A/HRC/RES/37/36
Noting in this regard that the Israeli settlements fragment the West Bank, including
East Jerusalem, into isolated geographical units, severely limiting the possibility of a
contiguous territory and the ability to dispose freely of natural resources, both of which are
required for the meaningful exercise of Palestinian self-determination,
Noting that the settlement enterprise and the impunity associated with its
persistence, expansion and related violence continue to be a root cause of many violations
of the Palestinians’ human rights, and constitute the main factors perpetuating Israel’s
belligerent occupation of the Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, since 1967,
Deploring in particular the construction and expansion of settlements by Israel in
and around occupied East Jerusalem, including its so-called E-1 plan, which aims to
connect its illegal settlements around and further isolate occupied East Jerusalem, the
continuing demolition of Palestinian homes and eviction of Palestinian families from the
city, the revocation of Palestinian residency rights in the city, and ongoing settlement
activities in the Jordan Valley, all of which further fragment and undermine the contiguity
of the Occupied Palestinian Territory,
Expressing grave concern at the continuing construction by Israel of the wall inside
the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including in and around East Jerusalem, in violation of
international law, and expressing its concern in particular at the route of the wall in
departure from the Armistice Line of 1949, which is causing humanitarian hardship and a
serious decline in socioeconomic conditions for the Palestinian people, fragmenting the
territorial contiguity of the Territory and undermining its viability, creating a fait accompli
on the ground that could be tantamount to de facto annexation in departure from the
Armistice Line of 1949, and making the two-State solution physically impossible to
implement,
Deeply concerned that the wall’s route has been traced in such a way to include the
great majority of the Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including
East Jerusalem,
Gravely concerned at all acts of violence, destruction, harassment, provocation and
incitement by extremist Israeli settlers and groups of armed settlers in the Occupied
Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, against Palestinian civilians, including
children, and their properties, including homes, agricultural lands and historic and religious
sites, and the acts of terror carried out by several extremist Israeli settlers, which are a longstanding phenomenon aimed at, inter alia, displacing the occupied population and
facilitating the expansion of settlements,
Expressing concern at ongoing impunity for acts of settler violence against
Palestinian civilians and their properties, and stressing the need for Israel to investigate and
to ensure accountability for all of these acts,
Aware of the detrimental impact of the Israeli settlements on Palestinian and other
Arab natural resources, especially as a result of the confiscation of land and the forced
diversion of water resources, including the destruction of orchards and crops and the
seizure of water wells by Israeli settlers, and of the dire socioeconomic consequences in this
regard, which precludes the Palestinian people from being able to exercise permanent
sovereignty over their natural resources,
Noting that the agricultural sector, considered the cornerstone of Palestinian
economic development, has not been able to play its strategic role because of the
dispossession of land and the denial of access for farmers to agricultural areas, water
resources and domestic and external markets owing to the construction, consolidation and
expansion of Israeli settlements,
Aware that numerous Israeli policies and practices related to settlement activity in
the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, amount to blatant
discrimination, including through the creation of a system privileging Israeli settlements
and settlers, against the Palestinian people and in violation of their human rights,
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