5 aug 2019
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is ready to “go to the White House and continue what [he] started with [US President] Donald Trump.”
With this and other confusing statements, Abbas tried to articulate the new Palestinian political agenda to foreign reporters in Ramallah last month.
According to Abbas, the PA is ready to return to negotiations with Israel if two conditions are met: Washington is to reverse its stance on East Jerusalem, thus recognising it as an occupied Palestinian city; and there is a renewed commitment to the so-called two-state solution. “I will not accept a one-state solution because one state will be an apartheid state,” Abbas insisted.
Aside from the Palestinian leader’s insubstantial logic, the official Palestinian discourse emanating from Ramallah these days seems oblivious to the massively changing political reality in Washington over the past two years or so.
Remarks by Abbas, his recently-appointed Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh or other PA officials are apparently based on the logic of a bygone era, one in which the US claimed, however falsely, to be an honest broker for peace; a period that lasted for nearly 25 years and during which PA officials benefited from the massive “peace process” racket, bankrolled by the US and other countries.
However, the jig is up. The PA has ceased to serve any useful purpose for the Israelis and their American benefactors, apart from the continued and shameful “security coordination” aimed largely at suppressing any Palestinian resistance to Israel’s brutal occupation.
Everyone seems to acknowledge this seismic change, except the PA.
While failing to understand the nature of the new challenge and redeem its past mistakes, the PA insists on remaining a major stumbling block to a new Palestinian strategy, one that should counter relentless US-Israeli efforts aimed at circumventing international law and, as a result, dismissing all Palestinian rights entirely.
Listening to PA officials speak makes one wonder if they are truly aware that the language coming out of Washington has shifted unmistakably, not only in its degree of bias towards Israel, but also in its complete adoption of the Israeli narrative in terms of nuances, religious fervour and political priorities.
US officials now speak as one with members of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing extremist coalition.
The following examples illustrate the new US rhetoric that requires a complete Palestinian departure from their tired and clichéd language of the past.
On 6 December, 2017, Donald Trump said in a White House statement: “Jerusalem is not just the heart of three great religions, but it is now also the heart of one of the most successful democracies in the world.
Over the past seven decades, the Israeli people have built a country where Jews, Muslims, and Christians, and people of all faiths are free to live and worship according to their conscience and according to their beliefs. But today, we finally acknowledge the obvious: that Jerusalem is Israel’s capital. This is nothing more, or less, than a recognition of reality. It is also the right thing to do.”
Trump’s infatuation with Israel is paralleled by complete disrespect and disregard for Palestinians.
On 2 January 2018, he tweeted: “We pay the Palestinians HUNDRED OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS a year and get no appreciation or respect. They don’t even want to negotiate a long overdue peace treaty with Israel. We have taken Jerusalem, the toughest part of the negotiation, off the table, but Israel, for that, would have had to pay more. But with the Palestinians no longer willing to talk peace, why should we make any of these massive future payments to them?”
US Vice President Mike Pence concurs. On 15 May last year, Pence said in celebration of Israel’s independence that Trump had done more to bring the US and Israel “closer together in a year than any president in the past 70 years.” He referred to him as “the greatest defender the Jewish state has ever had.” According to Pence, “President Trump made history now.”
For her part, former US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley played a major role in trying to marginalise Palestinians on the international stage.
On 6 October last year she insisted that, “The Palestinians are not a UN Member State or any state at all. The United States will continually point that out in our remarks at UN events led by the Palestinians.”
US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, meanwhile, has the perfect blend of Pence’s religious fanaticism and Haley’s political opportunism. In an interview with the New York Times published on 8 June, he said that, “Under certain circumstances, I think Israel has the right to retain some, but unlikely all, of the West Bank.”
Friedman’s open support for Israeli colonialism was matched by comments made by US Middle East “peace” envoy Jason Greenblatt two weeks later: “We might get there [to a peace deal] if people stop pretending settlements, or what I prefer to call ‘neighbourhoods and cities’, are the reason for the lack of peace.”
He brushed aside the fact that all of Israel’s colonial-settlements are illegal under international law since they have been built on Palestinian land under Israeli military occupation since 1967.
