13 july 2019
The PA Bureau on prisoners’ affairs has underlined that Palestinian captive Mohammed Khalil al-Halabi’s trial was the longest trial ever in the captives’ movement history.
Halabi, 41, who hails from Gaza city, was put on 124 trials by the Israeli judiciary since he was detained in 2016 although the court failed to prove anything against him, the bureau said in a statement a couple of days ago.
It added that the court behavior shows the clear control of the Israeli intelligence apparatus over Israeli judiciary.
The bureau described such treatment against Halabi as inhumane and “contravenes international laws and ethics”.
Furthermore, the bureau called on international and local human rights organizations, including the International Red Cross Committee, to support Halabi and to end his suffering in the Israeli Rimon prison, and to put more pressure on Israeli occupation authorities to release him and return him back to his family and children.
Halabi, 41, who hails from Gaza city, was put on 124 trials by the Israeli judiciary since he was detained in 2016 although the court failed to prove anything against him, the bureau said in a statement a couple of days ago.
It added that the court behavior shows the clear control of the Israeli intelligence apparatus over Israeli judiciary.
The bureau described such treatment against Halabi as inhumane and “contravenes international laws and ethics”.
Furthermore, the bureau called on international and local human rights organizations, including the International Red Cross Committee, to support Halabi and to end his suffering in the Israeli Rimon prison, and to put more pressure on Israeli occupation authorities to release him and return him back to his family and children.
11 july 2019
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Dear friends,
On Sunday, 14 July 2019, Adalah's attorneys will argue before the Nazareth District Court that the municipality of Afula in northern Israel must cancel a ban on non-residents from entering a public park in the city. We know that this policy is aimed at blocking residents of nearby Arab communities from using the facility – because the municipality told us so. Earlier this month, Adalah Attorney Nareman Shehadeh-Zoabi and her infant son arrived at the park and found a new large sign at the entrance reading: "The park is open … to Afula residents only". Upon learning that they are from the nearby Arab city of Nazareth, a security guard at the park entrance forbade them from entering. "I felt deeply humiliated by the situation," said Attorney Shehadeh-Zoabi. "Jewish residents freely walked past me into the very park that I so often enjoyed with my son while I was prevented from entering and forced to leave – simply because I am from the Arab city of Nazareth". The ban was issued following an explicit election promise by Afula Mayor Avi Elkabetz to act against what he deigned the "conquest of the park" by residents of surrounding Arab towns. He called on the city's Jewish residents to "proudly hoist Israeli flags throughout the park and play music in Hebrew". |
The ban was also made public just days after Mayor Elkabetz took part in a protest against the sale of a home in the city to Palestinian citizens of Israel, and after newly-elected city council members were sworn into office pledging to act to preserve the city's Jewish character.
Afula is not the only city endorsing such racial discrimination. In March 2018, the northern town of Kfar Vradim canceled the sale of land for new housing construction after it became clear that more than 50 percent of those purchasing the plots were Palestinian citizens.
Meanwhile, hundreds of small communities in Israel are operating "admissions committees", which are authorized by law – in towns no larger than 400 households – to reject applicants based on the criteria of "social suitability" and the towns' "social and cultural fabric", and work in practice to keep Palestinian citizens out. Dozens of them, in towns that have now grown larger than 400 households, are operating these committees illegally.
Such discriminatory practices have been spurred further by the Jewish Nation-State Law, enacted by the Knesset one year ago, which commits in Article 7 to promoting Jewish settlement as a "national value" – thus giving constitutional backing to decades of racist Israeli land and housing policies.
Adalah has launched new legal challenges against all of the above laws and policies, and is continuing to fight against all forms of discrimination, displacement and segregation in Israel to secure just land and housing rights for Palestinian citizens of the state.
Afula is not the only city endorsing such racial discrimination. In March 2018, the northern town of Kfar Vradim canceled the sale of land for new housing construction after it became clear that more than 50 percent of those purchasing the plots were Palestinian citizens.
Meanwhile, hundreds of small communities in Israel are operating "admissions committees", which are authorized by law – in towns no larger than 400 households – to reject applicants based on the criteria of "social suitability" and the towns' "social and cultural fabric", and work in practice to keep Palestinian citizens out. Dozens of them, in towns that have now grown larger than 400 households, are operating these committees illegally.
