© Saeed Qaq/APA Images
A Palestinian man sits next to belongings removed from his house as Israeli police officers stand guard during a demolition of the house in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit Hanina, October 29, 2013. A statement from the Jerusalem Municipality said there was a court order for the demolition of the house, which was built without a permit.
Whereas Israelis can easily and willingly be fooled by the notion of a superpower liberal court threatening to overturn any right wing administration initiative, Palestinians residing in the occupied territories know better. Forbidden from participating in elections determining their own fate, 52 years of Israeli occupation have made Palestinians increasingly distrustful toward the Israeli judiciary.
In late April the
Israeli High Court of Justice dismissed a petition, submitted by several Palestinian village councils from different areas of the West Bank together with human rights organizations,
which demanded to revoke a new Israeli military order aiming to grant the Israeli Civil Administration excessive powers to demolish within 96 hours any type of new building - houses, schools, livestock structures, etc. - erected "illegally" in Area C of the West Bank.
The petitioners argued that
the new order changes the existing legal arrangements, as set in Jordanian Planning Law applied to the occupied Palestinian territory, and therefore
breaches international humanitarian law requiring the occupying power to respect laws already in force in the occupied territory. Whereas the existing Jordanian Law sets regulated appeal procedures, which include a hearing and opportunity to apply for a building permit, the newly introduced order qualifies the Israeli Civil Administration to
conduct a swift demolition while grossly violating the right to due process.
Comment: The Saudis might have known, but they're incapable of pulling off a sophisticated multi-site terror attack. That honor falls to their 'higher-ups'...
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