A/HRC/34/39 particular following demolitions, officials have reportedly solicited the relocation or removal of the affected individuals outside their area of residence and have threatened to transfer them out forcibly. 71 51. Even where individuals may express consent to relocate, including formal expressions of consent, the transfer would be forcible, and in violation of international law, unless the affected individuals express genuine consent. 72 Impact of military operations and settler violence 52. In Hebron’s H2, the general sense of insecurity caused by the heavy military presence and security operations, which often involve the use of force by Israeli security forces, as well as harassment and arbitrary arrests, contribute to the creation of a coercive environment.73 Meanwhile, Area C communities located inside and around areas defined by Israel as “firing zones” continued to experience a coercive environment, notably as a result of military training exercises, including with live fire. The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has documented such training exercises causing displacement during the reporting period.74 53. For communities located in close proximity to settlements and known hotspots of settler violence, violence and harassment by settlers exacerbate the coercive nature of the environment. Nonetheless, the frequency of reports of such incidents dropped notably during the reporting period.75 Restrictions on freedom of movement and access to essential services 54. As noted by the Middle East Quartet, the policy of denial of Palestinian development has extended to the “complex system of physical and administrative restrictions on the movement of people and goods, which Israel justifies as necessary for security”, including closures, checkpoints, limits to access to natural resources and agricultural land, and impediments to accessing basic services, including medical care and education.76 55. Those restrictions and their impact have previously been identified as directly contributing to the coercive environment that exists in areas under full Israeli control. 77 Similarly, interference by Israeli authorities in the provision of humanitarian assistance and 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 12 2016. See Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Monthly Humanitarian Bulletin (October 2016). In January 2016, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights recorded the testimonies of Abu Nwar residents referring to threats received from Israel Civil Administration officials and a liaison officer following the demolition of five residential and other structures on 6 January 2016, leaving 26 refugees, including 17 children, of whom 4 were living with disabilities, displaced and without a home in the middle of winter. In the following days, on 10 and 14 January, humanitarian materials donated by the international community as part of the postdemolition response were confiscated by the Administration. For further reports on intimidation and threats related to communities in the outskirts of Jerusalem, see A/70/421, para. 46, and A/HRC/31/43, para. 59. See also www.unrwa.org/newsroom/officialstatements/unrwa-condemns-demolition-homes-palestine-refugee-bedouins-families. See A/67/372, para. 37. See A/71/355, paras. 25-50. Al-’Aqaba community in the northern Jordan Valley was exposed to sustained live fire inside the residential area for two days while an Israeli military training exercise was being conducted in the vicinity. Residents of the nearby community of Humsa al-Bqai’a were also temporarily displaced as a result. See Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Humanitarian Bulletin — Occupied Palestinian Territory (October 2016). Systematic intimidation by Israeli settlers has created a coercive environment in Susiya. See A/HRC/31/43, para. 54, and footnote 79 above. Incidents of intimidation and physical violence by settlers and Israeli security forces against Bedouins in Umm al-Khair have been documented (see A/68/513, para. 37). Report of the Middle East Quartet of July 2016, p. 6. Available from www.un.org/News/dh/infocus/middle_east/Report-of-the-Middle-East-Quartet.pdf. See A/71/355 and A/HRC/31/43.