THE ILEGAL OCCUPATION REGIME OF ISRAEL

A PRESENTATION INTO ITS ORIGIN AND ILLEGALITY VIOLATIONS OF

INTERNATIONAL LAW

shirin- "i woke up to a loud thunderous explosion,it seems that

we have been hit by a huge earthquake,the roof of my the scarce makeshift little area which i have stared to call my home swayed with each drone that hit us,I reached for the electric switch but after trying nearly a dozen times,the switch refused to light up my room,I realized suddenly the thunder bolt,which hit us last night was actually a bomb,our lone power plant was blowing up in smokes,i hugged my children tightly,i was the lone breadwinner of my family I still remember last year how my husband ‘s body was blown into many pieces, i have to be strong for my children,I told myself I have to move on,I have to survive”

• reda"we are not violent, rock-throwing people,” one woman in palestine told me. “we don’t want war, just a normal life like our grandmothers had" added another. "they could grow their olives, and have family picnics in the orchards at harvest time." "now our homes are sad, dark places and our husbands have no time for tenderness,” said a third woman sorrowfully. It’s little wonder, when the israeli authorities in the area i visited have declared whole villages illegal by forbidding any structure over 30cm high. With nowhere to go, families dig holes and try to carry on some semblance of normal life in the cold dark of an underground bunker.

• Wafa says

I’ve been sleeping in my clothes for as long as i can remember” a woman named najah told me. “when the soldiers burst into your house, you don’t want the embarrassment of being seen in your nightdress. "in our village," added one of her friends, "even women in labour are forced to climb over a wall to get to the road to the hospital.”

• Zainab

• “…At the checkpoint there were several soldiers; they ignored us…. I crawled behind a concrete block by the checkpoint to have some privacy and gave birth there, in the dust, like an animal. I held the baby in my arms and she moved a little but after a few minutes she died in my arms.”

These are only a handful of examples while there are numerous such tales u can hear everyday.

Sadly ignored by the world, there is a highly deprived group of women who are stripped of their basic right to live normal lives .Sordid tales of violations and violence mark their tales of survival stories a few experts have been reproduced by me, to give the readers an idea on the attrocities faced by the women and children,

After reading this story,which moved me to tears and i decided to find out for how long and how many more women were facing such situation in the war ravaged and partially destroyed city which once was the cradle of three major religions of the world.The women and children of the Gaza are thankful if they and their loved ones survive by the end of the day.Each new day brings about a fresh struggle for survival,the minds of most women in Palestine is preoccupied with the thought of providing a single decent meal in a day.While mothers in the other part of the world worry what to give their children for tiffin the next day, the palestinian mothers worry whether they will even see their kids alive the next morning or not,In the morning when their kids go to the makeshift schools they train their ears for the sound of the next missle and drone attack.so that they can run to the schools to rescue their children.

The condition of refugees living in different refugee camps is as deplorable,we can write scrolls of papers on their misery and conditions.The children are suffering from various illments,lack opf hygiene, clean drinking water,sleeping mats, food and various other day to day needs are un fulfilled

Palestinian community is one of the most abused,violated,subjugated ,deprived population in the history of mankind.They are bearing the burnt of one the Israeli agression for many years now,their condition is becoming worse by each passing year.It seems that the world has forgtten the brutally victimized women and children in its race towards growth and developoment.Days turn into months and months into years,each passing year adding only misery to their lives.Even when some individuals stand up for their rights ,they have have to face opposition.

The Land of Palestine has a great and long history and is sacred to three major world religions Islam ,Christianity and Judaism.It has been a bone of contention between power hungry kings.

The history of israel begins with the advent of the twentieth century,the zionist movement founded by a group of european jews had given a call to jews living all over the world to go and settle down in the land of Palestine, which they called a land without people and wanted to built a jewish homeland,contarary to their claim the zionists did not settle in a land without people but they created a state on a piece of land inhabited by the arabs.lord balfour who gave his name to november 1917 declaration said that his country did not consider the feelings of the people of the land and automatically created a new and permanent community in the occupied land without the permission of the people.the arabs resisted the occupation and fought against becoming indirect victims of the holocaust.after finding out about the gas chambers the international community along with the united natons approved the division of palestine into two

There are now 12.1 million Palestinians around the world of which

5.4million are refugees,15 percent are Christians while rest are muslims. Here MEMO looks at where they live and how their life has been affected by the seven decade long conflict.

* UNRWA-registered refugees from the 1948 Nakba and excludes

Palestinians made refugees in 1967 (Naksa) and during other expulsions.

