PALESTINE’S LEGAL SCENE –Issue.162

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

5-11 February 2023

Issued every Sunday by Law for Palestine

Prepared by: Razwan Issa, Nour Kharouf, Nermin Allawh, Sophia Alisaa

Translation: Ahmad Staitia and Asma Louzon
Editing: Rachel Marandett

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

• During his meeting with the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Chairman of the Prisoners and Liberators’ Affairs voiced his concerns about Israel’s isolation of Palestinian prisoners and detainees and the intensifying offensive against them. (February 5, 2023). For further details, click here
• The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs denounced the ongoing incursions into and siege of the city of Jericho and the Aqabat Jabr camp. (February 6, 2023). For further details, click here
• During a meeting of the security forces, the Palestinian President emphasized the actions and decisions made by the Palestinian leadership, including the end of security coordination and engagement with international forums and tribunals. (February 6, 2023). For further details, click here
• The Palestinian Council of Ministers denounced the Israeli occupation government’s “continuing acts of piracy,” especially the arbitrary decision to withhold an additional NIS 52 million per month under the guise of reducing payments to martyrs and prisoners. This brings the monthly deduction to NIS 104 million. (February 6, 2023). For further details, click here
• The Permanent Representative of the State of Palestine to the United Nations sent letters to UN officials that emphasized his demand for international protection for the Palestinian people. (February 7, 2023). For further details, click here
• The Palestinian Foreign Ministry called for international and American intervention to end Israeli escalation that threatens to destabilize the arena of conflict and undermine the prospects of a peaceful two-state solution. (February 8, 2023). For further details, click here
• During his meeting with Danish State Secretary for Foreign Policy Jesper Møller Sorensen, the Palestinian Prime Minister called for European countries to coordinate their efforts to recognize the Palestinian state and preserve the viability of a two-state solution that successive Israeli governments are working to destroy. (February 9, 2023). For further details, click here
• The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates called on the International Criminal Court and the ongoing international investigation committee of the Human Rights Council to investigate the killing of prisoner Ahmed Badr Abu Ali, who died from medical negligence. (February 10, 2023). For further details, click here

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

• Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu proposed building a network of underground highway systems across the West Bank to enable the maintenance of territorial contiguity for both Israeli settlements and Palestinian towns. (February 5, 2023). For further details, click here
• In response to American and European pressure, the Israeli government has postponed demolishing 100 Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem. (February 6, 2023). For further details, click here
• The Israeli government approved plans to create a new settlement in the Negev near Gaza, where over 500 families currently reside, including a mix of religious and secular households. (February 7, 2023). For further details, clickhere
• On Tuesday, Israel’s High Court of Justice rejected a request for another hearing for the Israeli settler convicted of killing three members of a Palestinian family with a firebomb in 2015.(February 7, 2023). For further details, click here
• The Israeli High Court of Justice rejected the government’s request to delay the court’s order to evacuate Khan al-Ahmar Bedouin, a Palestinian village in the West Bank. At the request of right-wing organization Regavim, the Court also set a hearing date to issue a final order requiring the hamlet’s immediate evacuation and demolition. (February 8, 2023). For further details, click here

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

• The United Nations Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People condemned Israel’s punitive measures against the Palestinian Authority for seeking an Advisory Opinion from the International Court of Justice and called for their immediate reversal. (February 3, 2023). For further details, click here
• The Organization of Islamic Cooperation condemned the rise of Israeli occupation crimes in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including the “occupation crime in Aqabat Jabr camp near Jericho.” (February 6, 2023). For further details, click here
• Director of the US Central Intelligence Agency, William Burns, expressed his concern over the outbreak of a new Intifada. He added, “The conversations I’ve had with Israeli and Palestinian leaders left me quite concerned about the prospects for even greater fragility and even greater violence between Israelis and Palestinians.” (February 7, 2023). For further details, click here
• With regard to the request for an Advisory Opinion on the “Legal Consequences arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem”, the International Court of Justice makes an Order organizing the proceedings and fixes the time-limits for the presentation of written statements and for written comments on those statements. (February 8, 2023). For further details, click here
• Scoop: The Biden administration warned the Israeli government that it would consider any transfer of civilian authorities in the occupied West Bank to far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich as a step toward annexation. (February 9, 2023). For further details, click here
• The Arab League will hold a conference to discuss political, legal, and developmental mechanisms to protect Jerusalem and support the steadfastness of its people in the face of destructive Israeli policies. (February 11, 2023). For further details, click here

