it. \n\n\n\nIn most cases, Israel compensated Jewish residents forced to flee East Jerusalem.\n\n\n\nUnder Jordanian rule, some of the previously Jewish-owned property (buildings or land) in East Jerusalem was used to house Palestinian refugees. While these families received the properties under the appropriate Jordanian procedures between 1948 and 1967, they are now among those facing eviction claims.\n\n\n\nThe law and the discrimination within it\n\n\n\nFollowing the occupation and annexation of East Jerusalem, Israel passed a 1970 law allowing Jewish individuals to reclaim properties they owned in the area before 1948, regardless of the Palestinian residents. The General Custodian, part of the Ministry of Justice, manages these properties until reclaimed.\n\n\n\nWhile the law enables reclamation of previous privately-owned Jewish property, the 1950 Absentee Property Law prevents Palestinians from retrieving homes they were forced to abandon in 1948 in West Jerusalem or in other parts of what became Israel.\n\n\n\nThe 1970 law was enacted despite the fact that most Jews who lost homes in East Jerusalem had already received state compensation, sometimes by receiving property in West Jerusalem that had formerly belonged to Palestinians.\n\n\n\nWho claims these properties?\n\n\n\nOver the years, the 1970 law has nearly exclusively been used or exploited by organizations with a political agenda and no connection to the former owners.\n\n\n\nToday, many of the evictions that take place in East Jerusalem, in neighborhoods like Silwan or Sheikh Jarrah\u2014which garnered international attention in 2021\u2014occur via this law.\n\n\n\nWhile each case is slightly different, they all share a general structure: A settler organization acts to acquire the rights to these properties and then initiates an eviction lawsuit against the current residents. The process goes through the Israeli courts and often ends in confirmation of the eviction. Then, once the eviction takes place (a process aided by the police), the property is used for Jewish settlement. \n\n\n\nState backed, settler takeovers of Palestinians homes\n\n\n\nDespite claiming non-involvement in 'private property disputes', the state actively assists right-wing organizations in seizing property.\n\n\n\nThe Shehadeh family was recently evicted from Silwan, and the neighboring Gheith family faces imminent eviction after Supreme Court Justice Sohlberg, himself a settler, rejected their appeal without awaiting the Attorney General's opinion. Dozens more families face similar legal proceedings.\n\n\n\nIn another case, Mohammed Kastiro faces eviction from his decades-old coffee shop near Damascus Gate, following a lawsuit by the General Custodian\u2014effectively, the state itself. Previously, such cases resulted in Palestinian evictions and property transfers to settler groups without proper tenders.\n\n\n\nSilwan as an example\u00a0\n\n\n\nIn Silwan, the 'Benvenisti Trust' built houses for Yemenite Jewish families in the 19th century, who left during the violence of 1929. Today, 'Ateret Cohanim', a settler organization, is taking over these properties through the Trust, whose control was handed over to the organization in 2001, with the state\u2019s approval. \n\n\n\nPalestinian families, many displaced in 1948, have lived on these properties for generations. Now, Ateret Cohanim aims to evict them and settle new residents.\n\n\n\nPeace Now reports that 15 families have already been evicted, there are proceedings against 80 more, and court-ordered evictions for 100 residents now under appeal.\n\n\n\nDespite not adhering to the Trust's original purposes, Ateret Cohanim's control was approved by Israeli courts and the state, and supported by the General Custodian.\n\n\n\nWhy Silwan and Sheikh Jarrah?\n\n\n\nThe Old City Basin, which includes the Old City and surrounding Palestinian neighborhoods, is Jerusalem's most contested area due to its concentration of holy sites.\n\n\n\nToday, Palestinians outnumber Israelis in the Old City Basin by about 100,000 to 6,000, but, for decades, settler groups, backed by the state, have been working to create a ring of Israeli control in this area in order to ensure that Israel will not give up the Old City Basin in any future political agreement.\n\n\n\nEvictions are one part of this larger strategy, along with the establishment of national parks and settler-operated touristic sites.\n\n\n\nSheikh Jarrah (north of the Old City) and Silwan (south of the Old City) face the most pressure due to their strategic locations. In these two neighborhoods alone, about 170 families (over 1000 individuals) are at risk of displacement from settler-initiated eviction claims.\n\n\n\nThe Bottom Line\n\n\n\nEvictions in East Jerusalem, often framed as real estate disputes, are part of a broader strategy to increase Israeli control over the Old City Basin. Palestinian families, who obtained homes legitimately, are being displaced due to a biased law that allows Jews, but not Palestinians, to reclaim pre-1948 property.\n\n\n\nWhile these cases are fought individually in court, they reflect a larger political issue. Settler organizations, not original owners, are exploiting this law to maintain exclusive Israeli control over Jerusalem.\n\n\n\nBoth Jewish and Palestinian connection to the city is undeniable and unbreakable. Evicting Palestinian families is neither a legitimate nor moral way to decide the city's future.\n\n\n\nUrgent action is needed to stop these evictions.