A/HRC/25/38 adequate housing, this element is often essential to understanding the seriousness of the violations of the right to adequate housing.57 Israel has been using different methods to seize land for settlements amounting to almost half of the West Bank.58 17. Israeli control of land, and the takeover of land by Israeli settlers, often have as a consequence that Palestinians are dispossessed of their land. The case of the Israeli settlement outpost of Adei Ad illustrates the infringement of the right to adequate housing of Palestinians as a result of the takeover of land by settlers and the failure to enforce planning laws. Adei Ad was founded in 1998 by Israeli settlers who invaded a hilltop next to the villages of Turmusaya, Al-Mughayyr, Jalud and Qaryut in the West Bank. The outpost was established in contravention of Israeli planning law. It was built without a government decision to establish it, without its jurisdiction being delineated by an order of the Commanding Officer of the Central Command, without a detailed plan by virtue of which building permits can be issued and, consequently, without a building permit.59 In spite of the illegality deriving from the violation of these laws, the outpost was and continues to be supported by government bodies, including the Settlement Division of the World Zionist Organization,60 through funding and allocation of land, as well as by the Israel Electric Corporation and Mekorot (Israel National Water Company) through the provision of services.61 Although it is reported that the Israeli Civil Administration issued 81 demolition orders against structures in Adei Ad, only very few have been enforced.62 18. It appears that various criminal and administrative offences have been committed by settlers against Palestinians in the area surrounding the outpost of Adei Ad, including fencing and cultivating land, trespassing, vandalism of Palestinian property and evicting Palestinians or preventing them from accessing their plots, sometimes through harassment and violence. In addition, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) defined extensive non-entry zones for Palestinians, who, in many cases, are required to coordinate with IDF to gain access to agricultural areas.63 As a result, Palestinians often have no access to agricultural lands they cultivated before the establishment of the outpost.64 This has had an impact on their right to work, as their economies and way of life were based on agriculture.65 Moreover, this situation has hindered their access to basic means of livelihood and services, which are essential elements of the right to housing and are linked to the fulfilment of the 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 No. 21 (Rev. 1), available from: www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/FS21_rev_1_Housing_en.pdf. A/HRC/4/18, para. 25. A/68/513, paras. 17-22. “The road to dispossession” (note 46 above), pp. 7-8. The Division’s role is to assist the Government in establishing Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Its budget comes entirely from the State treasury. See www.mfa.gov.il/mfa/aboutisrael/state/law/pages/summary%20of%20opinion%20concerning%20una uthorized%20outposts%20-%20talya%20sason%20adv.aspx; A/68/513, para. 9. “The road to dispossession” (note 46 above), pp. 44-56. Ibid., p. 79. www.ochaopt.org/documents/ocha_opt_al_mughayyir%20_case_study_2013_10_22_english.pdf Adei Ad is built on both unregistered Palestinian land and State land. See “The road to dispossession” (note 46 above), p. 8. According to the Palestinian Institute for the Study of Economic Policy (MAS), 34 per cent of Palestinian agricultural land in the West Bank is not accessible to its owners. The study indicates four main causes: settlements, the Wall, closed military zones and methods of enclosure. See MAS, Food Security Bulletin, Issue 7 (2012), cited in “Israeli settlers’ agriculture as a means of land takeover in the West Bank”, Kerem Navot, 2013. 9