When the PA dared to protest against such political bullying, Trump’s son-in-law and top adviser Jared Kushner lashed out on 3 July at the “hysterical and erratic” Palestinian leadership. “The door is always open for the Palestinian leadership… If they stop saying crazy things,” he added.
According to the new American political lexicon, Palestinians have absolutely no rights; international law has no relevance; and supposedly democratic Israel is a model state incapable of erring.
In Washington’s la-la land, there can be no room or tolerance for discussions about military occupation, illegal settlements, genocidal wars, sieges and apartheid if they involve even the slightest criticism of Israel.
Considering America’s complete and unconditional adoption of the Israeli agenda, Abbas should stop talking about negotiations and conditions. Instead, he should revitalise and unite the Palestinian front to counter the US-Israeli menace and its political lackeys across the Middle East.
With this and other confusing statements, Abbas tried to articulate the new Palestinian political agenda to foreign reporters in Ramallah last month.
According to Abbas, the PA is ready to return to negotiations with Israel if two conditions are met: Washington is to reverse its stance on East Jerusalem, thus recognising it as an occupied Palestinian city; and there is a renewed commitment to the so-called two-state solution. “I will not accept a one-state solution because one state will be an apartheid state,” Abbas insisted.
Aside from the Palestinian leader’s insubstantial logic, the official Palestinian discourse emanating from Ramallah these days seems oblivious to the massively changing political reality in Washington over the past two years or so.
Remarks by Abbas, his recently-appointed Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh or other PA officials are apparently based on the logic of a bygone era, one in which the US claimed, however falsely, to be an honest broker for peace; a period that lasted for nearly 25 years and during which PA officials benefited from the massive “peace process” racket, bankrolled by the US and other countries.
However, the jig is up. The PA has ceased to serve any useful purpose for the Israelis and their American benefactors, apart from the continued and shameful “security coordination” aimed largely at suppressing any Palestinian resistance to Israel’s brutal occupation.
Everyone seems to acknowledge this seismic change, except the PA.
While failing to understand the nature of the new challenge and redeem its past mistakes, the PA insists on remaining a major stumbling block to a new Palestinian strategy, one that should counter relentless US-Israeli efforts aimed at circumventing international law and, as a result, dismissing all Palestinian rights entirely.
Listening to PA officials speak makes one wonder if they are truly aware that the language coming out of Washington has shifted unmistakably, not only in its degree of bias towards Israel, but also in its complete adoption of the Israeli narrative in terms of nuances, religious fervour and political priorities.
US officials now speak as one with members of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing extremist coalition.
The following examples illustrate the new US rhetoric that requires a complete Palestinian departure from their tired and clichéd language of the past.
On 6 December, 2017, Donald Trump said in a White House statement: “Jerusalem is not just the heart of three great religions, but it is now also the heart of one of the most successful democracies in the world.
Over the past seven decades, the Israeli people have built a country where Jews, Muslims, and Christians, and people of all faiths are free to live and worship according to their conscience and according to their beliefs. But today, we finally acknowledge the obvious: that Jerusalem is Israel’s capital. This is nothing more, or less, than a recognition of reality. It is also the right thing to do.”
Trump’s infatuation with Israel is paralleled by complete disrespect and disregard for Palestinians.
On 2 January 2018, he tweeted: “We pay the Palestinians HUNDRED OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS a year and get no appreciation or respect. They don’t even want to negotiate a long overdue peace treaty with Israel. We have taken Jerusalem, the toughest part of the negotiation, off the table, but Israel, for that, would have had to pay more. But with the Palestinians no longer willing to talk peace, why should we make any of these massive future payments to them?”
US Vice President Mike Pence concurs. On 15 May last year, Pence said in celebration of Israel’s independence that Trump had done more to bring the US and Israel “closer together in a year than any president in the past 70 years.” He referred to him as “the greatest defender the Jewish state has ever had.” According to Pence, “President Trump made history now.”
For her part, former US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley played a major role in trying to marginalise Palestinians on the international stage.
On 6 October last year she insisted that, “The Palestinians are not a UN Member State or any state at all. The United States will continually point that out in our remarks at UN events led by the Palestinians.”