Such discriminatory practices have been spurred further by the Jewish Nation-State Law, enacted by the Knesset one year ago, which commits in Article 7 to promoting Jewish settlement as a "national value" – thus giving constitutional backing to decades of racist Israeli land and housing policies.
Adalah has launched new legal challenges against all of the above laws and policies, and is continuing to fight against all forms of discrimination, displacement and segregation in Israel to secure just land and housing rights for Palestinian citizens of the state.
9 july 2019
Crews from Israel's Jerusalem municipality, under heavy police guard, on Sunday evening stormed Wadi al-Hummus neighborhood in Sur Baher town, south of Jerusalem, and took measurements of homes threatened with demolition.
Head of Wadi al-Hummus Committee, Hamada Hamada, said that the planned demolition campaign will include 237 apartments that are homes for about 500 people.
Hamada said that the Jerusalem municipality asked the residents to demolish their own homes. Otherwise, it would do the demolition and force them to pay steep fines.
He added that an Israeli court has given the families a time limit until 18 July to evacuate and demolish their homes.
The demolition campaign comes under the pretext that the targeted homes are close to the separation wall and pose a security threat.
Israeli laws stipulate that Palestinian homes must be at least 250 meters away from the wall.
Wadi al-Hummus is inhabited by over 6,000 Palestinians, 500 of whom will be forced to leave after the demolition.
Head of Wadi al-Hummus Committee, Hamada Hamada, said that the planned demolition campaign will include 237 apartments that are homes for about 500 people.
Hamada said that the Jerusalem municipality asked the residents to demolish their own homes. Otherwise, it would do the demolition and force them to pay steep fines.
He added that an Israeli court has given the families a time limit until 18 July to evacuate and demolish their homes.
The demolition campaign comes under the pretext that the targeted homes are close to the separation wall and pose a security threat.
Israeli laws stipulate that Palestinian homes must be at least 250 meters away from the wall.
Wadi al-Hummus is inhabited by over 6,000 Palestinians, 500 of whom will be forced to leave after the demolition.
8 july 2019
Unprecedented ruling handed down in light of Palestinian Authority support for families of suicide bombers and terrorists jailed in Israel; joint petition by victims and their relatives focuses on 17 terror attacks at start of millennium in which 34 Israelis were killed; petitioners seeking total compensation of some NIS 1 billion
Jerusalem District Court ruled Monday that the Palestinian Authority must pay compensation for 17 attacks carried out by terrorist organizations such as the PLO, Hamas and Islamic Jihad at the start of the millennium, in which 34 Israelis were killed and seven others were wounded.
The attacks cited in the ruling include the October 2000 lynching of two IDF soldiers in Ramallah; the December 2001 suicide bombing on Ben Yehuda Street in Jerusalem; and the March 2002 attack at the Gavish family home in Elon Moreh.
The ruling applies to 17 petitions presented by the Shurat HaDin (Israel Law Center) organization on behalf of the victims of the attacks and/or their families.
The total compensation demanded in all of the claims together stands at around about NIS 1 billion (approx. $280 million).
Monday's ruling states that the Palestinian Authority is responsible for the attacks and that the victims can seek compensation, but the exact amount will be determined at a later date.
This is an unprecedented decision, as Israeli courts have until now only deemed the Palestinian Authority responsible for attacks carried out by its employees.
The hearings in some of the claims have been going on for about 20 years, and all of the claims were finally consolidated into one case.
The court has now found the PA responsible for terror attacks carried out by terrorist organizations due on the grounds that it provided financial aid and weapons to carry out the attacks and because of ideological and financial support for the families of suicide bombers and Palestinian prisoners jailed in Israel.
In his ruling Monday, Justice Moshe Drori, the vice president of the Jerusalem District Court, wrote: "The PLO, the PA, (Yasser) Arafat, Abu Mazen (Mahmoud Abbas) and other senior figures such as Marwan Barghouti all aimed to kill Jews and Israelis and harm the State of Israel."
Jerusalem District Court ruled Monday that the Palestinian Authority must pay compensation for 17 attacks carried out by terrorist organizations such as the PLO, Hamas and Islamic Jihad at the start of the millennium, in which 34 Israelis were killed and seven others were wounded.
The attacks cited in the ruling include the October 2000 lynching of two IDF soldiers in Ramallah; the December 2001 suicide bombing on Ben Yehuda Street in Jerusalem; and the March 2002 attack at the Gavish family home in Elon Moreh.
