PALESTINE’S LEGAL SCENE –Issue.173

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

23-29 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 (PFM) condemned the Israeli occupation, military blockade at city entrances, and restrictions on movement, emphasizing that the office would pursue accountability for such collective punishments at all levels, including in international and European courts. (April 24, 2023). For further details, click here
• According to the PFM, peace between Palestine and Israel is the only road to Arab-Israeli peace.(April 25, 2023). For further details, click here
• The PFM urged UNESCO to denounce and prevent in the future the occupation army and settlers’ illegal act of raising the Israeli flag on the roof and fences of the Ibrahimi Mosque.(April 25, 2023). For further details, click here
• The PFM urged the UN Security Council to help end Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine and its people, stating that “the Palestinian people’s catastrophe has been prolonged, the longest denial of national, collective and individual rights in the world caused by the longest occupation in modern history.”.(April 25, 2023). For further details, click here
• The PFM condemned Jewish terrorist groups’ burning of an abandoned house between the towns of Qasra and Galod, and demanded international protection for the Palestinians. (April 26, 2023). For further details, click here
• The Palestinian Authority criticized European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s message to Israel on its “75th Independence Day,” calling it inappropriate, false, and discriminatory. (April 27, 2023). For further details, click here

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

• Israel’s Supreme Court granted a petition against Defense Minister Yoav Gallant’s ban on allowing Palestinians to enter Israel from the West Bank to participate in a joint Israeli-Palestinian Memorial Day commemoration. (April 23, 2023). For further details, click here
• Peace Now reported that a hearing was held in the Israeli Supreme Court regarding a petition is submitted demanding that the Settlement Division of the Zionist Organization, which is responsible for allocating lands in the occupied West Bank for settlements, settler agricultural farms, and settler agriculture, be required to publish its decisions regarding land allocations. The Court decided to allow the government to respond in writing within 60 days. (April 25, 2023). For further details, click here
• According to the Hebrew newspaper Israel Hayom, during the upcoming weeks, the Israeli government is preparing to begin procedures to legalize at least 70 new settlements and outposts, most of which located near preexisting settlement blocs in the West Bank. (April 28, 2023). For further details, click here / here

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

• Twelve civil society organizations in Israel called on EU foreign ministers and foreign policy chief Josep Borrell to acknowledge and take concrete action against the Israeli government’s alarming steps towards annexation. (April 21, 2023). For further details , click here
• The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the Arab Parliament condemned the continuous Israeli assaults on Islamic and Christian sanctities in occupied Jerusalem. The latest of which was the occupation army’s incursion and desecration ofBab Al-Rahma chapel, which included raising the Israeli flag over the walls of the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron. Such attacks are flagrant violations of international law, the Geneva Conventions, and various international resolutions. (April 23, 2023). For further details, click here
• The UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process emphasized the importance of addressing the underlying political, security, and economic challenges driving the conflict. He also stated that  there must be an end to the unilateral measures, provocations, and incitement that enable violence and prevent progress toward resolving this conflict and ending the occupation. (April 25, 2023). For further details, click here
• France’s President expressed concern about the current cycle of violence in the occupied Palestinian territories and Israel. He condemned violence attacks against civilians and expressed opposition to the settlement expansion and their illegal existence. (April 25, 2023). For further details, click here
• The US House of Representatives passed a resolution marking Israel’s 75th anniversary. The measure heralded the importance of expanding and strengthening the Abraham Accords in order to urge other nations to normalize relations with Israel and ensure existing agreements reap tangible security and economic benefits. (April 26, 2023). For further details, click here
• In a video congratulating Israel on its 75th anniversary of independence, the President of the European Commission described Israel as a “vibrant democracy” in the heart of the Middle East that “has literally made the desert bloom.”. (April 26, 2023). For further details, click here
• The General Secretariat of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation expressed its concern about the statement of European Union President, Ursula von der Leyen, which contained inaccurate and misleading political and historical references and coincided with the commemoration of the Palestinian Nakba. The Secretariat also called on the European Union to fulfill its political, legal, and humanitarian responsibilities to end the Israeli colonial occupation. (April 27, 2023). For further details, click here
• On the 75th anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba, the Iranian Foreign Minister stated that Israel is not a democratic state formed in a nationless land, but rather is an occupying army that has dominated the land of another nation and formed an ethnic and racial state. He added that the United States and the European Union shouldbe ashamed of themselves for helping this occupation and for decisively participating in the establishment of a racial government. (April 28, 2023). For further  details, click here
• The Legislative Branch of the National Congress of Brazil held a special session on Jerusalem, in which they discussed violations of the Israeli occupation in the city and shed light on the resistance of the Palestinian people. (April 29, 2023). For further details, click here

