A/HRC/40/42 of violence.99 Israel also has the obligation to exercise due diligence to prevent, investigate, prosecute, punish and remedy any harm caused to Palestinians. 100 OHCHR has on many occasions reported on the climate of impunity enjoyed by violent settlers, as well as those taking over private Palestinian land. 101 In a report issued in October 2018, the Israeli Ministry of Justice stated that Israeli authorities had made considerable efforts to enhance law enforcement in the West Bank in recent years. According to the report, between January and July 2018, the Israeli police opened 35 investigations related to settler violence against Palestinians, of which 4 led to the indictment of suspects, 4 were closed and the rest were still ongoing. 102 During the same period, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs recorded 219 incidents of settler violence. Despite these steps, it appears that in a number of cases Israel has failed to take necessary action to investigate cases of settler violence and to prosecute perpetrators. The repeated failure to investigate cases of settler violence and prosecute perpetrators103 also discourages Palestinian victims of settler violence from filing complaints. 104 V. Settlements in the occupied Syrian Golan 56. Syrian residents of the occupied Syrian Golan continued to face challenges due to discriminatory planning and zoning policies that favour illegal Israeli settlements. These policies make it nearly impossible for Syrian residents to build, plan or expand their homes and village infrastructure. The more than 25,000 Syrian residents live in 4 villages, while the estimated 23,000 Israeli settlers live in 34 Israeli settlements. Israeli settlers and the Israeli military reportedly control 95 per cent of the land in the occupied Syrian Golan. 105 57. On 30 October 2018, Israel for the first time held municipal elections for the local village councils in the occupied Syrian Golan. Syrian residents were given the right to vote, but not to run for office unless they held Israeli nationality. This indicates that Israel appears to be increasing pressure on residents to obtain Israeli citizenship. The International Labour Organization noted that these elections, among other measures, constitute an emerging threat to Syrian identity in the occupied Syrian Golan. 106 At present, an estimated 10 per cent of the Syrian population in the Golan have taken Israeli nationality. 107 Residents and local organizations have reportedly raised concerns that Israel was using the elections to strengthen its claim to, and influence in, the occupied Syrian Golan, and announced their intention to boycott the elections.108 58. In the lead-up to the elections, a number of Syrian candidates with Israeli nationality who had decided to run for office withdrew. On the eve of the election, Druze community elders reportedly announced a prohibition against standing for election or voting. On the day of the election, hundreds of Syrian residents of Majdal Shams, the largest Syrian village in the occupied Syrian Golan, reportedly protested in front of the local polling place. Israeli police cleared the area, including by using tear gas. 109 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 14 Hague Regulations, arts. 43 and 46; and Fourth Geneva Convention, art. 27. A/HRC/34/38, paras. 13 and 36–37. A/HRC/31/43, para. 37; and A/HRC/34/39, para. 18. Israeli Ministry of Justice, “Israel’s investigation and prosecution of ideologically motivated offences against Palestinians in the West Bank”, October 2018, p. 1. A/71/355, para. 50; A/HRC/34/38, para. 33; and A/HRC/37/43, para. 23. A/73/410, para. 18. International Labour Office, The Situation of Workers of the Occupied Arab Territories, document ILC.107/DG/APP (2018), para. 147. Ibid., para. 151. Ibid., para. 148. See https://golan-marsad.org/al-marsad-warns-of-the-political-agenda-behind-israels-elections-in-theoccupied-syrian-golan/; and Nour Samaha, “Syrians in Golan Heights to boycott municipal election by Israel”, Al Jazeera, 21 June 2018. Stephen Farrell and Suleiman Al-Khalidi, “Druze on Golan Heights protest against Israeli municipal election”, Reuters, 30 October 2018; and Jack Khoury and Noa Shpigel, “Hundreds of Druze protest municipal elections in Israel’s Golan Heights”, Haaretz, 30 October 2018.