international humanitarian law.205 The blockade, as a tool of de facto zoning and planning, also raises concerns regarding the principle of proportionality, to the extent it prohibits the entry of some products that can surely not be linked to security justifications.206 According to a secret cable sent to Washington207 by US officials in Tel Aviv of 3 November 2008, “Israeli officials have confirmed to Embassy officials on multiple occasions that they intend to keep the Gazan economy functioning at the lowest level possible consistent with avoiding a humanitarian crisis”. Since the Palestinian elections in 2006, Israel has designated Gaza as a “hostile entity”, which has resulted the tightened embargo on the Strip. 208 Israel’s blockade on Gaza, as well as the Israeli-enforced land and naval buffer zones, seem to further this strategy. Amounting to de facto zoning and planning policies, those two mechanisms (the blockade and the buffer zones) – through which Israel curbs Palestinian access to land and sea areas, limits the reconstruction of public and private buildings, and even has a final say on urban planning – serve the purpose of strangulating Gaza’s economic and social life, of keeping the region “on the brink of collapse”, and its population in substandard living conditions.209 In practice, to discriminatory practices of zoning and planning insofar as it curbs Palestinians’ access to their land, influences the shape of the urban growth in Gaza, contributes to a lack of modern infrastructure and leaves many families in underdeveloped living conditions.210 Palestinians in Gaza are at continuous risk of forcible displacement, due to the zoning policies explained above and which have undermined their physical security, lowered their standard of living, and increased their poverty levels and dependence on humanitarian aid. 205 OCHA - Occupied Palestinian Territories, Easing the Blockade: Assessing the Humanitarian Impact on the Population of the Gaza Strip, 22; see also International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), “Customary IHL - Rule 103. Collective Punishments”; and International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), “Fourth Geneva Convention”, Article 33. 206 For example, in June 2009, the blockade was eased and began to allow the entry of hummus, “but not hummus with extras such as pine nuts or mushrooms”. Shackle, “Israel Tightens Its Blockade of Gaza for ‘Security Reasons.’” 207 Gentile, “WikiLeaks Cable Reveals New Details of Gaza Embargo | Need to Know | PBS.” 208 WikiLeaks, “CASHLESS IN GAZA? - Cable: 08TELAVIV2447_a, of 3 November 2008,” para. 1. 209 Ibid., para. 2. 210 See BADIL Resource Center for Residency and Refugee Rights, Forced Population Transfer: The Case of Palestine - Introduction, 30. 56