Israel restricts Palestinian lawyers' access to West Bank detainees
Judge criticizes police for making lawyers use crossing 20 km from court, instead of one 300 meters away.
By Amira Hass Tags: Israel news West BankIsrael is prohibiting Palestinian lawyers and the relatives of Palestinian detainees from reaching a military tribunal via the Beitunia checkpoint west of Ramallah.
The prohibition, which has been in effect for the past three days, means that Israeli police are requiring Palestinians to use the Qalandiyah crossing 20 kilometers away, where they must produce an entry permit to Israel - which can take weeks to obtain - if they want to enter an Israeli military tribunal that is on West Bank land. The court lies 300 meters south of the Beitunia roadblock, and was built on land that is part of Beitunia.
The restriction contravenes a recent High Court of Justice decision opening Route 443 to Palestinian traffic.
The lawyers have declared a strike to protest the prohibition, and are not appearing in military court.
Military Judge Arieh Durani yesterday criticized the police for keeping the lawyers from adequately representing their clients.
"The court takes a very dim view of the authorities thwarting representation of detainees by not permitting their attorneys to cross at the checkpoint," he said. He also imposed a NIS 1,000 fine on any lawyer who refrained from representing a client who is a minor.
Palestinians see the new rules as infringing on their rights as well as forcing them into de facto recognition of a border that is unilaterally determined by Israel. Since 1995, Israel has sought to make Qalandiyah the northern entry point of the so-called safe passage between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. It is far from the Green Line and the Latrun area, where the Palestinians wanted the entry point to be. The entire area south of Beitunia has gradually become off-limits to Palestinians since 2000.
Although the Israel Defense Forces has general responsibility for the area, the Jerusalem police and the Border Police are in charge of the checkpoint. Police first closed the checkpoint three weeks ago, telling the lawyers and relatives they had to enter through the Qalandiyah checkpoint.
But even those who go to Qalandiyah still need an entry permit to Israel, with no assurance that it will be granted. Moreover, crossing at Qalandiyah involves a long wait and additional travel expenses.
The attorneys went on strike when the restrictions were first imposed, and sent a letter of protest to Attorney General Menachem Mazuz. A few days later, the checkpoint was reopened for those heading to the military court. However, at the beginning of the week the order was imposed again.
In 2001 the IDF completely blocked the road that links Beitunia with Ramallah and the surrounding villages. When the military court was moved in 2004 from Ramallah to the Ofer facility, the checkpoint was opened so that lawyers and relatives of the accused could get to the court.
No Israeli officials took responsibility for the checkpoint restrictions.
The IDF spokesman's office told Haaretz to seek a response from the Israel Police. The Israel Police spokesman told Haaretz that the Jerusalem police and the Border Police are responsible for the passage of merchandise, not people, and that a response should be obtained from the Defense Ministry.
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Highway 443, which cuts through the West Bank. |
| Photo by: (Reuters) |
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Funny to say that Turkey is closer a democracy than Israel.I wish you get arrested by Turk police or the MIT of Turkey and see if you survive!It is worse than Abu Ghreib.
Shalit can't see visitors simply because if he does, the Israelis will more easily figure out where he is. If Israel knows where he is, they will likely try to get him. Shalit might be killed, which would then remove any bargaining chip against Israel, who holds thousands of Palestinians for no crime besides resisting an unjust occupation. The situation is obviously assymetric. It is quite silly to pretend Israel plays by some moral code higher than that of Hamas. Israel's code is based entire on its balance of power and its Public Relations with the West whom Israel depends on for her very existence.
Dear Jose - in order to understand Israeli logic you must be proficient in Pilpul - a special branch of the talmudic legal system. David
There is no reason for civil people to act like this.
"The court takes a very dim view of the authorities thwarting representation of detainees by not permitting their attorneys to cross at the checkpoint," he said. He also imposed a NIS 1,000 fine on any lawyer who refrained from representing a client who is a minor. So it is bad that the Israelis do not allow lawyers to visit their clients, but not so bad that they fine the lawyers for not doing what Israel refuses to allow them to do. Never can understand the Israeli logic except to remember that human rights do not exist for anyone but Jews in Israel.
