‘administered territory’ rather than occupied territory. This opened the doors for what Oslo only consolidated, which was effectively the identification of all natural resources in the West Bank. Of course, the demographic concentration of the Palestinian population also defined the ways in which they occupied and colonized the territory. So, again the principle was the same, as much land as possible, especially good land which had natural resources, water and agriculture, with as little [Palestinian] population as possible. Oslo Accords Oslo effectively legalized and consolidated what had already been planned and achieved. Basically, Oslo divided the territory along the lines that they [Israel] had already identified in terms of demographics, population and natural resources ... It wasn’t done by chance! I mean, look at Area C, why has Area C stayed under Israeli control? Firstly, because there are settlements in that area, and secondly, because all the natural resources are in Area C, and some in Area B. This means that Area C is designated for new arrivals [Jewish-Israeli colonizers] and Palestinians are subjected to a policy that basically expels them because people aren’t able to work and live. So, they abandon Area C to come to the centers such as Ramallah in which Palestinian presence is tolerated. The two different logics operating in Area A and Area C Regarding services, I think we need to distinguish between Areas A, B and C. There is basically no provision of services in Area C and when you don’t provide services, people tend to leave the place. This is what is happening, because when you don’t have education, schools, or universities, and you don’t have jobs; what is left? When you look at the Jordan Valley for example, the Palestinian population in the Jordan Valley [around 30 percent of the West Bank, in Area C] is getting smaller and smaller. This is basically because of Israeli policies that motivate and facilitate the transfer [of the Palestinian residents]. This transfer is not always by means of violence or force, it seems as if they [the Palestinian residents] are deciding for themselves. They are deciding to leave because Israel, as the Occupying Power, is not fulfilling its obligations, and is purposely violating its obligations in order to expedite the transfer and movement of the Palestinian population. These transfers are directed towards little pieces of land such as Hebron, Ramallah, Nablus which are designated as Area A which are places without any access to natural resources. The connection between providing services, access to natural resources in Area A and forcible transfer is clear to me. Basically, developing Area A helps facilitate the transfer of people because Area A becomes more attractive for 24

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