The village of Kisan, located southeast of the Bethlehem Governorate, has faced continuous attacks for many years by settlers and Israeli occupation forces as part of a systematic policy aimed at controlling its lands and driving its indigenous population for the benefit of settlement expansion. Recently, the area has witnessed a dangerous development, represented by the establishment of the eighth settlement outpost by Israeli settlers in the Deir Alla area, adjacent to the Palestinian community known as Wadi Ebyan.
Latest settler violations
In an organized raid, Israeli settlers setup new tents in the targeted area and then launched a direct attack on the homes of 15 Palestinian families living in the Wadi Ubayyan community. Settler attacks included the theft of private property, most notably solar panels and metal panels used for fencing the families living ground. Furniture and other contents of homes were also deliberately destroyed and vandalized. This attack was preceded by a direct threat to force the residents to leave the area voluntarily, reflecting a clear policy of intimidation and forced displacement.
International Legal Violations
The facts on the ground bear witness to the lies and deceptions Israel claims to hold to international law and respect human rights in the occupied territories, which are witnessing a growing escalation in attacks by settlers supported by the Israeli army, in the complete absence of any effective legal deterrent. The acts of violence, forced displacement, land seizure, and the construction of settlement outposts cannot be considered merely individual or isolated violations. Rather, they are part of a systematic policy that blatantly ignores the provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibits the transfer of the population of the occupying power into occupied territory or the displacement of the indigenous population. This exposes the falsity of the Israeli claims of respect for the rule of law and international law. These violations include:
- The Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949:
- Article 49: Prohibits the forcible transfer of protected persons from occupied territories.
- Article 53: Prohibits the destruction of private property unless imperatively justified by military operations.
- Article 147: Considers forced displacement, destruction, and theft of property to be grave breaches.
- International Human Rights Law:
- International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (1966): Guarantees the human right to housing, a dignified life, and freedom from discrimination or arbitrary deprivation.
- Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Article 17 states that “Everyone has the right to property and shall not be arbitrarily deprived of his property.”
- Security Council Resolution 2334 of 2016:
Demands that Israel cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory and considers settlements illegal and an obstacle to peace.
Repeated Incidents and Conclusions
This incident does not constitute an isolated incident; rather, it is part of a series of systematic attacks that have targeted the village of Kisan and its surroundings over the past months. Human rights organizations have documented an escalation in property burning, road closures, attacks on shepherds, and farmers being prevented from accessing their lands, all under the protection of the Israeli army, which does not intervene to prevent settlers and, in many cases, actually facilitates their activities. Accordingly, the following conclusions can be drawn:
- All what is happening falls under clear objective, to change the demographic character of the area to the benefit of Israeli settlers.
- Undermining the rights of indigenous Palestinian people to residency, property, and movement.
- Deepening the geographical divide resulting from the spread of settlement outposts, hindering any future possibility of a two-state solution or the establishment of a contiguous Palestinian state.
- Entrenching a culture of impunity due to the lack of legal accountability by the Israeli authorities and the international community’s failure to take serious action.
What needs to be Done
The violations in Kisan represent a blatant example of the policy of forced displacement practiced by the Israeli occupation against Palestinians in Area C, in flagrant violation of international law and international legitimacy. This policy not only threatens the rights of the local population, but also threatens security and stability. Therefore, the following is required:
- Immediate international action by the states party to the Geneva Conventions to pressure Israel to halt its violations and ensure the protection of Palestinian civilians.
- Dispatch of international fact-finding missions to document crimes and violations and hold Israeli settlers accountable.
- Imposing political and economic sanctions on Israel, as an occupying power that commits and endorse serious human rights violations.
Remaining silent on what is happening in Kisan and other areas witnessing similar incidents is nothing but and complicity in the crime. The world must assume its moral and legal responsibilities towards a people being marginalized and displaced in broad daylight.
Prepared by:
The Applied Research Institute – Jerusalem
