9) Settler Crimes, and the Response of the PHRMG

Over the course of the al-Aqsa Intifada, Israeli settlers have shot and stabbed Palestinians, hurled stones at them, destroyed or damaged their homes and shops, blocked roads, and abused them in other ways. They have entered Palestinian villages, damaged Palestinian vehicles traveling on the roads, and mistreated Palestinian farmers working their fields. As of July 2002, settlers killed at least 21 Palestinian civilians, including a 2-month-old baby. Large groups of settlers have conspired to commit criminal acts of revenge, including the mass rioting in July 2002, in which a 15 year old girl, confined to her home during curfew, was shot to death and an 8 year old boy was stabbed, allegedly in retaliation for past Palestinian attacks on Israelis civilians.

A principal task of government is to enforce the law and to protect the life, property and rights of all the people living within its jurisdiction – including occupied territory under its control. Unfortunately, Israel violates this duty on a daily basis. Settlers who commit crimes against Palestinians are practically granted immunity to engage in all sorts of criminal behavior. The impunity that they enjoy is one of the main causes for the continuation and escalation of settler violence. This failure to apprehend, prosecute and adequately punish settler criminals and the consequent failure to deter settler crime violates both international law and Israeli law.

In April 2001, the PHRMG published a report on Israeli settler violence in the Occupied Territories, entitled “Criminal Negligence? Settler Violence and State Inaction During the Al-Aqsa Intifada.” We concluded both that settler violence against Palestinians is a real and growing problem, and that the Israeli Army and all Israeli law enforcement agencies, whose legal duty it is to protect Palestinians under their control, have failed dismally in this regard. We further found that because their complaints are routinely ignored or dismissed, or because they fear and/or distrust the Israeli police, Palestinian victims of settler attacks – even those resulting in death - are often reluctant to have contact with the police.  However, their failure to file complaints provides the police with an excuse not to open investigations and bring the settler criminals to justice.

The PHRMG’s 24 hour Settler Violence Hotline and Legal Unit was established in July 2001 in order to begin to impact  this situation. The goal of the project is to encourage and assist Palestinian victims to assert their right to file criminal complaints and then to exert pressure on Israeli law enforcement to investigate the complaints, apprehend, indict and prosecute the criminals, wherever appropriate.

The PHRMG has already had several important victories, although each one is just a small step down the long road to obtaining justice.

In many cases reported to the Hotline, the caller was willing, but unable to file a complaint with the Israeli police. This was a particular problem for residents in and around Nablus, where curfews, closures and long distance made getting to the police station impossible. After a considerable amount of effort on our part, top Israeli SHAI police officials finally conceded that complaints could initially be filed with the local District Coordination Offices (DCOs). PHRMG then faxed notice of this concession to every DCO and eventually, they all began accepting complaints. While most of our clients have subsequently been able to initiate the criminal complaint process, the recent closures have once again interfered with Palestinians’ access to law enforcement.

A second victory achieved was the formal acceptance by both the Israeli police and the criminal court in Jerusalem of Arabic legal documents. Initially, both had refused to recognize powers of attorney in Arabic and insisted that our clients routinely sign these documents written in Hebrew, a language they could not understand.

Our most important victory was won in the High Court of Israel, when the Hebron police, who had consistently ignored PHRMG correspondence, was ordered to respond to all correspondence written on behalf of our clients in a timely fashion.[1] Until they were forced to comply with their duty under law, the Hebron police had refused to respond to PHRMG attorneys, or even acknowledge their involvement in cases of settler violence. Since over 2/3 of PHRMG settler violence cases originate in Hebron, this victory was necessary to the success of the entire project.

In addition to the successes that enabled us to assist our clients get in the door to the police station and take the first step in the long criminal justice process, our intervention has led to the prosecution of several settler criminals who would ordinarily have remained immune from punishment. [2]

Together, however, these victories have merely succeeded in opening the door to Palestinian victims of settler violence. They are important, but Palestinians are still a long way from receiving justice.

Less easy to document, yet as important in the struggle for Palestinian human and civil rights, has been the success of the Settler Violence Legal Unit in raising awareness among the Palestinian population of their inalienable human rights and the need to fight to defend them. This consciousness will affect the way in which people relate to any ruling authority, Israeli or Palestinian. It is a way of strengthening Palestinian civil society and political culture and should lead to increased participation in the process of nation building and aid the development of a broad national democratic movement.