44.6% of Palestinians are refugees Gaza Strip: 14.9% West Bank: 23.1% Israel: 12.4% rest of the World: 49.6%

• My main focus is on the question which the Israel has used for a long time to justify its existence-

• Historians and scholars differ about its origin.

• Scholars of arab origin lead by Edward Said, point to the first use of the phrase by an Israeli British author, playwright and poet named

• Zangwill .Another group attributes the phrase to 19th century christian writers who coined and propagated the phrase,like Alexander keith and William blackstone.

• the late nineteenth century saw the phrase being used commonly in Great Britain which finally was taken up by Zionist jhistorians like Zangwill.

In 1901, Zangwill, wrote in the New Liberal Review that "Palestine is a country without a people; the Jews are a people without a country."

jewish historians have come up denouncing this claim of Zionists. Ilan Pappe,one of the most famous historians of jewish origin says

that “ the land of Palestine can be called as a colony of Israel “ avi shlaim, a professor of international relations,oxford,says that “

history is the propoganda of the victors” The great thinker Edward Said calls it a propoganda by the Zionists

to prove their illlegal occupation ,oppression and violations of human rights .

Now I have compiled a list of some of the International laws violated by Israel.

ISRAELI OCCUPATION IS ILLEGAL:

Laws Violated: U.N. Charter, Article 2(4) & 51 (1945),1970; Declaration on Principles of International Law Concerning Friendly Relations…, Principle 1

(1970).

Israeli Actions: It is illegal under international law to acquire land by force: Israel annexed land occupied by force during 1948 and 1967

ILLEGAL ISRAELI SETTLEMENTS ON OCCUPIED LAND: Laws Violated: Geneva Conventions IV, Article 49(6)

(1949). ILLEGAL TO TAKE LAND BY FORCE & CLAIM

SOVEREIGNTY: Laws Violated: U.N. Charter, Article 2(4) (1945);

Declaration on Principles of International Law Concerning Friendly Relations…, Principle 1

(1970). ILLEGAL ISRAELI PRACTICE OF ETHNIC CLEANSING: international law and UN resolutions. Geneva

Convention IV, Articles 45, 46 & 49 (1949), UN resolutions 194 (III) (General Assembly; 1948) &

237 (Security Council; 1967).

• ISRAELI APARTHEID SYSTEM IS ILLEGAL:

• Laws Violated: International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid (1976). Link to our fact sheets on Israeli

• Apartheid.

• MASSIVE VIOLATIONS OF HUMAN RIGHTS (HR):

• Laws Violated: U.N. Charter, Article 1 (1945); Declaration on Principles of International Law Concerning Friendly Relations…, Principle 5 (1970).

• VIOLATIONS OF U.N. SECURITY COUNCIL RESOLUTIONS:

• Laws Violated: Israel has violated 28 resolutions of the United Nations Security Council (which are legally binding on member-nations U.N.

• Charter, Article 25 (1945); a few sample resolutions - 54, 111, 233, 234, 236, 248, 250, 252, 256, 262, 267, 270, 280, 285, 298, 313, 316, 468, 476,

• I WOULD conclude by inviting all of you to join the BDS movement , A SPECIAL GROUP OF PEOPLE,LIKE THE PEOPLE OF THEIS FORUM,WHO ARE STANDING AGAINST THE TERRORIST STATE OF Israel,their small and consistent efforts are making a big difference to the Israeli state.

• The BDS movement As defined in wilkipedia,the online encyclopedia-

• The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement (BDS Movement) is a global campaign[1] attempting to increase economic and political pressure on Israel to comply with the stated goals of the movement: the end of Israeli occupation and colonization of Palestinian land, full equality for Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel, and respect for the right of return of Palestinian refugees.[1][2]

• The campaign was started on 9 July 2005 by 171 Palestinian non-governmental organizations in support of the Palestinian cause for boycott,divestment and international sanctions against Israel. Citing a body of UN resolutions and specifically echoing the anti-apartheid campaigns against white minority rule in apartheid era South Africa,[3] the BDS campaign called for "various forms of boycott against Israel until it meets its obligations under international law".[4]

• COLLECTIVE PUNISHMENT IS ILLEGAL:

• Laws Violated: Geneva Conventions IV, Article 33 (1949); Geneva Conventions (Protocol I), Article 75(2d) (1977).

• ILLEGAL MASSIVE TRANSFORMATION OF LOCAL LAWS:

• Laws Violated: Hague Regulations IV, Article 43 (1907).