The war criminality underlying the partial transfer of the civilian population of and/or by an occupying power into an occupied territory – a case study of occupied/colonised Palestine

The first introductory chapter recounts the drafting history of the sixth paragraph of Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention and authoritatively interprets it concerning the prohibition against deporting or transferring parts of the civilian population of and/or by an Occupying Power into an occupied territory. The second chapter reifies the war crime underpinning the deportation and transfer of parts of the civilian population of and/or by an Occupying Power into an occupied territory. The third chapter is divided into two sections. The first section begins with a depiction of four violations of the laws and customs of war that amount to war crimes: (i) extensive destruction of property without military necessity (ii) extensive appropriation of property likewise without military necessity (iii) unlawful requisitions in kind or services and (iv) pillage. The second section aims to answer the question as to whether, under what conditions, and to what extent, was the war crime of deporting or transferring parts of the occupant’s civilian population into occupied/colonised Palestine preceded by or accompanied by one or more of the four war crimes being investigated. Through the fourth chapter, the forms of individual criminal responsibility are explored. The penultimate chapter unearths the individual criminal responsibility for the war crime of the partial transfer of the civilian population of/by the Occupying Power into occupied/colonised Palestine and the preceding or accompanying war crimes under consideration. The final chapter broaches the international law of immunity.