On July 26, The New America Foundation welcomed Jessica Montell, the Executive Director of B’Tselem, the leading human rights organization in Israel, to discuss the human rights situation in Israel and the Occupied Territories.

B’Tselem recently published two reports, its 2009-2010 annual report on human rights in the West Bank and Gaza, and “By Hook and by Crook”, a report detailing Israel’s settlements in the West Bank.

Montell explained that her work is predicated on international law, not Israeli law, and how it should be applied in the Occupied Territories. Based on the Hague Regulations of 1907 and the Fourth Geneva Convention, settlements are clearly illegal. Montell encouraged the United States to talk about settlements as a violation of international law, rather than how they affect the peace process.

In Israel, there exists a gap between the views of the public and the government on one hand, and the military on the other, regarding B’Tselem’s work. The former have not adopted B’Tselem’s human rights rhetoric, while the military has largely cooperated with B’Tselem’s efforts at addressing human rights violations.