PALESTINE’S LEGAL SCENE –Issue.142

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

18 – 24 Sept 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 Palestinian Foreign Ministry said that the escalation of the crimes committed by the Israeli occupation as well as the coup against the signed agreements threaten to explode the conflict. (September 19, 2022). For further details, click here
• A member of the Executive Committee of the PLO said Palestine is working to enhance its legal status by applying for full membership in the United Nations. (September 20, 2022). For further details, click here
• The head of the Refugee Affairs Department of the PLO calls on donor countries to come up with a unified strategy to support the UNRWA, by contributing to solving its chronic financial crisis. (September 21, 2022). For further details, click here
• During the closed session of the work of the Standing Committee for Arab Media in its 97th regular session, the Palestinian Information Undersecretary presented a proposal for an Arab media plan for the city of Jerusalem, the support of its people, and Islamic and Christian sanctities on behalf of the State of Palestine. (September 21, 2022). For further details, click here
• The Palestinian MOFAE welcomes the support of state leaders and presidents for the two-state solution at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). (September 22, 2022). For further details, click here
• The Palestinian Prime Minister called on international human rights groups to denounce the occupation’s arrest and subsequent release of Judge Bassam Rzeigat. (September 22, 2022). For further details, click here
• The Palestinian Finance Minister urges the international community to intervene promptly and exert pressure on Israel in order to fully restore Palestinian financial rights and end tax piracy in violation of international law and bilateral agreements.(September 22, 2022). For further details, click here
• The Palestine Ambassador to Britain stated that any move of the embassy would be a flagrant violation of international law and the UK’s historical responsibilities, undermining the two-state solution and fueling an already volatile situation in Jerusalem and the rest of the occupied territories. It would also increase tensions among communities in the UK and around the world. (September 22, 2022). For further details, click here
• The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the crime of executing young martyr Mohammad Osama Abu Jumaa from occupied Jerusalem and the holding of his body. (September 23, 2022). For further details, click here
• The President of the State of Palestine said before the General Assembly that Palestine submitted a formal request to the Secretary-General of the United Nations to implement resolutions 181 and 194. He also said, “Our confidence in a peace based on justice and international law is waning, and the real test of the credibility and seriousness of this position is the immediate return of the Israeli government to the negotiating table.” (September 23, 2022). For further details, click here
• The Palestinian National Council warns of the danger of calls to storm Al-Aqsa and considers it “playing with fire”. (September 24, 2022). For further details, click here

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

• Following a request from Adalah and the Legal Center for Freedom of Movement “Gisha,” the Haifa Maritime Court issued an interim order instructing Israeli authorities to release a boat to its owners in Gaza. (September 18, 2022). For further details, clickhere
• Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations said that the Palestinian President’s speech before the General Assembly is fictitious, full of lies, and has nothing to do with reality. He went on to say that Abu Mazen has proven once again that his time is up and he uses the United Nations to incite against Israel and support “terrorists.” (September 23, 2022). For further details, click here

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

• Jordan’s King stated that undermining the legal and historical status quo in Jerusalem is causing tension at the international level. (September 20, 2022). For further details, clickhere
• The Chilean President at the UNGA said that permanent violations of human rights against the Palestinian people should not be normalized, and the Palestinian people should obtain their inalienable right to establish their own free and sovereign state. (September 21, 2022). For further details, click here
• The US President at the UN General Assembly explained, “We will continue to call for a lasting negotiated peace between the democratic Jewish State of Israel and the Palestinian people, the United States of America is committed to Israel’s security, and a negotiated two-state solution remains (in our view) the best way to ensure Israel’s security and future prosperity and grant the Palestinians the state they are entitled to”. (September 21, 2022). For further details, click here
• The UN Secretary-General appealed for greater sustainable and predictable funding for UNRWA, the only international group responding to the Palestinian refugees’ needs. (September 22, 2022). For further details, clickhere
• The United States President applauded Israeli Prime Minister; Lapid’s address at the United Nations General Assembly in favour of a two-state solution for the Palestinian and Israeli peoples. (September 23, 2022). For further details, click here
• The General Assembly of the United Nations: the Palestinian President called for full membership of the State of Palestine in the United Nations and the development of an international plan to end the Israeli occupation. (September 23, 2022). For further details, click here
• The Parliamentary Palestine Committee in the Jordanian Parliament condemned the incursion by Knesset members into the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque and Bab Al-Rahma cemetery. They called for the need to take all measures to stop these illegal practices, which are rejected by international norms and conventions. (September 23, 2022). For further details, click here