Publications of human rights NGOs

• 169 liberal US Jewish leaders signed a letter expressing concern about the Israeli government. Their statement called for a “critical and necessary debate” about the government’s policies and cautioned against false accusations of antisemitism aimed at Israel’s critics. (February 7, 2023). For further details, click here
• The International Commission of Jurists said the Israeli authorities must end their collective punishment of Palestinians and called for effective accountability for such actions. (February 9, 2023). For further details, click here
• Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East requested an explanation from the Canadian Minister of Business, Mary Ng, about her meeting with Ofir Akunis, a minister in Israel’s far-right government. They said, “This meeting raises troubling human rights concerns given the Israeli government’s espousal of supremacist views, and its intentions to illegally annex the occupied West Bank”.(February 8, 2023). For further details, click here 

Opinion Pieces and features

• A French article published on Orient XXI compares the cities of Al-Naserah in Palestine and Soweto in South Africa to show how the mental state of citizens and urban and social management in Palestine today is much like Apartheid in 1989 South Africa. For further details, click here
• Just Security, an online forum on law, rights, and U.S. national security, published a new legal article titled, “Israel is Annexing the West Bank. Don’t be Misled by its Gaslighting” that discusses de jure and de facto Israeli annexation of the West Bank. For further details, click here
• Al Jazeera English published a new article by M Muhannad Ayyash, titled “For Palestine, justice is not a question of law.” For further details, click here
• Claudio Francavilla, Senior EU Advocate at Human Rights Watch, published an article entitled “EU Buries Head Deeper in Sand Over Israel’s Apartheid.” For further details, click here
• Professor of Law at American University, Robert Goldman, wrote an article titled “What international law says about Israel’s planned destruction of Palestinian assailants’ homes”. For further details, click here
• Justice Info published the transcript of an interview of U.N. Commission of Inquiry judge Navanethem Pillay on “What difference could an ICJ ruling make?”. For further details, click here
• Jonah Brody released an article on Modern Diplomacy called “Why and How the EU Should Take Command of the Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process”. For further details, click here
• Amnesty International UK Chief Executive, Sacha Deshmukh, wrote a blog regarding the country’s foreign policy and refusal to call Israel an apartheid regime. For further details, click here
• Stuart Littlewood wrote an article about the Israeli occupation and illegal use of force, in which he explained that peace agreements are irrelevant and Israel must withdraw from Palestinian territory immediately. For further details, click here
• Julian Sayarer published an article titled “Israel’s Law of Return Lets Criminals Abroad Run From the Law”. For further, details click here
• Noura Erakat and Rabea Eghbariah released a new article titled “The Jurisprudence of Death: Palestinian Corpses & the Israeli Legal Process” For further details, click here

Legal Achievements/Impacts for Palestine

• Siemens, a German tech giant, signed a declaration of commitment to boycott Israel through its Turkish subsidiary in response to pressure from the Islamic Development Bank who finances eight Siemens trains for the Turkish state railway. (February 3, 2023). For further details, click here
• The Palestinian BDS National Committee celebrated its success in Barcelona as Barcelona’s Mayor suspended institutional relations with apartheid Israel, including twinning agreement with Tel Aviv, until the Israeli authorities put an end to systematic violations of Palestinian human rights and fully comply with their international law obligations. The committee also welcomed the decision of the South Africa Rugby Union to reject their invitation from the Israeli team, Tel Aviv Heat, to participate in the Mzansi Championship. (February 8, 2023). For further details, click here

Upcoming human rights opportunities and events

• The Palestinian Policy Network announced its intention to hold a webinar on “Israeli Demographic Engineering Across Colonized Palestine”. For further details, click here