The Attorney General has today given his position to the Supreme Court, following the request from the residents of Sheikh Jarrah that he gives his opinion.
In response he announced that he does not intend to give his position. The meaning of this is that the court will have to set a date for a discussion in the appeal in front of three judges in the Supreme Court. After that. Probably, a final decision will be given.
Here is more information about the Sheikh Jarrah case.
Peace Now: “ The decision of the Attorney General not to intervene in the dispossession of Palestinian families in Sheikh Jarrah is an attempt to rid himself of his responsibility. This shows that for the outgoing government, dispossessing hundreds of residents on the basis of discriminatory laws is acceptable.
Up till now Israel founded settlements on land taken from Palestinians but never since 1967 has Israel evicted in massive way Palestinian families from their homes, in order to replace them with settlers. This is a terrible wrong. “
On the other hand, in the appeal of the residents of Batan al Hawa, which also reached the Supreme Court, it was the court, not the appellants, who had asked for the Attorney General’s opinion. In this case of Batan al Hawa, the Attorney General has asked for consistent postponing. As of now the deadline for giving his position is 30/6/2021. More information about the Batan al Hawa cases can be found here.
In all these cases the proceedings are ongoing as if this is a private case of private law between two supposedly equal sides, and the overarching picture of discriminatory laws and an oppressed population is not discussed; this creates a distortion of the law. Peace Now is initiating an Amicus brief, which is written by leading legal experts in the fields of international law and human rights and will be filed imminently, in which a full argument of the ongoing discrimination and rights of residency in Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan will be presented.
