PALESTINE’S LEGAL SCENE –Issue.178

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

28 May – 3 June 2023

Issued every Sunday by Law for Palestine

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

Translation: Asma Louzon 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 (5 minutes read)

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

• The Palestinian Environmental Quality Authority has declared its commitment to utilizing all available legal means in international forums and courts to oppose the occupation’s plans of establishing 33 waste disposal sites on Palestinian territory. (May 28, 2023). For further details, click here
• The Palestinian Arab League delegate urged the International Criminal Court to break its silence and initiate a criminal investigation into Israel’s alleged war crimes against the Palestinian people.(May 29, 2023). For further details, click here
• The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly denounced the re-establishment of a religious school within the Homesh outpost in the northwestern West Bank by settlers, led by the head of the Northern West Bank Settlements Council. The PFM views this action as a deliberate move towards the subsequent legitimization of the outpost. Furthermore, the ministry appealed to the international community and the International Criminal Court to fulfill their responsibilities in addressing this settlement-related crime and its ramifications. (May 29, 2023). For further details, click here
• President Mahmoud Abbas of the PA has officially approved a presidential decree that criminalizes denying the Palestinian “Nakba”. According to the decree, individuals who are found guilty of denying the “Nakba” experienced by Palestinians due to the actions of Zionist forces in 1948 may face a prison sentence of up to two years. (May 31, 2023). For further details, click here
• Ahmad Abu Houli, the Head of the Refugee Affairs Department, has appealed to donor countries to augment their financial assistance to the UNRWA to address the funding shortfall in both the regular and emergency budgets of the agency. (May 31, 2023). For further details, click here
• The head of the Commission for Detainees Affairs condemned the decision of the so-called Early Release Committee of the Occupation Prisons Administration, rejecting the release of the critically ill prisoner, Walid Daqqa, currently receiving treatment at the Israeli “Assaf Harofeh” hospital. He also warned of the imminent risk of Daqqa death due to his severe medical condition. (May 31, 2023). For further details, click here
• The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the Israeli Knesset’s recent approval, in its preliminary reading, of discriminatory laws that aim to impose an Israeli-centric education system on Arab schools and enforce the Israeli narrative on future Palestinian generations. It urged UNESCO to take action and fulfill its responsibilities by preventing the implementation of these laws. (June 1, 2023). For further details, click here
• Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh urged Germany to exert pressure on Israel to uphold the signed agreements, facilitate the holding of Palestinian elections in all Palestinian territories, including occupied Jerusalem, and end all actions and violations taken by the occupation and settlers. (June 1, 2023). For further details, click here

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

• Knesset advances bills that would tighten the grip over the monitoring of Arab schools and teachers in the Palestinian community in Israel by upping the Israeli secret service’s background checks on staff and making it easier to fire teachers who “identify with a terror organization.” (May 31, 2023). For further details, click here

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

• The EU has released its 2022 report on Israeli settlements in the oPt, highlighting the significant rise in the number of settlement plans and tenders that were advanced in 2022, reflecting a notable 30% increase compared to the previous year. (May 25, 2023). For further details, click here
• Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines said that his country has supported Palestine’s call for recognition as a member of the United Nations and “that what is happening to the Palestinian people is entirely unacceptable”. (May 30, 2023). For further details, click here
• EL PAÍS Website revealed that confidential EU report warns about ‘drastic acceleration’ of Israeli pressure on the Palestinian population in Jerusalem, and asked diplomats to unequivocally oppose the Israeli government’s plans and legal initiatives to alter the status and borders of Jerusalem. (May 30, 2023). For further details, click here
• The United States announced a contribution of US$ 153.7 million to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in support of humanitarian assistance, human development and protection of Palestine Refugees. (June 1, 2023). For further details, click here
• Philippe Lazzarini, the Commissioner-General of UNRWA, has raised concerns over the worsening funding crisis facing the agency, indicating the potential risk of its collapse. He acknowledges the longstanding commitment of the international community to supporting Palestine refugees and UNRWA. However, he highlights that the pledges made at funding conferences are not sufficient to cover the Agency’s financial requirements. (June 2, 2023). For further details, click here

Publications of human rights NGOs:

