PALESTINE’S LEGAL SCENE Vol. 54

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

10 – 16 January 2021

Issued every Sunday by Law for Palestine

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 (6 minutes read)

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

• Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates: Israel has the obligation as the occupying power to provide COVID-19 vaccines to the Palestinians. (Jan 10, 2021). To check the news, click here

• The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates calls on the ICC and the UN Security Council to assume their responsibilities regarding the illegal settlement expansion on the OPT. (Jan. 11, 2021). To check the news, click here

• The Higher Presidential Committee of Churches Affairs in Palestine warns against implementing a Judaization project targeting the identity of the Old City in Jerusalem. (Jan. 11, 2021). To check the news, click here

• The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates: The Security Council must assume its responsibilities regarding the Israeli excavations in the Western Wall Square and the targeting of Jerusalemites in Silwan. (Jan. 11, 2021). To check the news, click here

• Prime Minister Muhammed Shtayyah says that dealing with the Israeli settlements is a violation of international law, and subjects those complicit to legal prosecution by law in international courts. ( 11, 2021). To check th news, click here

• The Commission of Detainees and Ex-detainees Affairs: We hold the authorities of the Israeli occupation prisons responsible for the death of the released prisoner Mohammad Salah Addin, as a result of medical negligence. (Jan. 11, 2021). To check the news, click here

• The Member of the PLO’s Executive Committee; Ahmad Majdalani: “UAE’s decision to import Israeli settlement products is a dangerous step and we will prosecute this action.” (Jan. 11, 2021). To check the news, click here

• Presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh condemns the Israeli government’s approval of building 800 new Israeli units in the West Bank. (Jan. 11, 2021). To check the news, click here

• The Jerusalem Department of the Palestinian Liberation Organization calls for a serious Arab and Islamic position on the measuring of the Al-Aqsa Mosque Square area by armed Israelis. (Jan. 12, 2021). To check the news, click here

• The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Riad Malki, stresses the importance of the upcoming Security Council session to discuss the Palestinian situation under the new Biden administration. (Jan 12, 2021). To check the news, click here

• The Head of the Refugees Affairs Department, Ahmed Abu Houli discusses with UNRWA’s Commissioner-General the latest developments of the financial crisis and preparations to ensure the success of the international donors’ conference to support the UNRWA. (Jan 12, 2021). To check the news, click here

• Palestine’s Permanent Observer to the United Nations, Riyad Mansour, in letters to UN agencies: Israel must be held accountable for its violations. (Jan 13, 2021). To check the news, click here

• Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Sanctions must be imposed on Israel to force it to stop settlement expansion. (Jan 13, 2021). To check the news, click here

• The Palestinian Minister of Health renews her call on the international community and the ICRC to protect prisoners inside Israeli prisons amid the outbreak of COVID-19. (Jan 13, 2021). To check the news, click here
• The Palestinian National Council calls on the states party to the Geneva Conventions to impose sanctions on the Israeli Minister of Public Security for refusing to provide the COVID-19 vaccine to the Palestinian prisoners. (Jan 14, 2021). To check the news, click here

• Member of the Executive Committee of the PLO, Azzam Al-Ahmad: Israel seeks to divide the Al-Aqsa Mosque in time and space, and to open the door to a religious war. (Jan. 14, 2021). To check the news, click here

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

• A petition before the Israeli High Court of Justice against the Israeli occupation’s decision not to vaccinate Palestinian prisoners against COVID-19. (Jan. 10, 2021). To check the news, click here
• The Israeli settlements send the first shipment of its goods to the United Arab Emirates. (Jan. 11, 2021). To check the news, click here

• Israel approves the construction of 850 new settlement units inside settlements in the West Bank next week. (Jan. 11, 2021). To check the news, click here

• Jerusalem Municipality approves expansion of the U.S embassy. (Jan. 13, 2021). To check the news, click here

• The Lod district court decides to ban the screening of the film “Jenin, Jenin,” which documents the brutal massacre in Jenin refugee camp in 2002, and to fine the director of the film. (Jan 14, 2021). To check the news, click here

• The Arab member of the Israeli Knesset, Yousef Jabareen, in a letter to the United Nations and the European Union: The Israeli occupation holds responsibility for the outbreak of the COVID-19 in the Palestinian territories. (Jan 11, 2021). To check the news, click here

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

• Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi: We should act with clarity regarding the Israeli policy of settlement expansion. (Jan 10, 2021). To check the news, click here
• Media advisor to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency: UNRWA plans to hold an international conference next April, requesting financial pledges from donor countries to support it. (Jan 11, 2021). To check the news, click here

• The League of Arab States condemns the Israeli targeting of al-Aqsa and the Ibrahimi Mosques, calling on the international community to urgently intervene to provide international protection for religious sites in Palestine. (Jan. 11, 2021). To check the news, click here
• The Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates condemns the excavations carried out by Israel in the Western Wall Square in Al-Aqsa Mosque and considers it an explicit violation of the provisions of international law. (Jan. 11, 2021). To check the news, click here
• Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry: The Quartet meeting discusses launching a serious negotiation process, and our responsibility is to reach a just peace. (Jan. 11, 2021). To check the news, click here
• French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian says that peace in the region is the goal of the Quartet group based on the two-state solution. (Jan 11, 2021). To check the news, click here
• German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas stresses the necessity of resuming negotiations between Palestine and Israel to find a solution based on the two-state solution and affirms his country’s support for UNRWA. (Jan 11, 2021). To check the news, click here

• Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi stresses the settlement of the Palestinian issue will change the reality for the entire region and affirms his country’s position in support of the Palestinian cause. (Jan 11, 2021). To check the news, click here

• A UN expert calls for reversal of Israel’s eviction order against 16 Palestinian families. (Jan. 11, 2021). To check the news, click here

• Khalid Al-Habas; Assistant Secretary-General of the LSA says that the Palestinian issue is the first central issue for the Arab countries and affirms the right of the Palestinian people to establish an independent state on the borders of 1967. (Jan 12, 2021). To check the news, click here
• Saudi Arabia, France, Egypt, the Gulf Cooperation Council and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation condemn Israel’s decision to approve building 800 new settlement units. (Jan12, 2021). To check the news, click here
• The lead spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy at the European Union calls for a halt to the illegal Israeli settlement in the West Bank and stresses that it represents an obstacle to the peace process. (Jan12, 2021). To check the news, click here

• The Turkish Foreign Ministry expresses its concern over Israel’s plan to build 850 new settlement units in the West Bank and calls on the international community to put pressure on Israel to end its illegal actions. (Jan. 13, 2021). To check the news, click here

• Jordanian Prime Minister Bisher Al-Khasawneh affirms that his country continues to devote its capabilities to protect religious sites in Jerusalem, and its constant position in support of refugees. (Jan 13, 2021). To check the news, click here

• The Arab Parliament condemns the refusal of the Israeli occupation to provide Covid-19 vaccines to the Palestinian prisoners, calling on the international community to provide them with legal protection. (Jan 14, 2021). To check the news, click here

• European Court of Justice starts holding the preliminary hearing regarding preventing settlement products from entering the European Union market. (Jan. 14, 2021). To check the news, click here

• UN experts call on Israel to ensure equal access to COVID-19 vaccines for Palestinians under the Geneva Conventions. (Jan. 14, 2021). To check the news, click here

• The Polish Foreign Minister renews his country’s supportive position of the two-state solution and international law decisions. (Jan 14, 2021). To check the news, click here

• UNRWA issues a statement reviewing self-learning material to ensure full adherence to the highest UN principles. (Jan 14, 2021). To check the news, click here

Publications of human rights NGOs

• The Palestinian Prisoners Club holds the Israeli occupation fully responsible for the life of prisoner Hussein Masalma, who has leukaemia and calls on the international community to take action. (Jan. 10, 2021). To check the news, click here
• Human rights organizations to the Israeli High Court of Justice: All the Palestinian prisoners must be vaccinated immediately as per priorities set by the Palestinian Ministry of Health. (Jan. 11, 2021). To check the news, click here
• The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel “Adalah” files a petition to the Israeli Supreme Court regarding the responsibility of the emergency medical service in Israel to provide essential information on “Covid-19” in Arabic. (Jan. 11, 2021). To check the news, click here
• The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories “B’Tselem” says that the Israeli regime is an “apartheid” regime that practices organized violence from the river to the sea. (Jan 12, 2021). For further details of this paper, click here

• Peace Now issues a press release entitled: “Hundreds of Settlement Units to be Advanced ahead of the Biden Presidency.” (Jan 13, 2021). To check the news, click here

• Human Rights Watch in its report for 2020: Israel practices systematic repression and discrimination against Palestinians. (Jan. 14, 2021). To check the news, click here

• European Coordination of Committees and Associations for Palestine issues a press release addressing the Catastrophic effects of the Gaza blockade and calls on the European Union to take action to stop this crime. (Jan. 14, 2021). To check the news, click here

• Adalah issues a press release, calling on Israel to provide immediate Covid-19 vaccines to the Palestinians in the occupied territories. (Jan. 14, 2021). To check the news, click here

Human rights conferences and events

• BDS movement calls on Arab citizens residing in Arab countries that normalized its ties with Israel to oppose normalization. (Jan 11, 2021). To check the news, click here
• A Palestinian activist succeeds in removing his name from World-Check “blacklist” after a legal settlement. (Jan 13, 2021). To check the news, click here

Academic research and studies

• The Israeli Research Institute (IMPACT-se) publishes a study inciting against the Palestinian curriculum taught in UNRWA schools. (Jan. 13, 2021). To check the news, click here

Announcements regarding upcoming human rights opportunities or activities:

• Lauterpacht Centre for International Law at University of Cambridge, UK, holds an academic lecture entitled “Territory and Statehood in International Law: The Controversy Over International Criminal Court Jurisdiction in Palestine.” (Jan 14, 2021). To check the news, click here
• J Street announces the opening of registration for its online annual conference on the new US policy and the situation in Israel and Palestine. (Jan 14, 2021). To check the conference, click here

• The Center for Palestinian Studies at Columbia University will launch a new study program entitled “Palestine, In-Between.” (Jan 14, 2021). To check the program, click here

• The Center for Palestine Studies at Columbia University announces the deadline for submitting an application to the Ibrahim Abu-Lughod Award for the year 2021/2022. (Jan 14, 2021). To check the news, click here
• Al-Zaytouna Center for Studies and Consultations plans to hold an online panel discussion on: “Strategic evaluation of the Palestinian issue developments and the most prominent projections.” (Jan 15, 2021). To check the news, click here