Israeli Policies and Practices Israel’s collective punishment of Palestinians has been denounced numerous times by the UN, international and local human rights organizations, and the media. The punitive revocation of permit, curfews, the deliberate damage to properties, administrative and/or physical closures, and/or restrictions on movement are common forms of collective punishment used by Israel against Palestinians for the purpose of retaliation. Recent political developments show that punishing the collective might become even more widespread, which was confirmed in mid-August 2016, when the Israeli Minister of Defense announced a new policy that would include color-coding Palestinian communities into ‘good’ and ‘bad’.132 Those communities that Israel considers bad – either because of confrontations or because a member of the community carries out an attack against Israel – will be punished, whereas those considered good will receive economic and other benefits.133 Whether this policy becomes official or not, the will of an Israeli Minister to implement such a policy clearly reflects the normality and wide acceptance of collective punishments against Palestinians. Another Israeli politician who recently supported the use of collective punishment against Palestinians is Nir Barkat, the mayor of Jerusalem. Barkat justified the punishment of relatives of those suspected of ‘terror attacks’, riots, or even the punishment of all residents of East Jerusalem, as well as justifying the use of concrete barriers around Palestinian neighborhoods or villages to restrict the freedom of movement.134 Regarding the latter he stated that these restrictions would “pressure the residents to act against terror.”135 These statements show the official support for the use of collective punishment, further proving the systematic nature of this policy against Palestinians. The Case of the Gaza Strip The main justification used by Israel for the three wars it launched on the Gaza Strip, in 2008-09, 2012 and 2014 was self-defense. This claim however has no basis in international law. As the occupying power, Israel cannot militarily occupy the Gaza Strip and at the same time claim this territory is a 132 Amos Harel, Israeli Collective Punishment, À La Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, 20 August 2016. Available at: http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-1.737665 133 Ibid. 134 Ben White, Jerusalem mayor boasts of collective punishment of city’s Palestinians, 15 September 2016. Available at: https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20160915-jerusalem-mayor-boasts-ofcollective-punishment-of-citys-palestinians/ 135 Ibid. 37