Publications of human rights NGOs:

• Law for Palestine joins more than a hundred organizations, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, to urge the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, to not endorse or adopt the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism. The organizations’ letter further stressed that this definition has been used to label criticism of Israeli government policies and defense of Palestinian rights as anti-Semitic. (April 23, 2023). For further details, clickhere
• The BDS movement calls on cities worldwide to follow the inspiring examples of Barcelona, Oslo, and Liège by severing ties with apartheid Israel in support of the Palestinian struggle. (April 25, 2023). For further details, click here
• The European Committee of Associations for Palestine reported that the European Parliament’s Committee discussed a petition on a proposal to ban trade between the EU and illegal settlements. (April 26, 2023). For further details, click here
• Dozens of Palestinian civil society organizations vehemently denounced and rejected “the shameful statement” made by the EU Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, in which she celebrated Israel’s so-called “Independence” day using racist anti-Palestinian tropes and denying Palestinian history and the atrocities of the Nakba. (29 April 2023).For further details, click here

Opinion Pieces and features:

• The Al-Zaytouna Centre for Studies & Consultations published an article by Ahmad Al-Khaldi titled “The Rights of Prisoners and Civilians Under Occupation in International Law and the Israeli Bill Legalizing the Execution of Palestinian Prisoners and the Deportation of Palestinians.”. (March 23, 2023). For further details, click here
• The Economist published an article by Avi Shlaim under “Israel at 75” titled “Avi Shlaim calls for critical reflection.”. (April 25, 2023). For further details, click here

Research and academic studies (in Arabic and English):

• The Al-Zaytouna Center for Studies and Consultations has published a new book entitled “Ethnic Cleansing Against the Palestinian People: An Ongoing Piovatal Colonial Settelment Zionist,” by Professor Islam Shehdeh Elaloul. (2023). For further details, click here

Legal Achievements/Impacts for Palestine:

• Norway announced a new ban on importing goods and services of companies that contribute directly or indirectly to the illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied territories as they constitute a flagrant violation of international law. The Palestinian BDS National Committee stated that Oslo’s decision followed the decision of the Mayor of Barcelona to freeze relations with the Israeli colonial and apartheid regime. (April 25, 2023). For further details, click here
• The Belgian city of Liège decided to sever relations with the Israeli occupation state and all its public and private institutions due to their repeated violations against Palestinians’ rights. (April 25, 2023). For further details, click here

Human rights conferences and events:

• The Palestinian General Commission of Canada assembled an in-depth panel discussion with the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs to raise awareness among students at Canadian universities about the Palestinian cause.(April 25, 2023). For further details, click here

Upcoming human rights opportunities and events:

• The Foundation for Middle East Peace and the Arab Center Washington DC announced that they will host an online, half-day conference on May 2nd to discuss the implications of the normalization of relations between Israel and some Arab countries for human rights and democracy across the region. The conference will also include discussion of US policies and priorities, regional and global alliances, and the future of peace and Palestinian human rights. Further, panels will include an examination of the diplomatic, economic, military, and technological components of these newly established relations, the motivations of each of the countries involved, and an overall assessment of the future of the Abraham Accords. For further details, click here
• The Jerusalem Fund for Education and Community Development announced that it will host an in-person event on May 5th titled “Our Palestine’ – A Discussion with Professor Mohammad Ghosheh.” At the event, Professor Ghosheh will share insights from his extensive work archiving Palestinian history and culture. He will also discuss his forthcoming series “Our Palestine,” which is a groundbreaking academic project that includes 30,000 historical maps of Palestine, organized into ten historical, geographical, and topographical atlases. For further details, click here