West Bank.32 From the onset of occupation and afterwards, military orders
were consistently introduced that have restricted access to natural resources
in the oPt, far exceeding the allowable derogations of the GCIV.33 In 1980,
Israel officially illegally annexed Jerusalem - by adopting the Basic Law:
Jerusalem, Capital of Israel.34 This is in direct violation of the IHL provision
that the Occupying Power cannot attain sovereignty or title to part or all of
an occupied territory. In 1981, another military order transferred all legal
and administrative powers to the Israeli Civil Administration (ICA), which was
tasked with administering all regional civil matters, including providing and
operating public services.35
The aforementioned military orders, in addition to many other orders and
laws, form the pillars of Israel’s authority over the oPt, which granted the
Israeli administration extensive powers. This self-appointed control allowed
Israel to ultimately confiscate vast swaths of lands for colony establishment
and expansion, and to exploit and pillage resources while also limiting or
denying the freedom of movement and other fundamental freedoms of
the Palestinian residents.36 For example, Military Order 92 (1967) granted
complete authority over all water related issues in the oPt to the Israeli
army and the Order Concerning the Investment of Natural Resources (West
Bank) (No. 389) transferred the sovereign rights of the West Bank’s natural
resources to a ‘competent authority’ appointed by the military commander.37
These measures are a distinct violation of the laws of occupation, which
clearly establish the administrative role of the occupying power over occupied
32 Proclamation Concerning the Takeover of the Administration by the Israel Defense Forces, No. 1,
(5727-1967); Proclamation Concerning Administrative and Judiciary Procedures (Area of the West
Bank), No. 2, (5727-1967).
33 Military Order Regarding Closed Areas (Area of the West Bank), No. 34, (5727-1967). In addition, the
1970 Security Provisions Order prohibits Palestinian entry into the settlements unless they possess a
special permit, see Military Order Concerning Security Provisions (Area of the West Bank), No. 378,
(1970); Military Order No. 92 (1967) granted complete authority over all water related issues in the
oPt to the Israeli army; Military Order No. 158 (1967) stipulated that Palestinians could not construct
any new water installation without first obtaining a permit from the Israeli army and that any water
installation or resource built without a permit would be confiscated; see also, Al-Haq, Annexing
Energy, Exploiting and Preventing the Development of Oil and Gas in the Occupied Palestinian
Territory, August 2015, 20, available at:, http://www.alhaq.org/publications/Annexing.Energy.pdf
34 Basic Law: Jerusalem, Capital of Israel, 5740-1980, SH No. 980 p. 186, available at: https://www.
knesset.gov.il/laws/special/eng/basic10_eng.htm
35 Military Order Concerning the Establishment of Civilian Administration, (Area of the West Bank), No.
947, 8 November 1981.
36 See BADIL, FPT: Permit Regime, supra note 3.
37 Amnesty International, Troubled Waters-Palestinians Denied Fair Access to Water, 27 October
2009, 12, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/4ae6af020.html [accessed 17 August 2017]
[hereinafter Amnesty International, Troubled Waters]; Military Order Concerning the Investment of
Natural Resources (Area of the West Bank), No. 389, (1970), art. 2.
16
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