The ruling applies to 17 petitions presented by the Shurat HaDin (Israel Law Center) organization on behalf of the victims of the attacks and/or their families.
The total compensation demanded in all of the claims together stands at around about NIS 1 billion (approx. $280 million).
Monday's ruling states that the Palestinian Authority is responsible for the attacks and that the victims can seek compensation, but the exact amount will be determined at a later date.
This is an unprecedented decision, as Israeli courts have until now only deemed the Palestinian Authority responsible for attacks carried out by its employees.
The hearings in some of the claims have been going on for about 20 years, and all of the claims were finally consolidated into one case.
The court has now found the PA responsible for terror attacks carried out by terrorist organizations due on the grounds that it provided financial aid and weapons to carry out the attacks and because of ideological and financial support for the families of suicide bombers and Palestinian prisoners jailed in Israel.
In his ruling Monday, Justice Moshe Drori, the vice president of the Jerusalem District Court, wrote: "The PLO, the PA, (Yasser) Arafat, Abu Mazen (Mahmoud Abbas) and other senior figures such as Marwan Barghouti all aimed to kill Jews and Israelis and harm the State of Israel."
1 july 2019
Spare a thought for the human rights groups in Palestine committed to documenting, holding to account, and otherwise having to deal with Israel’s racist regime.
Groups such as Al Haq, B’Tselem, Adalah and Al-Mezan are just some of the many groups which create an array of valuable reports, papers, videos, press campaigns and other publications. They also help represent and defend Palestinians facing Israel’s racist military “courts” system.
They do valuable work, and it is a thankless task. Dealing with the system of “military justice” – which has a 99.7 per cent conviction rate – must be like butting so many heads up against multiple walls. Expecting “justice” from a regime of military occupation is pointless.
And indeed, B’Tselem in 2016 made the decision that they would cease issuing formal complaints to Israel’s military occupation authorities in the West Bank. Accurately calling the process “the occupation’s fig leaf,” B’Tselem said there was “no longer any point in pursuing justice and defending human rights by working with a system whose real function is measured by its ability to continue to successfully cover up”.
The report the group released upon making this announcement documents how these cover-ups work. Since late 2000, when the Second Intifada began, B’Tselem had lodged 739 complaints within the occupation authorities’ internal system.
These were instances in which Israeli soldiers murdered, injured or physically abused Palestinians, or damaged their property – including cases of Palestinians forcibly used by Israeli soldiers as human shields. In the vast majority (three-quarters) of these 739 cases either the “investigation” was closed with no further action taken or had never even been launched in the first place.
B’Tselem states that “only in very rare instances” were any charges made against the soldiers concerned.
This is very obviously a system designed to whitewash the Israeli army’s image. The true function of this fig leaf is as a kind of international public relations. Journalists reporting on the latest Israeli crime quite regularly report – almost without fail – that Israel has “launched an investigation” into the murder or abuse of Palestinians by its soldiers – as if it were some abnormality.
Of course, a short while later, when the mildly critical attention of said journalists has waned, the investigation is quietly dropped, or concluded with some token rap on the knuckles.
As the group candidly admitted, “B’Tselem’s cooperation with the military investigation and enforcement system has not achieved justice, instead lending legitimacy to the occupation regime and aiding to whitewash it.”
It seems to me it was the right decision to withdraw from cooperating with this sham process.
There is an argument to be made that there should be a total boycott of the entire fabricated system of military “justice” in the occupied West Bank. This is a step some Palestinian political prisoners have actually taken.
Samidoun – the political support network for Palestinian prisoners – reports that Ghassan Zawahreh just this month declared a boycott of Israel’s military courts. Zawahreh is a prominent left-wing activist in Dheisheh refugee camp, near the West Bank city of Bethlehem. He has spent years in and out of Israeli dungeons and is currently interned by Israeli occupiers without charge or trial – their system of so-called “administrative detention”.
Zawahreh sent a letter to the court through his lawyer stating that, “administrative detention is a heinous crime for the ages. What is even more criminal is the occupation’s attempts to mislead through mock courts and charades where the executioner and the ruler, dressed up in military suits, represent the occupation and its crimes.
“I will not be a part of this charade until administrative detention is ended once and for all. I reject this court and refuse to be represented by anyone in it”.
