PALESTINE’S LEGAL SCENE –Issue.190

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

20 – 26 Aug 2023

Issued every Sunday by Law for Palestine

Prepared by: Razwan Issa, Nour Kharouf, Joman Al Khateeb

Translation: Mays Abu Atwan and Ahmad Staitia
Editing: Nardeen Khalid

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 Issue of Palestine’s Legal Scene, please click here (5 minutes read)

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

• The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFAE) condemned what is known as the “Strategic Plan for the Development of East Jerusalem” by the occupation, with an estimated cost of around 4 billion shekels. It regarded this as a plan to deepen the process of Judaisation of Jerusalem and alter its features in all fields. (August 20, 2023). For further details, click here
• The Palestinian MOFAE condemns the crimes and violence of the occupation forces and settler militias against Palestinian citizens, their lands, and properties. In addition, it condemns the colonial plan presented by the head of the settler council to the Israeli Prime Minister, which aims to expand settlements and build new ones in the West Bank, stressing that this reveals the gradual annexation strategy adopted by Israel. The Ministry calls on the international community to intervene immediately to stop the implementation of this scheme.
• The Palestinian MOFAE calls on the US administration to immediately recognize the State of Palestine, support Palestinian efforts to obtain full membership in the United Nations, and take measures to preserve the two-state solution. (August 23, 2023). For further details, click here

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

• Israeli Minister of National Security, Etmar Ben-Gvir, has decided to allocate 120 million shekels for the benefit of the occupied Jerusalem settlements, under the pretext of enhancing security in the area. (August 20, 2023). For further details, click here
• Following the killing of two Israelis in the West Bank, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich stated: “The Israeli army must shift to the offensive in Judea and Samaria, restoring deterrence and security, while we work on intensifying construction and enhancing settlements in the region.” (August 20, 2023). For further details, click here
• The Israeli Cabinet approved a five-year program worth $850 million, continuing a previous plan to develop East Jerusalem. This plan aims to “benefit the unified and strong Jerusalem.” (August 20, 2023). For further details, click here
• During the Israeli security cabinet meeting, right-wing minister Itamar Ben Gvir presented proposals which included: lockdowns of Palestinian villages, increasing checkpoints in the West Bank, carrying out targeted assassinations of leaders of Palestinian armed movements in the West Bank, and tightening conditions for Palestinian security prisoners in Israeli prisons. (August 23, 2023). For further details, click here
• The head of the West Bank Settlements Regional Council presented a plan to the Israeli prime minister suggesting to increase the number of settlers in the northern West Bank from about 170,000 currently to one million in 2050. The plan aims to expand the existing settlements and establish new ones, industrial zones, a hospital, a railway, and an airport. (August 23, 2023). For further details, click here
• Israel’s far-right national security minister Itamar Ben Gvir stated during a television interview that his right to life outweighs the right of Arabs to freedom of movement in the occupied West Bank. The minister added: “My right, the right of my wife and my children to move around Judea and Samaria is more important than freedom of movement for the Arabs.” (August 23, 2023). For further details, click here

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

• With 1.3 million Palestinian children in the West Bank and Gaza Strip returning to school, Lynn Hastings, Humanitarian Coordinator for the occupied Palestinian territory, issues a statement emphasizing the need to protect the right to education. During the first six months of 2023, there have been more than 423 incidents impacting Palestinian children and their education which included shooting at schools and/or children by Israeli forces, and demolishing schools. Additionally, during the past 12 months, Israeli authorities have demolished three schools and issued orders to demolish 58 other schools, or issued a decision to stop work in it. (August 21, 2023). For further details, click here
• In a speech before the United Nations (UN) Security Council, China’s representative to the UN says that the continued barbaric expansion of settlements is a violation of international law and Security Council resolutions, and exacerbates the confrontation between Palestine and Israel. He calls for an end to all settlement activities and an end to the escalation of settler violence. (August 21, 2023). For further details, click here
• Briefing the UN Security Council, Tor Wennesland, Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, stresses the need to find a political horizon for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict amid escalating violence and extremism on both sides. (August 21, 2023). For further details, click here
• Ambassador James Kariuki, Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the UN, expresses his country’s grave concern over the escalation of settler violence in the occupied Palestinian territories. (August 21, 2023). For further details, click here
• The Scottish government declares that it supports a two-state solution based on the 1967 borders, and also asserts that Israeli settlements in the West Bank are illegal under international law, making it harder for a peaceful two-state solution to be reached. (August 22, 2023). For further details, click here
• European diplomats condemn settler violence and the demolition of the Ein Samia school during their visit to the towns of Burqa and Ras al-Tin in the West Bank. They also called on Israel to take more effective measures to prevent this violence and to stop the demolitions. (August 24, 2023). For further details, click here
• The Guardian: The United Kingdom is submitting a 43-page legal opinion to the International Court of Justice with the aim of blocking it from addressing a legal opinion on the Israeli occupation of Palestine. (August 24, 2023). For further details, click here
• The United States urges Israel to investigate footage of Palestinian shot during a clash with the IDF. The Department of State further demands the government of Israel to launch an ‘objective, thorough’ probe into a video showing a Palestinian being shot. (August 24, 2023). For further details, click here
• The United State’s Department of State said that parties should avoid making comments that “exacerbate tensions,” in response to Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s comments on the freedom of movement of Arabs in the occupied West Bank. It further mentioned that Israelis and Palestinians deserve to enjoy equal measures of freedom and security, including the freedom of movement. (August 25, 2023). For further details, click here
• The European Union (EU) strongly condemns Israel’s Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir’s remarks, saying: “All human beings are equal and should be treated the same way.” (August 25, 2023). For further details, click here

