international law

U.S. President Donald Trump with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during a welcome ceremony in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, on May 23, 2017. (Flash90)

PODCAST: Has international law failed Palestinians?

Palestinian legal scholar Noura Erakat proposes a different, inclusive vision that guarantees justice and dignity for all oppressed groups in Israel and Palestine. Listen here: iTunes/Apple Podcasts | Google Play | Spotify Israel has been able to leverage international law to its advantage much better than the Palestinians, says Noura Erakat, Palestinian legal scholar, human rights activist and author of Justice…

By +972 Magazine August 30, 2019

The Israeli separation wall surrounds the East Jerusalem settlement of Pisgat Ze'ev, April 9, 2011. (Activestills.org)

Annexation is more than just a declaration

By drawing a line at formal annexation, the international community is hobbling its ability to respond to Israeli changes on the ground. Benjamin Netanyahu declared on the eve of Israel’s April 9 elections that if reelected he would begin annexing the West Bank. Only, if we’re being precise, he didn’t. Israeli leaders have almost never…

By Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man April 15, 2019

Palestinians stand next to the remains of a car destroyed during fighting between Hamas militants and Israeli special forces in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, November 12, 2018. (Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90)

The Israeli army is putting humanitarian workers at risk in Gaza

According to the Israeli media, the soldiers who took part in a botched intelligence operation in Khan Younis earlier this month were dressed up as humanitarian workers. If the details are true, it could put countless people in danger. By Yael Marom Israeli troops impersonated humanitarian workers in order to carry out an intelligence operation…

By +972 Magazine November 26, 2018

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Palestinian protesters inside the Gaza Strip throw stones in the direction of an Israeli military position on the other side of the border fence, Gaza Strip, December 8, 2017. (Ezz Zanoun/Activestills.org)

The myth of the Gaza ‘border’

The Green Line disguises the fact that Palestinians in Gaza are no longer being oppressed outside the Israeli state, but are being caged and brutalized inside it. Palestinian activists have long criticized the use of the word “border” to describe the 1949 armistice line that divides Gaza and Israel, and which protestors in the Great…

By Amjad Iraqi May 17, 2018

Students sit in a classroom at school in the Jahalin Bedouin community of Khan Al-Ahmar, West Bank, February 22, 2017. (Faiz Abu Rmeleh/Activestills.org)

Demolishing Palestinian schools ‘a quiet population transfer’

By destroying schools in Palestinian villages in Area C and elsewhere, Israel is forcing Palestinians to make a cruel choice — between their land and their children’s futures. When the children of Beit Ta’mar, a village south-east of Bethlehem, left their improvised schoolhouse for winter vacation about two weeks ago, they did not know if the…

By Orly Noy January 24, 2018

African asylum seekers protest on Saturday against the "Deposit Law", following which Eritreans and Sudanese are required to deposit fifth percent of their salary. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)

The new ‘choice’ for asylum seekers: Deportation or prison

Israel finally plans to close its desert detention facility for African asylum seekers. Refugee advocates worry it could be the start of something even worse. During a midnight vote on Monday, the Knesset passed a bill that will enable the government to detain asylum seekers indefinitely or deport them to an unspecified country in Africa.…

By Joshua Leifer December 13, 2017

A bulldozer lift garbage at the Greenet recycling plant in Atarot industrial zone, near Qalandiya, on June 16, 2015. (Sindel/Flash90)

‘How Israel turned the West Bank into its garbage dump’

A new report from B’Tselem details how Israel has exploited the legal regime in the West Bank, trucking in hazardous waste to be processed in the occupied territory. Israel is taking advantage of less stringent environmental regulations in the West Bank in order to conduct much of its waste treatment in the occupied territory, according…

By Joshua Leifer December 5, 2017

View of the Separation Wall as seen from the Palestinian town of Abu Dis. (Miriam Alster/FLASH90)

Congress won’t allow Palestinians their day in court

The PLO faces punishment—the closure of its diplomatic office in the U.S.—for seeking justice in the International Criminal Court. By James J. Zogby Imagine that you are a victim of a violent crime or theft but are forbidden from reporting it because Congress has passed a law that not only prohibits you from reporting the…

By +972 Magazine November 27, 2017

An Israeli soldier stops asylum seekers from approaching the Egyptian border.

Soldiers testify on how IDF sent asylum seekers back to Egypt

Despite High Court rulings and official Defense Ministry procedures, Israeli soldiers sent back over 40 asylum seekers to Egypt in June 2015. The IDF top brass tried to cover up the incident. Israeli soldiers turned away two groups of Sudanese asylum seekers crossing into the country in June 2015, sending them back to Egypt in…

By Social TV October 26, 2017

Palestinians sit next to their demolished home after it was torn down by Israeli bulldozers in the village of Khirbet al-Halawah, 'Firing Zone 918,' south Hebron Hills, West Bank, February 3, 2016. (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

Court to decide fate of Palestinian villages in ‘Firing Zone 918’

Hundreds of Palestinians in the south Hebron hills are living under the fear of imminent displacement because the Israeli army says it wants to conduct live-fire drills on their village lands. Israel’s High Court of Justice on Wednesday will hear the case of eight Palestinian villages fighting looming demolition and displacement by the Israeli army…

By Edo Konrad January 9, 2017

A photo from the Airbnb listing in Ma’ale Rehavam.

Airbnb lets you vacation in illegal West Bank settlements

Fancy a vacation with breathtaking views of the Holy Land? Airbnb will let you rent out luxurious cottages atop barren hilltops, making no mention of the fact that they are in settlements on occupied land. By John Brown* Airbnb, it has come to our attention, enables anyone to rent rooms and vacation homes in Israeli settlements…

By +972 Magazine January 7, 2016

Ayalon prison facility, near the city of Ramla (photo: Activestills)

The forced transfer of Palestinian detainees — why it matters

International law is clear that prisoners should not be transferred outside of an occupied territory — both to allow their families access to them and to prevent forced population transfer. But that’s not all that’s at stake. By Gerard Horton Palestinian children detained in the Israeli military detention system should be held in facilities located…

By +972 Magazine December 19, 2015

The home of the Palestinian Adgluni family is demolished by Israeli authorities, East Jerusalem, January 27, 2014. Israeli authorities claimed the house was built on lands that do not belong to the family. (Tali Mayer/Activestills.org)

Demolishing Palestinian structures is the norm — not the exception

A sharp increase in demolitions of structures in the West Bank displaces over 120 Palestinians, drawing media attention and a harsh response from the United Nations. Over August 17-18 Israeli authorities demolished around 40 Palestinian structures in the West Bank, displacing over 120 Palestinians. The demolitions were carried out during a record-breaking heat wave that has…

By Natasha Roth-Rowland August 19, 2015