Israeli Settlements : Land Politics beyond the Geneva Convention

Few scholars have taken an interest in how Israel has rationalized and defended its settlement policies through its use of Ottoman land laws combined with the Hague Regulations. This book provides a descriptive study of Israel’s land policies.

Most research and analyses of Israel’s settlement enterprise has focused on the usage of particular paragraphs in the Geneva Convention. For over 50 years Israel has refuted the usage of the Geneva Convention with regards to its settlements. Doing so, the more relevant question arises on what laws, governance, and regulations, is of importance in understanding Israelis behavior? If one accepts the premise that Israel is occupying some areas, and as an occupying force is forbidden to change laws from previous sovereign, it becomes relevant as to what the laws are and how are they being followed. The aim with this book is to go deeper to understand the rationale behind Israeli land policies. This book is not necessarily a full rejection of the arguments that have been advocated by different scholars that seek to brand Israel’s settlement enterprise as illegal, nor is it to be understood as a full acceptance of those arguments at hand. Rather, I want this book to show nuances in an infective question. The idea is to give the reader an insight into the arguments made by Israel and its judiciary which has not been properly addressed nor researched about through earlier scholars. By including stories about personalities such as Rabbi Menachem Froman & Shabtay Bendet, this book aims to fulfill its purpose of not politicizing the Israeli settlement enterprise through one particular understanding.