US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, meanwhile, has the perfect blend of Pence’s religious fanaticism and Haley’s political opportunism. In an interview with the New York Times published on 8 June, he said that, “Under certain circumstances, I think Israel has the right to retain some, but unlikely all, of the West Bank.”
Friedman’s open support for Israeli colonialism was matched by comments made by US Middle East “peace” envoy Jason Greenblatt two weeks later: “We might get there [to a peace deal] if people stop pretending settlements, or what I prefer to call ‘neighbourhoods and cities’, are the reason for the lack of peace.”
He brushed aside the fact that all of Israel’s colonial-settlements are illegal under international law since they have been built on Palestinian land under Israeli military occupation since 1967.
When the PA dared to protest against such political bullying, Trump’s son-in-law and top adviser Jared Kushner lashed out on 3 July at the “hysterical and erratic” Palestinian leadership. “The door is always open for the Palestinian leadership… If they stop saying crazy things,” he added.
According to the new American political lexicon, Palestinians have absolutely no rights; international law has no relevance; and supposedly democratic Israel is a model state incapable of erring.
In Washington’s la-la land, there can be no room or tolerance for discussions about military occupation, illegal settlements, genocidal wars, sieges and apartheid if they involve even the slightest criticism of Israel.
Considering America’s complete and unconditional adoption of the Israeli agenda, Abbas should stop talking about negotiations and conditions. Instead, he should revitalise and unite the Palestinian front to counter the US-Israeli menace and its political lackeys across the Middle East.
31 july 2019
"We celebrate our culture today by wearing our traditional dress which Israel has repeatedly tried to obliterate," she added.
27 july 2019
Ynet analyst Elior Levy said that Palestinian Authority (PA) president Mahmoud Abbas’s decision to renounce all agreements with Israel was not the first such announcement.
In a recent article published on the website of Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper (ynet), Levy affirmed that Abbas had made similar decisions in recent years without implementing them, describing his decisions in this regard as “dead letters.”
The Israeli analyst claimed he was told by Palestinian officials that they believed that Abbas’s decision this time would be similar to previous ones and that there would be no real change in the relation between the PA and Israel.
Abbas on Thursday announced he decided to stop abiding by the agreements signed with the Israeli side and to form a committee to implement the decision taken in this regard by the Central Council of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).
In a recent article published on the website of Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper (ynet), Levy affirmed that Abbas had made similar decisions in recent years without implementing them, describing his decisions in this regard as “dead letters.”
The Israeli analyst claimed he was told by Palestinian officials that they believed that Abbas’s decision this time would be similar to previous ones and that there would be no real change in the relation between the PA and Israel.
Abbas on Thursday announced he decided to stop abiding by the agreements signed with the Israeli side and to form a committee to implement the decision taken in this regard by the Central Council of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).
26 july 2019
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said a new committee will examine how to implement the ending of cooperation with Israel, following a decision by PA leaders in Ramallah.
President Abbas said at Palestinian leadership meeting held in Ramallah following Israel’s demolition of 10 Palestinian buildings in Sur Baher neighborhood in occupied East Jerusalem that the leadership decided to stop the agreements signed with Israel and the formation of a committee to implement this decision.
The Palestinian leaders met Thursday to decide on measures against Israel following the demolition of Palestinian homes in the village of Sur Baher, on the outskirts of Jerusalem on Sunday.
The President said: “Our hands have been and are still extended to a just, comprehensive and lasting peace. But this does not mean that we accept the status quo or surrender to the measures of the occupation, adding that:” We will not surrender and we will not coexist with the occupation, nor will we accept the ‘deal of the century.’ Palestine and Jerusalem are not for sale or bargain, They are not a real estate deal in a real estate company.”
He stressed that “there will be no peace, no security, and no stability in our region and the world without our people achieving their rights in full. No matter how much time it takes, the repugnant occupation is going to be defeated and our future state will be independent.”
The President thanked all the friendly and brotherly countries of the world that stand by the Palestinian people and their just cause in international forums.
However, he added, “we want to see practical steps and implementation of United Nations resolutions on the ground, even once.”
He also stressed that the time has come to implement the Cairo 2017 agreement for intra-Palestinian reconciliation mediated by Egypt. “We do not want to return to the tragic results of the Moscow meeting when Hamas refused to recognize the Palestine Liberation Organization, which put it in line with Israel and the United States on this matter.
