PALESTINE’S LEGAL SCENE –Issue.134

Your weekly survey of the most important publications and activities related to Palestine and law, from local and international sources

24 – 30 July 2022

Issued every Sunday by Law for Palestine

This weekly report reviews the legal dynamics of the Palestine question, and everything related to international law and Palestine. The report includes an account of the most important publications, activities and conferences related to Palestine at the local, regional, international levels. The report further covers decisions, decrees, and judicial orders affecting the Palestinian cause, whether made at the official, academic or public levels. The report aims to be a reference for monitoring, documenting and archiving the latest human rights developments related to Palestine, and to present them to individuals, researchers, study centers, and official, academic and legal institutions concerned.

To view this Volume of Palestine’s Legal Scene, please click here (3 minutes read)

Judicial decrees, decisions, positions, and orders issued by official Palestinian bodies

• The spokesman for the Palestinian presidency condemns the assassination of young men Abd al-Rahman Subuh and Muhammad al-Azizi in Nablus city, holding the Israeli government fully responsible. (July 24, 2022). For further details, click here
• Head of the Refugee Affairs Department, during his speech at the opening session of the 108th session of the Conference of Supervisors of Palestinian Affairs, stresses the need to resolve the UNRWA’s financial crisis, calling on the United Nations to secure international protection and assume its responsibilities towards the Palestinian people. (July 24, 2022). For further details, click here
• The head of the Commission’s Detainees Affairs holds the Israeli government fully responsible for the life of former prisoner Muhammad Obeid, from Anzah in Jenin, who was recently released and dumped at the so-called “Sabaa Crossing” in a state of poor health. (July 24, 2022). For further details, click here
• National Popular Conference for Al-Quds calls on Jerusalemites to boycott the occupation’s municipal elections scheduled after a few months, stressing that dealing with any lists is a violation of the principled, historic Palestinian position of refusing to recognize the legitimacy of the occupation in Jerusalem. (July 25, 2022). For further details, click here
• The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemns the destruction of the house and crops of a Palestinian family in Birin, south of Hebron, and the destruction of antoher house and a residential tent in Masafer Yatta. (July 25, 2022). For further details, click here
• The Palestinian Prime Minister holds Israel fully responsible for the restrictions and disruptions to movement that travellers face at the Al-Karama Crossing and calls on the appropriate authorities to take action to prevent Israel from imposing its policies on the Jerusalem school curriculum. (July 25, 2022). For further details, click here
• The Palestinian FM expressed the danger of the brutal massacre committed by the Israeli occupation targeting Palestinian lands and properties in the occupied Jerusalem under the slogan “Land Settlement”.(July 26, 2022). For further details, click here
• The Palestinian FM condemns the Israeli military decision to allow Palestinians to get the deed of determination of heirs from Sharia courts inside the Green Line in order to ease the process of stealing the Palestinian lands. (July 27, 2022). For further details, click here
• The Palestinian MOFAE warns of the dangers arising from the operations of Judaizing the Old City of Hebron and displacing its citizens, after groups of settlers have occupied a Palestinian house in the Old City of Hebron under the protection of Israeli forces. (July 28, 2022). For further details, click here
• The Palestinian PM calls on Germany to recognize the state of Palestine and put pressure on Israel to allow the Palestinian government to hold elections, including in Jerusalem. (July 28, 2022). For further details, click here
• The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly condemns the occupation’s decision to revoke school licences in occupied Jerusalem. (July 28, 2022). For further details, click here
• The Palestinian presidency condemns the crime of occupation in the village of Al-Mughir, Ramallah District, which led to the death of the boy Amjad Abu Alia. (July 29, 2022). For further details, click here

Judicial decrees, decisions, positions, and orders issued by official Israeli bodies