Publications of human rights NGOs:

• On World Humanitarian Day, health and human rights organizations demand accountability for violations of international humanitarian law in Jenin, including lack of protection for medical personnel and damage caused to hospitals by the Israeli military. (August 20, 2023). For further details, click here
• Al Mezan Center for Human Rights submitted a joint report with Adalah and Medical Aid for the Palestinians to the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CPRD) in Israel’s periodic review, which began on August 22. Al-Haq and Addameer and the Palestinian Center for Human Rights also submitted a joint report on August 15, reviewing the impact of human rights violations by the Israeli occupation authorities in the Occupied Palestinian Territories on Palestinians with disabilities. (August 22, 2023)
• The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) calls for concrete action after a U.S. Department of State spokesperson expressed alarm over a video showing Israeli forces shooting a Palestinian in the back of his head during a raid in the illegally-occupied West Bank, as well as Ben-Gvir’s recent racist remarks. (August 24, 2023). For further details, click here
• BADIL Center calls on the United Nations and member states to take immediate and practical measures to pressure Israel to stop the construction of the military checkpoint in Al-Walaja north of Bethlehem as part of the plan to expand “Greater Jerusalem” and annex more Palestinian lands. (August 25, 2023). For further details, click here

Opinion Pieces and features:

• The Nation Magazine published an article by the researcher Tariq Kenney-Shawa entitled: “Cutting US Aid to Israel Doesn’t Go Nearly Far Enough”. (August 21, 2023). For further details, click here
• The German Newspaper FAZ published an article by Amos Goldberg, professor of the Holocaust at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, entitled: “Apartheid is our reality in Israel”. (August 21, 2023). For further details, click here
• The University of Notre Dame published an article by the author Marda Dunsky entitled: “Prisms of Enlightenment: Understanding Palestinian humanity and agency is key toward resolving the Israel-Palestine conflict”. (August 23, 2023). For further details, click here

Human rights conferences and events:

• More than 285 organizations from around the world have signed a statement issued by the global anti-apartheid movement calling on the UN General Assembly to reactivate the Special Committee against Apartheid. (August 2023). For further details, click here
• San Francisco State University (SFSU) is once again escalating its harassment of Dr. Rabab Abdulhadi, Director and Senior Scholar of Arab and Muslim Ethnicities and Diasporas (AMED) Studies by canceling her academic course titled: “Colonialism, Imperialism, and Resistance”, in the second measure of its kind against courses designed and presented by the Palestinian Academy. For their part, the students of the program called AMED to send emails to the university administration to reverse its decision as a step of solidarity with Dr. Rabab. (August 19, 2023). For further details, click here

Upcoming human rights opportunities and events:

• The Australian Palestine Advocacy Network announced an event titled: “How Israel’s occupation has gone global: Antony Loewenstein presents “The Palestine Laboratory,” which will take place on August 24 in Sydney. Anthony Lowenstein will present his book “The Palestine Lab”, which discusses how Israel’s massive arms and security industry has been tried and tested on the Palestinians for decades. The event will take place from 6:30 pm until 8:30 pm, at Gumbramura Auditorium, Addison Community Centre, 142 Addison Road, Marrickville. (August, 2023). For further details, click here