Al-Haq’s Legal Analysis of Israeli Military Orders 1649 &

1650: Deportation and Forcible Transfer as International

Crimes

REF: 61/2010

On 13 April 2010, military orders 1649 „Order regarding Security provisions. and

1650 „Order regarding Prevention of Infiltration., issued by the General Officer

Commander of the Israeli Occupation Forces Central Command, entered into force.1

These military orders dramatically broaden the existing definition of „infiltration. in

the occupied West Bank, criminalizing and subjecting to deportation every person

present there. If implemented, these orders would facilitate the mass deportation or

transfer of Palestinians and other protected persons from the West Bank, in clear

violation of international law.

This paper will provide an analysis of the text of the military orders themselves, and

an overview of the overall context of the military order regime through which they

have been introduced. It will consider how the threat of imprisonment or deportation

may be used to target particular groups of protected persons in the West Bank. The

content of the military orders and the prohibition on deportation and forcible transfer

will be analysed by reference to international law.

An analysis of the orders: All persons present in the West Bank are ‘infiltrators’

The definition of infiltration

Military order 1650 amends military order 329 “Order regarding Prevention of

Infiltration”, dating from 1969. According to that order, an infiltrator was a person

who entered the West Bank from Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Egypt, without a permit

from the military commander of the area, or who stayed in the area after the

expiration of such a permit. The aim of the order was mainly to prevent Palestinian

refugees from returning to their homes, and to prevent armed combatants from

entering occupied territory. The meaning of „unlawful. entry into the area was defined

by reference to the opposite term „lawful. which meant „as per permit by the military

commander.. Punishment for infiltration included imprisonment or a fine, and

possible deportation.

Recently issued military order 1650 radically widens the definition of infiltration to

include all those who (i) enter the area „unlawfully. and (ii) who are present in the

area without lawfully holding a permit. A permit is defined as a:

1 Order regarding Prevention of Infiltration (Amendment No. 2) and the Order regarding Security

Provisions (Amendment No. 112). Available at: http://www.hamoked.org.il/news_main_en.asp?id=904