1. The Annexation and Separation Wall The Wall illegally runs through the West Bank, appropriating private Palestinian land, and preventing Palestinian residents from building in areas 200 meters from its route.77 If completed, the Wall will have de facto annexed 708 square kilometers of the West Bank,78 while 9.4 percent of the West Bank territory has already been de facto annexed by means of the Wall. Farmers whose lands are now conveniently situated on the other side of the wall need a permit from the Israeli military authorities for the mere and only purpose of tending and harvesting crops. In practice, they are almost never obtained: over 98 percent of Palestinian building permit requests are rejected in West Bank’s Area C, based on data collected between 2016 and 2018.79 In 2004, the International Court of Justice ruled on the legality of the Wall and concluded that both the wall and its “associated regime” were contrary to international law. The Court also highlighted Israel’s obligation to “cease forthwith the works of construction of the wall […] to dismantle forthwith the structure therein situated, and to repeal or render ineffective forthwith all legislative and regulatory acts relating thereto.”80 Though this judgment is now almost 20 years old, Israel has not complied with any of its international obligations. It has continued the construction of the wall and maintained its associated regime of discrimination so its apartheid policies remain firmly in place, enabling for the confiscation of Palestinian lands. 77 BADIL, Israeli Land Grab and Forced Population Transfer of Palestinians, 86. 78 BADIL, Israeli Land Grab and Forced Population Transfer of Palestinians, 57. 79 Hagar Shezaf, “Israel Rejects Over 98 Percent of Palestinian Building Permit Requests in West Bank’s Area C”, Haaretz, 2020, Accessed 23 February 2022, Available at: https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-israel-rejects-98-of-palestinianbuilding-permit-requests-in-west-bank-s-area-c-1.8403807 80 International Court of Justice, ‘Legal Consequences of the Construction of the Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Advisory Opinion)’, International Court of Justice, July 9 2004, Para 163, Available at https://www.icj-cij.org/public/files/caserelated/131/131-20040709-ADV-01-00-EN.pdf 19