whilst Palestinians living under occupation are protected by international
humanitarian law, prohibiting forcible population transfer. International
human rights law protects the rights of all persons (including Palestinian
citizens of Israel) and includes the rights to adequate housing, property
rights, a decent standard of living and non-discrimination which have direct
or indirect implications for the issue of preventing displacement.
According to Principle Six of the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement –
the framework which identifies those rules of international law applicable to
internally displaced persons – every human being has the right to protection
against arbitrary displacement from their home. Yet, Israel continues to
violate the rights of Palestinians, leaving them without protection or access
to effective remedy.146
Specifically, Israel’s residency policies towards its Palestinian citizenry
constitute or contribute to the following violations of international law:
•
Forced population transfer147 of Palestinian citizens is a violation of the
ICESCR148 and the ICERD.149
•
The systematic infringement of civil, political, social, economic and
cultural rights (such as equality and citizenship, family and property
rights) is a violation of the ICESCR, ICERD and the CRC.150
•
The institutionalized racial discrimination, segregation and apartheid
practiced by Israel are in violation of the ICERD, Article 3 and the ICESCR. 151
Palestinian citizens of Israel can be described as stateless citizens, and in
this regard any questioning or challenging of the multifaceted racism and
exclusion faced by Palestinian citizens of Israel must include a genuine
questioning of the Israeli regime, and in particular, its principles and practices
regarding Jewish domination through Jewish nationality.152
146 Adalah, “Position Paper – From Al-Araqib to Susiya: The Forced Displacement of Palestinians on Both
Sides of the Green Line” (Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, April 2013).
147 Also see: Crimes against humanity and war crimes under the Rome Statute of the International
Criminal Court.
148 United Nations, International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
149 United Nations, International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination,
1965, http://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CERD.aspx.
150 United Nations, Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989, http://www.ohchr.org/en/
professionalinterest/pages/crc.aspx.
151 United Nations, Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid, 1973,
http://legal.un.org/avl/ha/cspca/cspca.html.
152 Shourideh C. Molavi, Stateless Citizenship; the Palestinian-Arab Citizens of Israel (BRILL, 2013).
55
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