“My hand is extended for reconciliation and it is time to get more serious,” he said.
President Abbas said at Palestinian leadership meeting held in Ramallah following Israel’s demolition of 10 Palestinian buildings in Sur Baher neighborhood in occupied East Jerusalem that the leadership decided to stop the agreements signed with Israel and the formation of a committee to implement this decision.
The Palestinian leaders met Thursday to decide on measures against Israel following the demolition of Palestinian homes in the village of Sur Baher, on the outskirts of Jerusalem on Sunday.
The President said: “Our hands have been and are still extended to a just, comprehensive and lasting peace. But this does not mean that we accept the status quo or surrender to the measures of the occupation, adding that:” We will not surrender and we will not coexist with the occupation, nor will we accept the ‘deal of the century.’ Palestine and Jerusalem are not for sale or bargain, They are not a real estate deal in a real estate company.”
He stressed that “there will be no peace, no security, and no stability in our region and the world without our people achieving their rights in full. No matter how much time it takes, the repugnant occupation is going to be defeated and our future state will be independent.”
The President thanked all the friendly and brotherly countries of the world that stand by the Palestinian people and their just cause in international forums.
However, he added, “we want to see practical steps and implementation of United Nations resolutions on the ground, even once.”
He also stressed that the time has come to implement the Cairo 2017 agreement for intra-Palestinian reconciliation mediated by Egypt. “We do not want to return to the tragic results of the Moscow meeting when Hamas refused to recognize the Palestine Liberation Organization, which put it in line with Israel and the United States on this matter.
“My hand is extended for reconciliation and it is time to get more serious,” he said.
22 july 2019
The Palestinian President issued two laws by decree on 15 July 2019. The first one is dissolved the High Judicial Council (HJC) and assigned a transitional one while the other amended the Palestinian Judicial Authority Law No.1/2002 and reduced judges’ retirement age to 60 years.
The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) condemns the dissolution of the HJC by the Palestinian President and considers it a blatant interference in the judicial affairs and independence, in form and substance.
It is also considered a violation of the principle of separation of powers, codified in Article 98 of the 2003 Palestinian Basic Law: “Judges shall be independent and shall not be subject to any authority other than the authority of the law while exercising their duties. No other authority may interfere in the judiciary or in judicial affairs.”
In response to the dissolution decision, PCHR’s Director, Raji Sourani, said that “This decision is not only an attack on the independence of the judiciary; it would also prejudice the judges’ personal and career interests and their reputation. It also reveals the absence of political will for real judicial reform.”
Sourani continued, “Now that both the legislative and judicial authorities are dissolved; the institutional essence of the state is absent and we are left with a centric political system revolving around the President.”
Whereas both decrees mention being issued in compliance with the recommendations of the National Committee for the Development of the Justice Sector, PCHR reasserts that judges criticized the creation of the committee itself, and that the Judges’ Club issued a press release on the matter emphasizing that the formation of said Committee jeopardizes the integrity and independence of the judiciary. Palestinian human rights organizations supported the stance taken by the Judges’ Club at the time, as the latter is representative of the judiciary’s best interest and orientation.[1]
Additionally, the Committee overlooked the factual causes weakening the Palestinian judiciary, primarily the executive-overreach and meddling in judicial affairs.
This overreach was evident in a number of instances, most prominent was the overthrowing of Chief Justice, Sami Sarsour, who was blackmailed into signing his resignation letter before assuming his role as Chief Justice, and it was used by the executive branch upon deciding to oust him. PCHR vehemently condemned the incident and considered it an erosion of judicial independence[2].
The problematic independence of the High Constitutional Court (HCC) was disregarded by both the recommendations of the aforementioned Committee and the recent laws by decree.
HCC was the subject of wide legal criticism, because its members never took oath in the presence of the Speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), and it was created within the current Palestinian political division with members of a single political faction.[3] This impression was reinforced by the HCC conduct with decisions that favored expanding the President’s authorities, such as granting him authority to lift parliamentary immunity on 06 November 2016[4], and dissolving the PLC in complicity with the President on 12 December 2018[5]. As such, it is evident that the Palestinian executive is moving towards imposing complete control over all branches of the judiciary, giving the Palestinian President supreme power, as is the case in the HCC.