• The Israeli Defense Minister said he believes that we can leverage the Abraham Accords and ties with regional partners in order to strengthen the Palestinian Authority and promote confidence-building measures. (July 24, 2022). For further details, click here
• The Israeli Supreme Court decides to return the case to the Magistrate’s Court and temporarily accepts the Dweik family’s appeal regarding their home’s eviction from the Batn al-Hawa area of Jerusalem. This delays the family’s eviction from their residence until the conclusion of the court proceedings. (July 24, 2022). For further details, click here
• The Israeli Jerusalem District Planning Committee approves a settlement plan atop the lands of Sur Baher, southeast of the occupied Jerusalem, expanding the Israeli settlement of the “Lower Aqueduct” that connects “Har Homa” and “Givat Hamatos” settlements. It also delayed finalizing plans to create another plan including the construction of several settlements in Givat Hashaked over the lands of Safafa, south of the city.(July 26, 2022).For further details, click here
• The GOC Central Command approves a vague military protocol empowering the Sharia courts inside the Green Line to issue the deeds of determination of heirs for Palestinians in the West Bank. This paves the way to sell these lands to settlers without involving the PA. (July 26, 2022). For further details, click here
• The Israeli Supreme Court decides to overturn its ruling issued two years ago regarding the “Mitzpe Kramim” settlement near Ramallah, as the court concluded that the land was allocated “in good faith” to settlers who did not know that it belonged to residents of a nearby village. This means the decision retroactively legitimizes the settlers’ survival on occupied Palestinian land. (July 27, 2022). For further details, clickhere

Judicial decrees, decisions, positions, and orders issued by Arab, European, and international bodies

• French deputies presented a draft law calling on the French government to recognise the state of Palestine, undermining the Israeli apartheid regime against the Palestinians. (July 24, 2022). For further details, click here
• The Coordinator of Humanitarian Affairs in the occupied Palestinian territories stresses the importance of taking immediate action to reverse the negative trends in occupied Palestine and support the Palestinian populations. (July 26, 2022). For further details, click here
• The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) condemns Israel’s decision to build 1,446 new settlement units on the occupied Palestinian territories. (July 27, 2022). For further details, click here
• The South Africa FM said that “Israel must be classified as an apartheid state, and the UN and the international community must assume their responsibilities in the matter”. (26 July 2022). For further details, click here
• The UN issues a report revealing the impossibility of achieving effective sustainable development in the occupied Palestinian territory as a result of Israeli policies. (July 28, 2022). For further details, click here
• The US and Israel accuse member of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Palestine Miloon Kothari of anti-Semitism, following his statements about the course of the investigation in Palestine. The Chair Commissioner Navi Pillay responded that Kothari’s statement was taken out of context and the members of the commission are under Israeli and pro-Israeli attack as a direct result of their work on documenting violations in the occupied Palestinian territories. (July 29, 2022). For further details, click here

Publications of Human Rights NGOs

• PCHR calls on the international community to take immediate action to end the Israeli occupation’s crimes and double standards when it comes to international law. It also urges the ICC Prosecutor, in particular, to act seriously with regard to the situation in Palestine similar to his prompt action in Ukraine. (July 24, 2022). For further details, click here
• PCHR condemns the demolition of the homes of two families of detainees in Israeli prisons, claiming that it is a part of the Israeli forces’ collective punishment policy implemented under the cover of the Israeli judiciary. (July 24, 2022). For further details, click here
• The BDS movement endorses the position of Bahrain’s Culture and Antiquities Authority leader in rejecting normalization with the occupying state and its representatives and urges Arab peoples to increase pressure on Israel to stop normalizing relations. (July 25, 2022). For further details, click here
• Following new statements by a senior Israeli official, Adalah Legal Center demands the investigation into the killing of Palestinian teacher Ya’akub Abu Al-Qi’an by Israeli police be reopened. (July 26, 2022). For further details, click here

Human rights Conferences and Events

• Chairman of the Palestinian Human Rights Committee at the United Nations initiates a training workshop titled “Communication Strategies and How to Deal with the Media”. (July 25, 2022). For further details, click here