\n\n\n\nSources\n\n\n\nFor free sources and follow up: https:\/\/buymeacoffee.com\/beccaexplains\/on-evictions-east-jerusalem","author":{"name":"Becca","link":"https:\/\/beccaexplains.com\/author\/s9okobw6xjge\/"},"date":"Sep 16, 2024","dateGMT":"2024-09-16 14:50:37","modifiedDate":"2024-09-16 15:09:51","modifiedDateGMT":"2024-09-16 15:09:51","commentCount":"0","commentStatus":"open","categories":{"coma":"Uncategorized<\/a>","space":"Uncategorized<\/a>"},"taxonomies":{"post_tag":""},"readTime":{"min":4,"sec":42},"status":"publish"},{"id":1444,"link":"https:\/\/beccaexplains.com\/east-jerusalem-a-primer\/","name":"east-jerusalem-a-primer","thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/beccaexplains.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/East-Jerusalem-Primer.png","alt":""},"title":"East Jerusalem - a Primer","excerpt":"","content":"Introduction\u00a0\n\n\n\nIn the 1948 war, Jerusalem was split into two\u2014the West was conquered and annexed by Israel, while the East, Jerusalem\u2019s Old City and its surrounding neighborhoods, was\u00a0 conquered and annexed by Jordan. Jordan\u2019s annexation was not widely recognized and the international community overwhelmingly viewed the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, as occupied.\n\n\n\nIn 1967, during the Six-Day War, Israel occupied the eastern part of the city along with the rest of the West Bank and other territories. \n\n\n\nIt immediately annexed Jordanian Jerusalem and 28 surrounding villages into its new Jerusalem municipality, and together now known as East Jerusalem.\n\n\n\nThis annexation was then enshrined in law in 1980 through the \u2018Basic Law: Jerusalem, capital of Israel, which also declared the entire city as its \"complete and united\" capital.\n\n\n\nThis annexation has not been recognized by most of the international community, which considers East Jerusalem occupied territory. The International Court of Justice recently re-affirmed this status and its illegality.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n361,700 Palestinians and 233,700 Israeli settlers\u00a0 in 2020 - Israeli CBS data\n\n\n\nResidency status\n\n\n\nAs part of the annexation, Palestinians in East Jerusalem were collectively granted permanent residency status, but not citizenship. This means they have civil and social rights, such as national insurance coverage, but not full political rights\u2014while they are able to vote in the municipal elections, they cannot be elected into the mayor\u2019s office, and cannot run or vote in the national elections, the level at which most decisions that affect them take place.\n\n\n\nMany choose to boycott the municipal elections so as to not show acceptance of Israel\u2019s annexation.\n\n\n\nThis \u2018permanent\u2019 residency status is not really permanent\u2014since 1967, 14,643 Palestinian residents of Jerusalem had their residency revoked, most often for living outside the country (including living in the West Bank, which can mean just in the outskirts of Jerusalem) for an extended period of time.\n\n\n\nThey are, in effect, treated as immigrants in the city of their birth where their families have lived for generations.\n\n\n\nCitizenship\n\n\n\nPalestinians in Jerusalem can apply for citizenship on an individual basis. \n\n\n\nSince Israel's annexation of East Jerusalem is not recognized by the vast majority of Palestinians, applying for citizenship can be seen as an acceptance of Israel\u2019s annexation.  Likewise, because the international community does not accept Israel's sovereignty over the area, it also has not demanded that Israel grant citizenship to Palestinians in Jerusalem. \n\n\n\nEven when people do decide to apply, the process is long and can often end in rejection: Only 34 percent of naturalization applications submitted by Palestinians living in East Jerusalem have ever been approved, meaning applying for citizenship does not guarantee one can obtain it.\n\n\n\nToday, only 5 percent of Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem \u2013 18,982 people \u2013 have obtained Israeli citizenship.\n\n\n\nSettlements - What does the annexation mean in terms of the land?\n\n\n\nAlmost immediately after 1967, Israel started establishing numerous settlements in and around East Jerusalem, expropriating, for that purpose, 38% of the land, which were owned by Palestinians. \n\n\n\nAs of 2020, there were approximately 225,000 Israeli settlers living in East Jerusalem settlements. While these are considered illegal under international law as they are part of the occupied West Bank, they are perceived as regular neighborhoods by most Israelis, similar to those in West Jerusalem.\n\n\n\nThe development of settlements across East Jerusalem has separated Palestinian neighborhoods from one another and separated East Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank.\n\n\n\nApart from settlement construction, land has also been seized for the establishment of national parks and green\/open areas, especially in the area surrounding the Old City. All of this has left little space for Palestinian neighborhoods to develop.\n\n\n\nSeparation Barrier\n\n\n\nThe separation barrier, built in the early 2000s, zigzags across East Jerusalem, cutting off the city from Ramallah and the rest of the West Bank and leaving some Jerusalem neighborhoods on the other side of the wall. This had a profound effect on the cultural, economic and social life of Palestinians. The approx. 