CHAPTER TWO

Status of Palestinian Territories and Palestinian Society under Israeli Occupation



IV. Israel's Policies towards the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT)

By 1987, 52% and 42% of the land in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, respectively, had been expropriated by Israel.117 Land has been confiscated both for so called 'Security Reasons' and for the construction of Israeli settlements. This policy left an increasing Palestinian population with little land and less land to develop; many families had to leave due to the confiscation of their land. As a result, unemployment and population density increased, causing serious problems within the Palestinian society.


Israeli policy towards the control of land has a direct link to attempts to control the water resources of the area. The Israeli occupation authorities have laid their hands on all of the water resources in the OPT. Israeli settlements and neighborhoods received a 100% increase in the amount of water they received during the 1980s, while the Palestinians had to maintain their water usage at a steady level over the next two decades; Israeli legislation specified the amount of water allowed for Palestinian use as only 90 to 100 mcm annually until the year 2010. 118

 

Table (3.1): Comparison between Palestinian and Israeli Water Consumptions

 

 

Palestinians

Israelis

Total Population

3,888,292

6,991,000

Consumption, MCM/yr

Agriculture

147.8

1160.5

Domestic

155.5

731.9

Industrial

19.4

116.0

Total Consumption

322.7

2008.4

Annual Per-Capita Consumption (CM/yr)

Agriculture

38

166

Domestic

40

104.7

 

Industrial

5

16.6

Total

83

277.3

*Data Adapted from Israeli Water Commission, 2005; and Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics 'PCBS', 2006.

As for the Palestinian economy, it was progressively crushed by a series of Israeli policies aimed at preventing the Palestinians from becoming economically independent. The Israelis weakened the ability of all Palestinian economic sectors by imposing production quotas on the Palestinian producers, systematically denying them the financial support provided to the Israeli producers and putting restrictions on import licenses as well as licenses to establish productive enterprises, which were almost exclusively restricted to Israelis. 119 With the increase of land expropriation and restrictions on the agricultural sector, many Palestinian farmers turned to work in Israel. The number of farmers in the 1970's was around 36,000, a number that decreased to 27,000 in 1986. This was a direct result of a decrease in agricultural land from 217,000 hectares in 1964 to 158,000 hectares in 1984, all due to the Israeli land-policy. 120


In addition, Israel exploited many Palestinian laborers working in Israel since 1967 [see Annex 3].  These workers were paid poorly and did not enjoy the social benefits provided to the Israeli workers. Although Palestinian funding and social security contributions were deducted from their salaries, the money was not returned to them upon retirement. 121 Furthermore, we should not forget the various kinds of taxes Israel also reaped from the Palestinians in the OPT.  "Figures for 1986 indicate that $150 million were channeled into the Israeli treasury from taxes and customs duties alone.  Another $250 million were raised from water fees, and an estimated $470 million from tourism." 122
Alongside this, Israel attempted to keep the Palestinian society as undeveloped as possible by maintaining a low level of expenditure in all areas of Palestinian life, including, but not limited to, hospitals and medical services, public education, social welfare services, and municipal public works.


Moreover, the Israeli offensive policies in the OPT over twenty years of occupation have consistently denied the Palestinians any decent standard of life. Since 1967 and 1987, around 470,000 Palestinian civilians have been arrested, another 2,891 have been deported and, in addition, about 21,000 houses have been demolished.123 Additionally, between 1982 and 1986, 100 public institutions were closed, as well as 425 commercial stores.


Table (3.2): Measures Taken Against the Palestinians from 1982 to 1986 124

 

1982

1983

1984

1985

1986

Political killings

53

9

10

13

21

Wounded

141

86

40

29

52

Deportations

0

1

4

30

11

Administrative detentions

0

0

0

129

39

House Arrest (Six Months)

60

70

60

70

67

Curfews

0

0

0

0

100

Trees Uprooted

0

0

0

0

800

House demolitions and sealings

18

22

3

51

77

As a result of Israeli policies, the social, economic and political situation of the Palestinians soon reached rock bottom. Being denied their basic human rights and subjected to continuous harassment and humiliation by the Israeli authorities, in addition to the lack of interest in their cause and the impotency of the Arab nations to stand by them, drove the Palestinians to a deep level of frustration, their only recourse to action being to take matters into their own hands and rebel.

In December 1987, the Palestinian population, both in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, started a mass uprising against the Israeli occupation. The Palestinian Intifada, which means 'shaking off' in Arabic, was the spontaneous reaction of a desperate people to twenty years of suffering under Israeli occupation. The Intifada was to develop into a sustained attempt to shake off the burden of Israeli occupation by means of mass protest and non-cooperation.
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