20 Israeli Land Grab and Forced Population Transfer of Palestinians Closing Remarks In addition to the actual confiscation of land (de jure), Israel employs alternative means to restrict or completely deny the use and access of land – effectively taking over them (or de facto confiscation of the land since the owners are unable to use them freely, if at all). These means vary, from declaring an area as an “environmentally protected area”, a “national park”, or the creation of “seam zones”.85 Another important method that Israel uses is declaring land as a “firing zone”. Firing Zones are one of the most effective means, from an Israeli point of view, to appropriate large tracts of remaining Palestinian lands. The Handbook’s focus on privately owned land reflects the large impact Israel is able to achieve by restricting land rights and, ultimately, forcibly transferring Palestinians through land-related tactics. This should not be taken to mean that confiscation of what is categorized as State Land is to be deemed legitimate. Israeli confiscation of Palestinian lands, both private and public, is illegal. It is due to the limited scope of this research that we cannot provide further elaboration on confiscation of Palestinian State Lands, or any other non-private property. This Handbook focuses on processes that are occurring primarily in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip – giving varying levels of attention to each of these areas. However, as we have indicated elsewhere, this Handbook is not intended to provide a comprehensive legal survey of all issues and problems, but rather as a preliminary endeavor requiring further research and development. In addition to the objectives stated earlier in this Introduction, there are a few points that should be addressed regarding the Handbook. Firstly, it is important to emphasize that although we quote and present Israeli laws and institutions, as we have already and will continue to do throughout the coming chapters, this should not be considered an endorsement of Israel’s legal and judicial systems. On the contrary, it is our conviction that Israeli land grab laws that serve the displacement of Palestinians are unethical and illegal according to international law. This Handbook project is purposed with exposing such crimes and helping to protect Palestinians, as we indicated from the outset. The rationale behind producing this Handbook lies in our understanding of the importance of both individual and collective rights. Palestinian individuals and families who live in their ancestral land face, first and foremost, potential displacement from their own homes and farms. For those people this is a real danger, one which 85 Seam Zones are areas that fall between the Green Line (1949 Armistice Line) and the Israeli Annexation Wall, in itself held by the International Court of Justice to be illegal.