UN Secretary General's Summary to UN General Assembly,
24th November 2003
Note:
The document below is a summary of the Secretary General and not
a document presented by the Government of Israel.
Annex I
Summary legal position of the Government of Israel
1. Much of the information in this annex is derived from materials
provided to the United Nations by the Government of Israel. Other
information comes from publicly available sources.
2. Israel's Parliament has not incorporated the Hague Regulations
into domestic legislation; however, Israeli authorities have relied
on article 23 (g) of those Regulations, which permits the seizure
of property if demanded by the necessities of war.
3. Despite having ratified the Fourth Geneva Convention, Israel
has not incorporated it into its domestic legislation. Nor does
it agree that the Convention is applicable to the occupied Palestinian
territory, citing the lack of recognition of the territory as sovereign
prior to its annexation by Jordan and Egypt and, therefore, not
a territory of a High Contracting Party as required by the Convention.
4. Israel denies that the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights, both of which it has signed, are applicable to the occupied
Palestinian territory. It asserts that humanitarian law is the protection
granted in a conflict situation such as the one in the West Bank
and Gaza Strip, whereas human rights treaties were intended for
the protection of citizens from their own Government in times of
peace.
5. Regarding the route, the Government of Israel states that neither
the "Green Line" nor the armistice line were confirmed
as international boundaries in Security Council resolutions 242
(1967) and 338 (1973), which call upon the parties to negotiate.
The legal status of the occupied Palestinian territory remains disputed.
6. According to its statement made before the General Assembly
on 20 October 2003, the Government of Israel believes the construction
of the Barrier is consistent with Article 51 of the Charter of the
United Nations, its inherent right to self-defence and Security
Council resolutions 1368 (2001) and 1373 (2001). Israeli officials
say the Barrier has contributed to a significant decline in the
number of attacks inside Israel. According to the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, between 1 April 2002 and 31 December 2002, 17 suicide bombers
crossed into Israel from the central West Bank and killed 89 Israelis.
Between 1 January 2003 and 5 November 2003, after part of the Barrier
had been completed, eight suicide bombers entered Israel from the
central West Bank and killed 51 Israelis.
7. The Government of Israel has asserted that land requisitions
issued to enable the building of the Barrier are proportionate given
the number of deaths and injuries sustained by Israeli citizens
and are carried out in accordance with both international and local
law.
8. The Government of Israel argues: there is no change in ownership
of the land; compensation is available for use of the land, crop
yield or damage to the land; residents can petition the Supreme
Court to halt or alter construction and there is no change in resident
status. It says that the completion of the Barrier will in fact,
allow the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to reduce its presence in
the West Bank and remove roadblocks and checkpoints, thereby improving
overall humanitarian conditions in the West Bank.
9. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized that the permit process
for the Closed Area is still in its early stages and that Israel
is "committed that residents and those that use the area will
be able to live in and use the area with minimal interference".
10. As for access to the Closed Area by non-residents, the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs has advised that permits, as opposed to ID Cards,
will be issued based upon need. They explain that the activity of
the individual will affect the nature of the permit; for example,
a teacher would receive a permit for an entire school year and an
olive farmer based on seasonal needs, and the health-care worker
might have a permit for all occasions. While legal proof of ownership
or residence would be best, it will not be necessary to receive
official documentation proving ownership. Those wishing to visit
friends and family would be permitted access subject to the security
situation.
* Palestinians often call this system the Separation Wall and Israelis
use the term Security Fence. For the purposes of the present report,
the more general term "the Barrier" is used.