150,000 Jerusalem residents that now live on the other side of the wall, in neighborhoods such as Kfar Aqab and Shuafat refugee camp, now need to cross a checkpoint to reach the rest of the city, and their needs are almost totally neglected by the Israeli authorities, which provides little to no services in the area. This situation has led to a decline in living conditions and increased uncertainty about the future status of these neighborhoods.\n\n\n\nAllocation of resources\n\n\n\nIsraeli policy in East Jerusalem aims to control more land while limiting Palestinian growth. This is evident in several key areas.\n\n\n\nFor example, the planning policy intentionally restricts development in Palestinian neighborhoods which, over the decades, has caused a severe housing shortage. For this reason, some Palestininians  end up building without a permit, which can then result in their home being demolished.\n\n\n\nAdditionally, the authorities significantly underinvest in East Jerusalem\u2014for example, despite Palestinians comprising 40% of the population, only 10% of the municipality's budget is allocated to East Jerusalem. This underfunding results in neglected public infrastructure, including a shortage of 2,447 classrooms for Palestinian students. \n\n\n\nThese disparities in budget allocation, infrastructure development, and housing policies exacerbate existing inequalities and make it difficult for Palestinian families to grow within their communities.\n\n\n\nThe Bottom Line\n\n\n\nIn 1967, Israel occupied and later annexed Jerusalem\u2019s Old City and surrounding neighborhoods, along with smaller, nearby villages. It did so while progressively disconnecting Palestinians in East Jerusalem from the majority of the West Bank, hindering the freedom of movement for Palestinians on both sides of the barrier. \n\n\n\nWithin Jerusalem, the state has maintained and expanded Israeli control over the area while curtailing the rights of the Palestinian population and limiting its growth, development, and sovereignty claims. This is achieved through a combination of legal mechanisms, citizenship rights, settlement expansion, property acquisitions, budgetary allocations, and urban planning policies that favor Jewish Israeli residents and geopolitical interests over the needs and rights of the city\u2019s Palestinian population.\n\n\n\nFull list of sources and follow up :\n\n\n\nhttps:\/\/buymeacoffee.com\/beccaexplains\/east-jerusalem-primer-sources","author":{"name":"Becca","link":"https:\/\/beccaexplains.com\/author\/s9okobw6xjge\/"},"date":"Sep 10, 2024","dateGMT":"2024-09-10 13:45:41","modifiedDate":"2024-09-10 13:45:41","modifiedDateGMT":"2024-09-10 13:45:41","commentCount":"0","commentStatus":"open","categories":{"coma":"Uncategorized<\/a>","space":"Uncategorized<\/a>"},"taxonomies":{"post_tag":""},"readTime":{"min":4,"sec":59},"status":"publish"},{"id":1398,"link":"https:\/\/beccaexplains.com\/areab\/","name":"areab","thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/beccaexplains.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/The-Takeover-of-Area-B.png","alt":""},"title":"The Takeover of Area B","excerpt":"","content":"This morning, the Israeli Civil Administration distributed ten demolition orders in Area B, despite it being designated to the civil administration of the Palestinian Authority. During the past year and a half, the Israeli government, led by Smotrich in the Ministry of Defense, has pushed to take control of civil administration in Area B.\n\n\n\nWhat\u2019s going on and what are the political ramifications of this move\n\n\n\nArea B is 22% of the West Bank and under Palestinian Authority (PA) civil authority and Israeli military authority since the signing of the Oslo accords. The Israeli government is now beginning it\u2019s take over civil authority of Area B, a step likely to lead to demolitions of Palestinian homes and expulsion of Palestinians from the area.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThe Agreed-upon Reserve\n\n\n\nAccording to the Oslo Accords, some areas defined as Area C, under direct Israeli military control, were supposed to gradually become Area B. However, by 1998, all territory transfers had been frozen, and 75% of the West Bank remained Area C. This elongated freeze led to the Wye River Agreements during Netanyahu's government. Negotiators reported that Netanyahu was only willing to transfer at most 11% from Area C to Area B in the next phase, maintaining more land under full Israeli control. Arafat wanted at least 15% to come under Area B under PA civilian control.\n\n\n\nThe agreement reached was that 3% of the West Bank would become Area B, meaning under Palestinian Authority civil administration, but with a ban on Palestinian construction. This area was defined as an \"agreed reserve\". \n\n\n\nThe agreement effectively froze Palestinian construction in 3% of the West Bank.\n\n\n\nThe Political Reason\n\n\n\nThis agreement, was meant to last until 1999 when a permanent agreement would be reached. No permanent agreement has ever been reached, and in the past years, the PA has allowed some construction in the area. \n\n\n\nLast month, the Israeli Government Assumed Authorities of the Palestinian Authority of the \u201cAgreed-Upon Reserve\u201d in the West Bank. This step constitutes a major move towards eroding remaining authority in Palestinian hands granted by Oslo, and is inevitably going to lead directly to the demolition of Palestinian homes, expulsion of communities, and to the expansion of settlements to the area.