A/HRC/34/39 occupied territory, regardless of their motive. 7 Such unlawful transfers constitute a grave breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention (art. 147) and potentially incur the individual criminal responsibility of officials engaged in such acts. 8 While other international humanitarian law provisions may be violated within the context of forcible transfer (e.g. the prohibition of the destruction of private and public property9), such transfers may imply the violation of several human rights, such as the right to adequate housing, including the prohibition of forced evictions,10 the right to non-interference with family and home, 11 the right to freedom of movement12 and the right to education.13 Private property and natural resources 8. International humanitarian law provides certain protections for private and public property in occupied territories.14 Accordingly, Israel, as the occupying power, is prohibited from destroying public and private property except where it is rendered absolutely necessary by military operations. In addition, it is limited in how it may use public property; and the property of municipalities must be treated in the same way as private property.15 Moreover, the water and other natural resources of the occupied territory must be administered in accordance with the applicable rules of international humanitarian law and may not be damaged or depleted.16 Extraterritorial application of domestic laws 9. Israel applies a substantial part of its domestic laws to Israeli settlers living in the occupied territories, while Palestinians living in the West Bank are subject to Israeli military rule.17 The extraterritorial application of Israeli domestic law to settlers creates two different legal systems in the same territory, on the sole basis of nationality or origin. Such differentiated application is discriminatory and violates the principle of equality before the law, which is central to the right to a fair trial. 18 In addition, the occupying power is required to respect the laws in force in the occupied territory, unless it is absolutely prevented from doing so.19 III. Settlement enterprise: expansion, land takeover and denial of Palestinian development 10. With the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territory now in its fiftieth year, illegal settlement activity continues to advance apace. Through continued expansion of illegal settlements and parallel efforts to consolidate Israeli control over the West Bank, successive Israeli governments since 1967 have overseen the steady growth of the settler population 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Fourth Geneva Convention, art. 49. International Committee of the Red Cross, “Customary law”, International Review of the Red Cross, vol. 87, No. 857 (March 2005), rule 129. Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, arts. 7 (1) (d), 8 (2) (a) (vii) and 8 (2) (b) (viii). Fourth Geneva Convention, art. 53, and Convention respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land, art. 46. International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, art. 11. See also Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights general comment No. 7 (1997) on forced evictions. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, art. 17. Ibid., art. 12. International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, art. 13. Convention respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land, arts. 46-47 and 52-56, and Fourth Geneva Convention, arts. 33, 46 and 53. Fourth Geneva Convention, arts. 43, 53, 55 and 64. Convention respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land, art. 55. This is not relevant to East Jerusalem, which, since its illegal annexation by Israel, has been subject to the Israeli legal system. It is recalled that the Security Council, in its resolution 252 (1968), reaffirmed that acquisition of territory by military conquest was inadmissible, a position reiterated in subsequent resolutions. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, arts. 2 and 14. Convention respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land, art. 43. 3