An Israeli Military Order is a general order issued by an Israeli military commander over territory under Israeli military occupation. It has the force of law. Enforcement of such orders is carried out by Israeli military police and military courts instead of civil courts.
Military Orders are still a basic instrument of Israeli rule of the Palestinian population in Area B and Area C of the West Bank. In contrast, Israeli civilians living in settlements in the area are usually subjected to civil courts.
Palestinians living in Area A of the West Bank, under full control of the Palestinian Authority, are now mostly subject to its laws and civil jurisdiction. Between the beginning of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank in 1967 and the establishment of the Palestinian Authority under the Oslo Accords in 1994, military orders were issued "in a constant stream," covering both criminal and civil matters as well as security and military matters.Brown, Nathan (2003) Palestinian politics after the Oslo accords, p. 47
History Israel inherited the British-imposed 1945 Defence (Emergency) Regulations, applying to whole British Mandatory Palestine. The regulations included, inter alia, the establishment of military tribunals to try civilians without granting the right of appeal, allowing sweeping searches and seizures, prohibiting publication of books and newspapers, demolishing houses, detaining individuals administratively for an indefinite period, sealing off particular territories, and imposing curfew.Defense (Emergency) Regulations. B'Tselem. Accessed January 2014
In 1948, the newly established state of Israel incorporated the Defence (Emergency) Regulations into its national laws, with the exception of modification necessitated by the creation of the State or its authorities.
Although, in 1951, the Knesset determined that the Defence Regulations were contrary to the basic principles of democracy and instructed the Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee to draft a bill for their repeal, the regulations were not abolished. Any later prospects for partial repeal disappeared with the outbreak of the 1967 Six-Day War. The military governor in the Occupied Territories issued a military order "freezing" the legal situation then existing there. Since then the regulations and its system of military orders are extensively used in the Occupied Territories.
Legal authority The Israeli Military Orders are enacted in accordance to Article 43 of the Hague Regulations, ratified at the Hague Conventions. The Hague regulations authorize the military occupier of territories to implement new laws, intending to ensure ‘public order’ (translated from French). In reference to “Military Authority Over the Territory of the Hostile State,” Article 43 of the Hague Regulations states, “The authority of the legitimate power having in fact passed into the hands of the occupant, the latter shall take all the measures in his power to restore, and ensure, as far as possible, public order and safety, while respecting, unless absolutely prevented, the laws in force in the country” The interpretation and application of this Article was initially analyzed by the Israeli Supreme Court.
Initial applications of the Hague Regulations One of the first applications of Article 43, which was deemed valid by the Israeli Supreme Court was the case of the Jerusalem District Electricity Company. The Court concluded that it was the military’s responsibility to address the economic welfare of the local population (in Jerusalem), and therefore should help meet the local demand for electricity for the Palestinians and Jewish settlers, specifically in the settlement of Kiryat Arba alike. However, the Supreme Court also validated the military’s prohibition of the “Al-Talia,” an Arab-centric weekly newspaper.
More significantly, the Supreme Court ruled that the military commander had the right to impose a “value tax”The Application of International Law in the Occupied Territories as Reflected in the Judgments of the High Court of Justice in Israel needed to obtain resources in order to fulfil the ‘public order and safety’ clause of Article 43. Much to the petitioners’ dismay, the law remained valid. Finally, the Supreme Court ruled in approval of the military’s confiscation of petitioners’ land, in order to build roads ultimately connecting the West Bank with Israel. The Court saw this as ensuring public order and growth. These cases all served to establish the role of the Hague Regulations, specifically that of Article 43, to be played in the context of Israel’s occupancy of the former Palestine.
Examples of military orders
Officially beginning in 1967, the Israeli Military Orders are issued by the General Commanders and carried out by the Israel Defense Forces and ultimately affect the infrastructure, law, and administration particularly of the Palestinians of the region. Pursuant to Military Orders, the military is authorized to issue declarations holding more detailed orders; see for example Declaration s/2/03 (regarding the Separation Wall).