Publications of human rights NGOs

• Ben and Jerry’s Founders said that selling their products in Israel violates their merger deal with Unilever.(September 19, 2022). For further details, click here
• The General Union of the Palestinian Women addressed a letter to the UN Secretary-General calling to provide the international protection to Palestinians, especially in the occupied Jerusalem, Old City in Hebron, and all C-classified areas.(September 19, 2022). For further details, click here
• The PHROC urged the international community to quickly and efficiently take action to prevent the implementation of additional Israeli restrictions on the entry and residence of foreigners and Palestinians with foreign passports into the West Bank. (September 19, 2022). For further details, click here
• The Palestinian NGOs Network said that the “Israelisation” of the Palestinian curricula is part of the open war of occupation in Jerusalem. (September 19, 2022). For further details,clickhere
• The BDS movement supports the broad commitment to the comprehensive strike in occupied Jerusalem and the active participation in all the vigils announced by the parents’ committees and the national and Islamic forces in Jerusalem against the Israelization of the Palestinian curriculum. (September 19, 2022). For further details, click here
• The Palestinian Center for Human Rights condemned the attempt by the Israeli authorities to impose distorted educational curricula in the schools of occupied Jerusalem. (September 20, 2022). For further details, click here
• During a press conference, the International Federation of Journalists, the International Center for Justice for Palestinians, and the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate announced their intention to present a new legal complaint to the International Criminal Court on behalf of the Abu Akleh and Al-Samudi families regarding the murder of Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh and the shooting of Palestinian journalist Ali Al-Samudi. (September 20, 2022). For further details, click here
• The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate president, in support of Abu Akleh’s family, delivered the file of the official legal complaint in the case of the assassination of journalist Shireen Abu Akleh to the International Criminal Court. (September 20, 2022). For further details, click here
• The Moroccan Front in Support of Palestine called on the United Nations to provide protection for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli occupation prisons. (September 20, 2022). For further details, click here
• The Palestinian Center for Human Rights condemn the impediment to travel for patients in the Gaza Strip who are referred for treatment elsewhere. They call on the international community to exert pressure on the occupying Israeli authorities to assume their legal responsibilities towards Gaza Strip residents and to ensure the provision of an appropriate and safe mechanism for their travel to receive treatment outside the Gaza Strip and lift the siege imposed on it. (September 21, 2022). For further details, click here
• Adalah stated that the Israeli military commander’s refusal to accept the objection raised by Palestinian NGOs is legally flawed and does not justify their classification as “illegal associations.” (September 22, 2022). For further details, click here
• The Palestinian National Committee for the Boycott of Israel applauded Booking.com’s announcement that tourist reservations inside illegal settlements on occupied Palestinian territory will now be labeled as “high risk to safety and to human rights.” (September 22, 2022). For further details, click here

Academic research and studies

• Researcher Alexandra Wilson published a study titled “Enforcing Consistency: A Comparative Analysis of Geneva Convention IV Violations in Morroco-Western Sahara and Israel-Palestine.”. To read more, click here.
• Researchers Hughes, Velednitsky and Green publish an article titled “Greenwashing in Palestine/Israel: Settler Colonialism and Environmental Injustice in the age of climate catastrophe.” (May 16, 2022). To read more click here.

Human rights conferences and events

• An independent report commissioned by Meta revealed that the company violated Palestinian users’ rights to freedom of expression, freedom of assembly, political participation, and non-discrimination in 2021, thus affecting Palestinians’ ability to share information and ideas about their experiences on Facebook and Instagram. Meta claimed this was due to “unintended bias”. (September 22, 2022). For further details, click here