PCHR reiterates that it attempted to protect judicial independence in 2005 when it appealed against the 2005 Judicial Authority Law, which was introduced shortly after the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas took office and aimed to enhance the Ministry of Justice’s powers at the expense of the HJC.[6]
The Supreme Court, in its constitutional capacity, decided to drop the new law and maintain the Judicial Authority Law No. (1) of 2002; thus, reinforcing two main principles: a. the imperative consultation with the judicial authority before enacting relevant laws; and b. the independence of the judiciary.
The timing and nature of the 2005 Judicial Authority Law, reflects the early intentions of the executive authority to control the Judiciary and refutes its allegations that the most recent laws by decree were part of a reform process.
This step comes after the Palestinian President usurped legislative authority by dissolving the already absented PLC. Rather than prioritizing ending the Palestinian political division and holding presidential and legislative elections, the Palestinian Authority reinforces it with legislations only applicable in the West Bank.
It also extends presidential powers, making it a de facto substitute to all three branches of government. This trend proves that the HCC is a mere façade and its decisions are designed to facitiliate executive outreach.
The decrees in question were issued only a few months after dissolving the PLC. The latter was authorized by the HCC’s in a decision that was deemed controversial due to the deficient reasoning, and doubts over the Court’s own legitimacy[7]. Therefore, PCHR considered the dissolution of the PLC to be political par excellence. PCHR also condemned the HCC’s position, and considered it an outreach of its jurisdiction, and an interference in the legislative authority in complicity with the executive branch.
Furthermore, in its decision to dissolve the PLC, the HCC contradicted its former decision pertaining to the legitimacy of the PLC’s extended term. Therefore, PCHR affirms that these laws by decree are part of a systematic policy to control the three authorities and pave the way for power absolutism.
The allegation that the problem of the Palestinian judiciary is about current laws or judges is a lie, and an attempt to control the judiciary under the pretext of reform. PCHR considers that true reform starts by ending the executive authority’s interference in the judicial authority as it weaknesses were never in the Judicial Authority Law. Hence, PCHR demands that the President retract his decisions.
Public Document
**************************************
Follow PCHR on Facebook and Twitter
For more information, please call PCHR office in Gaza, Gaza Strip, on +972 8 2824776 – 2825893
Gaza- Jamal ‘Abdel Nasser “al-Thalathini” Street – Al-Roya Building- Floor 12 , El Remal, PO Box 1328 Gaza, Gaza Strip. E-mail: pchr@pchrgaza.org, Webpage http://www.pchrgaza.org
[1]PHROC Supports Judges’ Club Press Release and Refuses the Bill to Amend the Judicial Law https://pchrgaza.org/ar/?p=14060
[2] The Rule of Law vs. The Law of the Jungle: Independence of Palestinian Judiciary in Jeopardy https://pchrgaza.org/en/?p=8539
[3] PHROC: Press Release by PHROC and PNGO on: “The High Constitutional Court is Yet to Fulfil Inception Requirments and its Decisions are Void” https://pchrgaza.org/ar/?p=14016
[4] Five PLC Members Brought to Account after their Immunity Lifted; PCHR Refuses Employing the “Law” to Oppress Political Opponents https://pchrgaza.org/en/?p=8659
[5] Position Paper: Constitutional Court’s Decision to Dissolve PLC is Political and Illegal
https://pchrgaza.org/ar/?p=16919
[6] PCHR Challenges the Constitutionality of the New Judiciary Law for Its Contradiction with the Amended Basic Law, and the High Constitutional Court Postpones the Case
https://pchrgaza.org/ar/?p=5227
[7] Position Paper: Constitutional Court’s Decision to Dissolve PLC is Political and Illegal
https://pchrgaza.org/ar/?p=16919
Public Document
**************************************
Follow PCHR on Facebook and Twitter
For more information, please call PCHR office in Gaza, Gaza Strip, on +972 8 2824776 – 2825893
Gaza- Jamal ‘Abdel Nasser “al-Thalathini” Street – Al-Roya Building- Floor 12 , El Remal, PO Box 1328 Gaza, Gaza Strip. E-mail: pchr@pchrgaza.org, Webpage http://www.pchrgaza.org
The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) condemns the dissolution of the HJC by the Palestinian President and considers it a blatant interference in the judicial affairs and independence, in form and substance.