Orders to consolidate the occupation Military Order No. 1650 (2009): Order regarding Prevention of Infiltration (Amendment No. 2). This law modifies the definition of "infiltrator" in Military Order No. 329, and allows the IDF to arrest and imprison for seven years if the person "infiltrated" unlawful and for three years if lawful, but without a permit. An "infiltrator" is any person present in the West Bank without the appropriate permit, even if born in the West Bank or lawfully moved to it, for instance from Gaza or from abroad before a permit was required. Deportation of an "infiltrator" is considered an arrest. This broadened definition will allow thousands of Palestinians to be deported without a trial and without judicial review. Opposition to this law was voiced by the South African government (comparing it to pass laws of their apartheid), Richard Falk of the United Nations, The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network, as well as Amnesty International.PCHR Condemn New Israeli Military Orders Aimed at Expelling West Bank Palestinians . PCHR, 12 April 2010Order No. 1650—Order regarding Prevention of Infiltration (Amendment No. 2) (unofficial translation). HaMoked. Accessed January 2014 Military Order No. 329 (1969): Order Regarding Prevention of Infiltration. Defined "infiltrators" as “a person who entered the Area knowingly and unlawfully after having been present (on) the east bank of the Jordan, Syria, Egypt or Lebanon following the effective date”. Military Order No. 947 (1981): This order created the Israeli Civil Administration in the West Bank. The head of the Civil Administration is appointed by the Commander of the IDF. It grants the Head of the Civil Administration the authority to draw up subsidiary legislation.Israel Military Order No. 947 Concerning theEstablishment of a Civilian Administration . Israel Law Resource Center Its purpose, as stated in Section 2 of the Order, is to “administer the civilian affairs in the region in accordance with the directives of this Order, for the well-being and good of the population, and in order to supply and implement the public services and taking into consideration the need to maintain an orderly administration and public order in the region”. All powers held by this Head of the Civilian Administration are ones delegated to him by the Area Commander, who can take away or grant power at their discretion. Although the chosen leader of the Civilian administration is someone of unspecified nationality, the headquarters is situated at Beit El, a restricted zone in an Israeli settlement community just north of Ramallah. Only those Palestinians summoned or able to schedule an appointment can enter that zone. Military Order No. 34 (1967): Order Regarding Closed Territories (Amendment). ″The territory of the West Bank is hereby declared a closed territory.″ 8 July 1967The West Bank – a closed military zone. On Safe passage. Gisha, accessed 15 February 2014 Military Order No. 1 (1967): Declares the Gaza Strip and West Bank closed military areas.Note 10 annex The Israeli Policy of Closure . PCHR, 20 December 1996 A similar order was issued on 14 June 1967 for the occupied Golan Heights.NGO report to the UN. Al-Marsad - The Arab Centre for Human Rights in the Golan Heights. 25 January 2007
Land Orders regarding the seizure of land has always been one of the most important means in the maintenance of the occupation. Initially, they were mainly issued for military reasons. Over the years, more and more land was seized for the establishment of settlements.
State land The IDF has issued numerous orders to confiscate Palestinian lands by declaring it "State Land" Order No. 59 "Order Concerning State Property (Judea & Samaria)" (1967) established the 'Custodian of Government Property' to take control of land owned by the Jordanian Government (occupied in 1967). It also established the 'Custodian of Absentee Property' to appropriate land from individuals or groups by declaring it 'Public Land' or 'State Land'.Under the pretext of State Property "The Israeli Occupation Authorities confiscate land in Nahhalin village" . ARIJ, 5 March 2009
In January 2009, the IDF issued four military orders (No. 484 to 487) to evacuate land of Nahalin, southwest of Bethlehem under the claim that the targeted locations are 'State Land'. In the previous four years, the military already confiscated Nahalin lands by 25 different orders, labeling them 'State Land'. Most of the land was in Area C, where Israeli settlers already occupied land of Nahalin since 1967.
West Bank barrier In 2000, Israel started the construction of the West Bank barrier, about 80% of which on Palestinian land. The Palestinian lands were seized by numerous Military Orders. Often the Wall runs across villages dividing them in separate parts. For example, in Al JibIsrael’s Segregation Wall Encircles Three Palestinian Villages in Northwest Jerusalem . ARIJ, 7 May 2005 and Beit Hanina.Lands of Beit Hanina (Al-Balad) village threatened by the Israeli Segregation Wall . Applied Research Institute (ARIJ), 8 August 2006 Many are cut off from their agriculture land, like Beit Ijza.The Israeli colonization activities in Beit Ijza Village . ARIJ, 16 October 2006 Not only land for the Barrier itself, but also the land between the Wall and the Green Line (the Seam Zone) are confiscated, usually under the pretext of security: Declaration s/2/03 (2003): This declaration confiscates Palestinian lands on the Israeli side of the West Bank barrier and declares the Seam area a "Closed Zone" for Palestinians. Only Palestinians who live near the seam zone (which is part of the Occupied Territories) are allowed to enter through a single specific gate and stay, provided that they possess a personal written permit, usually for a limited period. The Declaration does not apply to Israelis.PLO-NAD, Israeli Military Order Declaring West Bank Land Between Israel's 1967 Border and the Wall as a ″Closed Zone″. Accessed January 2014
Control over land transactions Military Order No. 811 and 847: allows Jews to purchase land from unwilling Palestinian sellers by using a “power of attorney.” Military Order No. 58: makes land transactions immune to review so long as the transaction was carried out by an Israeli “acting in good faith.” Military Order No. 58, Article 5: says any land transaction will not be voided even if it is proved the transaction was invalid. Military Order No. 25 (1967): Order Regarding Land Transactions (Judea and Samaria). Forbids public inspection of land transactions. Restriction of land transactions in the West Bank.Land Grab: Israel's Settlement Policy in the West Bank , p.62. B'Tselem, May 2002. On Summary
Settlements