PALESTINE’S LEGAL SCENE –Issue.195

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

24 -30 Sep. 2023

Issued every Sunday by Law for Palestine

Prepared by: Razwan Issa, Nour Kharouf, Nermin Allawh, and Joman Alkhateeb

Translation: Ferdous Abdul Hamid and Sabrin Alsheikh Ahmed
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): The international community’s lack of concern for the daily suffering endured by Palestinians under occupation and its settlers undermines the two-state solution. (September 25, 2023). For further details, click here
• The Permanent Observer Mission of the State of Palestine to the United Nations, Riyad Mansour, has sent three identical letters to UN officials regarding Israel’s impunity in the absence of accountability measures. (September 27, 2023). For further details, click here
• The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates (MOFAE) welcomes the recent United Nations Office for the Coordination of Human Affairs (OCHA) report on ‘Displacement of Palestinian herders due to settler violence.’ The ministry calls for international measures to address these violations. It also condemns settler actions, including uprooting and damaging 35 olive trees in Haris, west of Salfit, as well as the confiscation of 40 dunams of land in Kafr ad-Dik and the uprooting of approximately 300 mature and fruitful trees.(September 28, 2023). For further details, click here
• The Palestinian MOFAE welcomes the International Atomic Energy Agency vote to officially adopt the designation “State of Palestine.” Simultaneously, the Palestinian National Council welcomes the decision of the Anglican Church in South Africa to declare Israel an “apartheid state.” (September 30, 2023). For further details, clickhere 
• The Palestinian MOFAE condemns the heinous crime committed by the occupation forces, which led to the martyrdom of the young man Muhammad Jibril Romana and the injury of another young man in Jabal al-Tawil, Al-Bireh city. The Ministry considers this incident a war crime and a crime against humanity. (September 30, 2023). For further details, clickhere

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

• Times of Israel: Three officials said that Saudi Arabia is quietly setting aside the Arab Peace Initiative that it sponsored more than 20 years ago, and is readying for the possibility of normalizing relations with Israel without first securing the establishment of a Palestinian state. (September 27, 2023). For further details, click here

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

• The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) condemns the rising acts of aggression carried out by Israeli forces in the occupied Palestinian territories. These actions have led to the tragic loss of two young lives and significant damage to infrastructure in the Nour Shams refugee camp, located east of Tulkarm city. These incidents occur amid a troubling escalation of Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip. (September 24, 2023). For further details, click here

• The Jordanian, Saudi, Bahraini, Emirati, and Egyptian Ministries of Foreign Affairs, as well as the Arab Parliament, condemn the violations carried out by settlers in which they forcibly entered Al-Aqsa Mosque under the protection of Israeli police. They have also denounced the permission granted to them to engage in provocative actions that violate the sanctity of the mosque and Islamic cemeteries. (September 25/24, 2023)
• The United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process expresses concern about the escalating tensions in Gaza and its surroundings, emphasizing the seriousness of the situation within the Gaza Strip. (September 27, 2023). For further details, clickhere
• At the UN Security Council’s monthly session on the Middle East, focusing on the 27th report by the Secretary-General regarding UNSC Resolution 2334 on settlements, the UN Special Coordinator stated: ‘Israeli settlements have no legal legitimacy and constitute a blatant violation of international law and United Nations resolutions.’ He urged the Israeli government to halt all settlement activities immediately. (September 27, 2023). For further details, click here
• S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, expresses deep concern about violence in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza. She reaffirms U.S. commitment to the two-state solution, calls for a halt to settlement activity and payments to families of terrorists, opposes settlement expansion, supports maintaining the status quo in Jerusalem’s holy sites, and emphasizes the need to reduce tension and aid Palestinian refugees. (September27, 2023). For further details, clickhere
• The Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem and Israel released a position paper regarding the awaited advisory opinion from the international court of Justice. The paper addresses the legal status of the Israeli occupation and the associated responsibilities for third states and the United Nations. The committee has concluded that the Israeli occupation is illegal, and that all states and the UN are under an obligation to act urgently to bring the unlawful acts to an end. (September 2023). For further details, click here
• In an interview with France 24, International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan confirmed that he is planning to visit Palestine before December this year. He reiterated his dedication to investigating the Palestinian case, noting increased resources and the appointment of a senior lawyer to lead the effort. (September27, 2023). For further details, click here
• Norway’s Foreign Minister has suggested that the establishment of a one-state solution in Palestine, which would incorporate “equal rights for all”, may resolve Israel’s ongoing occupation in Palestine and its apartheid system. (September28, 2023). For further details, click here

