Legal and Practical Considerations of the Unilateral Withdrawal from Gaza

The encounter was organized in cooperation between the IoL and the Negotiations Support Unit. The lecturer spoke on the implications of the Israeli proposed plan for the unilateral withdrawal from Gaza, which she described as a military technique for redeployment, rather than a real evacuation of the Gaza Strip. According to her, the unilateral move would allow Israel to ignore international laws and signed agreements and maintain control of the Gaza Strip. Concurrently economic conditions in the Gaza Strip will continue to deteriorate and the present siege will continue to strangle all aspects of life, isolating it further from the West Bank, Israel and the rest of the world. The lecturer then moved on to discuss practical matters that need to be dealt with once Israel withdraws from Gaza.. The most pressing issue is what to do with land that was confiscated by Israel; it could either be returned to its original Palestinian owners or turned into state land to house public economic and housing projects that may create employment opportunities for many people in Gaza. To deal with this issue, the lecturer focused on the need to legislate property laws that would respond to legal discrepancies between the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Finally the lecturer mentioned the need to strengthen the civil administration and the local institutions of government, reform judicial institutions, and ensure the functioning of the land registry. The lecture was followed by questions from the audience that focused on land ownership and the Fourth Geneva Convention.

A number of lawyers and interested people attended the encounter. The total was 24 participants.