force or coercion, such as that caused by fear of violence, duress,
detention, psychological oppression or abuse of power against such
person or persons or another person, or by taking advantage of a
coercive environment.300
And even in cases of “consent” of the victim to leave, case law of the
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia had a clear
position on this, asserting that consent may be rendered “valueless” given
the actual context in which it takes place.301 For instance, this would be the
case if individuals or groups find themselves within a coercive environment
and/or being subject to systematic discrimination.302 In such a scenario,
the displacement would still clearly be considered a forced transfer. The
determination as to whether a transferred person has a genuine choice must
be made in the context of all relevant circumstances.
Restrictions on the Right to Family Life
Use of the Population Registry Against Palestinians303
Wasimah is 33 years old and holds a Palestinian ID. 18 years ago, when it was easy to
travel to Israel from the West Bank, she married a Palestinian man who holds an Israeli
ID. She lives in Qalandia Refugee Camp in the West Bank with her four children, who
also have Israeli IDs. Because of their different ID’s, living a normal family life has been
impossible for this family.
“I have been trying to get a permit to go to Israel or Jerusalem since 2000, when the
Israelis first denied me from entering Jerusalem. I kept trying to get a permit until 2012,
but they kept refusing me, because my brother was in an Israeli prison. By then I hired
a lawyer to follow up the case and afterwards they started issuing me a two-day permit
every three months.”
However, movement within the West Bank is also difficult for Wasime’s family. Wasime
explains: “For many years I had to use different roads than the roads my husband and
children were using. For instance, if I wanted to come to Bethlehem, I had to come through
the “container checkpoint”, while my family went through Jerusalem. That’s because it was
forbidden for those who had the Israeli ID to pass through the Container checkpoint and
for me to go through Jerusalem. It was the same situation when we wanted to go to other
places in the West Bank.
300 The Rome Statute Elements of Crimes, Article 6(e).
301 See Kristic case, Judgment – Part III, para. 530.
302 For an explanation of the regulations as related to ethnic or political minorities who might have
suffered discrimination or persecution (not by the occupying power) on such accounts and might
therefore leave the occupied territory, see Commentary to the GC IV, at 279.
303 BADIL’s interview with Wasimah Wahid, a woman with a Palestinian ID married to a man with an
Israeli ID, “Use of the Population Registry Against Palestinians”, Ramallah, August 2015
77
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