Introduction Humans have been using materials or substances that occur in nature, usually referred to as natural resources, since the beginning of time. As civilizations developed, other resources such as land for cultivation, building materials, or energy sources, became essential. Because of this dependency on natural resources, access to them has been safeguarded in most bodies of local and international law. Natural resources also constitute an inherent part of the right to self-determination, as it is understood that no individual or collective can be fully free without being able to access and use the resources available to them. This report focuses on the control of access to natural resources and services by Israel and the mechanics and consequences of this domination. While the content of this paper is not a comprehensive account of an Israeli-perpetrated policy of denial of access to natural resources and services, it demonstrates that such a policy is indeed taking place across Israel and the oPt, and that this results in the forced population transfer of Palestinians. For the purposes of this paper, natural resources are understood as the parts of the environment that have some economic or societal benefit and are utilized as national capital. Natural resources and the ability to access them can often determine a nation’s wealth and status, as resources are often state-owned, allocated for the use of the local population and leveraged in international markets. Inaccessibility, illegal exploitation or misuse of territorial natural resources can be detrimental to national development and can violate fundamental social and economic rights including the right to selfdetermination.1 1 UN General Assembly [hereinafter UNGA], International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights [hereinafter ICCPR], 16 December 1966, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 999, p. 171, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6b3aa0.html [accessed 16 August 2017]; UNGA, International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights [hereinafter ICESCR], 16 December 1966, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 993, p. 3, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6b36c0.html [accessed 16 August 2017] . 9