Israel-Palestine: For Human Values in the Absence of a Just Peace | Page 26

Israel-Palestine: For Human Values in the Absence of a Just Peace

Israeli settlers and military to drive them off their land. In 2014 the Israeli military
destroyed about 1500 their fruit trees, in violation of an Israeli court order.lvi
The Palestinian resentment of the settlements’ encroachment, appropriation of the
local resources, attacks on the native population, and special status in the Israeli legal
system has prompted acts of resistance and violence that, in turn, are used to justify many
harsh aspects of the security regime imposed by the occupying Israeli military. The
Israeli military presence to protect the settlements has, in turn, caused significant human
suffering and insecurity for the Palestinians in the OPT.
Security
Between January 2014 and August 2015, 90 Israelis were killed by Palestinian
actions. In that time, Israeli forces killed 2,334 Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza.
While the study team was in Israel-Palestine, 16-25 August of 2015, violence continued:
-Clashes with Israeli forces in the West Bank injured 54 Palestinians, including
eight children and two women;
-Israeli settlers made five attacks, including one that stoned and injured a six-year
old Palestinian girl;
-Four incidents of stone throwing by Palestinians at Israeli-licensed cars in the
West Bank injured six Israeli settlers, including a two-year old child;
-Israeli authorities demolished 42 Palestinian-owned structures in Area C and East
Jerusalem for lack of Israeli-issued building permits, leaving 54 persons displaced,
including 33 children.
- In Gaza, two children were injured when they encountered unexploded ordnance
from Israeli missiles.lvii
Israeli control and security measures have intensified since 1993, at the expense
of Palestinian security. The Israeli government regulates the movement of goods and
people both within the Occupied Territories and between them and Israel. The Israeli
separation barrier, checkpoints, the permit system, detention without trial, military courts,
and prisons seriously jeopardize the potential for creating a second viable state alongside
Israel. Palestinians live under several legal systems, including: Israeli military law in
Area C; Israeli military and Palestinian Authority (PA) law in Area B; and PA law in
Area A. Even in area A, nonetheless, Israeli military claims the authority to give orders
and makes raids and arrests. Palestinians in Areas B and C and in East Jerusalem face the
threat of home demolitions for building without permits, as well as detention without trial
by Israeli military force ˈ[