Middle East Monitor / July 4, 2024
Two United Nations rights experts yesterday condemned the dual judicial system applied by Israel in the occupied West Bank, saying it provides a legal cover for the torture and cruel treatment of Palestinian detainees and makes the task of defending them “impossible”, Anadolu reported.
This came in a joint statement issued by Margaret Satterthwaite, special rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, and Francesca Albanese, special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967.
The experts said on 7 June 1967, the Israeli military commander issued three proclamations concerning the military’s executive, security, public order, and judicial authority in the occupied West Bank which were later amended into Military Order No. 378, which established military courts.
“I0n the occupied West Bank, the functions of police, investigator, prosecutor, and judge are vested in the same hierarchical institution – the Israeli military,” they said.
“This military system has served to control many aspects of Palestinians’ daily lives, including public health, education, and land and property law. It also criminalizes many forms of political and cultural expression, association, movement, nonviolent protest, traffic offences, and other acts that might be considered methods for opposing the occupation and its policies,” the experts said.
“This translates into a situation where military judges in military courts consistently provide legal and judicial cover for acts of torture, cruel and degrading treatment against Palestinian detainees carried out by their colleagues in the armed forces and intelligence agencies. It also makes legal defence impossible,” they said.
Under international standards, guarantees of fair and public trial include the independence and impartiality of the courts and require that the judicial system is not dependent on the discretion of any branch of government, particularly the executive and armed forces.
The dual court system set up in the occupied West Bank, in violation of international law, has legitimized the occupation and illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory, “through a militarily enforced, draconian penal system that is only applied to Palestinians without due process guarantees,” the experts said, adding: “We are especially disturbed that Palestinian children are subject to this abusive system.”
“This system also turns a blind eye to settler violence and criminality, allowing it to grow and remain in impunity,” they said.
They denounced the absence of fair trials in the West Bank and called on Israel, as the occupying power, to “cancel the military order and the relevant laws and regulations, dissolve the military court, and guarantee the right to a fair trial in the occupied West Bank.”
