Gabriel Helou

“The state has asked the High Court of Justice for permission to demolish the ancient Palestinian village of Sussia and relocate its residents to Yatta, near Hebron, allowing for more archaeological work at the site. … The petition criticizes decisions made by the Civil Administration ’s planning committee to reject an alternate plan suggested by Sussia residents, stating that the relocation to Yatta is in their best interest .”

“Central Command chief Nitzan Alon signed an order applying Israel's penal code to Palestinians in the West Bank, hours before he left office earlier this week. The new order’s significance is mainly declarative. Parts of the Israeli penal code have already been adopted by military judges in the West Bank. And in general, arrest, detention and penal procedures are significantly harsher when applied to West Bank Palestinians than to Israeli citizens. However, an aspect that will not apply to the West Bank is the so-called Shai Dromi amendment enacted in 2008, which exempts a person from criminal responsibility for an “act urgently required to ward off someone who breaks into his home, business or farm.” This aspect would have let Palestinians ward off settler attacks without bearing criminal responsibility .”

I take pleasure in sharing with you some snapshots of pre-1948 Palestinian prestigious mansions in Talbiyeh, West Jerusalem. The residents of this neighbourhood all fled away in the wake of fighting which erupted in Jerusalem in 1948. All Palestinian properties were taken over by Israelis. This is one of the prominent buildings in Talbiyeh, commonly known as Villa Salameh,  which houses the residence of the Consul General of Belgium in Jerusalem. The building - rented to the Belgian Government back in 1948 - belongs to Salameh family, which, like other Arab citizens of the town, sought refuge outside Palestine. 

According to a report published in "NRG":  During an election conference held in Beit El settlement last week, Meir Mazuz, the "spiritual leader" of "Yachad Party", attacked the Israeli High Court "because it allowed an Arab judge to examine the case of Moshe Katsav and to send him to jail". Mazuz: "Is there an anti-democratic State like this that gave an Arab judge to sentence a former President to imprisonment? Is there such a place? There is no such thing. National disgrace. An Arab convicts a former President and sends him to prison." Salim Joubran was part of the three-judge panel which rejected Katsav’s appeal of his rape charges. ---------------------- "Israeli Arabs", equal citizens?

"Explore our map of  50 landmark human rights cases , each with a brief description and a link to a free article or report on the case. The cases were chosen in conjunction with the editors of the  Oxford Reports on International Law . These choices were intended to showcase the variety of international, regional, and national mechanisms and fora for adjudicating human rights claims, and the range of rights that have been recognized."