PALESTINE’S LEGAL SCENE –Issue.150

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

13 – 19 Nov t 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

• A statement issued by the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs says that the hysterical reactions that dominated the political scene in the occupying country about the UN resolution requesting a legal advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice reflect and confirm the fear of accountability for their criminal settler colonialism. (November 13, 2022).For further details, click here
• The Palestinian MOFA called on the international community to put real pressure on Israel to compel it to stop its bloody escalation of violence against the Palestinian people.(November 14, 2022). For further details, click here
• Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh called on the US administration today to cancel the plan for building the new US embassy complex in Jerusalem, stressing that the land on which the complex would be built is Palestinian-owned land illegally seized under the Israeli “Absentee Property Law” of 1950.(November 15, 2022).For further details, click here
• The PLO’s Department of Human Rights and Civil Society stated that it has started the process of listing the documentary evidence about the recent criminal execution of 16-year-old Fella Al-Masalma. They are preparing a legal file along with other national institutions and will hand it over to the political branch to prosecute the occupation’s crime. (November 15, 2022).For further details, click here
• The Palestinian MOFA and expatriates welcome the decision of the U.S. Department of Justice to open an investigation into the killing of Shireen Abu Akleh. The Ministry said that this decision reflects US certainty about the lack of any serious Israeli investigation in favor of mere attempts to cover for the Israeli murderers. (November 15, 2022).For further details, click here
• Speaking on the 34th anniversary of the declaration of independence, President Mahmoud Abbas stated that the first step towards peace and stability is recognition of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, as enshrined in United Nations resolutions, including the right to self-determination and the establishment of the independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.(November 15, 2022).For further details, click here
• The Palestinian MOFA condemned the escalating terrorist attacks by Israeli settlers against citizens in the occupied Palestinian territories. The Ministry calls on the Israeli government to stop protecting Jewish terrorism, dismantle their operating bases, and dry up their source of funding. (November 16, 2022). For further details, click here
• The Palestinian MOFA condemned the agreement between Netanyahu and the Knesset Member Ben Gvir on the legalization of dozens of settler outposts. Moreover, it calls on the international community and US administration to take the necessary actions for the non-implementation of this agreement.(November 17, 2022).For further details, click here
• The Palestinian MOFA condemned the settlers’ storming of the Old City of Hebron, led by extremist Knesset member Itamar Ben-Gvir, and perpetration of heinous racist attacks against citizens. (November 19, 2022).For further details, click here

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

• Jerusalem’s Local Planning and Building Committee published the plans for the diplomatic compound for the permanent US Embassy in Jerusalem, which will replace the current temporary mission. (November 13, 2022). For further details, click here
• Benny Gantz, Israel’s Defense Minister, declared, “The US Justice Department’s decision to start an inquiry into Shireen Abu Akleh’s tragic death was a mistake. The IDF conducted a professional, impartial inquiry, which was provided to American authorities who were briefed on the circumstances.”.(November 14, 2022). For further details, click here
• Israel’s defense minister has approved a plan to build a 100-kilometer wall in the occupied West Bank, as a continuation of the apartheid wall, with a 50-kilometer section of the new wall replacing an old one. (November 15, 2022).For further details, click here
• The local planning committee in Jerusalem will discuss a plan to build 100 new housing units and 275 hotel rooms at the entrance to the Palestinian neighborhood JabalMukkaber. (November 15, 2022).For further details, click here
• Benjamin Netanyahu agrees to Ben Gvir’s demand to legalize dozens of outposts in the West Bank within 60 days of the government being sworn in.(November 16, 2022).For further details, click here

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

• The Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, AboulGheit, and the Palestinian MOFA examine the mechanisms for implementing the Arab resolutions adopted at the Algiers Summit on the question of Palestine. Gheit stressed the importance of moving into the next phase, which entails recognition of the Palestinian State or full membership of the United Nations. (November 13, 2022). For further details, click here
• The United Nations Special Coordinator for Peace in the Middle East called for an immediate and thorough investigation into the murder of the Palestinian 15-year-old girl Folah Al-Masalmah by the Israeli army near Bitunia. (November 14, 2022). For further details, click here
• The U.S. Department of Justice opened an investigation into the killing of Shireen Abu Akleh, a Palestinian American journalist, who was shot to death last May in the Jenin camp in the occupied West Bank. (November 15, 2022). For further details, click here
• On the 34th anniversary of the declaration of the State of Palestine’s independence, the Arab Parliament reaffirmed its support for the Palestinian cause and warned against an increase in attacks by the Israeli occupation. (November 15, 2022). For further details, click here
• The European Union demanded immediate inquiry into and accountability for the execution of 16-year-old Palestinian girl FulaMasalmeh by Israeli occupying forces. (November 15, 2022). For further details, click here

Publications of human rights NGOs

• The BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights released the tenth edition of the Comprehensive Survey of Palestine Refugees and Displaced People (2019 – 2021). This edition includes a special chapter about the Refugee Youth Survey (18-29 years) on political involvement, including its areas of importance, aims, variables influencing it, and methods for activating it. The findings reveal that young people distrust the Palestinian political system and are dissatisfied with its working procedures. (November 9, 2022). For further details, click here
• Adalah and the Center for Constitutional Rights call on the US to cancel its plan to build an embassy complex in Jerusalem on private Palestinian land in violation of international law, and demand that the Israeli authorities withdraw this decision. (November 10, 2022). For further details, click here
• B’Tselem issued a report on the Israeli apartheid regime preventing thousands of Palestinian families, including women from the Gaza Strip married to West Bank residents, from realising their right to unify and live together, instead forcing them to live and raise their children separately. (November 13, 2022). For further details, click here
• Amnesty International stated, “While we welcome this new move towards justice for Shireen Abu Akleh’s killing, we share the Abu Akleh family’s call for the FBI investigation to be truly independent and thorough, and for accountability to go right to the top of the Israeli military’s chain of command.” (November 15, 2022).For further details, click here

Human rights conferences and events

• Ben & Jerry’s board of directors has rebuked the sale of products bearing any of their insignia in West Bank settlements. They stated that Unilever’s sale was made without the board’s consent.(November 15, 2022).For further details, click here