To Sue or Not? Palestinians Face Dilemma After Report On Settlements

[Scurrilous]

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"On paper, it has never been easier for Palestinians whose land has been appropriated by Israeli settlements to have their day in court.

Classified government data on settlements, made public in late January, documents for the first time precisely where settlements and parts of settlements have been built in violation of Israel’s own laws. The data reveals that in more than 30 settlements, buildings — including homes, roads, schools, synagogues and police stations — have gone up on privately owned Palestinian land.

Most international authorities consider all Israeli civilian construction in the territories to be illegal under the Geneva Conventions on rules of war. Israel, while accepting the Geneva rules, has always insisted that its settlements are legal, based on its reading of the rules’ language, so long as they are built on land that is public or legally purchased.

Leftist groups welcomed the new data as an admission that Israel has broken its own rules on settlement building. Yesh Din (Hebrew for “There is a law”), an anti-settlement advocacy organization, said it was the “smoking gun” long needed to sue Israel on behalf of Palestinians whose land has been unlawfully taken. The group has placed advertisements in Palestinian newspapers, offering to take on cases for free.

But despite the offer of no-cost representation and the fact that evidence is available, many Palestinians are reluctant to take the legal route. Only five requests have been submitted so far. “Many people are very cynical and skeptical of going to the high court of Israel — the high court of the occupier,” said political scientist Ali Jarbawi of Birzeit University in Ramallah.

Data compilation began four years ago, when then-defense minister Shaul Mofaz asked his aide Baruch Spiegel to research the status of all settlements.

The report, completed two years later, contained written information backed up by aerial photos and electronic mapping, documenting the status of each tract and the official boundaries of each settlement. Upon completion, it was classified on security grounds. The Israeli daily Haaretz published the contents in January.

Palestinian reactions have been mixed. On one hand, the database confirms long-held suspicions. It “catalogs the widespread theft of Palestinian land in the West Bank, and points the finger of blame squarely at the Israeli government,” said Maen Areikat, deputy head and coordinator general of the Palestine Liberation Organization Negotiations Affairs Department.

On the other hand, most Palestinians reject the principle underlying the database, distinguishing the legal building of settlements from the illegal building. “The standard used by the Spiegel database is Israeli law rather than international law,” Areikat said. “Under international law, all Israeli settlements are illegal."

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Related thread:

Secret Israeli database reveals full extent of illegal settlement

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=124&topic_id=256509

[GoesTo11]

1. It would be awesome

if they paid Alan Dershowitz to represent them. Then he could represent the Israeli side pro-bono and argue himself before the court.

[oberliner]

3. You've got to believe that he would find a way to get involved with this

Seems right up his alley!

[azurnoir]

2. The suit should go on

it would be a beginning in revealing the massive extent to which the Israeli government has ignored its own laws when it wants

[aranthus]

4. I hope that they sue.

It would bring a dose of reality to both sides. The Palestinians need to understand that they can't rely on international law, and the Israelis need to learn that they can't violate their own laws (if they want to continue to be considered a civilized, modern, western country). It is within the context of intra-sovereign law that the word, "illegal," actually has meaning. Establish that the the building is illegal under Israeli law and you go a long way to removing them.