UN Report criticises Israeli policies which displace Palestinians in the occupied West Bank

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) has issued a report looking at the policies of the Israeli government which lead to the displacement of Palestinians. “Displacement and Insecurity in Area C of the West Bank” records that there are clear displacement patterns occurring in Area C, controlled by the occupation authorities, “with residents being forced to move in order to meet their basic needs”. UNOCHA claims that Israel’s “restrictive planning regime in Area C makes it virtually impossible for Palestinians to obtain permission to build”.

---

The UN report adds that a combination of other factors also cause displacement, “such as settler violence, movement restrictions, including the Barrier, reduced income, demolitions, or difficult access to services/resources (e.g. education, water, etc).” It is noticed that “while the development of their [Palestinian] communities has been restricted in the past 10 years, adjacent Israeli settlements have continued to develop in contravention of international law.”

In conclusion, the report states that irrespective of the motivation behind the various policies applied by Israel to Area C, “their effect on [Palestinian] communities has been to make development virtually impossible, to impose living conditions that are untenable for many and to prevent residents from earning a sustainable livelihood”.