\n\n\n\n Last week, Smotrich toured the area an assured that the next step is the demolition of Palestinian buildings in the area.\n\n\n\nIsrael claims environmental and historical protection as the reasons for taking control of the area, but other actions by the government contradicts this reason. For example, at this time, Israel is establishing an outpost on a UNESCO site and Palestinian farm in Al-Makhrour in Beit Jala, Area C. Groups like Peace now and One Climate have also documented how the state has built settlements in a way that harms nature preserves and protected areas. These actions suggest the takeover is more about settlement expansion and control over Palestinian territories than preservation.\n\n\n\nThis move can be understood as part of Smotrich\u2019s Decisive plan, which aims to dismantle the Palestinian Authority, annex the whole of the West Bank and to divide the Palestinian population into six municipal regions within the West Bank in order to end aspirations for Palestinian statehood. As early as July 2023, Smotrich said, \"We will define the activities of the Palestinian Authority as hostile, we will operate in Areas A and B\" as a general goal and not just in the context of the agreed reserve. These new administrative controls of Area B area are a step towards annexation, dispossession, and population transfers. \n\n\n\nIsrael\u2019s occupation of the whole of the West Bank is illegal under international law and the state does not have a right to the land, its administration, or to decide on long term building projects. This decision shows an escalation against Palestinian citizens and is likely to add to the existing flames of violence and to endanger both Palestinians and Israelis in the medium and long term.\n\n\n\nFor free sources and follow up resources to this post (with clickable links):\n\n\n\nSources can be found in full here!","author":{"name":"Becca","link":"https:\/\/beccaexplains.com\/author\/s9okobw6xjge\/"},"date":"Aug 26, 2024","dateGMT":"2024-08-26 13:02:40","modifiedDate":"2024-08-28 11:44:07","modifiedDateGMT":"2024-08-28 11:44:07","commentCount":"0","commentStatus":"open","categories":{"coma":"Israeli Policy<\/a>, West Bank<\/a>","space":"Israeli Policy<\/a> West Bank<\/a>"},"taxonomies":{"post_tag":""},"readTime":{"min":3,"sec":21},"status":"publish"},{"id":1214,"link":"https:\/\/beccaexplains.com\/the-formational-of-the-gaza-strip\/","name":"the-formational-of-the-gaza-strip","thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/beccaexplains.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/On-the-formation-of-the-Gaza-Strip-edited.png","alt":""},"title":"The Formation of the Gaza Strip","excerpt":"","content":"Today, 2.2 million people live in the Gaza Strip, a small area formed between 1948-49. The Majority of residents, 81% of Palestinians who live in the Gaza Strip today are either refugees from 1948 or descended from them.\n\n\n\n\nI have never seen my family\u2019s home in Ramle, and my children have never seen anything beyond the confines of Gaza and the siege.\n - Ahmed Abu Artema\n\n\n\nHistorically, Gaza was a district in Palestine during the Ottoman rule and during the British Mandate. It covered areas larger than that of the Gaza Strip today.\n\n\n\nThe area that eventually became the Gaza Strip started to take shape in October of 1948, after Israel launched Operation Yoav, in which Israel successfully forced Egyptian forces to retreat from the area north of Beit Hanoun through Isdud (today Ashdod), and broke the Egyptian West-East frontline capturing the city of Bir Saba' (today Be\u2019er Sheva).\n\n\n\nThe UN had designated both areas for a Palestinian state in the partition plan. These areas were almost fully Palestinian.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nArmistice Agreement\n\n\n\nThe Israel\u2013Egypt Armistice Agreement of February 24, 1949 established the line of separation between Egyptian and Israeli forces along the lines that each army\u2019s troops held in that moment. During the war, the area that became the Gaza Strip was considered a safe haven for refugees, as little fighting occurred there. \n\n\n\nIsrael did not allow these refugees to return to their homes and communities, and the army continued to transfer some Palestinians to the strip into 1950.\n\n\n\nChange in Population\n\n\n\nAt the outset of the war in 1948, the population of the Gaza region was 60,000 - 70,000. By the end of the war, there were at least 200,000 refugees in the Gaza Strip. This expulsion of Palestinians from their communities is known as the Nakba, or the catastrophe - and those who were displaced to Gaza experienced a loss of community, family ties, culture, social order, political representation, and wealth. \n\n\n\nTo this day, many Palestinian refugees will state where they are from by first mentioning the name of the village that their families were expelled from. This open wound and political injustice still exist today.\n\n\n\nEgypt did not annex the Gaza Strip in 1949 but rather Egyptian authorities ruled the strip with a military occupation between 1949-1967. Egypt acted with political disinterest and, at times, hostility towards the strip, often viewing the refugee population as a burden and pushing policy to keep the Gaza Strip separate from the Country of Egypt. \n\n\n\nThe Gaza strip has not been part of a sovereign country since 1948.