A/HRC/22/63 international humanitarian law to provide complementary and mutually reinforcing protection. 13. A situation of military occupation prevails in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. As the occupying Power, Israel is bound under international humanitarian law by a set of obligations which are provided for in the Hague Regulations of 1907, annexed to the Convention with Respect to the Laws and Customs of War on Land, which are recognized as part of customary international law, and the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War of 1949 (Fourth Geneva Convention), to which Israel is a High Contracting Party. 14. The applicability of the Fourth Geneva Convention to the Occupied Palestinian Territory was decisively established by the International Court of Justice, 5 and has been recognized and consistently reaffirmed by, inter alia, the Commission on Human Rights, the Human Rights Council, the Security Council and the General Assembly.6 Under the Fourth Geneva Convention, Palestinians living under occupation are ―protected persons‖ and thus the focus of the obligations of Israel under humanitarian law therein. 15. International humanitarian law establishes obligations on Israel concerning, inter alia, humane treatment and physical integrity of the Palestinians as protected persons; respect for their basic rights to education, a fair trial, family, health, religion, and work; maintenance of public order and safety; respect for existing laws; respect for and protection of real and personal property; and the management of public property, including natural resources. 16. Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention also prohibits the occupying Power from transferring parts of its own civilian population into the territory that it occupies. This prohibition has attained the status of customary international law. The mission notes that the Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, violate this provision and are, thus, illegal under international law. 7 17. The mission also considered, where necessary, other international law frameworks and principles. In a situation of prevailing impunity, the law on State responsibility for internationally wrongful acts, including third-State responsibility, is relevant. International criminal law enables the pursuit of individual criminal responsibility for conduct that amounts to international crimes. In this regard, on 3 December 2012, Palestine addressed identical letters to the Secretary-General and the Security Council. Citing article 8(2)(b)(viii) of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, it stated that ―Israeli settlement activities‖ constitute war crimes, and that Israel must be held accountable for such acts.8 5 6 7 8 Ibid., para. 101. See for example Commission on Human Rights resolutions 6 (XXIV), 6 (XXV) and 2001/7; Human Rights Council resolutions 7/18, 10/18 and 19/17; Security Council resolutions 271 (1969), 446 (1979), 641 (1989), 681 (1990) and 799 (1992); and General Assembly resolutions 2546 (XXIV), ES10/2, 36/147 C, 54/78, 58/97, ES-10/18 and 66/225. See for example the advisory opinion of 9 July 2004, para. 120; Security Council resolution 471 (1980); General Assembly resolutions 3092 (XXVIII), 47/172 and 66/225; Commission on Human Rights resolution 2000/8; Human Rights Council resolutions 13/7 and 16/31; and Council of the European Union, Conclusions on the Middle East Peace Process, 3166th Foreign Affairs Council Meeting, 14 May 2012. A/ES-10/573 - S/2012/899. 5