APN Research Center
Student Advocacy Resources
The Occupation
Since 1967, Israel has maintained an occupation of the West Bank, which involves military rule over the Palestinians who live there. As part of the 1995 Oslo II Accord, the West Bank was divided in Area A (full Palestinian civil and security control), Area B (Palestinian civil control and joint Israeli-Palestinian security control), and Area C (full Israeli civil and security control). Although it withdrew from the Gaza Strip in 2005, Israel maintains control over Gaza’s airspace, territorial waters, and movement of people and goods.
Articles
Legal Duality in the Occupied West Bank
Hiba Husseini / Palestine-Israel Journal (July 1, 2016)
The dual legal systems violate the human rights of West Bank Palestinians under both Israeli and international standards by infringing on their access to justice, human dignity and equality. Read More >
Israel's Dark Future
Max Fisher / Vox (April 13, 2015)
Account of present Israeli political and societal trends that severely undermine Israel's democratic character and are largely a consequence of Israel's continued occupation of the West Bank. Read More >
Israel's Bunker Mentality
Ronald R. Krebs / Foreign Affairs (November/December 2011)
Israel's occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip during the 1967 War significantly impacted the country's domestic politics by transforming its once optimistic character into an aggressively nationalistic and cynical one. Read More >
In the Shadow of the Wall and Separation: Everyday Life in East Jerusalem
Tovi Fenster and Oren Shlomo / Palestine-Israel Journal (2008/2009)
Description of how the Separation Barrier has a wide range of damaging effects on daily life for Palestinians living in and around Jerusalem. Read More >
Audio and Video
Qalandiya Crossing on a Tuesday Morning
Luke Tress and Dov Lieber / Times of Israel (May 4, 2016)
Palestinian workers passing through the Qalandiya checkpoint between Jerusalem and Ramallah on a typical Tuesday morning. (3:43) Watch >
Khelil Helwa (Hebron is beautiful)
Yuval Orr / Il Servizio Civile Internazionale (2014)
On a hilltop in the city of Hebron, where the banality of everyday life clashes with the absurdity of occupation, fifteen-year-old Awni Abu Shamsiya attempts to maintain a sense of normalcy as he goes about his daily routine. (9:46) Watch >
Picture Show
This American Life (2013)
Story about the IDF practice of photographing Palestinian children in the West Bank for documentation. Includes interviews with current and former Israeli soldiers and Palestinians about the IDF's use of "mapping" operations. (23:50; story begins at 5:45) Listen >
Conflict Zone: Israel Defense Forces
National Geographic (2013)
For most Israelis, military service is mandatory. Aziz Abu Sarah meets with some of the young people who form the backbone of the Israel Defense Forces, and rides along as they encounter protesters from the Palestinian village of Nabi Saleh. (8:23) Watch >
Books
Our Harsh Logic: Israeli Soldiers' Testimonies from the Occupied Territories, 2000-2010
Breaking the Silence | Metropolitan Books (2013)
Book Review (Publisher's Weekly) | CampusBooks
Hollow Land: Israel's Architecture of Occupation
Eyal Weizman | Verso (2012)
Book Review (London Review of Books) | CampusBooks
The Political Economy of Israel's Occupation: Repression Beyond Exploitation
Shir Hever | Pluto Press (2010)
Book Review (MERIP) | CampusBooks
Palestine Inside Out: An Everyday Occupation
Saree Makdisi | W. W. Norton & Company (2010)
Book Review (Publishers Weekly) | CampusBooks
Official Documents
Israel Kept Gaza Economy Functioning at Lowest Level (U.S. Diplomatic Cable)
October 22, 2008
Classified U.S. diplomatic cables, leaked by the whistleblower site WikiLeaks, that contain details of Israel attempting to keep the economy of the Gaza Strip, following the Hamas takeover of the territory, functioning at the lowest level possible consistent with avoiding a humanitarian crisis. Read Document >
United Nations Security Council Resolution 476
June 30, 1980
Declared that "all legislative and administrative measures and actions taken by Israel, the occupying Power, which purport to alter the character and status of the Holy City of Jerusalem have no legal validity and constitute a flagrant violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention". The resolution was adopted by 14 votes to none, with the United States abstaining. Read Document >
UN Security Council Resolution 242
November 22, 1967
Refers to the "inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war and the need to work for a just and lasting peace in the Middle East in which every State in the area can live in security." Passed unanimously, it calls for withdrawal of Israel forces from occupied territory and "termination of all claims or states of belligerency" between the Arab states and Israel. Read Document >
Convention (IV) relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War
August 12, 1949
Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, signed by 195 states including Israel. Declares, in part, that an "Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territories it occupies". Read Document >
Reports and Data Sources
Whither the "Children of Stone"? An Entire Life under Occupation
Brian K. Barber et al. / Institute for Palestine Studies (2015/2016)
This article provides an overview of the PAL project, which sought to thoroughly understand the youth of the first intifada as they have grown into adulthood. This article reviews how the methodology of the PAL project has enabled the discernment of crucial information about the complexities of living under occupation through youth and adulthood, including unique insights into the nature of suffering under occupation. By design, it examines lives holistically; that is, it concentrates on the full scope of everyday-experience, including the psychological, social, economic, and political. Read More >
Daily Reports: Checkpoints
Machsom Watch
Features up-to-date reports on the state of each Israeli checkpoint in the West Bank. Includes descriptions and history of each checkpoint listed. See More >
Checkpoints, Physical Obstructions, and Forbidden Roads
B'Tselem (March 2013)
Part of a comprehensive report on restriction of movement of Palestinians in the West Bank. Includes up-to-date lists of Israeli checkpoints and restricted roads, as well as sections on other occupation practices and their effects. Read More >
Arrested Development: The Long Term Impact of the Separation Barrier
B'Tselem (October 2012)
Examines the ramifications of the Separation Barrier on nearby Palestinian communities, ten years after its construction commenced. The report details and critiques the permit regime instituted by Israel in what is known as the "Seam Zone," West Bank lands on the "Israeli" side of the barrier. Read More >