(~, UNITED NATIONS ~ NATIONS UNIES ~ E XECUTIVE O FFICE OF THE S ECRETARY -G E NE RAL CA BINET DU SE C RE TAIRE GENERAL To: DSG, Please find attached for your approval on behalfof the SG, his report on Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem and the occupied Syrian Golan. The report has been prepared by OHCHR. It provides an update on Israeli authorities' decisions and activities aimed at creating or expanding settlements. It also examines the human rights violations linked to settlements. Conclusions in the report state that Israeli settlement-related activities and settler violence are at the core ofthe many ofthe violations ofhuman rights . Recommendations to the Government ofIsrael are to fulfil its obligations under international humanitarian law to cease the transfer ofits civilian population into occupied territory and immediately freeze and reverse all settlement activity. As with all substantive reports on the situation in the oPt, this report may cause controversy. Political Unit 25 August 2015 eceived in ODSG 15-07352 LC ku.~t LolS­ F'LED Seen by: If IV:ED &- NATIONS UNIES ,." .(~~~' UNfTED NATIONS ACTIO ~ Q> tDROITS DE L'HOMME ~~ .• '. ~'l HUMAN RIGHTS COPY , ~~ . lIAUT·(OMMIS)ARIAT OFFICE OflHf tllGH CBldMISSIOtlE' C L. 3' . ' AUG20 2015 MEMORANDUM INTERIEl)R • INTEROFF ICE MEMORANDUM {s-o > 3~L OSGICENTRAL A: ' Mr. Jan Eliasson DATE: TO: 20 August 2015 , Deputy Secretary-General , . '. 7'L _~~ DE: Ms. FlaviaPansieri IV--- REFERENCE: FROM: Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights OBJET: Report of the Secretary-General on Israeli settlements ill the occupied SUBJECT: ' Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, and the occupied Syrian Golan (A/RES/69/92) - F()R CL~ARANCE 1. Please find attached, for your approval, the report of the Secretary- ' General on Israeli settlements i,n the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and the occupied Syrian Golan. The report has been prepa ed in aocordance with General Assembly resolution,69/92 . adopted on 5 December 2014. ' 2. The report hasbeen prepared by OHCHR field presence in the OPT. It contains information from other UN agencies in the OPT, Israeli, Palestinian and international nongovernmental organizations, and media sources. The 'information in the report concerning the occupied Syrian Golan ' is based on desktop research from OHCHR Headquarters. OHeHR field presence has consultedwith UNSCO in Jerusalem on the content and language ofthe report prior to submission to Geneva. ' , ' 3. The report provides ,an update 011 . Israeli authorities" ,decisions and , activities aimed at creating or expanding settlements in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan, including through retroactive legalisation of outposts under Israeli law.,The report also examines the human rights violations linked to settlements, among , others, 'in the context of two case studies, and the detrimental impact 0-[ settlements on efforts towards sustainable peace on the basis of a' negotiated two-state solution. 4. Conclusions in the report state that Israeli settlement-related activities and settler violence are at the core of many of the violations of human , rights in the OPT, including East Jerusalem; that settlement expansion takes multiple forms, and is supported and encouraged by the Israeli L-.- authorities, in stark contravention of international law, including through retroactive legalisatlon of outposts under Israeli law; that the result is a ' . significant obstacle to the exercise ' of Palestinians' right to self­ determination; and that the existence and growth of the settlements is closely linked to the deprivation of the rights of Palestinians. Furthermore, the report concludes that touristic and archaeological developments deprive Palestinians of access to land and to their cultural NATIONSlJNIES ~ UNITED NATIONS .DROITS DE L'HOMME W-. ~ HUMAN RIGHTS .HUT-U 5SUI.l.l • ontcrDIIKf &PlUJI 1iS1~~{t .MEMORANDUM INTERIEUR • ImtROFFICEMEMORANDUM r-ights, and that settlers' presence in these areas increases tensions; and that the security of Israeli .settlers outdoes that . of Palestinians, undermining the equal application of the law, The report also 'concludes that, as settlements expand, Palestinians face an array of obstacles in terms of building their own h0111eS, including the threat of demolition, and that continued settlement expansion and related violations of the Palestinians' rights, runs counter to the objective of a negotiated two­ state solution. 5. Recommendations to the Government of Israel are as follows: to terminate funding and support to touristic and archaeological projects which'·contribute to the consolidation of settlers' presence in the OPT and result in violationsofthe rights of Palestinians, includingtheir rights . to self-determination ~d freedomof movement; to fulfil its obligations . under international humanitarian law to .cease the transfer of its civilian populationinto occupied territory and to immediately freezeand reverse all . settlement activity, .arid to implement relevant United Nations . resolutions, including ..Security Council resolutions pertalning to territories occupiedsince 1967. 