Area C

Over 60 per cent of the West Bank is considered Area C, where Israel retains near exclusive control, including over law enforcement, planning and construction. Most of Area C has been allocated for the benefit of Israeli settlements or the Israeli military, at the expense of Palestinian communities. This impedes the development of adequate housing, infrastructure and livelihoods in Palestinian communities, and has significant consequences for the entire West Bank population. Structures built without permits are regularly served with demolition orders, creating chronic uncertainty and threat, and encouraging people to leave. Where the orders are implemented, they have resulted in displacement and disruption of livelihoods, the entrenchment of poverty and increased aid dependency. The humanitarian community has faced a range of difficulties in providing aid in Area C, including the demolition and confiscation of assistance by the Israeli authorities.

A Vulnerability Profile of Palestinian communities in Area C is available here.

Articles, statements and press releases

Tightening of coercive environment on Bedouin communities around Ma’ale Adumim settlement

11 March 2017 |

Salem from Jabal al Baba between the rubble of his demolished house , January 2017. © Photo by OCHA

Since the beginning of 2017, a number of developments have generated additional pressure on Palestinian Bedouin communities located within and around the area designated by the Israeli authorities for the E1 settlement plan and the expansion of Ma’ale Adumim settlement in eastern Jerusalem governorate. The 18 communities in this area belong to a larger group of 46 Bedouin communities in the central West Bank, which the Israeli authorities seek to “relocate” to three designated sites.

The humanitarian impact of de facto settlement expansion: common features, conclusions and the way forward

11 March 2017 |

'Ein al Kabireh waterspring and ponds taken over by Elon Moreh settlement and turned into tourist attraction, November 2016. © Photo by OCHA

The three cases highlighted in this study describe the ongoing efforts by Israeli settlers to increase their spatial control over surrounding areas and natural resources through the development of new infrastructure and activities, alongside attempts to remove a Palestinian presence.

UN officials visit Palestinian community under transfer threat - call on Israel to respect international law

22 February 2017 |

The UN Coordinator for Humanitarian Aid and Development Activities for the occupied Palestinian territory, Robert Piper, in Khan al Ahmar, 22 February 2017

On 22 February, the Coordinator for Humanitarian Aid and UN Development Activities for the occupied Palestinian territory, Robert Piper, and Director of UNRWA Operations in the West Bank, Scott Anderson, visited the Palestinian Bedouin community of Khan al Ahmar in Area C, in the immediate outskirts of East Jerusalem.

Record number of demolitions and displacements in the West Bank during 2016

10 February 2017 |

During January 2017, OCHA recorded the demolition of 140 structures by the Israeli authorities, displacing around 240 Palestinians and affecting another 4,000. The number of structures demolished during the first month of the year was over 50 per cent higher than the monthly average of structures targeted in 2016 (91). All of these demolitions were carried out in Area C and East Jerusalem on the grounds of lack of building permits, although these are nearly impossible to obtain for Palestinians.

The humanitarian impact of de facto settlement expansion: The case of Elon Moreh

10 February 2017 |

A research to improve humanitarian response and preparedness: The following case study of Elon Moreh settlement in the Nablus governorate is the third in a series of Humanitarian Bulletin articles on the findings of this research.

The humanitarian impact of de facto settlement expansion: the case of Talmon-Nahliel bloc

11 January 2017 |

Construction and settlement cultivated area in Nahlei Tal outpost (December 2016). © Photo by OCHA

Between 1997 and 2002, six new residential settlements, labeled new neighborhoods or outposts, were established on the hilltops surrounding Talmon. All but one (Nerya) were established without a building permit or formal authorization. Despite this, in recent years the Israeli authorities have initiated multiple planning processes to retroactively make these settlements legal under Israeli law.