Are Palestinians in Area C under Israeli jurisdiction ?
Area C covers 60% of the West Bank and is home to an estimated 180,000-300,000 Palestinians and to an illegal settler population of at least 325,500 living in 125 illegal settlements and approx. 100 illegal outposts. Israel retains control of security and land-management in Area C and views the area as there to serve its own needs, such as military training, economic interests and settlement development. Ignoring Palestinian needs, Israel practically bans Palestinian construction and development. At the same time, it encourages the development of Israeli settlements through a parallel planning mechanism, and the Civil Administration deliberately turns a blind eye to settlers’ building violations.
Previous Next THE ISRAELI OCCUPATION There are some 3 million Palestinians and around 600,000 Israeli settlers living in the West Bank, an area which includes East Jerusalem.16 Israel captured the West Bank, as well as the Gaza Strip, duringa war with its Arab neighbours in 1967.17 These areas are known today as the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT). Since the start of the occupation, Israel has administered different parts of the OPT in different ways. In 1967 Israel unilaterally annexed East Jerusalem and included these Palestinian parts of the city, as well as a surrounding area of over 70km2, within the boundaries of the Israeli municipality of Jerusalem. The Israeli military governed the remainder of the West Bank, as well as the Gaza Strip, as occupied territory from 1967 onwards. This changed in the mid-1990s following the Oslo Accords. These established the Palestinian Authority (the PA, now known as the State of Palestine) and divided the West Bank excluding East Jerusalem into Areas A, B and C. The Oslo Accords transferred partial jurisdiction of some areas to the PA, while overall security remained under Israeli control. As a result, the PA obtained varying amounts of administrative responsibility over Areas A and B. These areas included Palestinian towns and villages where 90% of the Palestinian population lived. Meanwhile, Palestinian rural areas were classified as Area C, where Israel maintained full civil and security authority. A separate agreement saw the division of the city of Hebron into Palestinian and Israeli-administered sectors, known as H1 and H2 respectively. The Oslo Accords were intended to act as a “transitional arrangement lasting not exceeding five years”. However, its terms and implications remain in force today. Israeli troops on patrol in Hebron, 14 September 2017. © Amnesty International SETTLEMENTS IN THE WEST BANK Since 1967, it has been Israeli government policy to promote the creation and expansion of Israeli settlements in the OPT. Successive governments have implemented this policy through a combination of legal and administrative measures. They have also provided subsidies, tax incentives and lowcost utilities and resources to encourage Jewish Israelis to live in these places and to support the settlement economy. Israeli settlements in the OPT are meant to be permanent places of residence or economic activity for Jewish Israelis and are built with the sole purpose of serving their needs. There are now approximately 250 settlements. Some have fewer than 100 residents. Others, such as Ma’ale Adumim, which has a population of about 37,000, are well-resourced towns. Settlements are spread throughout the West Bank, connected by a network of roads. They surround all the major Palestinian cities and many towns and villages. Most settlers live in Area C of the West Bank, but about a third – 200,000 – are in East Jerusalem. Most of those in East Jerusalem live in neighbourhoods and suburbs that Israel constr