A/HRC/28/44 instances where civilian security coordinators and guards have denied Palestinians access to farming plots located nearby a settlement or an outpost to prevent alleged attacks. In addition, cases of Palestinians being injured or having their property confiscated by these bodies while attempting to gain access to agricultural plots have been reported.37 24. In 2009, a series of military orders defined the “guarding zones” areas, in which civilian security coordinators and guards operate, in the vicinity of settlements and outposts, in the West Bank.38 The borders of these areas are wider than the municipal boundaries of the settlements, which allows civilian security coordinators and civilian guard squads to act beyond the jurisdiction of the settlements39 and dramatically expands the impact of the settlements on the freedom of movement of Palestinians, as well as on their right to work their land and earn a living from it. 40 25. The access of Palestinian farmers to their lands is also impeded by attacks and harassment by Israeli settlers. Documented cases of violence appear to be aimed at spreading fear among Palestinian farmers and to deter them from farming their lands, in particular in areas near settlements (A/67/375, para. 19). The phenomenon of settler violence, and the general failure of Israel to ensure accountability for Israeli settlers who break the law and to protect Palestinians against attacks to their person and property, have been thoroughly analysed by the Secretary-General in previous reports (A/69/348, paras. 36-44; A/HRC/25/38, paras. 37-47). 26. About two-thirds of the land in the West Bank, including the majority of Area C, is unregistered, mainly because of the suspension by Israel of the land registration process in the West Bank at the beginning of the occupation in 1968.41 Combined with all of the above-mentioned factors that impede the access of Palestinians to agricultural land, this facilitates the dispossession of Palestinians of their land, in particular in Area C of the West Bank. An added factor in Area C is the application of the Ottoman Land Code, which establishes that unregistered land belongs to the ruling Power unless a legitimate private claim to the land arises. Entitlement for such a claim arises over unregistered land that has been cultivated without interruption for a 10-year period, in the absence of which the land is assigned to the ruling Power.42 Given the multiple obstacles faced by Palestinians to cultivating their land, it is difficult to comply with the requirement of uninterrupted cultivation for 10 years, which would allow Palestinians to register the land in their name.43 In the absence of land registration, Israel has subsequently claimed much of the 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 Ibid., pp. 40-43. Ibid., pp.15-25. Ibid., p. 19. OHCHR, “Update on settler violence” (see footnote 35), p. 6. See B’Tselem, “Land grab, Israel settlement policy in the West Bank”, May 2002, p. 54. According to Kerem Navot, another form of land registration regime also exists; the “first registration” or selfinitiated land registration, established in 1964 under Jordanian rule, which in principle allows both Israeli settlers and Palestinians to register small portions of land in the West Bank. Owing to the expenses incurred in taxes, lawyers and the elaboration of maps required to use the register, few Palestinian farmers can afford to register their land, while Israeli settlers, often supported by settler organizations, are better placed to take advantage of it. See also B’Tselem, “Under the Guise of legality: Israel’s Declarations of State Land in the West Bank”, February 2012. Kerem Navot, “Israeli Settler Agriculture as a Means of Land Takeover in the West Bank”, August 2013, annex II, p. 107. The Ottoman Land Code also establishes that the State may take possession of land (held on the basis of a land deed or kushan) that is not cultivated for three consecutive years. See also Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Humanitarian Bulletin Monthly Report, April 2014, and B’Tselem, “Under the Guise of Legality” (see footnote 41) pp. 25-26. Under the “first registration” or self-initiated land registration (see footnote 41). 9