UN OCHA Report on the Humanitarian Impact on Palestinians of Israeli Settlements in the West Bank

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA) has released an extensive report examining the humanitarian impact of Israeli settlements on Palestinian life.

The report clearly shows how the settlements and the infrastructure that surrounds them, such as the Wall and roads restricted for Palestinians, infringe Palestinians' right to freedom of movement, especially regarding access to land, education, health care and trade opportunities.

Despite the severe humanitarian and socio-economic consequences, the settlements continue to grow at a rate of 5.5 % a year, which is equivalent to adding one and half busloads of new settlers each day to the already 450.000 settlers in the West Bank.

The report reconfirms that Israeli settlements are illegal under international law and refers to, among other sources, UN Security Council resolutions and the International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion on the Wall. "A state can impose security measures on the population it occupies for immediate military purposes but not transplant its own population into that territory".

The report also point to the impact of the settlements on the route of the Wall - without the settlements, the Wall could have been built along the Green line and have much lesser impact on Palestinian life. 

To the UN OCHA web site and the full report "The Humanitarian Impact on Palestinians of Israeli Settlements and other Infrastructure in the West Bank"