6. As with all substantive reports on the situation in the OPT, this report may 'cause controversy. It ·places an emphasis on the obstacle presented by settlements, and related human'rights violations, to the objective of a negotiated two-state solution and to peace. 7. As per usual practice, the report was shared for identifying factual . inaccuracies with .,t te Permanent Mission of Israel, the Perrnanent : Observer Mission of the State of Palestine, and the Permanent Mission ofthe Syrian Arab Republic. ·8. No responses were received by the deadline of noon, 14 August 2015, from the Permanent Missions of Israel or the State of Palestine. 9. The Syrian Arab Republic responded by Note Verbale dated 10 August 201"5, and requested the use of "the occupied Syrian Golan" instead of "Golan Heights" in para 75 of the report, This change has beenreflected in the attached report. Syria also requests that the information in its intervention at the Human Rights Council, in June 2015, under agenda item 7·, Human rights situation in Palestine and ' other occupied Arab territories, be reflected in the report, This request does not relate to factual inaccuracy in the report, and hence related changes have not been ~ncor~rated. 10. This' report will,be formally presented at the seventieth session of the .Geteral Assemblyin November 2015. United Nations xxxx s Distr.: General DO Month 2015 Original: English Seve tiet session Item XX ofthe provisional agenda* Report ofthe Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories e 0 0 tee etary-Ge e Summary The present report has been prepared pursuant to General Assembly resolution 69/92. It provides an update on Israeli authorities'decisions and activities aimed at, and creating or expanding settlements in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem" and in the occupied Syrian Golan. It examines human rights violations linked to settlements, including in the context of two case studies, and the detrimental impact of settlements on efforts towards sustainable peace on the basis ofa two-state solution. GE. Please recycle@ A/xx/xxx Contents Paragraphs Page I. Introduction . 1-4 3 II. Legal background ; . 5 4 III. Update on settlements during the reporting period . 6-15 4 A. Construction, tenders, plans and expansions .. ~ . 6-9 4 B. "Legalisation" of the unauthorised outposts . 10-15 5 IV. Settlements as a "driver of violations of internal human rights "and humanitarian law and an obstacle of peace . 16-74 7 A. Human rights violations linked to settlements . 16-24 7 B. Case study: Silwan in East Jerusalem . 25-51 10 C. Case study: Settlement corridor in the northern West Bank around Shiloh settlement and Qaryut " . 52-69 19 D. Settlement expansion and the viability of the two-state solution 70-74 25 v. Settlements in the occupied Syrian Golan .. 75-76 27 VI. Conclusions and recommendations .. 77-84 28 2 A/xx/xxx 1. The present report is submitted pursuant to General Assembly resolution 69/92 and covers the period from 16 May 2014 to 15 May 2015. 2. The information presented in the report is based on monitoring and other information-gathering activities conducted by the Office ofthe United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and on information provided by other United Nations entities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. The report also contains information received from Israeli and Palestinian non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The report should be read in conjunction with previous reports ofthe Secretary-General on Israeli settlements to the Human Rights Council and the General Assembly, particularly A/HRC/20/13, A/HRC/25/38, A/HRC/28/44, A/63/519, A/64/516, A/65/365, A/66/364, A/67/375/, A/68/513 and A/69/348. 3. The report provides an update on Israeli authorities' decisions and activities aimed at creating or expanding settlements in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan, including through retroactive legalisation ofoutposts under Israeli law. The report also examines the human rights violations linked to settlements, including in the context of two case studies, and the detrimental impact of settlements on efforts towards sustainable peace on the basis ofa two-state solution. 4. In accordance with paragraph 9 of resolution 69/92, it is noted that the United Nations Country Team has embarked on a review of existing procurement policies to ensure full respect for and compliance with Human Rights Council resolution 17/4 and the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. 3 A/xx/xxx ega ac gro 5. Analysis of the applicable framework and the basis for Israel's obligations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and occupied Syrian Golan can be found in previous reports of the Secretary-General (A/69/348, paras. 4-5 and A/HRC/25/38, paras. 4-5). This analysis remains valid. p nts during c eporting perio A,Const uction , tenders, plans and expansion 6.