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBy Zero0000 - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0\n\n\n\nSources and Continued Reading","author":{"name":"Becca","link":"https:\/\/beccaexplains.com\/author\/s9okobw6xjge\/"},"date":"Jul 5, 2024","dateGMT":"2024-07-05 04:58:00","modifiedDate":"2024-08-17 12:00:00","modifiedDateGMT":"2024-08-17 12:00:00","commentCount":"0","commentStatus":"open","categories":{"coma":"Gaza<\/a>","space":"Gaza<\/a>"},"taxonomies":{"post_tag":"Gaza<\/a>Nakba<\/a>"},"readTime":{"min":2,"sec":12},"status":"publish"},{"id":1204,"link":"https:\/\/beccaexplains.com\/1204-2\/","name":"1204-2","thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/beccaexplains.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Separation-policy.png","alt":""},"title":"The Separation Policy","excerpt":"","content":"In 2005, Israel unilaterally pulled out of the Gaza Strip. PM Ariel Sharon named this process \u2018the disengagement\u2019, though its original name was dubbed the \"separation plan\u201d, or Tochnit HaHafrada. The idea was to separate the Gaza Strip from the West Bank and to treat them as two separate political entities.\n\n\n\nfragmentation of Palestinian life in the occupied Palestinian territories undermines the political power to organize for self-determination - AKA a Palestinian state. Furthermore, disengagement from Gaza allows Israel to work towards annexation of the West Bank in part or in full while maintaining a Jewish majority.\n\n\n\nThe development of the Separation Policy\n\n\n\nIn 2003, Ariel Sharon announced his disengagement plan, stating that \u2033settlements  which will be relocated are those which will not be included in the territory of the State of Israel in the framework of any possible future permanent agreement. At the same time, in the framework of the Disengagement Plan, Israel will strengthen its control over those same areas in the Land of Israel which will constitute an inseparable part of the State of Israel in any future agreement.\u2033 \n\n\n\nIn his initial speech, Sharon does not specify areas, though we now know the settlements removed were in Gaza and parts of the Northern West Bank. In essence, he is saying 'we will give up some land (and with it responsibility for some Palestinians) while annexing other areas, i.e. the majority of the West Bank. The governments since 2005 have viewed the disengagement from Gaza as an end to responsibility of responsibility to Palestinians in Gaza, despite maintained control over larges swaths of area (such a movement).\n\n\n\n2005 to Present\n\n\n\nAlready in 2005, the Israeli government dealt with the West Bank and Gaza through separate policies. This despite the fact that Israel are signed onto the Oslo accords, which Israel recognize the West Bank and Gaza as one Political entity. \n\n\n\nIn 2007, when Hamas overthrew the PA in Gaza, these policies became clearer and more drastic in their differences, as there were now two separate ruling factions over Gaza and the West Bank. Israel has maintained separate policies for each area, including Netanyahu\u2019s government, whom have dealt with each region and politically leadership, the PA and Hamas, separately.\n\n\n\n\"Hamas is an asset and the Palestinian Authority is a liability.\"\n\n\n\nIn 2015, then Member of Knesset and current minister Smotrich tweeted \"In the context of de-legitimization - Hamas is an asset (for Israel) and the Palestinian Authority is a liability.\"\n\n\n\nEhud Barak told an Israeli outlet in 2019 that Netanyahu's \"strategy is to keep Hamas alive and kicking \u2026 even at the price of abandoning the citizens [of the south] \u2026 in order to weaken the Palestinian Authority (PA) in Ramallah.\"\n\n\n\nBoth of their underlying points is that the Israeli government is working to weaken the PA so that they will not be capable politically of creating an independent state. Since the Palestinian Authority is a legitimate body that is recognized internationally and considered politically moderate, the expectation of the international community is to work with the PA and to push forward a peace agreement, something which actively is in contrast to Smotrich's politically plan for annexation of the West Bank.\n\n\n\nThe Palestinian Authority has shown willingness to take over rule of the Strip. A joint rule of Gaza and the West bank would both make it harder for Israel to treat each area as a separate entitiy and would simaltaneously create more vilability for a Palesinian state. In December, Netanyahu responded to this offer:\n\n\n\n\u201cAs long as I am the Prime Minister of Israel - this will not happen.\"","author":{"name":"Becca","link":"https:\/\/beccaexplains.com\/author\/s9okobw6xjge\/"},"date":"Jul 3, 2024","dateGMT":"2024-07-03 12:08:23","modifiedDate":"2024-08-17 12:01:26","modifiedDateGMT":"2024-08-17 12:01:26","commentCount":"0","commentStatus":"open","categories":{"coma":"Gaza<\/a>, Israeli Policy<\/a>, West Bank<\/a>","space":"Gaza<\/a> Israeli Policy<\/a> West Bank<\/a>"},"taxonomies":{"post_tag":"\"managing the conflict\"<\/a>Closure<\/a>Gaza<\/a>Occupation<\/a>separation policy<\/a>"},"readTime":{"min":3,"sec":0},"status":"publish"},{"id":1421,"link":"https:\/\/beccaexplains.com\/but-we-won-the-land-in-a-war\/","name":"but-we-won-the-land-in-a-war","thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/beccaexplains.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/but-we-won-the-land-in-a-war-1.png","alt":""},"title":"\u201cbut we won the land in a war\u201d","excerpt":"","content":"A common adage in Israel is that we won the Occupied Palestinian territories and Golan Heights in a war, and therefore it belongs to Israel. What does international law say and how has Israel related to this?