There are currently about 500 Palestinians held in “administrative detention”. Palestinians have been jailed for years at a time without charge or trial under these repeated orders. There are currently more than 5,200 total Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
Zawahreh’s stance is a brave move that could lead to further dire consequences for him. Yet until the Israeli occupation is forced to end, such consequences for Palestinians are an inevitability; he may feel he has nothing to lose.
Israel’s occupation will not end until ordinary voters, like you and I, force our governments to end political and military aid to Israel. A good first step in the right direction would be the immediate and total end to all arms sales to Israel. Jeremy Corbyn and other leading figures in the Labour Party have rightly called for an end to all arms sales to Saudi Arabia.
Let’s push them to do the same for Israel.
- Asa Winstanley is an investigative journalist living in London who writes about Palestine and the Middle East. He has been visiting Palestine since 2004 and is originally from south Wales. He writes for the award-winning Palestinian news site The Electronic Intifada where he is an associate editor and also a weekly column for the Middle East Monitor.
Groups such as Al Haq, B’Tselem, Adalah and Al-Mezan are just some of the many groups which create an array of valuable reports, papers, videos, press campaigns and other publications. They also help represent and defend Palestinians facing Israel’s racist military “courts” system.
They do valuable work, and it is a thankless task. Dealing with the system of “military justice” – which has a 99.7 per cent conviction rate – must be like butting so many heads up against multiple walls. Expecting “justice” from a regime of military occupation is pointless.
And indeed, B’Tselem in 2016 made the decision that they would cease issuing formal complaints to Israel’s military occupation authorities in the West Bank. Accurately calling the process “the occupation’s fig leaf,” B’Tselem said there was “no longer any point in pursuing justice and defending human rights by working with a system whose real function is measured by its ability to continue to successfully cover up”.
The report the group released upon making this announcement documents how these cover-ups work. Since late 2000, when the Second Intifada began, B’Tselem had lodged 739 complaints within the occupation authorities’ internal system.
These were instances in which Israeli soldiers murdered, injured or physically abused Palestinians, or damaged their property – including cases of Palestinians forcibly used by Israeli soldiers as human shields. In the vast majority (three-quarters) of these 739 cases either the “investigation” was closed with no further action taken or had never even been launched in the first place.
B’Tselem states that “only in very rare instances” were any charges made against the soldiers concerned.
This is very obviously a system designed to whitewash the Israeli army’s image. The true function of this fig leaf is as a kind of international public relations. Journalists reporting on the latest Israeli crime quite regularly report – almost without fail – that Israel has “launched an investigation” into the murder or abuse of Palestinians by its soldiers – as if it were some abnormality.
Of course, a short while later, when the mildly critical attention of said journalists has waned, the investigation is quietly dropped, or concluded with some token rap on the knuckles.
As the group candidly admitted, “B’Tselem’s cooperation with the military investigation and enforcement system has not achieved justice, instead lending legitimacy to the occupation regime and aiding to whitewash it.”
It seems to me it was the right decision to withdraw from cooperating with this sham process.
There is an argument to be made that there should be a total boycott of the entire fabricated system of military “justice” in the occupied West Bank. This is a step some Palestinian political prisoners have actually taken.
Samidoun – the political support network for Palestinian prisoners – reports that Ghassan Zawahreh just this month declared a boycott of Israel’s military courts. Zawahreh is a prominent left-wing activist in Dheisheh refugee camp, near the West Bank city of Bethlehem. He has spent years in and out of Israeli dungeons and is currently interned by Israeli occupiers without charge or trial – their system of so-called “administrative detention”.
Zawahreh sent a letter to the court through his lawyer stating that, “administrative detention is a heinous crime for the ages. What is even more criminal is the occupation’s attempts to mislead through mock courts and charades where the executioner and the ruler, dressed up in military suits, represent the occupation and its crimes.
“I will not be a part of this charade until administrative detention is ended once and for all. I reject this court and refuse to be represented by anyone in it”.
There are currently about 500 Palestinians held in “administrative detention”. Palestinians have been jailed for years at a time without charge or trial under these repeated orders. There are currently more than 5,200 total Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
Zawahreh’s stance is a brave move that could lead to further dire consequences for him. Yet until the Israeli occupation is forced to end, such consequences for Palestinians are an inevitability; he may feel he has nothing to lose.