I am glad your comparing Israel actions , the alleged only true "democracy" and " Civil Society " in the ME to the actions of Hammas. Brilliant.......
Just more Iranian weapons to use against civilians. Certainly not a dime to improve the conditions of their ingigenous population.
Israel is protecting its ALL its citizens against terrorists by creating a series of gates that will filter out the terrorists. It is YOU who equate those terrorists to an entire population; and that is SHAMEFUL.
Dear Israelian brothers. That's awful. Evil can't be won through more Evil. Endourse the best traditions of Judaism. Show your moral superiority over Hamas. The lawyers deserve respect into the whole world. God bless you. Luiz Felipe Haddad.
If you only had the courage to be only once a bit objective and to talk about `infringing the rights` of 10,000 plus palestinian in Israel jail that the family dont know where they are, 1300 plus daysssssssssssssss...........
Is time for the supreme court in Israel have some ball!! you get my meaning? shameful and discusted. This little tiny country keep hostage a population and keep many country hush. time to change that.
In an average month Israel holds around 300-340 Palestinian children in administrative detention, i.e. without charge. Some are held for months on end. What has happened to Gilad Shalit is indefensible. But what Israel - which claims to be a democracy and which has ratified various legal instruments (including the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child) - is doing is truly inexcusable. Sitting in New York passing out trite comments about a situation that you don't fully comprehend is really not helpful Roger.
The closest thing to a democracy in the Middle East is Turkey, not Israel.
What do you mean with "beginning"?
In order to visit Shalit one first has to obtain a permit to visit Gaza, from Israel.
Roger, Do you really want to equate the only democracy in the Middle East with a group that your country deems a terrorist group? Is that the standards you want to judge Israel by. That really sums this whole mess up. Competition of which side is more grotesque
Such delicious irony.
sounds a bit like vigilantism by rogue policemen if you ask me. the idf says "it's not us; you need to ask them"... and the police in turn point their fingers at the ministry of defense... while the courts are saying it violates the law? meanwhile, palestinian "detainees" are being purposely prevented from legal representation. is it just me, or does seem like israel is beginning to slip off the deep end into complete facism?
is actually a far to mild expression for the way things work in Israel. If military judge Arieh Durani has the slightest bit of decency he should at least send the minors that are held prisoner home immediately in response to the restrictions imposed to the lawyers and relatives.
This is only one more example of attempting to justify Israeli silliness by asking if the enemy is guilty of the same silliness. It is a perfect method of demonstrating the silliness of the question, if not the lack of seriousness of person making the query.
I didn't know that Hamas was the standard by which Israel wanted to be judged in its treatment of prisoners. But then I didn't know that we'd have an administration that thought that al Qaida should be the standard the US should aspire to in treatment of prisoners. Well, the US finally elected an administration that doesn't aspire to make al Qaida the standard for the US. Maybe someday, Israel will some day elect a government that doesn't think Hamas should be the Israeli standard. Maybe.
another nice move from the so-called beacon of democracy in the Middle East.
To those of you comparing the Shalit kidnap to the handling of detaimees: If you do so you implicitly put the IDF on the same level as Hamas, do you really intend to do so? Is the IDF really a terrorist group?
"If you only had the courage to be only once a bit objective and to talk about `infringing the rights` of Ghilad Shalit who hasn`t seen a lawyer or a Red Cross member , or anyone for that matter, not for 3 lousy days, but for 1300 days or so..." What do the people being denied their rights have to do with Shalit? They arent being chrged with his kidnapping. So why should they be hassled because of something someone else is doing to someone else? You want to punish everyone for something someone else is doing? I think you know what that is called
Slowly but surely coming apart at the seams
It's a sorry state that seems to adopt Hamas behavior as the standard for Rule of Law. Bu, then its an Israeli court ruling so really it's the Rule of Suggestion.
If you only had the courage to be only once a bit objective and to talk about 'infringing the rights' of Ghilad Shalit who hasn't seen a lawyer or a Red Cross member , or anyone for that matter, not for 3 lousy days, but for 1300 days or so...
to shalit and allow visitation..as it is and eeven you can see any visitation is a security risk...stop comparing your billions welfare to the poor in gaza...its purely digusting and stop being ab adolescent cry baby