4. Conclusion: Undermining the Right to Self-Determination to Erase the Palestinian People Israel’s policies of segregation, fragmentation and isolation are designed, deployed and operate for the direct purpose of undermining the Palestinian people’s collective identity and the connection to their lands, which are essential underpinnings for the exercise of the right to self-determination, as internationally recognized under Article 1(2) and Article 55 of the UN Charter.387 These policies fracture Palestine into a multitude of besieged communities, trapped between walls, surrounded by Israeli-Jewish colonies, confined by Israeli-controlled roads, and isolated by intentionally defective and ill-adapted transportation infrastructure. The purpose being to directly and indirectly prevent the Palestinian people from exercising their economic, social and cultural rights, and ultimately achieving the capacity and unity to self-determine their political status. In other words, policies of segregation, fragmentation and isolation operate in such a way as to annihilate the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination, in both essence and substance. 4.1. Segregating, Fragmenting and Isolating the Palestinian People and their Lands Transportation infrastructure plays a key role in the construction of a common national identity and the exercise of basic economic, social and cultural rights due to the way in which it can be utilized to connect and disconnect places and people. Being fully aware of this, Israel has utilized these networks as an approach to contrive, embed and expand Israeli-Jewish presence and domination, while concurrently obliterating Palestinian cohesiveness and sovereignty. This is done through the imposition of a policy and planning apparatus that systematically preferences the establishment of an Israeli387 UN Charter, supra 12, art. 1(2) & art.55. 97

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