As Simple as A, B, C!

By ANTOINE RAFFOUL

Israel has always been in the habit of changing its laws to suit its colonial aims in all of historic Palestine (but specifically in areas it has been occupying since the Partition of Palestine in November 1947) . These aims centre around the one single core policy which lies at the heart of the Zionist programme advocated by Theodor Herzl in 1897: the establishment of a Jewish State in historic Palestine within 50 years. This Zionist programme would eventually include the ethnic cleansing of Palestine by way of expelling its indigenous Palestinian population and the erasure of any physical presence they have.

It took the Zionists 51 years to establish their Jewish State, while the ethnic cleansing continues to this day. This is not wishful thinking but solid information at the core of declassified state archives as researched and published by internationally respected historians. In the name of 'achieving security' for the State, the ethnic cleansing has become Israel's daily military activity throughout Palestine (and I do not wish to isolate any particular area by naming, say, only the West Bank or East Jerusalem – the theft is a total theft in all of Palestine).

Israel's colonial policies are generally carried out by its IDF forces under orders from the military establishment. There are no civil laws to protect the Palestinians in occupied Palestine, but even if there were, they would still be executed by military orders issued by military commanders via decisions by Israeli military courts. You cannot fault them for consistency. The IDF forces are everywhere to ensure complete compliance. The rest of the world sits and watches.

One of the most notorious of these laws has earned a wide coverage in the press recently when it took effect on 13 April 2010.

Order No.1650 titled 'Order regarding Prevention of Infiltration' was signed on 19 October 2009 by 'Gadi Shamni who is Major General of the IDF Forces in the Judea and Samaria Area [Area: means the whole of the West Bank and Jerusalem]. This law is in essence an Amendment to a previous Order No. 329 issued in June 1969 and which took effect a month later. It was signed then by another Brigadier General Rafael Vardi.

The basic aim of this Law is to prevent infiltration 'knowingly and unlawfully' by anyone into the Area from the East Bank of the Jordan, Syria, Egypt or Lebanon and who does not lawfully carry the 'proper permits'. A person is considered an 'infiltrator' if he or she is present in the Area 'without a document which allows identification as a resident of the Area'. The burden of proof falls upon the 'infiltrator' to show that he did not infiltrate. Anyone who remains in the Area following the expiration of the permit is considered an 'infiltrator'. This applies to Palestinians, foreigners (even holders of American passports) and NGO members. Needless to say, the Order will not apply to Israelis.

The new Order is unclear as to what permits it refers to: a permit that is currently valid or a new permit to be issued by the military command. Suspected 'infiltrators' are liable to sentences of up to 7 years or, in the case of those who have entered the West Bank legally but without permission, the sentence is 3 years. Presently, a typical sentence is 1 year.

Once detained, the 'infiltrator' is liable to pay the cost of his detention, his custody and his expulsion. This could total NIS 7,500.

There is no question that the new Order's aims are to limit the movement of the Palestinians and to allow their mass expulsion from their land.

Until recently, Palestinians considered East Jerusalemites needed permits to enter Area A which, if you recall under the Oslo Accords, is considered under full control of the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah.

This brings us to the subject of the farcical nature of the so-called Oslo Accords of 1993, not that we should give this much written space except that they relate directly to the above Order. Oslo divided what was left of Palestine [the West Bank and East Jerusalem at that time] into further Bantustans which they labelled as follows:

Area A: which includes major Palestinian cities with no Israeli presence. It constitutes 17% of the West Bank and holds about 55% of its population.

Area B: which constitutes 24% of the West bank and holds 41% of its Palestinian population. The PA has civilian control of this area. Israel has total security control.

Area C: which constitutes 59% of the West bank and includes 4% of its population. Israel has full control here with the exception of main Palestinian population centres.

Areas A, B and C may have their share of PA and Israeli controls but Order 1650 makes that a simple illusion. Nothing moves in the West Bank without a permit from the IDF. Nothing comes in or goes out without a permit from the IDF. The lives of the Palestinian people in areas A, B and C will become even more stifled under Order 1690 which is in contravention of Oslo and of International Law.

But the obvious and simple fact is that Israel did not, does not and will not abide by any agreement, past, present or future. Order 1650 makes this saga a simple one. In fact it is as simple as A, B, C.

Antoine Raffoul

Coordinator

1948: LEST WE FORGET

www.1948.org.uk

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