[ad_1]
March 27, 2023 5:54 AM ET
What Israel’s Judicial Reform Plan Means for Palestinians
From Hadas Gold on CNN in Jerusalem
Palestinians protest against Israeli politics after performing the first Friday prayers of Ramadan at Masjid al-Aqsa in Jerusalem on March 24.
(Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
Fundamentally, Israel’s planned judicial reforms will give the country’s parliament, the Knesset, and thus the political parties in power, more control over the judiciary.
From the way judges are selected, to the laws the Supreme Court can rule, to giving Congress the power to overturn decisions of the Supreme Court, these changes represent the biggest change to Israel’s judicial system since its founding in 1948. will be
What it means for Palestinians: A weakened judiciary could limit the ability of both Israelis and Palestinians to have their rights defended by the courts if they believe they have been violated by their government.
Palestinians in the occupied West Bank could be affected, and of course Palestinian citizens and those with residence cards in Israel would be directly affected. Israel’s Supreme Court has no influence over what is happening in Gaza, which is ruled by the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
Critics of the change worry that if politicians take more control, the rights of Israeli minorities, especially Palestinians living in Israel, will be affected.
For example, last year a court stopped the eviction of a Palestinian family in East Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jala district. A Jewish group has claimed ownership of the land where the family lived for decades.
At the same time, Palestinian activists say the High Court has never considered the legality of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, despite what most of the international community considers illegal, and the Israeli occupation of the West Bank. It is claimed to have further strengthened the
The High Court is also subject to complaints from Israel’s far right and settlers. biased toward settlers. They denounced the court’s involvement in approving the eviction of settlers from Gaza and the Northwest Bank in 2005.
[ad_2]
Source link