\n\n\n\nThe Law\n\n\n\nInternational law is clear on the prohibition of annexation of territory by force, regardless of whether the war in which the territory was seized was defensive or offensive. This principle is enshrined in the United Nations Charter and has been repeatedly affirmed by the UN Security Council and General Assembly. The Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 explicitly forbids an occupying power from proclaiming its sovereignty over territory hitherto outside its domain. This prohibition was further reinforced by the 1998 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.\n\n\n\nThe rationale behind this prohibition is to prevent countries from expanding their territories through military means, which would undermine international peace and security. Even in cases where a state argues that it acquired territory in a defensive war, the international community generally does not recognize such acquisitions as legitimate. As Adv. Eliav Lieblich explains that:\n\n\n\n\nIf the defending party would be permitted to annex territory, ultimately, all parties would do so. Since no state is likely to accept this form of justice when it\u2019s on the receiving end, defensive annexation would only create, in its eyes, a new just cause for war. The limitation of annexation only to defensive wars would therefore be both ineffective and destructive.\n\n\n\n\nIn the Case of the Annexation of East Jerusalem and Golan Heights\n\n\n\nThe debate over whether the Six-Day War was offensive or defensive is irrelevant to the legality of annexation under international law. Israel's legal arguments for annexing East Jerusalem (1980) and the Golan Heights (1981) didn't rely on the war's nature.\n\n\n\n For East Jerusalem, Israel argued the West Bank wasn't occupied territory as it wasn't taken from a recognized sovereign state. Recently, the International Court of Justice reaffirmed East Jerusalem's status as occupied by Israel. In 1981, when extending Israeli law to the Golan Heights, Israel deliberately avoided using the term \"annexation\" due to its illegality under international law. \n\n\n\nThis highlights the consistent international legal stance against unilateral annexation, regardless of the circumstances under which territory was acquired.\n\n\n\nThe work around for the Golan Heights\n\n\n\nIn a 1981 document titled \"Golan Heights Law: Is the Golan Now Part of Israel?,\" Elyakim Rubinstein, who was the Foreign Ministry's legal adviser at the time writes to then-Director General: He advised Israeli officials to stick to the words \"applying law, jurisdiction and administration\" without denying or confirming that the Golan was annexed. Today, Israel and the U.S. are the only two countries to recognize the Golan Heights as a sovereign part of Israel.\n\n\n\nThe Bottom line - This adage does not fit with international law\n\n\n\nThe common adage that Israel has a right to unliterally annex land occupied in 1967 does not fit with international legal norms. This illegality was clearly recognized in the past by Israel\u2019s own legal teams, who worked to circumvent this prohibition in order to annex on these areas. Similarly, Israel in 2024 has changed the structure of the administration in the West Bank in order to pursue unilateral annexation without declaring it as such. In the 1980s and in 2024, unilateral annexation remains illegal in international law.\n\n\n\nFor free sources and follow up resources to this post (with clickable links):\n\n\n\nSources can be found in full here!","author":{"name":"Becca","link":"https:\/\/beccaexplains.com\/author\/s9okobw6xjge\/"},"date":"Jan 28, 2024","dateGMT":"2024-01-28 12:04:33","modifiedDate":"2024-08-28 12:05:19","modifiedDateGMT":"2024-08-28 12:05:19","commentCount":"0","commentStatus":"open","categories":{"coma":"East Jerusalem<\/a>, Golan Heights<\/a>, International Law<\/a>, West Bank<\/a>","space":"East Jerusalem<\/a> Golan Heights<\/a> International Law<\/a> West Bank<\/a>"},"taxonomies":{"post_tag":""},"readTime":{"min":2,"sec":52},"status":"publish"},{"id":1436,"link":"https:\/\/beccaexplains.com\/but-we-left-gaza\/","name":"but-we-left-gaza","thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/beccaexplains.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/We-left-gaza.png","alt":""},"title":"But, We Left Gaza","excerpt":"","content":"December 14, 2023\n\n\n\nA common statement made among most Israeli leadership is that there is no military control - occupation - in Gaza because Israel removed the military forces and the settlements from Gaza in 2005 in a process called the \"disengagement\". It is correct that Israel removed troops on the ground , removed settlements, and canceled the military legal system in Gaza. But does that equate an end to occupation?\n\n\n\n In international law, the main question is does Israel have effective control over the Gaza Strip today? To answer this, we need to understand what Israel actually controls in Gaza since the disengagement.\n\n\n\nWhat is Hamas responsible for in Gaza?