Newsletter issue 104, May 2013

The unrecognized Arab Bedouin village of ‘Abda in the Naqab has an on-site health clinic that only opens its doors when doctors from the nearby Jewish town of Mitzpe Ramon have extra time. Usually Abda's residents must travel to Mitzpe Ramon, although there is no formal Arabic translation available in the clinic. Adalah, together with NGO partners, appealed to 40 major health institutions to implement a recent government regulation mandating that health clinics provide translation services.

This month, Adalah urged the government to implement the Turkel Commission’s recommendations to strengthen legislation and investigatory mechanisms for alleged war crimes violations.  Attorney Karen Corrie (OSJI) writes that Turkel provided extensive grounds for “amending the examination and investigation mechanisms” and “changing the accepted policy”. In a position paper, Adalah points out, however, that the Turkel Commission refrained from determining clear-cut guidelines for the opening of these investigations.

While Turkel highlighted the serious flaws in Israel’s investigatory systems, Attorney Fatmeh El-‘Ajou demonstrates that Israel systematically denies Gazans access to the Israeli courts to sue for damages inflicted by its military and security forces, depriving them of an effective legal remedy. 

May 2013 marks 65 years since the establishment of the State of Israel, and the proclamation of an ongoing state of emergency. Read Attorney John Reynolds’ case review of a recent Supreme Court decision in this regard and Israel’s “emergency legalities” - used almost exclusively against Palestinians.