Palestinians in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem have been living under an inhumane military occupation for over 55 years. In 1948, 77% of historic Palestine was stolen to create the State of Israel, and despite displacing 750,000 Palestinians from their homes, Israel wanted control of all of Palestine. 

In 1947, the UN created its “Partition Plan for Palestine,” which set aside half of Palestine to make a home for the Jewish population after World War II, but just a year later, Israel encroached upon the established border and stole an additional 27% of Palestine with no consequences.

The indifference towards the existing Palestinian population started a long history of international inaction towards Israel’s crimes against Palestine. In fact, The Center for Jewish Studies at the University of Washington goes as far as to write that “The presence of another people was first and foremost a major inconvenience, which the early Zionists [people who believe in the establishment of Israel in historic Palestine] tried their best to ignore and minimize.” 

In a measure to prevent Zionists from flushing Palestinians out of their homeland, the UN wrote in Article 49 of their Fourth Geneva Convention that “The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies.” 

But Israel refused to comply. Israel happily followed the UN’s rules when they were given a country, but elected to ignore this article. In an attempt to create a Jewish State that stretches from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River, the Israeli government built over 250 settlements in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem. Al-Jazeera defines a settlement as a “fortified, Jewish-only housing complex built on Palestinian land in violation of international law.” 

These settlements came with 55 years of settler violence and discrimination. In Al-Khalil (Hebron), Israeli settlers hurl trash onto Palestinian street vendors and pedestrians, and the harassment has become so dangerous to Palestinians that shopkeepers put nets above their stalls to catch the trash before it can hit them. This Israeli inhumanity is a direct result of Israel’s flagrant violation of UN Article 49, and can be stopped if the UN forces Israel to comply with international law.

I believe that the utilization of the Ancient Chinese philosophy Legalism could work towards decolonizing Palestine and making sure Israel respects international law. Legalism is characterized by its strict laws and harsh punishments, and a legitimate, serious punishment for illegal Israeli settlements is exactly the support Palestine needs. 

Han Fei Zi, the founder of Legalism, wrote that “Criminals are careful if they are likely to be discovered and stop if they are likely to be executed. But they are reckless if they will not be discovered and carry out their plans if they will not be punished.” At the moment, Israel knows it won’t be met with any real punishment from the UN, so it continues its illegal settlements. 

Part of the reason it’s so hard to criticize the Israeli government is the tendency to label any anti-Zionist voice as anti-semitic, but criticisms of the Israeli government do not equate to discrimination against the Jewish population. Legalism would have Israel deservedly punished, even when that punishment is wrongly labeled as “anti-semetic.” 

As for what reprimands Israel deserves for its settler colonialist crimes, Al-Haq (an organization based in Ramallah that defends the human rights of Palestinians) proposes the international community to do the following:

1. Comply with their legal obligations not to recognize as lawful any alteration imposed by Israel in Palestine
2. Abide by their obligations as Third States not to render aid or assistance in maintaining Israel’s occupation, apartheid, and settler colonization
3. Impose sanctions and urgently take action to ensure that Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territory is brought to an end, and the apartheid regime dismantled

This proposition would resolve the issue of settler colonialism on Palestinian land, and follow another of Han Fei Zi’s teachings. He argued that, “When everyone knows the penalty will directly affect him… those who are evil-minded will not be allowed to forget so many people watching them.” 

We must not let Israel forget that the world is watching the evils they commit in Palestine, and sanctioning Israel is the action needed to expel the settlers. Applying Legalist teachings to Israel won’t reclaim all of historic Palestine, but it’s the least the international community can do for a long oppressed people.