The Sword of Settlement and Displacement and the Policy of Making Life Impossible: An Existential Threat to the Dream of a Palestinian State

The policies of the Israeli occupation against the Palestinian people are no longer mere isolated violations or circumstantial practices justified by security pretexts. Instead, they have become an organized and integrated project aimed at undermining Palestinian national rights, foremost among them the right to self-determination, and aborting the possibility of establishing an independent, sovereign Palestinian state on the June 4, 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital. This project is based on three interconnected pillars: settlement, forced displacement, and a systematic policy aimed at making Palestinian life impossible.Israeli settlement in the occupied Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem, constitutes a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law and a war crime under Article (49) of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, which prohibits an occupying power from transferring its own civilian population into the occupied territory or deporting the indigenous population from it. Resolutions of international legitimacy have affirmed this principle, particularly Security Council Resolution (2334) of 2016, which considered settlements illegal and a violation of international law and a major obstacle to the two-state solution.The danger of settlement lies not only in its legal transgression but also in its existential effects, as it has contributed to the fragmentation of Palestinian geography, undermining regional communication, and transforming the desired state into isolated enclaves subject to the occupation's hegemony. With the rise of the extreme Israeli right, settlement has transformed from a negotiating tool into an official policy coupled with public rhetoric calling for annexation and denying the Palestinian national existence and its historical rights.In parallel, the policy of forced displacement is escalating through home demolitions, land confiscations, withdrawal of IDs, and the imposition of coercive realities that force Palestinians to leave. Forced displacement is considered a war crime and a crime against humanity according to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, when carried out as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population, a description whose criteria apply to what is happening in the occupied Palestinian territories.However, the most brutal aspect of these policies is evident in the Gaza Strip, which has become the most egregious example of the “making life impossible” policy. Widespread killing, systematic destruction of infrastructure, targeting of hospitals, schools, and shelters, imposing a suffocating siege, deliberate starvation, preventing humanitarian aid, and displacing the population collectively constitute grave violations of the rules of international humanitarian law and resolutions of international legitimacy.The collective punishment imposed on more than two million people in the Gaza Strip is explicitly prohibited under Article (33) of the Fourth Geneva Convention, and the use of starvation as a weapon of war is a war crime according to Article (8) of the Rome Statute. These crimes cannot be viewed as collateral damage of military operations; rather, they are part of a systematic policy aimed at pushing the residents of the Strip, under pressure from killing, hunger, and the absence of basic necessities of life, towards forced migration, in direct violation of the prohibition of forced transfer of protected persons.The continuation of these crimes amid international silence, or merely issuing condemnations and denunciations, has contributed to entrenching a climate of impunity and encouraged the occupation to proceed with its policies. States parties to the Geneva Conventions bear an explicit legal obligation to ensure respect for these conventions in all circumstances, which requires taking effective measures to stop violations, not merely managing them humanely.From Condemnation to Action...Confronting the policies of settlement, displacement, and making life impossible requires moving from the realm of condemnation to the space of organized legal and political action. This necessitates, first, activating the principle of non-recognition and non-assistance, by refraining from recognizing any legal status arising from settlement, annexation, or forced displacement, and stopping any political, military, or economic support that contributes to the perpetuation of these violations.Second, supporting international accountability mechanisms, especially enabling the International Criminal Court to exercise its jurisdiction without selectivity or political pressure, and holding accountable those responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the occupied Palestinian territories.Third, adopting deterrent economic measures, including prohibiting dealings with settlements and their products, and holding companies involved in supporting these policies accountable, in line with the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.Fourth, providing effective international protection for the Palestinian people, especially in the Gaza Strip, and ensuring safe and unconditional access to humanitarian aid, and stopping the policies of siege and starvation.In conclusion, enabling the Palestinian people to exercise their inalienable rights, foremost among them the right of return, self-determination, and the establishment of their independent state, is not merely a political or humanitarian demand, but a fixed legal entitlement. Failure to protect it threatens not only Palestinians but also undermines the foundations of the international system based on law.