Reality check: Almost fifty years of occupation

A year from now, Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip will mark its fiftieth anniversary. A third, even fourth, generation of Palestinians and Israelis have been born into this reality, and it is the only one they know. Given what has been happening on the ground for decades, it is highly unlikely that Israel will change its policies, and the implications of these policies are set to continue or worsen. In 1967, all Palestinian residents of the Occupied Territories had the same status. Since then, Israel has annexed thousands of hectares, declared the Gaza Strip a “hostile entity”, and signed the Oslo Accords, which divided the West Bank into dozens of disconnected enclaves. These areas, all under Israeli control, now function as discrete units that differ based on how Israel defines them, what it plans for them, and the status of their residents. This disjointed reality also dictates the structure of this document, which reviews the situation in each of these units separately.

While the Oslo Accords and Israel’s military withdrawal from Gaza may have created the impression that Israel’s hold over the Palestinian territories is waning, the fact is that the fragmentation of these territories serves precisely to entrench Israeli control over all Palestinians living in the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and Gaza. These residents have no part in decisions made by the state that runs their lives and controls their future.

Full report follows ......@
http://www.btselem.org/publications/201606_reality_check