Status of the Occupied Palestinian
Territories in international law
16. International law provides the legal framework
for the roles and responsibilities of the two sides and the international
community. Early in 2002 Israel reoccupied those areas which had
previously been under PA control. The situation in the OPT has
now resumed its character of pre-Oslo military occupation and
is thus framed in terms of international humanitarian law, and
in particular the application of the Geneva Conventions of 1949.[19]
Israel has specific responsibilities and obligations to the Palestinian
population under the 4th Geneva Convention.
17. The GOI rejects this interpretation. It argues
that prior to its assumption of the role of occupying power in
1967 the territories were legally under occupation by Egypt and
Jordan. It maintains that the 4th Geneva Convention
applies to sovereign territories only and not therefore to the
West Bank and Gaza. As Alan Seatter, of the Directorate General
for External Relations, European Commission, told us:
"We believe that under the Geneva Conventions
it is the responsibility of the occupying power to look after
the civilian population in areas they are occupying. Israel does
not agree with this interpretation. As colleagues from DFID said,
and there have been many representations to Israel about this
at many different levels, they do not accept they are subject
to these provisions".[20]
Israel's refusal to accept its responsibilities under
the Geneva Convention does not, however, relieve the international
community from the constraints and conditions of its application
in dealings with Israel as an occupying power. All High Contracting
Parties, signatories of the Convention, of which the UK is one,
have obligations to respect and ensure respect of the Convention
as it applies to the OPT, and are bound by its regulations.
Israel's commitments
18. Although Israel does not accept the applicability
of the Geneva Conventions, it has signed an agreement to facilitate
the activities of international organisations. The agreement followed
a visit from the UN Secretary General's Personal Humanitarian
Envoy, Catherine Bertini and set a minimum standard on humanitarian
provision in the OPT, which included commitments on health, water
and access for humanitarian workers.[21]
These "Bertini Commitments" serve as a useful additional
framework for negotiations with the Israeli authorities on the
delivery of basic humanitarian services. However, we agree
with the UK Government that the Geneva Conventions apply to the
Israeli occupation. The 4th Geneva Convention should remain the
standard by which the GOI should perform in the OPT. The UK Government
has its own obligations to uphold the Convention, and monitor
breaches of the rules of the Convention as regards to the civilian
population.
1 Ev 86 Back
2
The Geneva Accord is an unofficial blueprint for peace. The basic
framework includes proposals on the right of return of refugees,
settlements and the division of Jerusalem. Back
3
Twenty Seven Months - Intifada, Closures and Palestinian Economic
Crisis, An Assessment, World Bank, May 2003 Back
4
Ev 51 Back
5
Ev 58 Back
6
Ev 58 Back
7
Ev 59 Back
8
Ev 51 Back
9
A full list of those who submitted evidence is available in Volume
II of this report (HC 230-II) Back
10
FCO, Country Profile, October 2003 Back
11
Ibid. Back
12
Ev 241 Back
13
A middle-income country is defined as one with a per capita income
of between $761 and $9,360. However, middle income does not necessarily
mean without poverty: there are over half a billion people living
in poverty (on below $2 a day) in middle-income countries. See:
Eliminating Global Poverty: The Middle-Income Countries,
Department for International Development, November 2001 Back
14
Ev 250, Q 94 Back
15
http://www.usaid.gov/wbg/budget.htm Back
16
Ev 117 Back
17
World Bank, Op. Cit. May 2003 Back
18
West Bank and Gaza: Economic Performance and Reform
under Conflict Conditions, International Monetary Fund, September
2003 Back
19
For example: Ev 80, Ev 89, Ev 126, Ev 135, Ev 145, Ev 166, Ev
240 Back
20
Q 61 Back
21
See OCHA, Humanitarian Monitoring Report, Commitments made by
the Government of Israel to Ms Catherine Bertini, Personal Envoy
to the Middle East for the Secretary General, April 2003 (www.reliefweb.int).
See also Personal Humanitarian Envoy of the Secretary General
(Catherine Bertini)-Mission Report, August 2002, United Nations
(copy placed in the library) Back