Violation: Land confiscation for Security claims.

Location: Qablan town / Nablus.

Date: June-12-2018.

Perpetrator: The Israeli occupation army.

Victims: Palestinian farmers.

Description:

Israeli troops confiscated 24.579 dunums of Qablan lands in an area known as Jabal Sbeih.

It is reported that vehicles from the Israeli occupation civil administration raided Qablan town and delivered a military order to Qablan’s rural council that informs the confiscation of lands from the town starting from July 6.

Jihad Abed head of Qablan rural council told LRC observer:

“The targeted lands, are the area where Avitar outpost was installed in the past, the plots lie within Qablan natural blocks but the owners are from Qablan , Bita and Witma”.

Avitar colonial outpost:

In February 11 -2018, settlers installed 4 caravans on lands from Qablan and Bita belong to Palestinian citizens (Maso’ud Farahat, Jamal Abu Ayash and Khadr Khdeir)

In February 20 the occupation troops removed the caravans.

Foad Ma’ali head of Bita rural council told LRC observer that Bita’s people marched everyday requesting to remove the outpost, until it happened in February 20.

About Qablan[1]:

It is located 20km to the southeast of Nablus city. From the east, there is Bita , and from the west there are Yitma, al-Sawiya, and al-lubban el-Sharqia. Jourish, ousrin, and Aqraba are there from east where Telfit, Qutyot and Jaluod are there from the south.

The town has an area of 7130 people according to 2007 census, and an area of 10,456 dunums, 1,190 of them are the town’s built up area.

Bypass 505 devoured 396 dunums of the town’s lands.

Oslo agreement classified Qablan lands to “

B area: 7,080 dunums.

C area: 3,467 dunums.

Legal Feedback:

The constringing policy by the Israeli occupation authorities of confiscating Palestinian lands in order to  build illegal random outposts and settlements can only be regarded as a violation of all international conventions and agreements like:

• The Geneva Fourth convention relative to the protection of civilian persons in the times of war:
• Security council resolution 242 year 1967:   Withdrawal of Israel armed forces from territories occupied in the recent conflict; and  Termination of all claims or states of belligerency and respect for and acknowledgement of the sovereignty, territoial integrity and political independence of every State in the area and their right to live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force.
• Security council resolution 446 year 1979:   Determines that the policy and practices of Israel in establishing settlements in the Palestinian and other Arab territories occupied since 1967 have no legal validity and constitute a serious obstruction to achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East;
• Security council resolution   452 year 1979: the resolution once again denounced Israel's settlement activities in territories occupied in 1976 including (East) Jerusalem, this activity constituting a violation of the Fourth Geneva convention, and called on Israel to cease planning and construction of settlements
• Security council resolution 465 year 1980: calls to dismantle the existing settlements and in particular to cease, on an urgent basis, the establishment, construction and planning of settlements in the Arab territories occupied since 1967, including Jerusalem; Calls upon all States not to provide Israel with any assistance to be used specifically in connexion with settlements in the occupied territories;
• Security council resolution 478 year 1980:  Censures in the strongest terms the enactment by Israel of the "basic law" on Jerusalem and the refusal to comply with relevant Security Council resolutions,Those States that have established diplomatic missions at Jerusalem to withdraw such missions from the Holy City.
• Hough  convention 1907 :
• Article 46:  the occupying power must not confiscate Private property .
• Article 55:  The occupying State shall be regarded only as administrator and usufructuary of public buildings, real estate, forests, and agricultural estates belonging to the hostile State, and situated in the occupied country. It must safeguard the capital of these properties, and administer them in accordance with the rules of usufruct.
• Geneve forth convention 1949:
• Article 49: The occupying power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own population into the territories it occupies.
• Article 55: Any destruction by the Occupying Power of real or personal property belonging individually or collectively to private persons, or to the State, or to other public authorities, or to social or cooperative organizations, is prohibited.
• Article 174:  taking of hostages and extensive destruction and appropriation of property, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly.

[1] GIS-LRC

The contents of this document is the sole responsibility of LRC and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union