A deeper dive.

An illegal Israeli settlement is the establishment of an Israeli community on stolen Palestinian land. 

This is illegal under international law. The Fourth Geneva Convention prohibits an occupying power (Israel) from transferring its population (Israelis) into occupied land (Palestine). 

Israel has built hundreds of Israeli-only communities on stolen Palestinian land since it illegally occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem in 1967. There are now 250 illegal Israeli settlements, home to over 600,000 Israeli settlers. 

Israel’s illegal settlements significantly reduce Palestinian quality of life through home demolitions, settler violence, unequal laws and reduced access to infrastructure. 

Home demolitions: Israel uses any excuse to demolish Palestinian homes to make way for settlements. In 2021, over 1,500 Palestinians in East Jerusalem faced home demolitions and homelessness, many of whom were children.

Settler violence: Settler violence includes Israelis shooting Palestinians with live ammunition, stone-throwing and theft and vandalization of Palestinian property, trees, crops and livestock. There has been an alarming rise in this in recent years.

Unequal laws: Despite living in recognised Palestinian territory, settlers who commit violence against Palestinians fall under Israeli civil and criminal law. But Palestinians who commit violence here are subject to Israeli military law.

Reduced access to infrastructure: As the number of illegal Israeli settlements across the West Bank has increased, new roads have been built to connect them. Over 70km of these are Israeli-only 

Israeli settlements have been widely criticised by the United Nations and the international community. Yet Israel continues to act with impunity. 

Join #TeamFOA today to help stop settlements.