\n\n\n\nAs of September 2023, Hamas is the strongest armed organization in the Gaza Strip, and its political arm de facto runs the government offices in Gaza. This has been the case since 2007 when Hamas took control of the Strip through a violent coup and removed the Palestinian Authority from power. There are a variety of institutions that Hamas is responsible for - for example the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Planning etc. Hamas holds responsibility for the population of Gaza and their needs. Despite the coup, Hamas and the PA have cooperated over different issues. For example, the PA in the past years has managed Erez Crossing on the Gazan side.\n\n\n\nHamas as grown in strength over the years since its coup on Gaza in 2007, despite a severe closure on the Strip. It has done this through multiple channels, including through taxing the general population and through an authoritarian regime in which is often dissent within Gaza is dealt with violently. \n\n\n\nWhat about Israeli Control?\n\n\n\nThe are a multitude of ways that Israel, through the military unit COGAT, rules over the Gaza strip, including a partial siege. \n\n\n\n\nMaritime space - Palestinians in Gaza can enter the sea up to 3 to 12 nautical kilometers, depending on the time period. Israel forbids a seaport. \n\n\n\nAirspace -Israel prohibits Palestinian air traffic from and into Gaza. \n\n\n\n The Palestinian population registry, which is shared between the West Bank and Gaza\n\n\n\n Internet\n\n\n\nMost access to electricity\n\n\n\nMost access to water\n\n\n\nMost crossings for people and the movement of goods*\n\n\n\nLists and protocols on what goods can enter and leave Gaza. Today the Gazan economy is weaker than before the disengagement due to export restrictions decided by Israel.\n\n\n\n\n*Egypt and Israel coordinate movement at Rafah crossing. There used to be a large network of tunnels between Gaza and Egypt, but after the coup in Egypt in 2013, President al-Sisi, who sees the Muslim Brotherhood as a political enemy, destroyed many of the tunnels and strengthened cooperation with Israel.\n\n\n\n\nI didn\u2019t think at the time [about] the significance of the fact that we approve passage for bulgur, that it\u2019s like one of the things we control, how much bulgur goes into the Gaza Strip. And I know there are very detailed lists of what can and cannot go into the Gaza Strip, and we have full control over it. And it\u2019s as specific as bulgur, yes, no, how many trucks. \u201cOn such and such a day, there are three trucks of bulgur, five trucks of flour,\u201d I don\u2019t know, but the list of what is allowed in and what isn\u2019t is something that changes occasionally. I don\u2019t know how often.\n\n\n\n -Lieutenant, COGAT, 2014, Breaking the Silence testimony\n\n\n\n\nHow does this affect the lives of Palestinians in Gaza?\n\n\n\nCOGAT manages the population registry of the Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank through two systems, \"Resident Information\" and \"the Rolling' Stone\". The general rule is you can\u2019t get a permit. There is a narrow list with specific criteria for obtaining a permit to travel to Israel, the West Bank, or abroad. The army can decide if you can travel to a relative's funeral or wedding, if you are entitled to a permit for medical treatment, if you can reunite with your family, if you can study abroad. Anyone who travels through the Rafah crossing is considered a \"runaway\" in the system, having left illegally, which can prohibit them from obtaining a permit for an unlimited period.\n\n\n\nHow does this control look during this war?\n\n\n\nAt the beginning of the war, Israel cut off and limited access to water and to electricity. In addition, it prevented goods from entering into the Gaza Strip at the Kerem Shalom crossing, which is the most significant passage for goods into the Gaza Strip and the only one that Israel has been operating for years. In early October, Israel also bombed Rafah crossing on the Gazan side to prevent aid entering from Egypt. \n\n\n\nAs such, there is a lack of clean, drinkable water, and food. Aid is struggling to enter, and Rafah Crossing does not have capacity to process hundreds of trucks a day. Kerem Shalom is still closed. Multiple organizations have now a declared a humanitarian emergency.\n\n\n\nIs there effective control of the strip?\n\n\n\nAbsolutely. \n\n\n\nAlthough as Israelis we like to say \"we left Gaza\" and therefore Israel is not responsible for the situation in the Gaza Strip, in practice it controls the area and the population in a variety of ways, including a partial siege.\n\n\n\nThe areas that Israel controls - the import and export of goods, the movement of people, and control over a large part of the infrastructure - affect the day-to-day lives of Gazans.\n\n\n\n Yes, Hamas as the governor of the Strip also has a responsibility to take care of the people in the Strip. \n\n\n\nYes, control of the Gaza Strip looks different today than control of the West Bank. \n\n\n\nAnd, a state cannot exercise military control and a partial siege and not claim responsibility for the area and people in it.\n\n\n\nFurther reading and sources\n\n\n\nGisha, Trading in the Dark https:\/\/features.gisha.org\/trading-in-the-dark\/\n\n\n\nMilitary Rule, 2011-2021 https:\/\/www.breakingthesilence.org\/testimonies\/publications\n\n\n\nIsrael claims it is no longer occupying the Gaza Strip. What does international law say? https:\/\/www.atlanticcouncil.org\/blogs\/menasource\/gaza-israel-occupied-international-law\/\n\n\n\nVoices from Gaza https:\/\/www.btselem.org\/voices_from_gaza\n\n\n\nSee post \"Dual Use items, water, and electricity in Gaza\"","author":{"name":"Becca","link":"https:\/\/beccaexplains.com\/author\/s9okobw6xjge\/"},"date":"Dec 23, 2023","dateGMT":"2023-12-23 09:59:33","modifiedDate":"2024-08-29 10:00:44","modifiedDateGMT":"2024-08-29 10:00:44","commentCount":"0","commentStatus":"open","categories":{"coma":"Gaza<\/a>, International Law<\/a>","space":"Gaza<\/a> International Law<\/a>"},"taxonomies":{"post_tag":""},"readTime":{"min":5,"sec":2},"status":"publish"},{"id":1189,"link":"https:\/\/beccaexplains.com\/1189-2\/","name":"1189-2","thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/beccaexplains.