Al-Haq Press Release

For Immediate Release

REF: 22.2004E

2 AUGUST 2004

Al-Haq Concerned By High Court Delay to Petition on Settler Violence in Hebron

Al-Haq is concerned by yesterday’s decision of the Israeli High Court of Justice to grant the State Prosecutor’s request for a one-month delay for the petition on inaction towards Israeli settler violence submitted by Al-Haq together with 12 petitioners from Hebron. While these violations have been especially severe in Hebron, settler violence against Palestinians is common throughout the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The delay is therefore of particular concern to Al-Haq given the importance it attaches to this petition as a means of challenging the culture of impunity enjoyed by Israeli settlers, soldiers and law enforcement officials; the lack of any prompt and effective judicial remedy for Palestinian victims of settler violence; and the lack of any visible or effective action to prevent such human rights violations in the future.

Al-Haq is sceptical as to the grounds for the delay presented by the State Prosecutor and accepted by the High Court. The State Prosecutor argued that the delay was necessary for the Israeli authorities to address the information contained in the affidavits, claiming that investigations had begun into the petitioners’ allegations, and that it was reasonable to suppose that the rest of these investigations would be finalised by the time the petition is next heard.

Affidavits subsequently gathered by Al-Haq from individual petitioners suggest this is not the case. Petitioners whom the State Prosecutor claims have been contacted as part of the investigations have informed Al-Haq’s field worker that no such communication has been exchanged. One petitioner, far from being contacted by the respondents, had had to request an interview with the Civil Administration Officer for the District of Hebron four times before this was eventually granted. The meeting did not in any way address or resolve the issues raised in the petition. (See Affidavit, 27 July 2004.) The lack of effective and appropriate investigation or remedial action in the 11 months since the petition was submitted in September 2003 does not lead Al-Haq to conclude that such action is likely to be satisfactorily initiated or completed in the month’s extension granted by the High Court.

The petition and motion for injunction against the Israeli Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Interior Security argues that Israeli law enforcement and military authorities permit frequent acts of violence against the Palestinian residents of Hebron to continue at will. Further, it demonstrates a consistent failure on the part of these authorities to initiate thorough, impartial and effective official investigations into allegations of illegal conduct by Israeli settlers towards the Palestinian residents of Hebron, such as attacks on their person, acts of vandalism and destruction of their private property.

Many of these attacks take place under the watch of Israeli security forces who take no real action to protect the petitioners or put an end to the acts of violence. When complaints are filed, the petitioners argue that they are consistently dealt with in a negligent manner. This phenomenon, coupled with the failure to hold those who commit violations of international law accountable before the law, has perpetuated a culture of impunity. The delay granted by the High Court does little to enhance the petitioners’ confidence that their allegations will be addressed with all due promptness and efficacy.

The systematic nature of the human rights violations in Hebron was recently confirmed by an exhibition of photographs taken by Israeli soldiers during their military service in the city. Israeli military police raided the exhibition in Tel Aviv on 22 June 2004 and confiscated various exhibit materials, including a videotape of statements made by 70 soldiers about their experience. Al-Haq has consistently drawn attention to ongoing human rights violations in Hebron of the kind detailed in the videotape and detailed in the affidavits of the 12 petitioners. Al-Haq is deeply concerned by the lack of effective action to prevent further such violations in the future, as well as to address existing violations, and reiterates its wish that the petition be heard before the High Court without further delay.

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