A/HRC/37/43 requirements, the Syrian villages are increasingly overcrowded, infrastructure is strained, and no expansion to accommodate the needs of the population is possible. Since the first demolition was reported in the occupied Syrian Golan in September 2016, there are concerns that the demolition of homes may become common (A/HRC/34/39, para. 59).62 66. In August 2017, the non-governmental organizations Adalah and Al-Marsad stressed the continued presence of mines around the village Majdal Shams that poses a serious danger to an estimated 11,000 people. They called upon the Israeli authorities to remove the mines and the related military outposts reportedly directly adjacent to residential homes, and situated on land belonging to the residents of Majdal Shams. Both organizations noted that the mines often drift beyond the marked minefields, and that some had exploded in the heat of the summer. They estimated that, since 1967, 69 civilian residents of the Golan Heights had been wounded by land mines and that 18 had consequently died, including nine children. 63 67. The High Commissioner reaffirms the continuing validity of Security Council resolution 497 (1981), in which the Council stated that the decision by the Government of Israel to impose its laws, jurisdiction and administration in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights was null and void and without international legal effect. VI. Conclusions 68. During the period under review, a significant increase in settlement activity, including in East Jerusalem and Hebron, was witnessed. In Hebron, several factors led to a deterioration in the living conditions and to an increased coercive environment. 69. The establishment and expansion of settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory by Israel, including the legal and administrative measures that it has taken to provide socioeconomic incentives, security, infrastructure and social services to citizens of Israel residing in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, amount to the transfer by Israel of its population into the Occupied Palestinian Territory, which is prohibited under international humanitarian law.64 The transfer of the population by an occupying State into an occupied territory is a grave breach of article 147 of the Fourth Geneva Convention and therefore a war crime. 65 Several international bodies have confirmed the illegality of Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and the occupied Syrian Golan, including the International Court of Justice, the Security Council, the General Assembly and the Human Rights Council.66 70. Palestinians in Area C, the H2 area of Hebron, and East Jerusalem are subject to discriminatory practices, as well as reduced living space, increased tensions, violence and arrests due to the existence and growth of settlements. 71. Palestinians in East Jerusalem face a restrictive planning, permit and construction regime, a lack of public services and shrinking public space. The lack of housing permits leads to the constant threat of demolition and displacement. These factors violate several rights and contribute to a coercive environment in East Jerusalem. Palestinians living in such a coercive environment may have no other choice but to leave, as previously documented in Area C and the H2 area of Hebron 62 63 64 65 66 See http://golan-marsad.org/press-release-israeli-authorities-demolish-home-in-majdal-shams-in-theoccupied-syrian-golan/. Adalah, “Adalah, Al-Marsad demand Israel remove army outposts and minefields from occupied Syrian town on Golan Heights”, 2 August 2017. Fourth Geneva Convention, art. 49 (6). See also the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, art. 8 (2) (b) (viii). International Court of Justice, Legal consequences of the construction of a wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, advisory opinion of 9 July 2004, para. 120; Security Council resolutions 465 (1980) and 2334 (2016); General Assembly resolutions 71/97 and 72/86; and Human Rights Council resolution 31/36. 15