Obligation not to arbitrarily displace Palestinians with Israeli
citizenship
Israel has a duty to respect the obligations stemming from International
Human Rights Law (IHRL), which includes, inter alia, the prohibition of
the arbitrary displacement of persons subject to its jurisdiction, including
Palestinian citizens of Israel, which is the corollary of the fundamental human
right to freedom of movement, encompassing the right to choose a place of
residence within a person’s country, and to leave and enter that country.16
Arbitrary forced displacement that is based on discrimination,17 Apartheid,18
or ethnic cleansing is unlawful under IHRL.
Obligation not to forcibly displace Palestinians in the oPt
IHRL remains an applicable legal framework in situations of occupation.
However, Israel is also bound by obligations affirmed by International
Humanitarian Law (IHL), which requires an occupying state to protect
the civilian population of the occupied territory.19 The prohibition of
forced displacement is even stricter under IHL: Article 49 of the Fourth
Geneva Convention states, “individual or mass forcible transfers, as well
as deportations of protected persons [...] are prohibited, regardless of
their motive [emphasis added]”20 and not only amount to a grave breach
of the Convention,21 but also a war crime under the Rome Statute of the
International Criminal Court.22 This prohibition in such contexts is subject
16 See ICCPR, supra note 13, art. 12; and UN Human Rights Committee (HRC), CCPR General Comment
No. 27: Article 12 (Freedom of Movement), 2 November 1999, CCPR/C/21/Rev.1/Add.9, available at:
http://www.refworld.org/docid/45139c394.html [accessed 20 September 2018].
17 UN General Assembly, International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial
Discrimination, 660 UNTS 195, 21 December 1965, Art. 5(d), available at: http://www.refworld.org/
docid/3ae6b3940.html [accessed 20 September 2018].
18 UN General Assembly, International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime
of Apartheid, 1015 UNTS 243, 30 November 1973, art 2(c), available at https://treaties.un.org/doc/
publication/unts/volume%201015/volume-1015-i-14861-english.pdf.
19 While IHRL applies at all times, IHL, as lex specialis, only applies in times of armed conflict (including
situations of military occupation). See ICJ, Advisory Opinion on the Wall, supra note 15, para. 106.
20 United Nations, Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, 75
UNTS 287, 12 August 1949, art. 49, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6b36d2.html
[accessed 27 Jul 2018][hereinafter GCIV]. “Forcible transfer” entails displacement within a de jure
or de facto national border, while “deportation” (also covered by art. 49) entails displacement across
such borders.
21 GCIV, supra note 20, art. 147.
22 UN General Assembly, Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, 2187 UNTS 90, 17 July 1998,
available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6b3a84.html [accessed 27 Jul 2018][hereinafter
Rome Statute of the ICC], art. 8(2)(b)(viii).
16
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