5 Israel and the Occupied Palestinian
Territories
HUMAN RIGHTS IN ISRAEL AND THE OCCUPIED
PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES
46. The Government is clear that it has serious reservations
about the human rights situation in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian
Territories (OPTs). In the 2013 Report, which was published before
the conflict took place in Gaza in July and August 2014, the FCO
listed as its concerns:
· Continued violations of international
human rights law and international humanitarian law by Israel
in context of its occupation of the OPTs;
· Breaches of human rights in Palestinian
Authority (PA) controlled parts of the West Bank and, particularly,
under de facto Hamas rule in the Gaza Strip;
· Use of the death penalty by de facto authorities
in Gaza;
· Mistreatment of detainees by the Israeli
authorities, and by PA security forces, and by Hamas in Gaza;
· The use of excessive force by the Israel
Defense Forces (IDF) on Palestinian protesters within the OPTs;
· Harassment of Palestinian human rights
defenders by Israeli forces;
· Continued demolition of Palestinian structures
that were built without permit in Area C of the West Bank and
East Jerusalem; and
· Suppression of women's rights in Gaza.[88]
47. The September 2014 quarterly update on Israel
and the OPTs provided analysis on the recent conflict in Gaza
and on the human rights situation in the country more generally.
The FCO reported in the update that 2,131 Palestinians, of whom
1,473 were identified as civilians, and 72 Israelis, of whom four
were identified as civilians, were killed during the conflict.[89]
The update also highlighted the expropriation of 988 acres of
land by the Israeli Government around the settlement of Etzion
near Bethlehem. The then UN High Commissioner for Human Rights,
Navi Pillay, stated on 23 July that "there seems to be a
strong possibility that international humanitarian law has been
violated, in a manner that could amount to war crimes". She
also condemned Hamas for "indiscriminate attacks" on
civilian areas.[90] On
1 September, the Prime Minister made a statement to the House
setting out the Government's position on the conflict and the
expropriation of land:
The loss of life this summer has been truly appalling
and the number of civilian casualties completely unacceptablethe
life of a Palestinian child is worth the same as that of a child
of any one of our nationsbut support for a lasting settlement
that includes a Palestinian state does not mean we should ever
support the terrorist tactics of Hamas, which has rained down
rockets on Israel and continually refused to accept ceasefires.
We will continue to support Israel and Israel's
right to defend itself, but that does not mean we support every
decision the Israeli Government take. Most recently, the appropriation
of nearly 1,000 acres of land in the west bank near Bethlehem
is utterly deplorable. Settlements are illegal under international
law and will do nothing to create the kind of peace process we
all want, and we urge the Israeli Government to reverse this decision.[91]
We echo the views of the Prime Minister.
BEDOUINS IN ISRAEL
48. The 2013 Report also commented on the treatment
of the Bedouin in the Negev region of Israel; this was a subject
on which we received a number of written submissions. Bedouin
tribes, mainly as semi-nomadic pastoralists, have inhabited the
Negev region of Israel for centuries.[92]
Since the sixteenth century the Bedouin have been governed by
a series of different regimes: the Ottoman Empire, the British
Mandate and the Israeli state. All have tried policies to integrate
nomadic and semi-nomadic Bedouin populations into sedentary society,
but have been met with resistance from the Bedouin.
49. Following the establishment of the state of Israel,
the estimated 11,000 Bedouins that remained in Israel after the
1948 war were resettled from their 'native lands' into a 'closed
area' located in the northern and central Negev. Bedouins were
not allowed to live outside this area until military rule ended
in 1966.[93] The Knesset
passed legislation in 1953 which determined that "any land
not found in its owners' right in April 1952 will be made public"
and that the Bedouin would "lose all rights on their lands
outside their living area".[94]
Israel started a process of state-planned urbanisation after the
end of military rule to settle the Bedouin into permanent urban
centres. Dr Hilary Tyrrell, a member of the Palestinian Solidarity
Campaign, claimed in a written submission to our inquiry that
the Bedouin are the "most disadvantaged citizens in Israel".[95]
Over half of the 190,000 Negev Bedouins today live in seven government-controlled
towns and the remainder live in villages that are not recognised
by the government. Dr Tyrrell said that these 'unrecognised villages'
are deprived of basic services such as housing, water, electricity,
education and health care.[96]
THE DISPUTE BETWEEN ISRAEL AND THE
BEDOUIN
50. 'Unrecognised villages' are, in part, a consequence
of the conflict between the Israeli authorities and Bedouin community
over land ownership and historic indigenous Bedouin rights.[97]
A series of attempts have been made to resolve this conflict over
the last 50 years. The most recent attempt started with the setting-up
of the Goldberg Commission[98]
in December 2007, which was given the task of 'finalising' the
status of Bedouin land claims in the Negev.[99]
The Goldberg Commission submitted a report proposing that some
Bedouin villages should be recognised.[100]
In January 2009, a team headed by Ehud Prawer started work to
implement the Goldberg recommendations, but this work was stalled
after the proposals were rejected by representatives of the Bedouin
and by certain members of the Knesset. Following a consultation
process led by minister without portfolio Benny Begin, a modified
plan was introduced in the Knesset in June 2013.
