Settlements in the West Bank– Israel’s Transfer of Population under Art 8(2)(b) of the Rome Statute By Myriam Hunfeld*
I.
INTRODUCTION
Since the end of the Second World War, few crises have caused so much division as the Situation in Palestine and the occupation of Palestinian territories. Previously, Palestine had been administered by the United Kingdom under the mandate system established by the League of Nations.1 After the Second World War, the UN General Assembly voted in favor of the Partition Plan proposed by the UN Special Committee in Palestine. 2 This plan proposed a partition of the territory which would result in the founding of two independent States. 3 However, the 1949 Armistice Agreements between Israel and Egypt, Lebanon, Transjordan and Syria that followed the 1948 war meant territorial changes in Palestine. 4 These changes led to Israel gaining substantial additional portions in the West Bank, whereas Egypt held the Gaza Strip, and the remaining parts of the West Bank were united with Transjordan. 5 However, the division of territory changed once again after the Six-Day war between Israel and Egypt, which left 1,1 million Palestinians under Israeli occupation. Since then, the political tension in the territory continued to cause turmoil, and incidents like Entebbe 6 in 1976 further reduced the chance for a de-escalation of the Situation. Until today, especially in neighborhoods surrounding the Gaza Strip, reoccurring terrorist attacks by the Hamas or airstrikes conducted by the Israeli military continue to disrupt civilian lives. In the past year, the international community has put a particular focus on the legal situation in Palestine. The situation has remained belligerent, and reports of human rights violations and
*
LL.B. Candidate, International and European Law Program, The Hague University of Applied Sciences. 'The Legal Status of The West Bank and Gaza - CEIRPP, DPR Study - DPR Publication - Question of Palestine' (Question of Palestine, 2021) <https://www.un.org/unispal/document/auto-insert-203742/> accessed 1 May 2021. 2 UNGA Res 181 (II) (29 November 1947) UN Doc A/RES/181(II). 3 ibid. 4 DPR Study (n 1). 5 ibid. 6 The hijacking of an Israeli passenger flight by a group of Palestinians that was freed in Entebbe, Uganda is generally referred to as the ‘Entebbe incident’, see for further information here https://www.britannica.com/event/Entebbe-raid. 1
2020 issue 1 ILSA Law Journal
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