It is also considered a violation of the principle of separation of powers, codified in Article 98 of the 2003 Palestinian Basic Law: “Judges shall be independent and shall not be subject to any authority other than the authority of the law while exercising their duties. No other authority may interfere in the judiciary or in judicial affairs.”
In response to the dissolution decision, PCHR’s Director, Raji Sourani, said that “This decision is not only an attack on the independence of the judiciary; it would also prejudice the judges’ personal and career interests and their reputation. It also reveals the absence of political will for real judicial reform.”
Sourani continued, “Now that both the legislative and judicial authorities are dissolved; the institutional essence of the state is absent and we are left with a centric political system revolving around the President.”
Whereas both decrees mention being issued in compliance with the recommendations of the National Committee for the Development of the Justice Sector, PCHR reasserts that judges criticized the creation of the committee itself, and that the Judges’ Club issued a press release on the matter emphasizing that the formation of said Committee jeopardizes the integrity and independence of the judiciary. Palestinian human rights organizations supported the stance taken by the Judges’ Club at the time, as the latter is representative of the judiciary’s best interest and orientation.[1]
Additionally, the Committee overlooked the factual causes weakening the Palestinian judiciary, primarily the executive-overreach and meddling in judicial affairs.
This overreach was evident in a number of instances, most prominent was the overthrowing of Chief Justice, Sami Sarsour, who was blackmailed into signing his resignation letter before assuming his role as Chief Justice, and it was used by the executive branch upon deciding to oust him. PCHR vehemently condemned the incident and considered it an erosion of judicial independence[2].
The problematic independence of the High Constitutional Court (HCC) was disregarded by both the recommendations of the aforementioned Committee and the recent laws by decree.
HCC was the subject of wide legal criticism, because its members never took oath in the presence of the Speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), and it was created within the current Palestinian political division with members of a single political faction.[3] This impression was reinforced by the HCC conduct with decisions that favored expanding the President’s authorities, such as granting him authority to lift parliamentary immunity on 06 November 2016[4], and dissolving the PLC in complicity with the President on 12 December 2018[5]. As such, it is evident that the Palestinian executive is moving towards imposing complete control over all branches of the judiciary, giving the Palestinian President supreme power, as is the case in the HCC.
PCHR reiterates that it attempted to protect judicial independence in 2005 when it appealed against the 2005 Judicial Authority Law, which was introduced shortly after the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas took office and aimed to enhance the Ministry of Justice’s powers at the expense of the HJC.[6]
The Supreme Court, in its constitutional capacity, decided to drop the new law and maintain the Judicial Authority Law No. (1) of 2002; thus, reinforcing two main principles: a. the imperative consultation with the judicial authority before enacting relevant laws; and b. the independence of the judiciary.
The timing and nature of the 2005 Judicial Authority Law, reflects the early intentions of the executive authority to control the Judiciary and refutes its allegations that the most recent laws by decree were part of a reform process.
This step comes after the Palestinian President usurped legislative authority by dissolving the already absented PLC. Rather than prioritizing ending the Palestinian political division and holding presidential and legislative elections, the Palestinian Authority reinforces it with legislations only applicable in the West Bank.
It also extends presidential powers, making it a de facto substitute to all three branches of government. This trend proves that the HCC is a mere façade and its decisions are designed to facitiliate executive outreach.
The decrees in question were issued only a few months after dissolving the PLC. The latter was authorized by the HCC’s in a decision that was deemed controversial due to the deficient reasoning, and doubts over the Court’s own legitimacy[7]. Therefore, PCHR considered the dissolution of the PLC to be political par excellence. PCHR also condemned the HCC’s position, and considered it an outreach of its jurisdiction, and an interference in the legislative authority in complicity with the executive branch.