• Following a prior investigation, Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights, sent a letter to the Israeli Attorney General, on behalf of 11 displaced residents of the uprooted and destroyed Palestinian village of Tantura and the Tantura Committee, demanding immediate action to mark, fence, and install signage at the mass graves and cemeteries of Tantura. The villagers of Tantura were subjected to a brutal massacre and forced displacement in 1948. (May 27, 2023). For further details, click here
• Peace Now published an article on the resumption of construction work at the previously evacuated Israeli outpost of Homesh. Peace Now added that the residents of Burqa village suffer from frequent cases of violence by settlers, and the re-establishment of this outpost will prevent them from returning to their lands. (May 30, 2023). For further details, click here
• Human Rights Watch and 20 NGOs urged the UN Secretary-General to rely on evidence when listing perpetrators of grave violations against children. They express concern that the Israeli government forces, responsible for over 6,700 child casualties between 2015 and 2020, have never been listed, despite the Secretary-General’s previous statement on including them if no improvement is seen. (May 31, 2023). For further details, click here
• Groups file court application, representing a Palestinian-Canadian and 4 different organizations over whether Canada’s laws allow entry of former Israeli PM who is scheduled to speak in Toronto on June 14. They sent a request and a legal brief to Mendicino and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), arguing Bennett should be ruled inadmissible from entering the country under Canada’s war crimes laws. (June 2, 2023). For further details, click here
• Palestine Legal announced its support for CUNY Law School graduate Fatima Mohammad, who delivered a speech at the graduation ceremony on behalf of her classmates, calling for the fight against Zionism, racism and capitalism. The Board of Trustees and Chancellors of the City University of New York condemned her speech, which they described as “hate speech.” Palestine Legal called on the university to apologize to the student and correct her record, especially that the law school dean’s office reviewed and approved her speech in advance (June 1, 2023). For further details, click here
• Center for Constitutional Rights condemns chancellor’s and board of trustees’ attack on CUNY law student over graduation speech in New York highlighting the crimes of the state of Israel. Within Our Lifetime also calls to support, consolidate, and protect the student from extremist Zionist harassment. Furthermore, The CUNY School of Law Jewish Law Students Association stands in solidarity with the student, underscoring the fact that her comments were not anti-semite. Academics and organizations, including Jewish ones, have also called on the CUNY to retract the statement calling the student’s speech “hate speech.” (June 2, 2023). For further details, click here
• Defense for Children International/Palestine published a report entitled: “Israeli forces’ systemic denial of fair trial rights to Palestinian child prisoners amounts to arbitrary detention”. (June 1, 2023). For further details, click here

Opinion Pieces and features:

• The Palestine Chronicle publishes an article written by Romana Rubeo and Ramzy Baroud titled “Why is Karim Khan Silent on Palestine: The ICC and Israeli War Crimes in Gaza” (May 29, 2023). For further details, click here
• Monte Carlo Doualiya publishes an article in Arabic discusses a draft report by UNICEF on the violation of children’s rights in conflict zones, which has stirred controversy in Israel. The report condemns the alleged use of Palestinian children as human shields by Israeli soldiers during attacks in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. (May 30, 2023). For further details, click here
• Foreign Affairs site publishes a series entitled “Can the Two-State Solution Be Saved?”. The series features a debate on Israel’s current one-state reality by Michael Oren; Martin Indyk; Dahlia Scheindlin; Asad Ghanem; Robert Satloff; Michael Barnett, Nathan J. Brown, Marc Lynch, and Shibley Telhami. (May 31 2023). For further details, click here
• Foreign Affairs publishes an article by Daniel Kurtzer and Aaron David Miller titled “Palestinians Will Pay for Saving Israeli Democracy”. (June 2, 2023). For further details, click here

Legal Achievements/Impacts for Palestine:

• The city of Verviers of Belgium announces breaking relations with Israel for the imposing of an “apartheid regime, occupation and military occupation” of Palestine. (June 1, 2023). For further details, click here

Upcoming human rights opportunities and events:

• Diakonia International Humanitarian Law Center is organizing a roundtable discussion titled “The Forthcoming ICJ Advisory Opinion and the Question of Palestine”. For additional information and registration, please click here
• Americans for Peace Now announces a webinar titled “West Bank Settlements: 56 Years Into the Occupation”. For further details, click here. To register, click here .