Publications of human rights NGOs

• B’Tselem issued a video report on the military operation carried out by the Israeli occupation forces in the city of Jenin and its refugee camp in July 2023, entitled: “Operation Home and Garden”: 48 Hours of violence and destruction in Jenin Refugee Camp”. (September 2023). For further details, click here
• The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) files federal lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and State Department over Israel’s entry into the U.S. Visa Waiver Program (VWP). Credible reports have shown that Israel failed to meet all the legal requirements for admission and that it discriminates against Palestinian and Arab American citizens while visiting Palestine. (September 27, 2023). For further details, click here
• Palestinian Center for Human Rights issues its “Weekly Update 21-26 September 2023, Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory”.(September27, 2023). For further details, click here
• BADIL, in an oral statement at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), calls to end Israel’s colonial-apartheid regime and suppression of Palestinian Resistance (September27, 2023). For further details, click here
• In a joint statement, civil society organizations representing tens of thousands of Palestinian Americans, Arab Americans, Muslim Americans, and allied communities express deep concern and outrage over the United States’ decision to admit Israel into the U.S. Visa Waiver Program (VWP). This move is criticized for allowing Israel’s entry despite not fully meeting the program’s requirements, which contradicts the principles of reciprocity and equal treatment. (September27, 2023).
• A new report was published by Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) entitled: “Canada-Israel Free Trade AgreementBolestersIsraeli’s West Bank Annexation Attempts”. (September27, 2023). For further details, click here
• Several prominent Jewish associations in the United States have called on law firms to cut off their support for a prestigious award to be given to Navi Pillay, a UN human rights official, arguing that she engages in anti-Israel activities that discriminate against Jews and Israel. (September 28, 2023). For further details, click here
• BRISMES, in partnership with other academic associations, sent a letter to both the Israeli Minister of Defense and the Israeli Ambassador to Italy expressing its deep concern over the arrest of the Italian-Palestinian student Khaled Al-Qaisi, demanding his immediate release. (September 28, 2023). For further details, clickhere

Opinion Pieces and features

• Mondoweiss has published an article by Dr. Lex Takkenberg titled “Oslo after thirty: A paradigm beyond partition”. Takkenberg advocates moving past the partition and separation paradigm of Oslo and embracing a renewed vision for a single democratic state. (September 24, 2023). For further details, click here
• Program director at Human Rights Watch, Sari Bashi, wrote an article entitled: “Palestinian Americans now became tourists in their own land.” (September 25, 2023). For further details, click here
• Le Monde publishes an article by the authors Benjamin Barthe and Stéphanie Maupas titled: “Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories scrutinized by International Court of Justice”.(September25, 2023). For further details, click here
• The New York Review of Books published an article entitled: “Heading Toward a Second Nakba”. For further details, click here
• Middle East Eye published an opinion article by the author Gideon Levy entitled: “When will Israel seek forgiveness for its crimes against Palestinians?”. (September 26, 2023). For further details, click here
• Mondoweiss published a new article by Mohammed El-Kurd entitled: “Jewish settlers stole my house. It’s not my fault they’re Jewish”. (September 26, 2023). For further details, click here
• The New Arab published an analytical article by writer Jessica Buxbaum entitled: “How Israel uses settler violence to displace Palestinians”. (September 26, 2023). For further details,click
• The Middle East Monitor website published an opinion article by writer Eric Goldstein titled: “Israel just eased restrictions on US citizens, the EU should demand no less for European citizens”.(September29, 2023). For further details, click here
• The OpinioJuris published an article by Shawan Jabarin and Ralph Wilde titled: “British Reparations Owed to the Palestinian People.” (September29, 2023). For further details, click here
• Jewish Currents published an article by Alex Kane entitled: “Biden’s Legacy Will Be Apartheid.” (September 29, 2023). For further details, click here

Human rights conferences and events

• A webinar entitled: “Australia’s Complicity with Israeli Apartheid”, was held by Jews Against the Occupation Australia. The speakers of the webinar were: Omar Barghouti, Palestinian human rights defender and co-founder of the BDS movement and Antony Loewenstin – Australian independent journalist, film-maker and author of “The Palestine Laboratory” (September28, 2023). For further details, click here 
• The Foundation for Middle East Peace held a conversation with writer Rebecca Roth Gold about free speech, IHRA’s definition of anti-Semitism, and Palestinian freedom (September29, 2023). For further details about the podcast, click here

Upcoming human rights opportunities and events

•  The Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) called for joining an online rally against the anti-boycott bill to help stop it becoming a law. The rally will take place on October 3rd at 6:30 PM (September29, 2023). For further details, click here
• The Jerusalem Fund for Education and Community Development has announced that its annual conference for the year 2023, titled “One Palestine: the Struggle Against Apartheid” will take place on November 10, 2023, at the Fund’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. (September 2023). For event details, click here