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Copy-of-Copy-of-They-voted-for-Hamas.png","alt":""},"title":"Dual Use items, water, and electricity in Gaza","excerpt":"","content":"Since the start of the war on October 7th, many questions have been raised about responsibility and control over resources such as water and electricity. While Hamas is responsible for allocating their use, as they are public resources and Hamas is the internal government of the Strip, Israel maintains large swaths of control over how much of the resources enter the strip at all.\n\n\n\nIn the first days of the war, Israel shut off water and electricity and prevented fuel from entering into the strip. It also bombed areas near the Rafah crossing after telling Egypt it would not allow aid to enter through the Egyptians-Gaza crossing. Gradually, more aid had been allowed into the strip, though there is still an ongoing fear and potential of famine. \n\n\n\nIn order to understand this moment, we need to try and understand how these resources entered the strip on October 6th and earlier. \n\n\n\n\"Dual Use\" list\n\n\n\n\"Dual-use\" Items that can be used for civilian and military purposes. The list of items the Israeli army defines as dual use is much larger than the international standard.\n\n\n\nDual-use items require special coordination with the Israeli army to enter and are often scarce or practically banned for this reason. Examples include: building materials, comms equipment, and steel pipes. \n\n\n\nThe list changes over time, as some items are added or removed. For example, in early 2023, the Israeli army announced that \"incubators, thermometers, defibrillators, ventilators, glucometers, and electric wheelchairs\" will all be removed from the dual use list. \n\n\n\nWith items regularly being added and removed, it raises the question of what the security justification is for adding them to the list in the first place, especially for such common civilian needs.\n\n\n\nThe Issues of Electricity, water, and the \u201cdual-use\u201d item list in Gaza are all related.\n\n\n\nIn practice, this is relevant to electricity and water access because preventing items from the dual-use list from reaching Gaza regularly and as needed means necessary infrastructure can\u2019t be maintained properly, nor can new infrastructure be easily built. \n\n\n\nElectricity \n\n\n\nDaily need is 500 megawatts (MW). \n\n\n\n\nElectricity purchased from Israel directly to the strip is around 120 MW\n\n\n\n\n\nGaza run power plant whose fuel is funded by Qatar and which is purchased from Israel, and produced regularly 65-75 MW\n\n\n\n\n\nPrivate generators (requiring fuel) and solar panels\n\n\n\n\n\nEgypt exports to Gaza fuel for diesel, petrol, and cooking gas, but not fuel for Gaza\u2019s power plant.\n\n\n\n\nIn practice, two of the most, all sources require Israel\u2019s involvement, directly or through fuel access.\n\n\n\nWater\n\n\n\nDaily consumption per person is 82 liters\n\n\n\n\nWater sources: overall use is 110 MCM\n\n\n\n\n\nA coastal aquifer. Gaza\u2019s only natural reservoir. This water must be purified to be potable, requiring fuel.\n\n\n\n\n\nThree desalination plants which need fuel to function\n\n\n\n\n\nAround 15 MCM is purchased from Mekorot, Israel\u2019s water company.\n\n\n\n\nLike electricity, all three sources require Israeli involvement, either through fuel purchase or direct water purchase from Mekorot.\n\n\n\nIn most cases, Israel has partial and often full control of the source. I\u2019ve been asked before \u201cDoesn\u2019t this prove that Israel is generous because it provides water and energy?\u201d Control cannot be generous, it's a tool, and what can be given can be taken away.\n\n\n\nYes, Hamas as the main governor of the strip could have done more to ensure daily access to energy and water needs and shares responsibility and blame. \n\n\n\nAnd also, putting a closure with an enlarged dual-use list hasn\u2019t weakened Hamas (it\u2019s purported purpose). It has however weakened public and private infrastructure that 2.2 million people use and need.\n\n\n\nAnd also, Israel can\u2019t prevent necessary goods, equipment, parts, and fuel necessary for maintaining these infrastructures and then claim we have no control over the Gaza Strip and the millions who live there.\n\n\n\nSources and continued learning:\n\n\n\nhttps:\/\/gisha.org\/en\/still-waters\/https:\/\/www.ochaopt.org\/data\/crossingshttps:\/\/features.gisha.org\/red-lines-gray-lists\/https:\/\/features.gisha.org\/gaza-up-close\/https:\/\/gisha.org\/en\/fourth-turbine-temporarily-activated\/","author":{"name":"Becca","link":"https:\/\/beccaexplains.com\/author\/s9okobw6xjge\/"},"date":"Nov 30, 2023","dateGMT":"2023-11-30 11:38:56","modifiedDate":"2024-08-29 10:07:42","modifiedDateGMT":"2024-08-29 10:07:42","commentCount":"0","commentStatus":"open","categories":{"coma":"Gaza<\/a>","space":"Gaza<\/a>"},"taxonomies":{"post_tag":"Closure<\/a>Gaza<\/a>Occupation<\/a>"},"readTime":{"min":3,"sec":9},"status":"publish"}]