June 1967: The Israeli military invaded the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem. These areas of historic Palestine under military control are the “occupied territories,” which are systematically being incorporated into the state of Israel. These illegal policies are in violation of Palestinian national and human rights, as recognized in international law, UN resolutions and the Geneva Conventions.
Jerusalem: Israel annexed about 10% of the West Bank and incorporated it into Jerusalem, surrounding the city with massive settlements for Israelis.
Land: Israel has seized a majority of the land as military bases, settlements, security areas, “land reserves,” by-pass roads linking settlements with Israel, and other areas forbidden to Palestinians. Palestinians are confined to small fragmented areas resembling bantustans in an Israeli version of Apartheid.
Settlements: Israel has built over 200 settlements in the territories. Over 400,000 Israelis have moved onto Palestinian land. Many of the settlers are armed and aggressive extremists.
Home demolitions: Over 7000 Palestinian homes have been destroyed, leaving 30,000 people homeless.
Refugees: In 1948, the Israelis drove 700,000 Palestinians from their homes into exile through massacres and military force. Today, 5 million Palestinian refugees live in exile, many still in refugee camps, living in desperate conditions.
During the peace process, Israel intensified its system of control — Settlements were expanded, more settlers arrived, more homes were destroyed, more land was confiscated, more roads were built; unemployment rates skyrocketed. Israeli checkpoints on all roads obstruct Palestinians from travel to work, school, hospitals and places of worship. These policies finally provoked the second Intifadah.