51. Dr Philip Nixon, a member of the Palestinian
Solidarity Campaign, told us that the 'Prawer-Begin' Bill would
mean that 30,000 to 40,000 Bedouin stood to be "forcibly
evicted from their homes".[101]
The treatment of the Bedouin has been said to be discriminatory
because the overall plan for the region failed to recognise the
Bedouin's historic claims to the land and because the compensation
offered to dispossessed Bedouin is less than that offered to Israeli
Jews in similar circumstances.[102]
The UN High Commissioner of Human Rights urged the Israeli Government
to reconsider the bill and hold genuine consultations with all
Bedouin communities in the Negev.[103]
Adalah Legal Center[104]
reported that although the legislation had been halted, demolitions
of Bedouin homes in the Negev remained a "daily reality",
and the state continued to approve and implement its development
projects on top of Bedouin villages.[105]
Israel has claimed that the current plan is to ensure Bedouins
live on land they legally own, and that those who could not stay
where they were would be offered "ample compensation".[106]
According to Israel, "no modern society accepts traditional
nomadic concepts of land ownership".[107]
THE POLICY OF THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT
ON THE BEDOUINS OF ISRAEL
52. Baroness Warsi told us that the British Government
policy was to "follow the debate around the issue of unresolved
Bedouin land claims and unrecognised Bedouin villages in the Negev"
and "urge further dialogue between the Israeli authorities
and Bedouin communities".[108]
The UK has archival records that could provide objective and useful
information to both parties about how the land in the Negev region
was used during the British Mandatory Period, and just before
the establishment of the state of Israel. This could aid negotiations
between both parties. We believe the British Government should
play a more prominent part in helping to resolve the conflict
between Israel and the Bedouin community, and should use its standing
with the Israeli government and the Bedouin community to promote
a peaceful, negotiated settlement.
88 FCO, Human Rights and Democracy: 2013 FCO Report,
Cm 8870, April 2014, pages 225-231 Back
89
FCO, Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs)
- Country of Concern: latest update, 30 September 2014, www.gov.uk/government/publications/israel-and-the-occupied-palestinian-territories-opts-country-of-concern/israel-and-the-occupied-palestinian-territories-opts-country-of-concern-latest-update-30-september-2014 Back
90
"Human Rights Council 21st Special Session: Human Rights
Situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East
Jerusalem", OHCHR website, www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=14893&LangID=E#sthash.eg4Yk7d3.dpuf Back
91
HC Deb, 1 September 2014, col 23 [Commons Chamber] Back
92
Edited by Mansour Nasasra, Sophie Richter-Devroe, Sarab Abu-Rabia-Queder,
Richard Ratcliffe, The Naqab Bedouin and Colonialism, (London,
2015), p 39 Back
93
Ghazi Falah, "Israeli State Policy toward Bedouin Sedentarization
in the Negev", Journal of Palestine Studies, vol 18 (1989),
p 71-91 Back
94
"Bedouins in the State of Israel", Israeli Knesset
webpages, www.knesset.gov.il/lexicon/eng/bedouim_eng.htm Back
95
Memorandum from Dr Hilary Tyrrell Back
96
Ibid. Back
97
Edited by Mansour Nasasra, Sophie Richter-Devroe, Sarab Abu-Rabia-Queder,
Richard Ratcliffe, The Naqab Bedouin and Colonialism, (London,
2015), p 49 Back
98
The Goldberg Commission was set up by the Israeli Government in
December 2007. The Commission was chaired by former State Comptroller
and retired Supreme Court Justice Eliezer Goldberg, to make recommendations
regarding Bedouin property rights and their communities in the
Negev. Back
99
Edited by Mansour Nasasra, Sophie Richter-Devroe, Sarab Abu-Rabia-Queder,
Richard Ratcliffe, The Naqab Bedouin and Colonialism, (London,
2015), p 50 Back
100
Ibid. Back
101
Memorandum from Dr Philip Nixon, paragraph 9.2 Back
102
The Prawer-Begin Plan, Standard Note SNIA/6733, House of
Commons Library, December 2013 Back
103
"Pillay urges Israel to reconsider proposed bill that will
displace tens of thousands of Bedouin", OHCHR press release,
25 July 2013, www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=13577&LangID=E Back
104
Adalah Legal Center is an independent human rights organization
and legal center that was established in November 1996. Its website
says that it works to promote and defend the rights of Palestinian
Arab citizens of Israel as well as Palestinians living in the
Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). Adalah submitted written
evidence to the Committee for this inquiry. Back
105
"While Prawer is Frozen", Adalah Legal Center,
15 May 2014, adalah.org/eng/Articles/2276/While-Prawer-is-Frozen... Back
106
BICOM, the Britain Israel Communications & Research Centre
describes itself as an independent British organisation dedicated
to creating a more supportive environment for Israel in Britain.
"Israel's policy on the Negev Bedouin, an interview with
Mark Regev", BICOM, 1 December 2013, www.bicom.org.uk/analysis-article/17581/ Back
107
Ibid. Back
108
Memorandum from FCO (HRS0034) Back
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