Israel’s occupation will not end until ordinary voters, like you and I, force our governments to end political and military aid to Israel. A good first step in the right direction would be the immediate and total end to all arms sales to Israel. Jeremy Corbyn and other leading figures in the Labour Party have rightly called for an end to all arms sales to Saudi Arabia.
Let’s push them to do the same for Israel.
- Asa Winstanley is an investigative journalist living in London who writes about Palestine and the Middle East. He has been visiting Palestine since 2004 and is originally from south Wales. He writes for the award-winning Palestinian news site The Electronic Intifada where he is an associate editor and also a weekly column for the Middle East Monitor.
Israel's Jerusalem District Court has legalized settler homes built without permits on privately owned Palestinian lands in the West Bank.
Haaretz reported that a final ruling in the case, involving the northern West Bank settlement of Alei Zahav, could provide judicial grounds for the authorization of up to 2,000 settlement units whose legal status has been in dispute.
According to the Hebrew newspaper, last month the court accepted the state's position that settlement construction on private Palestinian land can be legalized retroactively if the land had "mistakenly" been thought to belong to the state.
"The state has been relying on this legal argument for a number of months," Haaretz said. The same legal concept is also to be taken up in another case involving the West Bank outpost of Mitzpeh Kramim.
Haaretz reported that a final ruling in the case, involving the northern West Bank settlement of Alei Zahav, could provide judicial grounds for the authorization of up to 2,000 settlement units whose legal status has been in dispute.
According to the Hebrew newspaper, last month the court accepted the state's position that settlement construction on private Palestinian land can be legalized retroactively if the land had "mistakenly" been thought to belong to the state.
"The state has been relying on this legal argument for a number of months," Haaretz said. The same legal concept is also to be taken up in another case involving the West Bank outpost of Mitzpeh Kramim.
Sixteen apartment buildings, home to more than 100 Palestinian families, will have their homes destroyed by Israeli authorities in Jerusalem after a ruling Sunday by the Israeli Supreme Court allowing the demolition.
The High Court accepted the argument of the Israeli government that the homes were “too close to the Israeli ‘security wall’”, despite the fact that these homes were constructed on Palestinian land and were permitted by the Palestinian Authority – and the fact that the Wall was constructed on Palestinian land with no consultation with the Palestinian Authority as to its route.
The Israeli Annexation Wall, as it is known to Palestinians, illegally confiscates hundreds of acres of Palestinian land and annexes it into Israel, in direct violation of international law and signed conventions.
According to the Palestinian Wafa News Agency, the Israeli Supreme Court dismissed the appeal which was filed by Palestinian residents against the demolition of 16 apartment buildings in Wadi al-Hummus area of Sur Baher neighborhood, southeast of occupied Jerusalem.
Wafa reporters said that Hamada Hamada, the head of Wadi al-Hummus Committee, told them that the buildings slated for demolition are located in areas classified as (a), under the full control of the Palestinian Authority, where building permits are obtained from the Palestinian Ministry of Local Government.
The Palestinian owners of the buildings have until July 18th to demolish the buildings themselves, or Israeli officials will send the army to demolish them, and send the Palestinian owners the bill, along with massive fines.
The High Court accepted the argument of the Israeli government that the homes were “too close to the Israeli ‘security wall’”, despite the fact that these homes were constructed on Palestinian land and were permitted by the Palestinian Authority – and the fact that the Wall was constructed on Palestinian land with no consultation with the Palestinian Authority as to its route.
The Israeli Annexation Wall, as it is known to Palestinians, illegally confiscates hundreds of acres of Palestinian land and annexes it into Israel, in direct violation of international law and signed conventions.
According to the Palestinian Wafa News Agency, the Israeli Supreme Court dismissed the appeal which was filed by Palestinian residents against the demolition of 16 apartment buildings in Wadi al-Hummus area of Sur Baher neighborhood, southeast of occupied Jerusalem.
Wafa reporters said that Hamada Hamada, the head of Wadi al-Hummus Committee, told them that the buildings slated for demolition are located in areas classified as (a), under the full control of the Palestinian Authority, where building permits are obtained from the Palestinian Ministry of Local Government.
The Palestinian owners of the buildings have until July 18th to demolish the buildings themselves, or Israeli officials will send the army to demolish them, and send the Palestinian owners the bill, along with massive fines.
