For many years, including during the years of the First Intifada, there was an accepted legal assumption that the Israel Defense Forces was exercising police powers in the territories under Israel's military occupation, and was bound by the strict rules pertaining to law enforcement. Thus, for example, detention of Palestinian civilians was subject to judicial review; similarly, use of live ammunition was permitted strictly in self-defense. In addition, any time an IDF soldier caused the death of a Palestinian, an investigation was launched by the Military Police to determine the circumstances of the death.
In late December 2000, after the outbreak of the Second Intifada, the Israeli government announced that given the scope and intensity of the violence in the territories, the situation there is being considered an "armed conflict short of war." Therefore, the IDF Military Advocate General instructed not to open Military Police investigations in every case in which civilians are killed by IDF fire, since during an armed conflict, the fact that civilians have been harmed is not sufficient in and of itself for concluding that the laws of war were violated (the laws of war accept that civilians may be harmed as 'collateral damage' in attacks directed against military objectives and personnel).
The Israeli Security Agency recently published a report describing how in recent years, there has been a sharp decline in the number of attacks against Israelis launched from the West Bank. At the same time, data from B'Tselem, which reports the number of casualties on both sides, also indicates that there has been a noticeable decrease in the number of Israeli and Palestinian victims in those same areas. These findings raise the question whether the situation in the West Bank still qualifies as an armed conflict in terms of the scope and intensity of violence; if it no longer does, the IDF should revert to the regulations that were in effect prior to the outbreak of the Second Intifada.
Against this background, on Sunday, January 9, 2011, IDI will host a roundtable discussion on ending the armed conflict in the West Bank. State officials, representatives of human rights organizations, academicians, and IDI researchers will participate in this discussion, which will include a discussion of the legal framework that should guide the IDF in its actions in the territories.
Roundtable Discussion: Ending the Armed Conflict in the West Bank
Sunday, January 9, 2011
5:00–7:30 p.m.
Participation is by invitation only.