A/HRC/31/43 48. August 2015 saw the highest number of demolitions of Palestinian structures in a single month since June 2010, with some 140 Palestinian structures demolished and over 200 Palestinians displaced. The overwhelming majority of the demolitions were in Area C, mainly affecting already vulnerable Bedouin herding communities. 49. At the same time, activities by the Government of Israel aimed at relocation of Bedouins and herder communities progressed during the period under review. The planned relocation of the Bedouin and herder communities in Area C gives rise to serious concerns under international law. The Secretary-General reiterates concerns that the implementation of proposed relocations may amount to individual and mass forcible transfers. Except for temporary transfers for the security of the population or for imperative military reasons in the context of hostilities, forcible transfers violate human rights law and are prohibited under international humanitarian law. Under article 147 of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, the unlawful transfer of protected persons constitutes a grave breach of its provisions, and potentially incurs the individual criminal responsibility of officials engaged in forcible transfers. In addition, the transfer of Palestinian Bedouin communities would contravene the obligations of Israel under international human rights law, particularly regarding the rights to freedom of residence and to adequate housing (see A/67/372, para. 37, and A/HRC/24/30, para. 29). Risk of forcible transfer of Susiya residents – South Hebron Hills (b) 50. Susiya, a Palestinian community located in the Hebron governorate in the southern West Bank, is currently home to 55 Palestinian families, who have been living in this location for decades, on land they claim as their private property. The homes of half of these families and all the community’s public structures are located in Area C, where Israel maintains full control over planning and zoning, and the remainder in Area B. 31 There are outstanding demolition orders for all the village’s 170 structures located in Area C, which include 32 residential tents and shacks, 26 animal shelters and 66 family utility structures, 20 cisterns and 20 latrine units, 2 clinics, 1 school and 1 kindergarten, among others. Approximately half of these structures have been funded by international donors and provided as humanitarian assistance. 51. The nearby Israeli settlement of Susiya, established in 1983 in contravention of international law, has a population of nearly 1,000, some of whom live in an unauthorized outpost erected in 2002, on the original site of the Palestinian village of Susiya, on land that had been declared an archaeological site. By the end of the 1990s, the Israeli authorities had allocated over 1,500 dunams of land to the development of Susiya settlement (the “municipal boundaries”), an area that is over five times larger than its current built-up area. The Susiya settlement has been granted an outline plan that allows for the development of housing and infrastructure. While an adjacent settlement outpost was established without permits, the authorities have connected it to the water and electricity networks and refrained from enforcing pending demolition orders. 52. Owing to systematic settler violence and intimidation, Palestinian residents of Susiya village have limited or no access to over 2,000 dunams of their land, which constitute about two thirds of the community’s farming and grazing area. This has a serious impact on their right to livelihood. In 2014 alone, some 800 olive trees and saplings owned 31 12 In 1986, the Israeli authorities declared the main residential area of Susiya an archaeological site and evicted all of its residents. Most of those who relocated to what was later designated Area C, on plots of land adjacent to the original site of the village, were displaced again in the context of two waves of demolitions, in 2001 and in 2011, on the grounds of lack of building permits.