Furthermore, in its decision to dissolve the PLC, the HCC contradicted its former decision pertaining to the legitimacy of the PLC’s extended term. Therefore, PCHR affirms that these laws by decree are part of a systematic policy to control the three authorities and pave the way for power absolutism.
The allegation that the problem of the Palestinian judiciary is about current laws or judges is a lie, and an attempt to control the judiciary under the pretext of reform. PCHR considers that true reform starts by ending the executive authority’s interference in the judicial authority as it weaknesses were never in the Judicial Authority Law. Hence, PCHR demands that the President retract his decisions.
Public Document
**************************************
Follow PCHR on Facebook and Twitter
For more information, please call PCHR office in Gaza, Gaza Strip, on +972 8 2824776 – 2825893
Gaza- Jamal ‘Abdel Nasser “al-Thalathini” Street – Al-Roya Building- Floor 12 , El Remal, PO Box 1328 Gaza, Gaza Strip. E-mail: pchr@pchrgaza.org, Webpage http://www.pchrgaza.org
[1]PHROC Supports Judges’ Club Press Release and Refuses the Bill to Amend the Judicial Law https://pchrgaza.org/ar/?p=14060
[2] The Rule of Law vs. The Law of the Jungle: Independence of Palestinian Judiciary in Jeopardy https://pchrgaza.org/en/?p=8539
[3] PHROC: Press Release by PHROC and PNGO on: “The High Constitutional Court is Yet to Fulfil Inception Requirments and its Decisions are Void” https://pchrgaza.org/ar/?p=14016
[4] Five PLC Members Brought to Account after their Immunity Lifted; PCHR Refuses Employing the “Law” to Oppress Political Opponents https://pchrgaza.org/en/?p=8659
[5] Position Paper: Constitutional Court’s Decision to Dissolve PLC is Political and Illegal
https://pchrgaza.org/ar/?p=16919
[6] PCHR Challenges the Constitutionality of the New Judiciary Law for Its Contradiction with the Amended Basic Law, and the High Constitutional Court Postpones the Case
https://pchrgaza.org/ar/?p=5227
[7] Position Paper: Constitutional Court’s Decision to Dissolve PLC is Political and Illegal
https://pchrgaza.org/ar/?p=16919
Public Document
**************************************
Follow PCHR on Facebook and Twitter
For more information, please call PCHR office in Gaza, Gaza Strip, on +972 8 2824776 – 2825893
Gaza- Jamal ‘Abdel Nasser “al-Thalathini” Street – Al-Roya Building- Floor 12 , El Remal, PO Box 1328 Gaza, Gaza Strip. E-mail: pchr@pchrgaza.org, Webpage http://www.pchrgaza.org
21 july 2019
UN Middle East peace coordinator Nickolay Mladenov has said that the punitive financial measures taken by the Palestinian Authority (PA) against its rivals in Gaza only put pressure on the population.
Mladenov made his remarks during an interview conducted on Friday by the French newspaper Liberation.
“In fact, the PA has put pressure on the population and not Hamas,” the UN official said.
He warned that Gaza always faces the looming threat of military confrontation because of the deteriorating humanitarian and security situation, pointing out that he had a difficult weekend last May when he and the Egyptians intervened to prevent another all-out military conflict.
Gaza has suffered recently from acute living and humanitarian crises after PA president Mahmoud Abbas deprived its population of medical treatment abroad, suspended its medical supplies, imposed heavy taxes on its fuel needs to generate electricity, asked Israel to reduce electricity provided through its cross-border power lines, lowered the salaries paid to civil servants and gave others early retirement.
Mladenov made his remarks during an interview conducted on Friday by the French newspaper Liberation.
“In fact, the PA has put pressure on the population and not Hamas,” the UN official said.
He warned that Gaza always faces the looming threat of military confrontation because of the deteriorating humanitarian and security situation, pointing out that he had a difficult weekend last May when he and the Egyptians intervened to prevent another all-out military conflict.
Gaza has suffered recently from acute living and humanitarian crises after PA president Mahmoud Abbas deprived its population of medical treatment abroad, suspended its medical supplies, imposed heavy taxes on its fuel needs to generate electricity, asked Israel to reduce electricity provided through its cross-border power lines, lowered the salaries paid to civil servants and gave others early retirement.
