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Dear friends,
It is shameful that in the 21st century Israel still implements archaic regulations such as 119 that allows the punitive demolition of homes of innocent people. The new government is escalating its use of these collective punishments. Immediately following a deadly attack in Jerusalem last week, the police and military swooped in and sealed off the home of the assailant’s family, the Alkam family, with no prior notice or an opportunity to challenge this measure, as is required. We wrote urgently to Israel’s Attorney General demanding that this swift collective punishment be reversed.
The government is also threatening to seal the home of the Aliwat family, after their 13-year-old son shot and injured two Israelis (though for two decades the policy has only been used in the case of fatal attacks). We represent both families and will take all legal actions to protect these homes.
The High Court of Justice has rarely intervened to stop or mitigate these demolitions – last year HaMoked filed 13 such petitions and the High Court rejected every one. But alongside the rare case that we win and save a family’s home, our litigation serves a larger purpose, forcing the state to justify its actions and preventing it from carrying out such demolitions on a larger scale. We also conducted extensive media and advocacy activities this past week (see some of the links below) in order to raise a principled voice against collective punishments.
We are also prepared to challenge a range of new and extremist initiatives, including the bill to revoke citizenship or residency status from anyone convicted of a security offense who receives financial support from the Palestinian Authority while imprisoned. Such legislation would have people deported and rendered stateless, an extreme and illegal step.
We are keenly aware that the escalation on the ground comes amid an aggressive effort by the government to undermine Israel’s judicial system. While we are highly critical of both the Attorney General and the High Court of Justice, we categorically reject the government’s proposals for judicial “reform”, which would in fact further reduce the independence of these bodies and their ability to safeguard Palestinians’ human rights.
So precisely now, in the shadow of these judicial reforms, we must demand that the Attorney General and the High Court of Justice stand against collective punishments. We at HaMoked are determined to use all the tools at our disposal to insist that the basic rights of Palestinians must be respected.
Sincerely yours,
Jessica Montell
Executive Director of HaMoked
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