A/HRC/31/73 I. Introduction 1. The present report examines the need for effective protection of the rights of Palestinians living under Israeli occupation since 1967. Since assuming his mandate in June 2014, the Special Rapporteur has been struck by the abundant amounts of information and reports on violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law, on the one hand, and the seeming inability of the international community to match what is known of the situation with more effective protection of Palestinians in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. 2. The Special Rapporteur emphasizes the importance of Palestinian, Israeli and international civil society organizations, human rights defenders, United Nations actors and other international bodies working tirelessly to improve the situation of human rights and provide a protective presence for Palestinians against the effects of Israeli policies and practices related to the occupation. However, year after year, violations of international humanitarian law and of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights continue to be reported. Key recommendations to the Government of Israel presented by the SecretaryGeneral, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and independent mandate holders, such as the Special Rapporteur, to the General Assembly and the Human Rights Council remain largely unimplemented. In the present report, the Special Rapporteur examines the outcome of the second universal periodic review of Israel and discusses key recommendations made by States regarding areas of broad, ongoing concerns in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, on the issues of settlements, the blockade, Palestinian prisoners and detainees and accountability, and responses by the Government of Israel. 3. As an occupied people, under international humanitarian law, Palestinians in the Occupied Palestinian Territory are “protected persons”. Yet there is a disconnect between the rights and protections afforded to them under international humanitarian law, and international human rights law in particular, and actual protection. Israel, as the occupying Power, holds the primary responsibility for addressing this disconnect. The Special Rapporteur wishes to illustrate some facets of the vulnerability of individual Palestinians resulting from Israeli policies and practices. He will do so by reference to letters of allegation and urgent appeals that he and other special procedure mandate holders addressed to the Government of Israel in 2014 and 2015, raising alleged violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law in specific cases . 4. While the mandate of the Special Rapporteur is focused on investigation of violations by Israel of the principles and bases of international law (see Commission on Human Rights resolution 1993/2 A), the Special Rapporteur has previously noted the fact that both Palestinians and Israelis have been victims of the protracted Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The scale of the impact, however, whether in terms of casualty figures or wider impacts, differs significantly in that the daily lives of Palestinians are affected by the Israeli occupation. The destructive impact of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is particularly clear in times of active hostilities, such as in the summer of 2014 in Gaza, or as has been witnessed particularly in the fourth quarter of 2015, especially in the West Bank, during escalations in violence. 5. According to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, in October and November 2015 the escalation of violence resulted in the deaths of more than 100 3