A/HRC/15/21 61. The Mission considers that the enforcement of an illegal blockade does not only constitute a violation of the laws of war, but also a violation of the laws of neutrality giving rise to State responsibility. 2. International humanitarian law 62. The relevant international humanitarian law standards binding on Israel as the occupying power in the occupied Palestinian territory are set out in the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War. In addition, Israel is bound by customary rules of international humanitarian law. 63. As the occupying power, Israel has certain obligations imposed on it by international law. The International Court of Justice has concluded that the Fourth Geneva Convention is applicable in the occupied Palestinian territories which before the 1967 conflict lay to the east of the Green Line and which during the conflict were occupied by Israel.51 This is also the case for the Gaza strip, despite the unilateral withdrawal by Israel of the forces from the Gaza Strip in 2005, as the occupation has been confirmed repeatedly since then by the General Assembly and the Security Council.52 In this context, the Mission notes that occupation continues to the extent to which the occupying power retains effective control. 64. The Mission agrees with the assessment presented in the Goldstone Report as follows: Given the specific geopolitical configuration of the Gaza Strip, the powers that Israel exercises from the borders enable it to determine the conditions of life within the Gaza Strip. Israel controls the border crossings (including to a significant degree the Rafah crossing to Egypt, under the terms of the Agreement on Movement and Access) and decides what and who gets in or out of the Gaza Strip. It also controls the territorial sea adjacent to the Gaza Strip and has declared a virtual blockade and limits to the fishing zone, thereby regulating economic activity in that zone. It also keeps complete control of the airspace of the Gaza Strip, inter alia, through continuous surveillance by aircraft and unmanned aviation vehicles (UAVs) or drones. It makes military incursions and from time to time hit[s] targets within the Gaza Strip. No-go areas are declared within the Gaza Strip near the border where Israeli settlements used to be and enforced by the Israeli armed forces. Furthermore, Israel regulates the local monetary market based on the Israeli currency (the new sheqel) and controls taxes and custom duties.53 The Mission is satisfied that these circumstances continued to prevail at the time of the incident under investigation. 65. Under the Fourth Geneva Convention, individuals may not be killed, tortured, illtreated or suffer humiliating and degrading treatment and there may not be destruction of property unless absolutely necessary for the military operation. Article 147 of the Fourth Geneva Convention spells out a list of “grave breaches” of international humanitarian law. 66. Flotilla passengers were civilians and in the context of the interception of the vessels must be considered protected persons. Under article 4 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, protected persons “are those who, at a given moment and in any manner whatsoever, find themselves … in the hands of a Party to the conflict or Occupying Power of which they are 51 52 53 Legal Consequences of the construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Advisory Opinion of 9 July 2004, ICJ Reports 2004, para. 101. Security Council resolution 1860 (2009); General Assembly resolutions 64/92 and 64/94. Human Rights in Palestine and Other Occupied Arab Territories: Report of the United Nations FactFinding Mission on the Gaza Conflict, A/HRC/12/48 (25 September 2009), para. 278. 15