PALESTINE’S LEGAL SCENE –Issue.171

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

8-15 April 2023

Issued every Sunday by Law for Palestine

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

Translation: Mays Abu Atwan and Ahmad Staitia
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:

• The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) warned about the possible repercussions of any imminent Israeli military aggression against the Gaza Strip and called for the international community to take proactive positions to help prevent such aggression. (April 9, 2023). For further details, click here
• The MFA said that it is collaborating with top legal experts to determine the best legal approaches for confronting the participation of Israeli ministers and Knesset members in entrenching Israeli settlements enterprise, including by filing a complaint with international bodies and courts. (April 9, 2023). For further details, click here
• The head of the Palestinian National Council called on international human rights organizations to investigate the Israeli occupation forces’ crimes of assassinations against and executions of the Palestinian people.(April 11, 2023). For further details, click here
• The Palestinian Ministry of Labor holds the UNRWA administration and its commissioner-general responsible for all the repercussions that resulted from their cessation of providing services inside the Palestinian camps as a result of the strike by the agency’s workers.(April 11, 2023). For further details, click here
• The Palestinian MFA denounced Israeli institution and their partners’ systematic attacks on the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory, Ms. Francesca Albanese. (April 12, 2023). For further details, click here
• The Palestinian Presidency condemned the Israeli measures restricting Palestinians from accessing the Church of the Holy Saturday and participating in Holy Saturday ceremonies. (April 12, 2023). For further details, click here

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

• Following a series of security consultations, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced that Jewish visitors will be prohibited from entering the Temple Mount for the last ten days of Ramadan. (April 12, 2023). For further details, click here
• Israeli State Prosecutor Amit Aisman said he would shut the probe into the police officers’ shooting of 26-year-old Mohammed Elasibi on March 31 without filing charges. The officers claimed the shooting was self-defense after Elasibi snatched a gun from one of them and fired it at officers. (April 13, 2023).For further details, click here

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

• The World Food Program published “State of Palestine Annual Country Report 2022,” which discusses the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Palestine due to prolonged occupation and internal political divisions. The report further highlights that 1.8 million Palestinians suffer from food insecurity. (April 8, 2023). For further details, click here
• The Jordanian Minister of Foreign Affairs condemned the massive storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque under protection from the occupation police, as it constituted a violation of the historical and legal status quo. HM King Abdullah II urged the international community to stand against measures that undermine the historical and legal status quo and instigate violence in Palestinian Territories.(April 9, 2023). For further details, click here
• The Prime Ministers of Jordan and Qatar condemned ongoingIsraeli attacks on the Palestinian people, their incursions into Al-Aqsa Mosque, and their assault on its worshipers.  (April 10, 2023). For further details, click here 
• The government of Japan strongly condemned all forms of violence committed by the Israeli occupation, and expressed serious concern over growing tensions in the Palestinian Territories. (April 10, 2023).For further details, click here
• During his meeting with the president of the Pan-African Parliament, the President of the Arab Parliament said that defending the Palestinian cause is a major pillar of the Afro-Arab partnership. (April 12, 2023). For further details, click here
• The Iranian Foreign Minister denounced the silence and inaction of the international community regarding Israeli violations of Palestinians’ rights and called for urgent global action to stop violence against Palestinians. (April 12, 2023). For further details, click here
• Jordan’s first ambassador to Israel stated that the two-state solution to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is no longer a possibility, and that Amman must change its approach to relations given Jerusalem’s hardline government. (April 12, 2023). For further details, click here
• The Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned against Israeli restrictions on Christians’ access to the Holy Sepulchre Church in Jerusalem and limits placed on the number of worshippers allowed to the Holy Light Saturday. (April 13, 2023). For further details, click here
• UN experts called on the international community to take immediate action to stop Israel’s forced evictions and displacement of Palestinians in East Jerusalem, which is part of Israel’s annexation and colonisation of the city. The experts stated that these acts amount to a prima facie war crime and blatantly violate international law. (April 13, 2023). For further details, click here
• The International Court of Justice authorizes the African Union, at its request, to participate in the advisory proceedings on the Legal Consequences arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. (April 13, 2023). For further details, click here
• Amid escalating violence, two US representatives called for the US to stop using their funds to violate human rights in Palestine in a letter addressed to the US President and Secretary of State. (April 14, 2023). For further details, click here

Publications of human rights NGOs:

• Al Mezan Center for Human Rights condemned the limitations that the Israeli occupation placed on Gaza’s Christians from visiting holy places on Easter and called on the international community to ensure respect for international law. (April 11, 2023).For further details, click here
• Amnesty International condemned the Israeli apartheid regime’s brutal attack on Palestinian worshipers at Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. (April 11, 2023). For further details, click here

Opinion Pieces and features:

• A new article in Foreign Policy called “Israel’s One-State Reality: It’s Time to Give Up on the Two-State Solution,” by Michael Barnett, Nathan Brown, Marc Lynch, and Shibley Telhami, discusses the need to abandon the two-state solution. (April 14, 2023). For further details, click here

Human rights conferences and events:

• On American Tax Day, Palestinian and Arab activists launched a large-scale campaign to call on the US government to stop giving US tax money to the occupying state as financial and military aid. (April 15, 2023).For further details, click here

Upcoming human rights opportunities and events:

• The Israeli Movement Against House Demolitions will hold a webinar with the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Palestine titled, “Reporting on Rights under Occupation: the work of the UN Special Rapporteur in Palestine”. For event details, Click here
• ARDD is organising a webinar on Palestinian Prisoner’s Day (17 April). For event details, Click here